The age-herald., 1900-05-30
FREE DELIVERY TO
 RURAL DISTRICTS
Effort to Secure Establishment
 of Several Mail Routes.
APPLICATION TO BE MADE
Age-Herald Takes the Initiative and Will File Petitions With Postofice Departmental Method
 of Procedure

The Age-Herald has taken the initiative in securing the establishment in this dis triet of the free delivery of mail to the rural districts, and within the next few days will file petitions with the postohice department in Washington for several routes covering the more thickly populated districts contingent to Birmingham.
 All necessary papers have been forward ed to the editor of the Age-Herald, and are now in course of preparation, and there is little doubt but that one or more routes will be established within the next few weeks.
 The establishment of this service is of immense value to communities, and with complete system throughout Jefferson county, would greatly facilitate the dis patch of business of every merchant in the city, as well as the public at large
 As soon as the petitions filed, an inspector will be sent here from Washing ton to lay out the route, after which there will be little delay if his report is favor able.
 To Obtain Free Rural Delivery
 Superintendent A. W. Meechen of the free delivery system sends out the fol- lowing instructions and information re- garding the establishment of the service:
 ITO obtain rural free delivery, present a petition, addressed to the first assistant postmaster general, signed by those who desire the service. This petition should be signed only by heads of families, and should mention the number in each fam fly. It should set forth the nature of the country where the delivery is desired, whether densely or sparsely populated, the principal avocations of the people, the character of the roads, and the distances which, under existing conditions, each pa tron has to travel to receive his mail and should be accompanied, wherever possible, by rough map indicating the route or routes proposed.
 "This petition, when properly signed, should be sent to your representative in congress, or to one of your senators, with a request that he endorse thereon his rec ommendation of the service asked and for ward the petition to the department.
 Conditions of the Service
 Ut must be borne in mind that the in- tention of congress in authorizing the free delivery of mails in rural districts was not to grant a suburban delivery to cities included in the free delivery service, nor to establish village free delivery. The purpose of the rural free delivery system is to give postal facilities to those who have none; to carry the mails daily to re- mote rural communities, the residents of which would otherwise have to travel from
 
 and newspapers.
 "The roads must be good. This is an essential prerequisite to any investiga- ton.
 -'No route can be established that is less than from twenty to twenty-five miles in length, or which serves less than one hun dred families.
 ''The route should be so arranged that the carrier will not be required to travel over the same ground twice on the same day.
 Those desiring the delivery must be pre- pared to put up, at their own expense, at some convenient location which can be reached by the carrier without dismount- ing from his buggy, appropriate and se- cure boxes for the reception of the United States mails
 Rural carriers are not required to de- liver mail to houses standing back from the main road. The service is one of mu- tual accommodation and the patrons are expected to meet the department half way in affording facilities for its establish ment.
 Method of Procedure
 ''Upon receipt of a petition, forwarded and endorsed after the above model, a special agent is detailed by the department to visit the locality indicated, to map out a route or routes, and to select rural car riers, to be appointed by the department In all such cases the advice of the repre- sentative in congress, and also of the post master from whose office it is proposed that the rural free delivery should start, is sought and obtained.
 Rural carriers give bond in the sum of $500, with two sureties. Each bond re- quires 50-cent revenue stamp to be affixed thereto.
 Carriers are paid by warrants, directly issued by the treasury department upon certificates forwarded by the postmaster. Their rates of pay is fixed by the depart ment, and includes horse hire, but not nec- essary tolls or ferrage, for which a separ- ate account must be rendered.
 "One or more substitute carriers should be provided in each case, who must give rier, and who alone are permitted to carry regular carrier.
 in the name of the regular carrier, and he must pay his substitute a proper pro rata for the service rendered "All rural carriers are under the control of the postmaster from whose office the service is established, and it is his duty to report any derelictions upon their part
 Rural carriers will take with them upon their rounds a supply of stamps, postal ceipts for money orders, and, if the patrons orders when granted in addressed en- velopes confided to their charge.
 Instructions are in preparation, and will ister letters, giving receipts for the same"