The Holly chieftain., 1901-07-05
Rural Free Delivery.

Postmaster General Charles Emory
Smith describes the new system Of
rural free mail delivery as follows:
I'VE are now carrying the postofiice
to the door of 81 100000 of people
mnssed in towns and cities. The task
[ before us is the postotlice to the door
/ of about 2l.CO0.ooo. scattered over l.
. 100000 square miles of territory. Its
/ magnitude is not TO be underestimated.
I England. France and Germany make
/ .ural free delivery, their postmen GO
, ing on foot. But England contains
I 5G.SG7 sauare miles. France 204, ,O92,
/ and Germany 2OS.S30. 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 2l,UO,ooO to be
+ served. What has already been sub
/ stantially accomplished is certainly
capable of sixfold expansion.
"On the LIST of July. 1899, there We're
I S9l rural delivery routes in operation.
/ Within the fiscal year, under an appro-
1 priation of $4,000. this number was
increased to 1.214. On the 1st of July,
/ 1900. the appropriation of 81, 10000,
became available. and on November
10Th 2.Gli routes had been located and
established. 61.9T9 miles in aggregate
length. covering G6,S42 square miles,
divided among forty-four states and
territories. and serving n population
of / sol .524 The number of applica-
tions pending at that date and await
ing action or under investigation was
more than 2,1OO-nearly enough to
double the existing service-and every
lay brings more. hTe close Of the
present fiscal year will see about 1900
routes in operation. carrying the mail
daily to the doors of not less than 81
100000 residents of the rural dis
tricts'
To get rural delivery 100 families
have TO agree to certain conditions and
put up suitable boxes to receive mall.
In Colorado, six routes were estab-
lished prior to May !. 1900, when the
western division was organized
Twenty-scven have been established
now pending awaiting favorable
weather for their examination. Wyom-
ing has four routes in operation and
only one application pending. The
great mass OF applications for rural
free mail routes come from the states
of Iowa, Kansas. Nebraska, Minnesota,
Texas and California. OF the 1900
cases waiting to be passed upon, more
than LOO are in these states.
In May. 1900, the United States was
divided into four divisions with Den
yer MS headquarters for the western,
which takes in all the states west of
the 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.
min is a well-known newspaper man
, Of the East and has had a large ex.
perience with men and affairs. He IL
thoroughly business like in his meth.
DDS of work and his division demands
great executive ability as It covers
more than half Of the United States.
: When even the isolated parts of the
/ country are brought In such close con
tact with Washington by this ramified
4 mail service the United States will as
similate its foreign populations ever
more rapidly than It is doing it now
making the Inhabitants from Maine t.
California kin in many senses Of th<
Uord