Arizona republican., 1902-12-03
The Rural Mail.

! Probably one of the most interesting features of the annual report Of the postmaster general is that portion which relates to the rural mail delivery service. Aside from the extension of | the advantages of the mail service to those who live outside of towns and cities-a privilege to which they are entitled-the effect is to increase the value of isolated farms. Not only this but the farmers are put in closer touch with the outside world. The daily newspaper. is delivered on the day of publication and thus the farmers have an opportunity to keep a close watch on the market quotations. In a social sense the rural delivery serves its pur- pose, and the neighboring farmers are kept in constant and regular touch with their friends.
 The daily visit of the mail carrier | especially in the western states, and l territories, where distances to be tray ersed are greater than in the more thickly settled states-is an event only to be appreciated by those who have known what it is to be isolated from ! their nearest town, and for whom q trip of from five to fifteen miles, in or der to secure their mail, was serious matter. Instead of driving into town" once day or once a week many farm CTS are now enabled to save much timc and a trip ito town" once Q fortnight Is sufficient in the busy season.
 1 In many ways the establishment of the free rural delivery has proved to ba of incalculable advantage. In a com mercial sense it means dollars to the producers. The markets are prevented from being glutted, and the farmer can govern his shipments by the state of the daily quotations. In most of the rural districts the mail carrier delivers his daily budget of letters and papers in time for the farmers to discover what the governing prices are, and it Is an easy thing to start for town" at once or to prepare for an early start the next morning. Then it is a saving of money to many, and the feeling of loneliness is being dissipated.
 The United States government never did wiser nor a better thing in con- nectlon with the mail service than the opening of the free delivery routes. The men who deliver this rural mail are among the hardest worked men in the service. In bad weather and in good weather, In the cold and in the heat, they are expected to make their daily rounds without fail, in many instances the little mail wagons are equipped with oil stoves. to be used for heating purposes and for the warming of food carried. No matter how bad the roads, ! the rural mail carrier must start out He is a man whose duties are of the most exacting character, and his pay is altogether out of proportion to his ser vices. In referring to the commercial advantages of the free rural mail ser vice the postmaster general adds:
 "The claim was made that all these material advantages would be equale1 If not surpassed by the social and edu- cational benefits conferred in relieving the monotony of rural life, by bringing city and country into close connection. and giving the farmer an opportunity of keeping abreast with the rest of the world through the daily receipt of his newspapers and correspondence, as had hitherto been enjoyed exclusively by the city man. How thoroughly these features of the service have justified the claims made in their behalf is known to all who are familiar with the operations of the rural free delivery | system