The Democratic advocate., 1902-02-01
For a Postonce Building.


A bill is before the committee on Public
Buildings and Grounds of the House of Rep
resentatives for postoffice building for West
minister. Some effort was made to this end
nearly two years ago, but the bill was intro
duced too late in the session to secure passage
Congressman Blakeney is pushing the matter
and it is very probable that Congress will
make an appropriation for building here at
this session.
The present postoffice is in building un-
suited for the purpose and is entirely too
small With the Inauguration of the rural
free delivery system two years ago, more than
sixty postoffices were abolished and about
two-thirds Of the mail of the county is received
at and dispatched from the Westminster post
Office. And mail matter, too, has about
doubled in the past two years. With daily
service more letters are mailed and received
and the number OF newspapers and magazines
received has very largely increased.
There is no prospect Of getting better and
larger quarters for a postofice in the city, un-
less the government builds one, and Westmln-
ster certainly needs better place. The town
is growing every year. New industries are
being added and the population is steadily in
creasing. More than $lO0,0 900 were expended
last year in buildings and public enterprises,
and the outlook for the present year is en-
couraging. There is every reason to expect
the building Of two more railroads to the city
in the near future. One will be steam road
from Washington to Gettysburg, via West
minister, and the other is the Baltimore, West
minister and Gettysburg Electric Railway.
Surveys for both roads are completed and the
rights of way secured, and with the opening
of spring work of construction is expected to
begin. The steam road will very likely have
its shops here, as this place is about midway
of the terminii, and the electric road will as
suredly have large power plant here
These railroads will give Westminster an
impetus such as it has not had since the
Western Maryland Railroad was built West
minister then was very uninviting place,
with plain houses, and was not much more
than a struggling village. Today it is com
pactly built, except on the resident streets;
has college with $50 students and $25O,OO
in buildings; nine churches, six handsome
bank buildings, high-school building, costing
about SIS, 900; commodious and imposing
Court House, many large and handsome resi-
dences, sixty-six manufacturing establish
ments, wholesale houses, the handsomest dry
goods stores in the State, outside of Balti-
more, an $4,000 Fire Department Building,
two well patronized summer resorts, two water
companies, ice manufacturing plant, abbattolr
and cold storage company. two telephone
lines, telegraph line, gas and electric light
plants, and excellent hotels, one of them
costing $4,000. There are also theologi-
cal seminary and two well equipped and up to
date printing offices and two widely circulated
newspapers
The growth of Westminster, and rapid
growth, too, seems assured, and with this
growth the demand for postal facilities will
increase AS the city enlarges property will
advance in price, and the government can
build more cheaply now than later and can
obtain more available site now than here
after. Besides, the government owes West
minister postoffice building. A citizen of
this place conceived the idea of free rural de-
livery, designed the first mail wagon, superin-
tended its construction, and acted as mail
clerk on it until the benefit of the system was
developed and demonstrated to the satisfaction
of the government When the system was
first made general for the county, it was i'm
perfectly planned, and the people bore the in
convenience until the improvements were
made 1t was here the free rural delivery
ystem was developed. 1t is here that post
masters from all parts ofthe country come to
observe its workings and learn the system.
And it is here that large, handsome, con-
venient postoffice building is needed-one to
meet the demands ofthe postal service, be in
keeping with other handsome buildings, and
be fitting monument to mark the place of
the beginning Of free rural delivery in the
United States. No better use of some of the
surplus in the federal treasury can be made
than putting fifty thousands dollars in post
office building for Westminster.