The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1902-02-18

49, &t& $3.50 $500
cry system in sections where roads are
into good condition Of these roads
The tine has come when the men
who stand up 10 represent the people of
North Carolina must show thai they
stand for something that is Of vital in
terest 70 the people in their homes"
As 20 the influence Of good roads upoa
the school system OF our State. the
speaker said that. when he. as a young
man, used 10 teach. the trouble was that
The childrn would not attend. The
trouble was not in the length Of the
term, but in the fact that the little
ones could not attend. II believe said
he. that q little over % per cent OF our
children are able 10 attend school now.
There is not but one side 10 this
question. The only question is. vii!
the people take hold OF tie matter"
In the east. said Mr.. Pou. the expen-
aiture OF q very little money, simply 10
raise the roads a little more so that they
could be drained. would he Of the utmost
benefit 10 the people there.
Mr.. Pou concluded by presenting
Hon. A. ". Machen, superintendent or
the Rural Free Delivery Service.
SUPT. MACHEN'S SPEECH.
Mr.. Machen said thai the school. the
postal service and good roads were the
most effective means by which the peo-
PIE might enjoy the blessings Of life.
Wl,hout education 2 mail service would
be useless. and without good roads q
modern, uptO date rural mail service
could not be brought up 10 the standard
required.
lie spoke Of the great work Of Presi-
dent Andrew Jackson for the postal
service of the country. A few years
ago President Mckinley was discussing
with Gen. Lee the best methods Of
reaching the people Of Cuba. Gen. Lee
said: Give them q good postal service"
Mr.. Nachen gave a history Of rural
free delivery. showing how something of
the kim had been in existence in Hol-
land and other European countries since
1929. In 1891 il was determined at a
council IN Vienna to establish a rural
free delivery. When news of this was
brought 10 Gen. Wannamaker, then
Postmaster General. He saw that in
this country, with poor roads and a pop
ulation widely scattered, it would be
difficult TO establish such p thing uni
Versally. However, he asked for So
900 from Congress, and it was granted.
but never drawn. Still Congress con
tinued the appropriation, and in 1896 In
creased it to $40. 900, in the absence of a
recommendation from the Postmaster
General. Hon. W. L. Wilson considered
this as almost mandatory and gave or
ders for the work to go on.
In October, 1896. the first route was
established at Charleston, West Vir-
ginia. From then on the strides were
great, until by July 1at, 1899, there were
! POO routes established, With $450, 900.
BY July 1st, 1901, 1900 routes in opera
tion with an expenditure of three mil
lions and a half. Today, working under
the same appropriation, raised a week
ago to So, 900, 600, We have 5000 carriers.
Yesterday the committee completed the
bill for the next fiscal year, and al
though only Sc, SOC, GOO was asked, $7,519,-
GEO was appropriated, and il is said that
some Of our enthusiastic Southern mem
hers Will make this $40, eco, 090 when
the bill gets on the floor Of the House.
The speaker enumerated the various
ADVANTAGES Of the system and added:
Il have often wondered why it was
that the people Disseminated for so long
against the farmer, and / am inclined to
think that, il 1868, whom the city mail
delivery was established, there was
something in the complaint that it was
class legislation
Mr.. Machen described very graphical
" the difficulties in the way of the
farmer under the old system, and COM
pared this with the conditions now.
Coming to the relation of good roads
to the rural free delivery. Mr.. Machen
said:
This service, to be efficient, must be
p%unctua1. That kind of a service can be
maintained only with good roads. Good
roads are Indispensable to an ideal ser
vicevice Of the rural free delivery sys-
tenn.
when we began to receive messages
from different localities TO the effect
that the carriers were not able TO get
ont on account of bad roads, we thought
that perhaps we had been too lax IN not
holding TO the original requirement that
no route should be established except
where the roads We're passable. AS a
result the Rural Free Delivery acted IN
its turn as a lever for the establish
ment of good roads"
Mr.. Machen then gave a very COM
p~rehensiye account of the work done by
the department toward improving the
roads in sections where the system was
already established. He told of one road
who, when he received the
letter from the department calling his
attention to the condition of the reads
in his county and stating that the sys-
tenn would have to be discontinued IL
the roads We're not improved, tore UP
the letter, saying that the department
in Washington had nothing to do with
road business. But the patrons or
The service had received similar letters,
and the next Sunday after church the
road Supervisors yard was roWde with
men. all ready 10 helm bring up the
to the requirements demanded.
The speaker paid a tribute TO the
work of North Carolina's Senators and
Coneressmen in their insistence TO get