Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-11
POST OFFICES CONSOLIDATED.
All in the District Will Be Branches
of the City Office.

The most important recent extension OF
the postal service in Washington is about
to be consummated by the merging OF all
the separate post offices within the limits of
the District of Columbia with the Washing
ton city Office. There are five post offices
besides the city office in the District of Co
lumbia, and three Of these will be officially
wiped out of existence next Monday, and
from then on they will be merely postal
stations of the city post office. These three
offices are Benning, Deanwood and Kenil-
worth. The other two are Langdon and
Winthrop Heights, and Postmaster Merritt
has recommended to the first assistant post
master general that the free delivery serv-
Ice be extended to include both Of these, to
take effect April /, and that both offices
be discontinued as separate post offices and
be made stations of the Washington city
post Office. While no action has yet been
taken on this recommendation, 1t is prob
able that 1t will receive the approval Of the
department. When that Is accomplished
every Independent post Office in the District
will have lost its separate status and be
part and parcel of the city service, and the
free delivery service will embrace the entire
District.
All of these places are fourth-class post
offices now, except Langdon, which Is
third-class office, and therefore subject to
presidential appointment. Benning will be-
come, beginning Monday, a branch station
Office Of the city post office, and the free
delivery service from then will be pere
formed for the first time in the territory
east Of the Anacostia river and north or
Pennsylvania avenue. The off1ce will be
given the regular equipment Of free de-
livery post Office with money-order and
registry facilities and postal supplies gen.
orally. There will be two city letter car
riers stationed there, and in addition two
rural carriers will perform the service from
there out beyond the District line into
Maryland.
The present post office Of Deanwood and
keniiworth will be known, beginning next
Monday, as post Office stations 81 and g.
respectively, of the Washington post Office
They will be provided with facilities for the
usual money order, registry and other sup
ply business Leila M. Shaw is the post
master at Benning. and she will continue in
charge Of the station under the new regime
Milla Merchant, the postmaster at Kenil-
worth, will also remain in charge of that
place. Postmaster U. T. Broadus Of Dean
wood, however, will go out of the govern
ment service when his Office loses its in
dependent status. He was given an oppor-
tunity to remain in charge Of the station,
but he declined to accept the proffer, and
will devote himself to private business.
The reorganization Of the postal system
of the District is the work of City Post
master Merritt. When he assumed the post
mast ership he brought with him an expert
knowledge Of post office matters. His first
step was the extension of the free delivery
service to Anacostia, and the benefits of
that change were imme diately demonstrate
ed. The next important step was taken
about year ago, when, through his efforts,
the department brought the post offices of
Brightwood, Brookland and Takoma into
the city service.