Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-05-08
RURAL FREE DELIVERY
HISTORY OF ITS ESTABLISH
MENT.
Postmaster General Wanamaker',
opposition-The Experiment.

Charles H. Greathouse, editorial clerk of
the division of publications. Department of
Agriculture, has prepared for publication
in the forthcoming year book of the de-
partment history of the rural free de-
livery system. He says
1.-The system of free delivery of mail at
the farm homestead is developing in the
United States by great strides. The first
routes bearing this name were established
on October /. 1896, at Halltown, Uvilla, /
and Chariestown, w. Va. Others followed
at once, and. by the close of the fiscal
year the experiment showed satisfactory
results There were forty-four routes in
the fall of 1897; this number increased to
1913 in 1898, and on November I, 1899, had
jumped to 63i. These radiated from 3S5
distributing points and served population
of 452, 1856 persons. On June 30 l9oo
little more than six months later, the
E,lmber of routes had grown to LIZA for 4
population of SIP, 127 and in the next four
months the system again more than
doubled it's proportions, showing on NO
vennber /. 1900. 2,551 routes for i .eol Oh
persons; and there were also at that GATE
2,15S applications for the establishment OF
new routes.
Continuing, Mr.. Greenhouse says:
1.-The whole of the United States is now
laid out in four divisions for the inaugu-
ration and maintenance of this service
and the work is going forward with stead
lily increasing volume.
THE first appropriations for the service
$4,000 for the fiscal year 1894, $4,000 for
1895 and $4,000 for 1896, were not used
I'm the fact that the appropriations Tor
1S94-96 were not used lies d suggestion OF
an interesting bit of history In the carry
DAYS of the movement for rural free deliv-
cry. Postmaster General John wanna
maker, who. from the beginning OF ms
term, favored this extension of the postal
service, recommended in 1892 that trial
be made of it, and suggested that 1t Wouiu
become complete service throughout the
country. He had already. In 1890 secured
an appropriation OF slo'Voe 1or eNpeIlll tho
tai free delivery in towns not having the
statutory requirements of population ana
postal revenue. had instituted such service
in a number of places, and with an adui-
tional appropriation In 1871 was Keeping uP
the experiment.
Mr.. Wanamaker's Proposition.
.In 1892 he proposed the radical depar-
ture of going into the country with Tree
delivery, and designed nothing less than
carving every mans mail to his home any
where within the borders Of the United
States Of course there must be limita-
lions to this broad general proposition, put
they were not then within Mr. Wanatnah-
er's consideration The subject had peeh
discussed at the meetings of farmers IN
several states The Grange Patrons OF
Husbandry) organizations had passed Ia
vorable resolutions, and the New Jersey
state board of agriculture, after several
years consideration had called upon Con
gress to act Among country people gem
orally such an extension was regarded as
necessary TO a proper development OIL asri-
cultural interests and as simply lair trea,
ment in comparison with free delivery Oh
mails in cities. Mr.. Wanamaker's recon-
mendation was in line with this growing
agitation.
Mr.. Bissell's Opposition.
1.-THE question was taken up by Congress
in the session of 1929 in response to
these calls and first appropriation of S10,-
600 for experimental free delivery of rural
mails was made in a bill approved March
3. 1893; but a few days later Wilson s. Bis
sell succeeded Mr.. Wanamaker as Post
master General, and his opinion was strong
| Nv opposed to rural free delivery. He held
| that it would require 0,000,0OO direct out
lay to maintain delivery of mails on farms,
and that such an expense was NOT "aI-
ranted by the benefits to be derived He
therefore declined to use the appropriation
| or make any trial of the plan. In the next
| Congress- 1893, the House committee on
| most offices and post roads also took Mr..
BsseIl's view of the subject, and the chair
| man. John S. Henderson of North Carolina,
| reported the scheme as Impossible OF exc
| cution. But the farmers were keeping up
! the agita ton, many representatives were
! strongly Interested and in spite of the
| committees adverse report the approprla-
| ton was doubled. Mr.. Bisseil, however,
again refused to act, ana 1t was not liii
| after William L. Wilson became PoStmaS-
/ ter General that anything was done to COM
| ply with the directions of Congress Mr.
! Wilson was appointed in the fall of 1895. In
| his first report he said that he had taken
! charge too late in the fiscal year to under
| take the work. He agreed with his prede-
| cessor, Mr.. Bssell, that the proposal was
| impracticabIe, but he added that if Con-
gress chose to make the money avaviable
| for 1897 he would inaugurate the expert
ment by the best methods he could devise.
4 The response by Congress was a second
| doubling of the appropriation, putting S40,-
| 600 at his disposal.
| The Experiment.
| "J-nder the above authorization. forty
four routes were selected in widely differ
ing localities in twenty-nine states. The
purpose was to make the experiment as
general as possible, and to have the result
represent the working Of the system under
| as diverse conditions as possible. Fifteen
routes were set going in October. 1886. ff
| teen in November. eight in December, three
| in January, and one each in February and
April following. Some of these routes We're
| in the foothills of the AlleghenieS about
| CharIestoWn, w. Va. others on the orai.ieS
| of Kansas and Nebraska some among the
sugar plantations of Louisiana, others
4 among the snow and ice of Grand Isle in
/ Lake Champlain and on the Wind-swept
plains of Minnesota: some were in the
| populous old communities of northern Mas
| sachusetts and southwestern Maine, others
| among the fruit orchards Of Arizona and
the grass lands of southern Washington.
4