Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-06-21

A PIC, anu tuttb Ia hCAdllSc Necessity
of keeping down the expense of rural
free delivery. The almost total ex-
'pense, OF course, is the salary paid the
carrier, as that includes horse hire,
and nearly every other expense which
he incurs. The objection originally
raised to rural free delivery, that it's
cost would greatly exceed its revenue,
depends of course, upon two things,
first what that cost may be; secondly
upon the amount of revenue derived.
/ The problem is simple one--to keep
the expense within the revenues, or
approximately so. When rural free de-
livery was first established, the expense
was only $500, for a carrier who furnish
ed his own horse and paid for it's
keeping out OF. that small allowance.
1t soon became evident that efficient
service could not be maintained on so
small compensation, and yet it was an
unsolved problem, whether the rev.
enues could be made to even cover that
insufficient pay. Subsequent exper-
fence, however, seemed to justify the
belief that the business would increase
to an extent that would permit the
payment of an additional 500. This
lifted the service out of doubtful
condition, because class OF men who
could not earn q living at any other
vocation, including young men who
had never learned any trade or skilled
occupation, old soldiers who could not
engage in manual labor, peiple who
were crippled and otherwise incapac-
itated for the more active occupations
of life, would be glad to take this kind
of employment for that compensation.
We have now reached another stage
in the development of rural free deliv-
cry. 1t has been found that to make it
self sustaining the routes of the car
riers must be as lengthy as possible
so as to include a large number of fam
lilies to be served by each carrier.
These routes ought to average in the
west not less than twenty -five miles,
fAom twenty-five W thirty where
good roads prevail. There is no diff
Guilty in accomplishing this so far as
the carrier is concerned. but no horse
can stand that amount of work the
year around. The result is that each
carrier is compelled to keep two
horses, changing from day to day,
or alternate weeks, or otherwise. This
adds materially to the expense of the
service and especially when the horses
must be kept in cities and large towns,
where the expense of keeping is great
FER than in the country. To meet these
conditions the department has now de-
cided to increase the pay to $500 per
year. This will increase the difficulty
of making the service self-sustaining
and will delay the time when that es-
sential condition is attained. The eX-
pediency of increasing the compensa-
ton to $500 may be questioned. 1t
may retard instead of promoting rur-
al free delivery. For if 1T so greatly in
creases the expense as to make the SER
vic a heavy burden upon the gen,
eral government there is danger of a
Judgment against the system. This is
to be avoided Impossible. The only safe
policy is as indicated in the resolution
adopted by the national convention of
Postmasters-.s Development along con-
servative lines, establishing routes at
first only in localities where they can
be made. approximately self-sustaining
by increased business and by reduction
of expenses for star route and small
postoffices." If the department. goes
far beyond that, then Postmaster
Heizer's prediction and the forebodings
of others, will come true, and rural
free delivery will meet with a serious
bacR-set Therefore my own judgment
, would favor routes only where they
can be made approximately self-sus-
tanning by n liberal patronage and the
reduction of expenses for star route
and fourth class postoffices. If the sys-
TEN is permitted to grow under nom
inal conditions, it will develop itself
IL, n MO
ular, but permanent.
| 1t has been said that revolutions
never go backward This is specific
ally true of salaries and compensation
in the postoffice department. The al
lowance for rural curriers' having been
increased to $500 per annum, it is not
probable that twill be decreased and
do not say that it ought to be.
III | We're to beFgoverned by my sympa-
thes for the carriers l would increase
it still more. and Immediately; but
my Judgment tells me that such a
course might prove disastrous to the
very service which we are trying to
build up and that the only prudent
policy is to let the business grow and
when it has reached volume that
will Justify increased compensation,
deal as literally as revenues will per-
nit with the faithful employees of
the postoffice service
The danger which / fear is that, as
we are all human, the sympathies of
1.-THE postoffice officials and the public
will go out still further in this di-
rection and that soon there will be an
, earnest efforts to have the compensa-
ton of rural free delivery carries in
creased to 5000 a year. AS that is now
the lowest rating Of. clerk in the
postoffice of the fourth class, it will
be argued with not a little logic and
pertinence that the carrier who has
to face all kinds Of, weather and fur
nish his own horse and vehicle and pay
his own expenses, ought to have at
least as much as the well housed
clerk in the post Office who has no eN-
penses of that character. Nor would
the compensation stop there. 1t will
be argued with equal plausibility that
, the city carrier receives not less than
$3.50 per annum, after his first year
in the service. and as high as $1,000,
land therefore the country carrier, who
must furnish his own horse and the
keeqing thereof and who is forced to