Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-04-30
CAPITAL CHAT.
Rural Delivery Prospects in
Somerset and Waldo.
The Work Of Gov Bur|eigh on the
Public Buildings Bill.
SIow Work on the Naval Appropria
tons Bill.

| tlollS HiNS Deti cotHlnS rapidly from
Somerset and Waldo of late and Gov
Iernor Buricigh has made several re-
quests of the pCstoffice department for
the services of Special Agent Bo,ltelle,
Hon Turner BusweI of Salon has
sent a petition down to Washington.
fur a rural route out of that thriving
village and the governor promptly re-
fcrrcd it to Hon. a. w. Machen. SUPER
intcndeht of the rural free delivery
division. \ map or rough sketch of
the route was also enclosed in the
papers and description of the roads
over which the route is wanted.
In tho last few days the DEPARTMENT
has announced that the three addition
al routes would be established out OF
SkoWhegan IL June, as was announced
to Governor Burleigh a couple Of
weeks ago would be done. When the
pending petitions have all been dis
posed Of there will be a continuous net
| work If routes up along the Kenncbec
from Augusta to bingham Wateryille
and Augusta have been centers for
| rural delivery of mail for quite a time.
| There have also been routes out Of
| SlloWhegan, Madison, ana North An
| son for shorter period Starks. a
prosperous agricultural town, has
petition in, signed by Hon. W. l..
| Walker, 4 member of the LEGISLATURE.
| Already The skeleton of complete rural
| service stretches over kennebec and
! Somerset ana it viii not be LONG before
| the interstices will be filled in. if an
| preparations are increased as is en-
| trely probable The service at Cardi-
ncr will probably be improved before
many months, as the Department now
has Il route out to North Whitefield
and J0ce.
| Over in Waldo. Stockton Springs ana
| Plymouth are asking for more rural
| free delivery service. \ petition from
| Plymouth was forwarded to Governor
| Powers but turned over to Governor
| Burleigh, whose endorsement the Post
Office Department said would be neces-
sary. as the route was to lead into the
! Third district.
| Governor Edrleigh feels much re-
lieved at the termination of the long
and arduous task of framing the omni-
bus public building bill and getting the
same passed through the House The
| hearings and consultations over that
bill have been in progress for the last
| three months. Great care was neces-
sary not to allow public money to be
expended in towns, where the gov
ernment's business was not large
enough to safely warrant it, and at
the same time to adjust the items
equitably among the states. AS one Of
! the leading Republican members of
! the committee, much Of this work fell
upon Governor Burleigh, who is chair
man of one Of the leading sub
committees. Some years ago his prede-
| cessOr, Mr.. Miliken, championed the
construction of a great postofice build
ing, now occupied by the local. post
office and the pcstoHice department,
| just south of Pennsylvania avenue.
1t was Governor Burleigh's pleasure to
urge the construction of another large
granite building to cost million and
half of dollars little farther up the
avenue for the use of the municipal
officers of the District of Columbia.
| But his chief satisfaction is in get
| ting $4,000 appropriation for Au-
| gusta, something he has been working
for the last three years. Every state
capital in the country has a public
| building but Governor Burleigh was
anxious not only that Maine should
have a building becoming the dignity
Of the State of Maine but also that
it should be adequate for handling the
large postal business there, which has
yielded tens of thousands of dollars of
revenue to the federal treasury every
year in the last decade. Nothing was
left undone in the way of statistics and
| statements to show the committee the
volume of postal business that went
through the Augusta Office But at
| the same time Governor Burleigh felt
! that something ought to be done for
Lother points in Maine and he was
equally diligent to have the committee
provide appropriations for Bangor,
| Bar HarbOr and Calais. He was very
anxious to do something for Portland
| but this was found to be impossible.
| A new building for the accommodation
| Of the courts will undoubtedly be
authorized there when the next public
building legislation is undertaken by
the House. The Maine delegation Is
well satisfied to man with what has
been accomplished and the items viii
be looked after carefully when the bill
gets into the Senate.
Senator Hale will be one of the last
to finish up his share of the work on
appropriations this year. He has been
waiting for weeks for the Naval APP
preparation bill, which has not yet
been passed by the House, although it
probably will be on its way TO the
Senate now in the course of about a
week. The House Naval Committee
has proceeded rather slowly in making
up this great budget, carrying $4,000
600. AS soon as the Senate committee
can get hold of it they will likely make
short work of this bill but it has many
important items, which Senator Hale
will look INTO carefully in compliance
with his careful business methods in
dealing with all public questions.
Eut in any event it will be impossi
BILE to get the naval bill passed in the
Senate till well along in May and the
subsequent conferences on it. always
in recent years drag along to the very
end Of the session. There are questions
| this year to provoke controversy in
connection with the bill and these will
have to be fought out, both on the