The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1901-01-24
SOMETHING ABOUT
RURAL FREE DELIVERY.
An Effort Will be Made to Get It Here
Petitions Will Be Circulated.
IT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL
All Over the Country--On1y Montana and Mississippi Are
Without I--Loca1 Conditions Are
Favorable.

| free delivery of letters and papers
would be impracticable, as involving
an expenditure of $2O,OOO,OOO a year
without any commensurate revenue
In his annualreport for 1894 postmas-
ter-general Wilson adopted the opin-
ion of his predecessor and of the
house committee on the postof1ice
and post roads, that the plan of estab-
fishing rural free delivery was wholly
impracticable. He added that he had
assumed control of the department
too late in the fiscal year to take any
action under the appropriation, but
should congress see fit to make it
available for the current year, ne
would carry out the experiment or
dered by the best methods he could
devise.
Congress made $4,000 available
for the purpose, and in 1896, Postmas-
ter-General Wilson put the idea to it's
first test. Forty-four places were Sc
lacted and the business of organizing
the new system was placed in hands
hands of the division of postoffice ill.,
spection and mail depredations. In
spectOrs were detached from other
pressing duties to perform this, which
they understood was not really want
ed by the department. They were
hampered by orders which left them
tests in specially selected localities,
whether the conditions seemed favor
able or not. 1t was very evident tina
the whole idea was one of killing the
proposed scheme, and it's superlative
merit ever saved it from destruction.
For instance, the inspector who
started service over three routes
Cairo, Mo-, reported officially that he
had "labored under serious disad-
vantages,' arising from the instruc-
tons of the department and the SLOW
ness of appreciation on the part of the
patrons, who, he said, have only just
begun to realize that it is unnecessary
to await until it is convenient to visit
the postoffice before replying to their
90 respondents"
i At Allensvile, Todd County, KY,
services started by a postoffice in
spector had three carriers in a coun-
try without turning pike roads, town
ship divisions or Il county map. No
body wanted it. Many of the leading
farmers on the routes had business
which took them daily into the town
of Allensville on the Louisville and
Nashville railway, where they fe-
ceived their mail at the postoffice,
and some of them were connected
with the town by telephone. The rest
of the population consisted chiefly
of colored people, many of whom
We're unable to read or write. The SER
vice was an unwelcome gift, and an
embarrassment to those upon whom
it was imposed without their solicita'
ton. 1t cost the first year within Il
, fraction of cents for every piece OF
mail handled, and was finally ordered
discontinued, the whole idea suffering
thereby.
Another inspector, who under III
structions from the department, laid
out a route from Hartville, said in
regard to the character of the people
living on the line of the prescribed
, delivery:
5 Il find that they are not demanding
| free delivery of their mail; their cor
r respondence is largely social in its
3 nature, and question of day OF
!. two in the delivery is of no import
: ance to them. While the majority OF
} the farmers take weekly papers
7 and most of those reside near post
l offices. 1t will therefore, be seen
that the average farmers mail is moi
5 such as to make rural free delivery
, an essential"
f nothing was done until a new admin
lstration came in, when reorganiza
: ton of the territory was ordered. Two
e routes were made out of the Original
: three, and all portions which led by
= impossible roads were discontinued
: New territory, where the roads were
n good. was added, and thus more pa
r irons were served. The whole thing
) was seen to be wrongly handled, and
n that with the intention to discredit it
q Two carrier routes thus revised
served more patrons than three die
: formerly and the system thus reor
e ganized paid from the time of the
i change.