The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1901-01-24

In the case of the Hartville service
it was temporarily discontinued be-
cause everything seemed to go wrong.
After it had been in existence a
month the postmaster in reply TO
questions addressed to him by First
Assistant Postmaster-General Jones,
replied that only one person had
changed his address to Hartsvllle to
get the benefit of tn. service, and that
the amount of mail handled had not
increased. A month later he again
reported that the carrier was travel
ing twenty-four miles a day to serve
SO persons. At the end OF the
fiscal year 1897 the cost Of rural free
delivery from Huntsville was found to
average more than 6 1-3 cents for
every piece of mail handled.
| Some time after it had been stop
ped leading citizens visited Washing
ton and prayed for it's restoration.
They said it had never been given
fair chance. Accordingly special
agent in sympathy with the service,
was sent out there to find some route
which would pay. lone was observ-
antly laid out, and the very first
month 1888 pieces of mail were han
died, thus reducing the percentage OF
cost from 6.34 cents to 1.2S.
This is the story of the service
straight through, but it's principal
success yet remains to be detailed.
This is concerning the service III
Carroll county, Nd. The working of
the new system there isof such in
terest that it cannot be ignored be-
cause there the fact was finally set
tied that rural free delivery is the
greatest thing for the Improvement
of the condition of the rural citizen
that has yet been devised. TO begin
with, the conditions of the test were
most severe. The country was Sc
lected because it was mountainous
and difficult to traverse. The most
unfavorable season Of the year
namely, December, lS99-saw the in
auguration of this experiment. Then
the weather was extremely cold, the
roads in poor condition and the mails
choked with holiday packages.
Now" said the government agent,
eff rural free delivery succeeds here
it will succeed anywhere"
The plan inaugurated called for the
discOntinuance of GO of the "a fourth
class postoffices in the county, as
we'll as 33 star routes and messen-
ger services, and the substitution
therefor of postal wagons or trav-
cling postoffices, and 26 rural carriers.
The postal wagons introduced
there and still running are fully
equipped postoftices on wheels. The
clerk in charge sells postage stamps
and stamped paper issues and pay
money orders, registered letters, post
marks and back stamps all mail, and
supplies the rural carriers on outly-
ing routes with mail for dispatch. In
fact these wagons do all the work
now done by presidential pOstoffice
of the first class.
On the morning of December 10,
1899, all the clerks and carriers who
were to carry on the new system as
sembed at Westminster, the chief
town of the county and received their
supplies and final instructions. Each
carrier was given cancelling stamp
bearing the number of his route, and
he was authorized to cancel stamps
collected by him for delivery on his
own route.
The perplexing difficulties and an
noyances usually attending an limo
walton or radical change were, in this
case, greatly added to by the con
certed action of 60 eX-postmasters
who attempted to convince the peO
pie that the killing of their small
postoffices meant the destruction OF
all postal facilities Their wOrI
however, was not of much weight II
the face of the actual service rem
dercd. A complete map of his route
: was furnished each carrier, showing
the location of every residence, ant
to the front doors of these he now
betook himself. From the very first
day each carrier served an average
of 40S families; the postal wagons
= S5S each. They travelled an aggre
gate of S34 miles every day, and
reached considerable over 10, 100 PEG
pie. Where formerly every farmer
had been obliged to travel to the near
est country postoflice, his mail was
; now brought within 176 yards of his
door, at the worst, and, in many IN
) stances actually to the door. This
: created great stir. During the first
month the new service handled $4,000
odd pieces, substantial Increase
over all the business done by the com
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