The Springfield herald., 1901-07-05
Rural Free Delivery.

Postmaster General Charles Emory
Smith describes the rev system OF
rural free mail delivery as follows:
I'VE are now carrying the postotfice
to the door of 31,OOO,OOO of people
massed in towns and cities. The task
before us is the pOstotfice to the door
Of about 21,OO0.OOO, scattered over l.
100000 square miles of territory. Its
magnitude is not to be underestimated.
England, France and Germany make
rural free delivery, their postmen 60
ng on foot. But England contains
DS67 square miles. France 04,092,
md Germany 2OS.S3O. We are al
ready covering with rural delivery a
larger area than England, all effected
within the past two years. BY the
end of the current fiscal year We shall
reach one-sixth of the 21,OOO.OOO to be
served. What has already been sub
stantially accomplished is certainly
capable of skiold expansion.
''On the LIST of July, 1899. there were
391 rural delivery routes in operation.
Within the fiscal year, under an appro-
oration of $45OOOO, this number was
increased to 1,214. On the LIST of July,
1900, the appropriation of $1,15O,O0O,
became available. and on November
18th 2,614 routes had been located and
iength, covering 66.S42 square miles.
divided among forty-four states and
territories. and serving a population
IF 1901 .524. The number of applica-
ions pending at that date and await
ng action or under investigation was
more than 21O0-nearly enough to
1ouble the existing service-and every
lay brings more. hTe close of the
present fiscal year will see about 4,3O0
-outes in operation, carrying the mail
daily to the doors of not less than B.,
100000 residents Of the rural dis
Ticts."
To get rural delivery 100 families
AVE to agree to certain conditions and
put up suitable boxes to receive mail.
IN Colorado, six routes We're estab-
ished prior to May /, 1900, when the
western division was organized.
rwenty-seven have been established
;ince and petitions for eighteen are
low pending awaiting favorable
weather for their examination. Wyom-
ng has four routes in operation and
,nly one application pending. The
sreat mass of applications for rural
rec mail routes come from the states
,f Iowa, Kansas. Nebraska, Minnesota,
Texas and California. OF the 1000
cases waiting to be passed upon, more
.llan l.ipV are III lllese StdteS-
In May, 1900. the United States was
livided into four divisions with Den
;er as headquarters for the western,
which takes in all the states west of
he Mississippi with the exception of
Missouri and Louisiana. William E.
Amin is the special agent in charge
With nine agents in the field under the
direction of the department. Mr.. An
lin is n well-known newspaper man
If the East and has had large ex-
1erience with men and affairs. He is
thoroughly business like in his meth
IDS Of work and his division demands
sreat executive ability as 1t covers
more than half of the United States.
When even the isolated parts of the
country are brought in such close con-
act with Washington by this ramitied
nail service the United States will as
;imilate its foreign populations even
more rapidly than it is doing it now.
making the inha abitants from Maine to
California kin in many senses of the
word.