Daily Kennebec journal., 1901-11-30
RURAL MAILS.
What Inspector Cookson Saws
About the Free Delivery.
thinks the Service in Maine Of the
Highest Order.
Most Energetic and Intelligent Carriers to be
Found in Country.

~ VI. tookSon, The. government in
| spector "t the rural mail routes in tbi,
division of the country. who has iust
| completed his inspection Of The. Main,
loutes. is just the kind of a man TN,
.iIlNer Of the country mail wagon likes
10 meet Good looking, enersetic. in
| rove with his work, patient and even
| tempered, ne makes 4 good impression
| wherever he goes. The rural mail ear
ricrS nave Saio lots of nice things about
| h!ni during his stay IN Maine but the
| compliments have not All been ono
| Sided. inspector cookson says that IN
| the mail carriers he has met. on the 81
Maine routes he has covered in the last
| three months. are intelligent men. Pop
ular with the residents along thei.
| routes, obliGinG and thoroughly III sym
patny with The governments method
and plans.
Inspector CooiIson is a native 81
fortland. a graduate OF the Portland
High school in the class of 1885,. iii;
hca luuart"rS are in New York. r.. be
gan his INSPECTION of the Maine rural
routes the latter part OF August. ana
covered his last mile in a mail wagon
ON Tuesday. His duties are to report
to the department progress of .stab-
lishnent of new routes. the percentages
of increase in matt handled on the Va
rious routes. The number OF miles COW
cred by each carrier and the fitness III
the men engaged in the service. lie is
also expected TO inNestiSat. anC ~
port on all complaints received by the
department i'll relation 10 the coll-c-
ton or delivery ot mail in his diStlic,.
Som" Of the first rural mail routes
established in til" United States are I'm
Cumberland county" said inspector
Cookson. and Maine service is a mou.l
on". Beng Maine bonn. ! suppos, ! am
naturally inclined to praise. Main. n.rit
but ! truly SAY thar no state in the dis
trict in which my duties liz is better
served ny a more energetic and intr,lic. nt
corps III rLral mail carriers than Maine.
! hay" found. too, that III, people h,rr
fully appreciate what tac government ~
doing in this line Their apprccial.,5
is shown Ill thv steady ncr,a4, Nj
patronage. and the increase in receipts
OF the postotIicy~ from which th" routes
div"rge.
"onc thing which has been Source ut
bother is the lack of uniformity IN tlo
placing Of individual mail boxes TIE da>
Of tn" salt huN has passed! and in ordc.
70 secur" III" protection Ana -Itieluctor.
service that the government aims 1" give
patrons uf the rura, mali .rrrirr~ must
provide themselves with suittb. r~crp-
tdclcs for their mail They must rruvidc
letter boxes approved BY the poStofiicc
department. 50 located urar the highway
that thc carrier can reach them tu dcposi:
and COLLECT mail without dismountine
from Ills conveyance. Eural carriers AIN
not required 10 deliver mail to houses not
i,nmt diatcly on their routes. except H.
case of registered mail. pension letters
ANA special delivery letters.
People with whom I hav, talked hlr..
generally expressed their Willingness t.
proVid" the required mail boxes but they
SAY that they don't know what kind OF a
box q buy. or where to bay one IN such
cases 7 have l,ro1 idcd them with copies ol
the list OF patcn. LoXcs approved w I'll.
commission which the postmaster general
appointed last February to cxamr, ana
recommend rural free delivery boxes.
There are II III the list. Government HUI
taChcS are EOt allowed to advertise cr
specially recommend any particular hox
IN the list. OF coarse if there could -"
uniformity in tho selection of boxes. It
would be much better for the carriers
ana that could BE- brought about. | sup
posv. Ii the residents along each route
should choose a committee to examine
the various samples ana recommend .
Uniform kind.
"-Aftcr any one Of the II boxes approved
By the department is located. the govern
ment protects, just as it docs strcct |
mail box in a city, the maximum pcnalt.
for tampering with it being $l"oo fine ana
three years imprisonment