The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1900-05-04
NEW SYSTEM A SUCCESS.
Rural Free Mail Delivery.

THE TIMES reels Justlneu In excluding
local news this week to give space to the
following interesting article from the pen
of w. e. Curtis to the Chicago Record.
The statements made are both instructive
and surprising, showing as they do that
rural free delivery Is as yet In its infancy
and that the service can be given to the
people with but little il any extra expense
over the present system:
Washington, ID. c., May The post
master general and party of friends and
associates in Office went to Westminster,
Md, last night to attend unique banquet
given In his honor to celebrate the success
of the rural postal-delivery system. There
have been several detached rural-delivery
routes established In different parts OF the
country, but Carroll county, Maryland, is
the only place where the system has been
introduced as a substitute for all other
forms of the postal service and given COM
plete control of the mails In any consider
able area of territory. There 1t was intro
duced In December last, and sixty-three
fourth-class postoffices, thirty-three star
routes and two messenger services, all
within the county, were abolished and four
postal wagons or travelling postoffices and
twenty six carriers were substituted. Alto
gether it was the most unfavorable season
of the year for such an important expert
ment-the weather was severe, the roads
were part of the time blocked with drifting
snow and often hub deep with mud, the
mails were choked with holiday packages
and the mass of the people themselves were
opposed to the innovation. Hence the sue
cess of the experiment, the satisfaction Of
the public and phenomenal increase in the
quantity of mail handled and in revenues
received has given the' department
athorough basis for comparison between the
new free rural delivery and the old star
route and fourth-class system.
Carroll county was selected because 1t Is q
strictly farming community without large
towns, but many scattered villages, and
presents Typographical and other physical
features which make such service difficult.
The population is about 3s, 900 and the
area covered by the rural delivery Is 3SS
square miles. Under the old system the
farmers of Carroll county, like those In
similar communities throughout the United
States, usually went for their mail once or
twice week, whenever convenient or they
depended on their neighbors to bring 1t out
for them. They were never sure of getting
their mail, letters and newspapers, more
frequently than once a week, but twice a
week was probably the average throughout
the county. Now 19, 1886 patrons, about fifty
to the square mile, are served daily. Each
postal wagon and carrier travels an average
of 10 miles, an aggregate of S33.41 miles q
day. The posta. wagons serve an average
of S4S patrons each day and the carriers an
average of 4OS. Heretofore the farmers
were obliged to travel an average of 2. .0s
miles to the nearest postoffice whenever
they got their mail. Now the longest dis.
tance between the residences and the boxes
in which the mail is placed 176 yards.
The result of this daily service upon the
business and the revenues of the postoffice
surprises everybody. During the last quar-
ter of the old system the receipts were $6,'
429.21. During the first quarter OF rura
free delivery they were S7,93O.96, an In.
crease of 235 per cent. There has moi
been on increase in the Carroll county re-
ceipts for several years, SO, 500 being about
crease for the free delivery Offices of the
entire country is only about 8 per cent pei
annum the result In Carroll county is Ger.
tainly notable.
The increase In the quantity of mail was
equally notable. From January to March
the gain In the number Of letters handled
was 1913 per cent, newspapers 54.4 pei
cent, and In postal cards and other kinds Oi
matter 3O.S per cent. In January the free
delivery handled 76,99s newspapers, In
February 80, 724 and In March III, 1859.
The rural letter carriers are provided with
all the facilities of an ordinary postOffice.
The postal wagon Is built on the same plan
as postal car, with pigeon holes for the
separation Of the mail, and drawers with
lock and key for stamps, money orders and
registered letters. During the first quarter
of the service the registered business, which
had been practically nothing before, was
equal to that OF an average second class
presidential postoffice, and the receipts
were $s67.27, which shows that the farmers
wives and daughters have found this a
great convenience In paying bills and send
ing money to friends In other places. The
actual Increase In the registry business was
81 per cent. The increase In the number
of money orders issued was 40 per cent.
A comparison of the cost of the rural de-
livery with that of the old service shows a
net excess of $4,000 for the quarter, which
will be wiped out during the next three
months. The postoffice officials, In sum
ming up the results of the experiment 10
Carroll county, express the greatest satisfac-
ton and surprise at Its popularity, economy
and convenience.
As have intimated, the innovation was
very unpopular at the beginning and public
.naatinua xuora hald " tha indignant nj III