Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-10-25
RURAL DELIVERY
Congressman Lacey Secures Early
Action on A dditional Mail Routes.
a SPECIAL AGENT IN OTTUMWA.
Nnd the People of Wapello County
Will Undoubtedly Secure the Ser.
vice Pettioned for Provided the
Requirements Are Met.

By direction of Congressman John
+. Lacey, Major Jno B. Jeffrey, special
agent of the postoffice department, is
now in Ottumwa Investigating the mat
rural free delivery routes in Wapello
county, in accordance with the wishes
of citizens who have signed petitions
for the same and forwarded them thru
ment at Washington.
Four additional rural mail routes
starting from Ottumwa have been pc
titioned for. The Courier is informed
by Major Jeffrey that he will recon-
mend the establishment of three of
these routes at once, provided, of
course, that the people along the pro-
posed routes, comply with the present
requirements of the postoffice depart
ment in regard to the establishment of
new rural routes. The fourth route
above referred to, will undoubtedly be
incorporated into one at least of two
proposed new routes that have been
petitioned for to start from the postof-
flee at Agency, so that it looks as # all
the residents of Wapello county who
nave petitioned for rural free delivery
would secure the same upon com
plying with the postoffice department
requirements.
The first of these proposed new
routes from Ottumwa starts from the
South Ottumwa station and runs west
to within two miles of Blakesburg,
thence south to Russell Chapel, thence
east thru Amador and back to Ottum-
wa.
The second route runs north on the
road going out of the city past the
cemetery to the county line, thence
east one mile and half thence south
past the county poor farm thru the
village of Dahlonega and back to the
city.
The third proposed route goes out
thru Phillipstown and north to almost
the county line, then west mile and
then back to the city.
The Requirements Of the Department.
The requirements of the postoffice
department for the establishment of
new routes are that the same shall
pass thru a thickly populated part OF
the country that the people shall agree
to keep the roads in good condition the
year around and that at least 100
United States mail boxes of the form
and pattern now adopted by the de-
partment shall be purchased by the
people who will be served with free
rural mail delivery on each of the
routes recommended. All of these re-
quirements are of the greatest impor-
lance to the welfare of the service
and that in regard to the purchase of
uniform official, locked mail box will
be found on investigation to be Of the
greatest service and value to the peo-
pie who secure the privilege of daily
rural free delivery of mail. Under
the law passed by the last congress,
these official boxes are protected by
the statutes of the United States and
can no more be interferred with than
any other part of the postoffice service
without making the parties respon
sible for the same, liable to arrest by
United States marshals and prosecu
ton in the federal courts. The i'm
mence value to the people of rural free
delivery has come to be recognized
turnout the country and the demand
for the same has simply overwhelmed
the department with applications
Thru the influence of Major Lacey, a
number of applications in the Sixth
district have been made special and
will be put thru if the necessary re
quirements are complied with
The Courier is informed by Major
Jeffrey that the new requirement that
all routes shall be supplied with the
official and uniform lock mail box will
also be extended to those routes now
in operation because of the fact that
experience shows that the service can
not be satisfactorily conducted with
ont them. The following article from
the National Stockman furnishes an
Illustrated description of these boxes
and will be read with great interest by
those people in this part of the coun
try who are now enjoying or who eX
pect to secure the great advantages OF
daily free delivery Of mail.
Rural Free Delivery.
The free delivery of mail matter ir
the rural districts is a system that has
come to stay. The rapidity with which
it will be extended, however, viii
largely depend upon the readiness O.
the farmer to meet the postal anthorl
ties half way, by complying with The
requirements tudI nave peeH ioul'
necessary to facilitate the work ant
cheaper its cost. In articles alread.
published during the present year thu
methods of securing the rural free de
livery route in any community hav
been given in detail and will not be re
peated here, because it is not our pres
ent purpose to urge the petitioning TO
new routes. The reason for this i
that on June /, of this year, there wa
about 1900 routes in operation. /
large number have been petitioned TO
in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebras
ka, Minnesota. Iowa and Wisconsin
running up into the thousands. TIL
appropriation for this service is onl;
sufficient to carry about 5000 routes