Mexico weekly ledger., 1901-06-06
RvRAL FRKz pKLTFERY.
An IzfsEsstzg Ax1zsis l. Es<~s1es
% Tks Ksw syEssz e DsliTsrlzg
MA[lA Wkiek Is Bssszizg
Sc Pspz1Ar.

I TAs-k are tso free rErzl delivery
r1uses o1f q shiS clzE. zna fhsrs vii
b a. has fk-ss zars shaEtiy. and
ths pegple q shis eo1nlF Ell a. be
Interested f. facts and EEzres il refer
e1os . MS nast Popalzr sExsez q
ce'iTgrznE TIE Ezzils.
CUnxTsS hzs tzEsz 4 great sep Il
/ s6Ez1os bg spr-UTEi4tins during is
raosnt sesss1c The saz os s. SO Gse f0r
TIE oazing ge4r1s Wuzk n TIE ngrzl
tree delivery q Hal lnie35sd f0r the
ii1,uer sad outlying agricultural
sactko1s q TIE c1zntEy and % give Il .
1eagEFs TIE sszs zzzl service Il DE-
szehad sections Is Is noE giVe0 %
reSzas1iS within The cites whsre
there zrs letter carriers to deliver and
receive mai sTsrE ezy.
I1czdenaIly IL Is interesttng %
kn9E that TIE free 6llivery system
has ozly been In opeEzs&a1 In the cit
les fo- about thtrty-sve Yszrz, and the
original cost was s50a. 0oo = scar, vhlls
abozt sl5.e1c0g0 Is NOV paid faE its
Eszfntezznce-
Until The p1eseui tine, rUrzl free
6eliFsrT has beeu largely expsrinsat-
Al, b1s II has nov pzssed that stage.
its success Is assured, and il ks q0eS
ton q genErzl introduction on the
lines q establishing cns mute and
gradually extending thrOcghozt all
districts TIE history cf this service
Is nost fnter@tinz- No nngsr zRo
than Iss5, PustnszSter-Gensrzl Bis
sci co0curred IN the oPinign q his as
sistant. Gen JOnes that Tie Depart
nent would not be warranted IN
burdenIng The people with such an
expe1se.~ T5e next year the same
postnzSterEelsral Absolutely declined
to eTpend . snail appropriation q
$1,000 which CozxTex bad made 70
test the feasibility q the schene,
stating in eEsct that If it sb0ald
prove . success it E0uld c0st about
-, 90, 900 annually f0r general intro
dDction. and he did not believe The
people wanted IL It was with 10 sOr-
rog that people living in rural homes
learned that Gen. Bissel had retired
FROM President Cieseland=s cabinet
Notwithstanding the opposition of
the department at this tine, Con
gress tbe next year Appropriated soo.-
900 Tor a test, but Gen. Wilson, who
had succeeded Gea. BiSsell eTsded
any test On similar grounds; but In
1875 Congress again forced the issue
b. appTuprizting 900 for the w0rk.
and Notwithstanding the expressed
nisgiving q Gen Wilson, be was
obliged 70 put the service in motion
To this end he chose foFty-four widely
divergent routes, selected with view
o. difference in physical features and
density a population.
Il would be interesting, bot i'm
practicable, 70 repeat in detail the
history of the service as given On the
earlier routes. Ia some portions of
the country the success was imnedl-
ate and al that could be wished for
By It's promoters, while In others the
recognition Of the service as a con-
Eenienee was tardy, and for one rea-
syn and another not appreciated at
its full worth; bat the result, with
the widely divergent conditions, de-
m0nstrated clearly that rural free de-
livery, judiciOusiy inaugursted, could
be made less expensive and more
nearly self-sustaining than city free
delivery as established in many small
er cities under authority Of Congress.
II was thus made evident that the
general success Of rural free delivery
could only be a question Of time. To
no two persons living In America is
the success Of the successful introduc-
ton a the free delivery more due
than TO the present Postmaster
General, Charles Emory Smith, and
his former able, energetic, and pro-
gressiEe first assistant, Gen. Perry S.
Heath The latter had the direct
charge Of this great undertaking un-
der the present administration, and
what he did with it can be told in a
very few words
Whenever the residents Of any rural
section desire to obtain this new sys-
TEN Of mail delivery, a petition is
signed, and on map is laid out a
route covering about % miles, on
which viii be supplied not less than
100 families. This isforwarded TO the
local Congressman, who endorses It
and sends it to the Post Once Depart
ment, where 1t is put through the
usual routine, and an inspector visits
the locality, goes over the routes, and
Appoints a carrier.
Carriers are paid at the rate OF
600 a year and furnish their own con-
yeyances. These vary in different
parts Of the country; one route has
automobiles where the roads are good
and hard outside Of city limits In
the country around Rhode Island,
most Of the carriers are mounted on
bicycles. On some Of the early es-
tablished routes are smart teams and
delivery wagons.
The rural free delivery has leaped
into instant success, and so great has
been the pressure upon Congress that
from an appropriation Of sl, ~, 900
available last year, they have ap-
proprlated s3,500,OOO for the work
commencing July ] Of this year, and
the extentiOn from nov on viii be
very rapid until the country is one
network Of these routes.