Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-12-02
RURAL DELIVERY.
Kennebec County Free Service
Practically Complete.
Only 60 Counties in the Country Are
Thus Accommodated.
Congressman Burleigh Untiring Cham
pion of New Service.

The report of the first assistant
postmaster general, recently issued.
contains some very interesting in
formation fDr such as desire to learn
aboutaYNrafffreeg delivery. Presum-
ably th&srdlpl4 o. Kennebec county.
where p4ans are being made to estab-
lish a county system in the near flu
ture. will be pleased to learn that they
are to be among the first to receive
such a complete system for which there
il go great a demand. Among all the
pcpulous counties in this broad land
there are but 6S county services now in
operation. Moreover Kennebec will be
the first county in this State to secure
the advantages of complete and
thoroughly mapped county system of
rural delivery. All this in face Of the
fact referred to in this report that
fully 200 counties, mostly in the
Middle West have a sufficient number
OF routes in operation to make the
completion of service only a question
of laying out few more routes,
possibly not more than ten to the
county"
That Kennebec county's claims
should. among all these, be Of the first
to receive attention is undoubtedly
due TO the urgent presentation of those
claims by Congressman Burleigh or
this district. the department undoubt-
eddy recognizing the fact that from
the first he has been an untiring cham
piOn Of the new service.
Referring to the results elsewhere of
the Introduction OF rural free delivery
the report says: "The continued
marked increase from month to month
and year to year in the number of
pieces Of mail handled by rural car
riers is not only proof that the people
were prompt to take advantage OF i'm
proved mail facilities brought to them
by rural free delivery when it was
first established, but also conclusive
evidence that the use of these facilities
increases rapidly az their benefits be-
come more generally felt by the resi-
dents OF the rural districts. When the
first experiments of rural delivery were
installed the phenomenal increase in
the volume of rural mail was at
tributed generally to the newness and
novelty Of the service, and its oppo-
nents confidently predicted that these
wonderful increases would disappear
az the service became settled. After
two or three years, however. II Is
found that the initial ratio of increase
has not only been maintained, but in
many instances raised. This leads to
the conviction that with the completion
OF a universal rural service the volume
OF mail will have reached such pro-
portions as to insure sufficient addi-
tional revenue to support the SER
vice"
On Nov 1st the number of rural
routes established was 1850. the car
riers on which are travelling daily 10
ono miles The area covered by these
routes is fully 900 square miles.
Taking the Carroll county service in
Maryland, the first county service to
he established as a basis of COM
parison ii Is found that in 1902 the in
crease over 1901 was as follows: Let
tiers Is per cent; postal cards about Il
per cent: newspapers and periodicals
per cent; circulars 120 per cent;
packages a little less than 35 per cent.
and registered letters delivered 23k
per cent The report says of the great
Increase in circulars that it is most
significant as an evidence that rura!
free delivery is attracting the ad-
teTtlSIilR DuSIItSS as "a
through which to reach a new field of
trade
Continuing the report says: THE
wonderful showing made in the num-
Der Of circulars collected"-157 per cent
over the number collected by the rural
carriers in Carroll county in 1901
signifies that country merchants have
not been slow to use the rural mail
service to place their advertising mat
ter in the hands of their country
patrons" ,
According to the report the saving
effected by the discontinuance of star
routes consequent upon the introduce
ton of rural delivery has since
January 1901 amounted to nearly half
a million dollars. From November l.
1901 to Oct. 81. 1902 there were 1868 star
routes discontinued, the annual cost of
running which amounted to $2I5, 469.95.
or these, y in Maine were discon-
timed. The annual cost of which
amounted TO $3.61S.7S. In this state
during that time there were 3S post
offices discontinued. the annual COM
pensa.ion for running which was 49,
CSC. sc.
A noticeable and very important fea-
ture of the rural service is the conse-
Quent growth in the use of registered
letters and money orders and the De-
partment recommends the adoption of
a plan whereby the payment of money
orders by rural carriers in addition to
the issue of such by the carriers. The
past year there was an incease In the
number OF money orders issued by ru-
raj carriers. as compared with the pre-
vious year. of nearly so per cent.
A pertinent illustration of the urgent
demand for increase in the rural SER
vice Is found in the fact that to Oct. Is.
the number of petitions that had been
filed amounted to 24.S59 OF khich Maine
contributed 24s.-
The personnel of the rural carriers
who ROW are under the civil service
law is said to be quite gratifying. Out
OF Sa66 only 81 We're removed from the
service during the year. The depart
ment recommends an annual leave of
absence for them such as the letter
carriers in the cities have.
or the civil service examination the
report has this to say:
The examination to which appli.
cants are subjected is by no means