Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-03-12
HAS COME TO STAY.
Rural Free Delivery Is An Estab.
iished institution.

The government printing Office has
recently issued pamphlet which car
ries on its title page the announcement
and assurances of the permanency OF
the rural free delivery service. 1t con-
tains extracts from the presidents
message to the second session of the
Fifty-sixth congress and from the re-
ports of the postmaster-general and
his first assistant and points to the re-
commentators contained in these re-
ports that there may be no misunder-
standing in regard to the continuance
OF rural delivery as permanent sys-
TEN of postal administration.
The special agents on the western
division report that on their territory
which comprises all of the United
States west of the Mississippi river,
Minnesota, Missouri and Louisiana, in
Kansas the development of the SER
vice has been such that its universal
adaptability to the rural conditions
of these states seems to be impera-
lively required. In the opinion of the
agent in charge this will call for re-
adjustment of routes. Routes origi-
nally laid where an isolated service
was called for, now conflict with
those demanded later and he urges
that, in view of the certainty Of the
general extention of the service, that
every route to be established should
be considered as part of the coming
general system. The later routes
should be laid with view to other
/ routes and older routes adjusted to
meet the requirements of logical,
| systematic business delivery of rural
mail
The last report of the postmaster
general states that rural delivery is
past the experimental stage and the
future of this branch of the service
can hardly be imagined. 1t will likely
result eventually in the discontinue
ance of hundreds and thousands of
the village postoffices. The carriers
of course have vehicles and they car
Try all of the supplies found in a post
office. The routes are twenty-five
miles in length and not less than, a
hundred houses must be situated on
"a route. The instructions are to es-
tablish routes on a basis looking to
their permanency.
The service has proved to be quite
expensive and is madea matter of con-
graduation. The examples are given
1 from each of the four divisions of the
service to show the actual net cost of
free delivery in these localities. A
route at Hammond, N. Y, absorbed
two rural postoffices and a star route
that had cost a total of s462.S7. In
this case the net cost of rural service
lis $37.31; at Stockton, ILL.,, two routes
4 involved a gross expense of $1,000
Two postotfices and two star routes
Operated at cost of S700.S3 have
been discontinued, leaving the net
cost of the two routes, $299.17, or
$149.5S each; at Usage, Mitchell coun.
lty, Iowa, one carrier is employed at
a cost of $500. The gross cost of the
|postoffices and the star routes alb
sorbed was $341.50, making the net
cost of the rural delivery, $15S.50, or
something over thirty cents per year
to each of a population of 500 The
state of hot winds and Mrs. Nation
provides the greatest example, how,
ever. AT Baldwin, Douglas county
Kansas, five postoffices and one stal
route were absorbed by the carrier
service. The expenses previous tc
the Inauguration of the free delivery
had been s657.13 annually. It will be
Iseen that in this case net saving OF
i$157.37 is made by the new system
lover the old.