The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-09-19
BY RURAL DELIVERY
THE WEATHER FORECASTS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED.
Section Director Chaffee Making Ef- forts to Have Daily Forecast of the Weather Bureau
 Distributed.

Weather Bureau is taking steps to nave a daily distribution in the country or the bureaus weather forecasts by means oi the rural delivery mail service wmch will Le inaugdrated in Montgomery on the 1st of October.
 There is no branch of the government service which is of such direct benent to the farmer as the Weather Bureau, and any means of extending the bureau 5 service so that its forecasts may reacn the rural population in time to be or value in their work Is of great impor- tance to tte agri cultural and allied i1- terests of the county.
 yntil. recently tce bureau was much hampered in this work by lack of rapid and regular mail facilities in the rural districts. but. thanks to the rural free delivery service and the cordial co-op- eration of the Postoffice Department the weather forecast distribution Is being greatly extended among the very class of people who can make the most use of the information.
 There will soon be several rural free delivery routes in operation from Mont gomery. Postmaster Buckley and As sistant Postmaster Irwin are in favor of the distribution of the weather fore casts along the rural routes, whenever and wherever the same can be effected. without delay to the handling of resi- lar mail matter; therefore, Section Di- rector Chaffee of the local office of the Weather Bureau. is taking steps to in- augurate this extension of the weather for ecast distribution in this section as soon as the new rural routes from here are started. It is expected that from 5oC to 600 rural addresses in Montgomery xuvin h,,a "a receive fnp weather forecasts daily.
 The forecasts will be stamped on cards and delivered regularly to such persons that notify the carriers that they desire to receive them daily.
 It is also intended to supply the car riers with small weather flags which can be displayed from the wagons, so that any one who sees the passing wagon may find out the weather expected dur ing the next night and day.
 During the freshet season, warnings of rapid rises in the river will also be dis tributed by the rural carriers to such persons as desire them.
 The rural distribution of the weather forecasts through the mail has been in operation for some time from Albertville Birmingham. Anniston, Huntsville and Opelika, and has met with much ap. pItCldtch ny tHc pdtIUHS Ol tllc routes from those places.
 In this connection, the following ex- tracts from a recent report of the Post. master General is of interest:
 'During the past year the depart ment, cooperating with the United States Weather Bureau, has taken steps to pro vide for the delivery of weather fore casts wherever the information can reach the postoffice in time for the preparation of the cards before the carriers leave for their routes. Rural carriers are re- ouired to start on their trips as soon as possible after the arrival of the prin- cipal or most important mail before noon and to return to the postoffice in time to dispatch their collections on the same day. The primary objects of the rural free delivery service are prompt deliv- cry and early dispatch of the mail. To delay or prevent either for the sake of providing weather forecasts would prove detrimental to the service.
 The daily serydtions are taken by the United States Weather Bureau about s o'clock in the morning, so that it is impossible for that bureau to gather the information from it's many signal sta- tions and telegraph it to the postmas asters before 10 or half past 10 o'clock There. fore at present only those carriers are supplied with forecast cards who are detained at the office until after that hour on account of train schedules.
 An investigation made in July last disclosed the fact that about 1000 of the 4,300 rural carriers then employed were held at the postoffices until half past 10 or II o'clock
 This department has learned. however, that it is the intention of the Weather Bureau to devise some plan by which 1t may be possible in the near future to por- vide the other offices with information based upon observations taken during the evening or night before. Such a plan in operation today would enable the de- partment to deliver the daily weather forecasts to about 600,O0O farm families It is sure that the earnest cooperation of the Weather Bureau with this depart ment will produce good results. so that the day is not far distant when the daily weather forecasts will be as gen. erally distributed throughout farming communities as they are in the cities"