The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1901-06-13
IMPORTANT POSTAL CHANGES
Free Delivery of Mail in Rural District.

| Free Delivery of Mail in Rural Districts.
The starting of the rural free delivery
system by the U. S. Post Office Department
marked an important era in the progress of
improvement of the mail facilities of the
country, and the free delivery of mail by
the star route carriers, which will begin
with the new contracts July 1st, 1901, is a
move in the same direction. The two sys-
TENS are entirely different and distinct from
each other.
Rural free delivery routes are intended
| to bring the benefits of free mail delivery
| to sections not convenient to the post Offices.
| They are located, so far as possible, so as
not to pass any established post Office, but
| where they do pass such offices they do no
! business within so rods of the same The
routes are from 20 to % miles in length,
| starting from the distributing office, passing
| out some country road, across the country
and returning by another road. For i'll
stance, Belfast Rural Free Delivery Route
| No will start July 1st, leaves Belfast
post office on arrival of the forenoon mail
train, goes up the Swanville road to Billings
| Corner, across to Damms Corner, thence to
the Swanville town house, and Beals' Cor
ner; thence across by Waldo Station and
Evans Corner, to Roberts Corner; thence
down by Shorey's Corner and Gurney's
Mills to Belfast. Steel boxes for public use
for the deposit OF mail to be collected by
the carrier are to be put up at Beal's and
ShoreyS Corners. From Belfast to Billings
Corner the route passes over the same road
as the North SearSport stage, and passes the
Waldo Station post office Aside from these
it is away from star routes and post Offices
Rural free delivery carriers do "a general post
office business. They deliver and collect
mail, sell stamps, postal cards and stamped
envelopes, register letters, deliver registered
mail and do money order business. Per
sons living on or near rural free delivery
routes and desiring their mail collected and
delivered are required to provide suitable
boxes for the same, and to locate them by
the highway in such a position that they
can be reached by the carrier without get
ting out of his wagon There are many
kinds of boxes on the market for this pur-
pose, of which the department has approved
II, any of which are under the protection
of the government, and tampering with
them by unauthorized persons is subject to
the same penalties provided for interfering
with the mail while in the post offices or in
the hands of the carriers. 1t is desirable
that patrons of the same route should have
boxes of the same make, as the carrier
would be laden with keys if many different
styles were used. Take for instance, the
Corbin boxes. While all the locks of this
make are different and the key of one box
will not fit another, the ''master key used
by the carrier, will open any Corbin box on
his route. Metal boxes, with approved
locks, and proof against the weather can be
bought of the postmaster or carrier for
from Sl.25 to S1.15 each, delivered If any
box other than the. kinds approved by the
government is used, the mail is considered
as delivered when it it placed therein, and
is no longer under government protection.
1t makes no difference how far from the
route a patron lives OF has his place of bus
mess, his mail will be delivered for him if
he so desires, at any point on the route
where he maintains a suitable box.
The star route free delivery is all entirely
distinct and different system from the rural
free delivery Star routes are the routes on
which the mails are carried between the
different post offices, or the common mail
stage routes with which all are familiar.
Under the new contracts, which go into
| effect for years on July 1st, all star route
| carriers are required to deliver mail along
| their respective routes, subject to practi-
cally the same regulations with regard to
boxes as apply to rural free delivery routes.
| They do not, however, collect mail, sell
| stamps, or do any registry or money order
business officially, but may do such busi-
ness as elrandS for their customers Fol-
| lowing are the sections of the Postal Regula
tions relating to star route free delivery
In addition to carrying the mails to the
| various post offices on the star routes
covered by this advertisement, the carrier
| on each route except where otherwise
| State0) will be also required to deliver mail
into all boxes that may be erected along the
route, under the following conditions:
| Any person living on or near any star
route herein described, and not within the
corporate limits of any town or within 80
| rods of any post office, who desires his mail
deposited in a box on the line of the route by
tne carrier ON Sdlu route may provide ana
| erect a suitable box on the roadside, located
in such manner as to be reached as conven-
iently as practicable by the carrier, and such
persons shall file with the postmaster at the
post office to which his mail is addressed
(Which shall be one of the two post offices
on the route on either side of and next to
the box a request in writing for the delivery
of his mail to the carrier on the route for
deposit in said mail box, at the risk of the
addressee.
1t shall be the duty of the postmaster at
every such post office, upon a written order
from any person living on or near the star
route, to deliver to the proper mail carrier
for that route any mail matter, except regis
tered mail, with instructions as to the
proper mail box at which said mail matter
shall be deposited; but no mail matter SO
delivered to carrier for deposit shall be
carried past another post Office on the route
before being deposited in mail box
The carrier on the star route will be re-
quired to receive from any postmaster on
| ~,