The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1903-11-26
Letter from Washington.
Increased Postal Receipts at Belfast.
Rural Free Delivery Routes in Waldo

Rural Free Delivery Routes in Waldo
County.
Especial Correspondence of The Journal
WASHINGTON, D. c., Nov. %. Bel
fast is still growing in business trans
actions, if the increase in postal receipts
is an indication, as is usually the case.
The report of the Auditor for the Post
office Department has just been made
public here and tells its own story as to
the development of many towns and
cities.
This line in the report tells the facts
as to Belfast, which is presidential
Office of the second class. The gross
receipts for the fiscal year which clos
ed June 3Oth last were $S,s44.6O, pref
ty large sum to be spent for postage
stamps chiefly. The office is in gov
eminent building and therefore the
government had no separate charge for
rent, but 70 per cent of the receipts
went for expenses, making total OF
Sc, 1872. "a for expenses and leaving net
revenue of $2,e92.56, which was paid
into the Treasury. The average rate
of expenses to gross receipts in Maine
post offices of the presidential class for
the last fiscal year was 43 per cent, con-
siderably less than the per centage at
Belfast. But the per centage OF ex-
penses was swelled by the $2,629.69
paid for the free delivery Of letters.
The other expenses of the office were
s., 900 for postmaster's salary, s1,5oo.oo
for clerk hire and $40 for incidental
expenses.
Nevertheless all these figures were
an improvement over the previous lis
cal year, when the gross receipts OF the
Belfast post office were ss,49s.24, % per
cent of which, or So, 1929 went for ex-
penses, leaving net revenue for the
government of s2,335.25. The expenses
of the post office that year included 81
600 for postmaster's salary, $1,000 for
clerk hire, 1924 for incidental ex-
penses: and 80, $685. SO for free delivery
of mail
Maine pays large sums for postage
stamps. In the presidential offices OF
the State, during the past fiscal year,
the gross receipts were 1858, 23o.ol, OF
which 1925, 100 went for salaries OF post
masters. s145, 1856. 90 for rent, light and
fuel, so that, after deducting other ex-
penses, there was a net profit OF 1914,
231 20. The figures do not include
fourth class post offices. This net
profit, however, was absorbed IN trans
portation expenses.
Even more interesting than the in
crease in business of the post offices IN
Waldo is the extension of the rural
free delivery. Nearly all the post of
fees in the county are fourth class Of
fees of which no separate record of re-
ceipts and expenditures is kept for gen
eral publication. But Notwithstanding
this lack of large post offices, and few
centers of any considerable population,
Representative Burleigh, since he en-
tered the National House, has had the
country we'll covered with rural routes.
The constant increase of these routes
demonstrates the earnestness with
which he has pressed the work of es-
tablishing them.
The first rural routein Waldo County
Gov. Burleigh had established Nov. 1,
1900, at Searsport. When he was elect
ed to Congress there was no rural route
at all in the county. By August l, 1901,
another route was established out of
Searsport. Belfast also had one of the
early rural routes, one having been put
In operation there July 1, 1901. An
application for another was filed June
25 last and will, as soon as the inspec-
tors and other officials can get around
to it, be passed upon. An adverse re-
port was made by inspectors on one
proposed route at Belfast.
Brooks has four routes, three of
which were put in operation Oct. 18th
last. The first one was started October
l, 1902. Burnham secured its first rural
route Feb. 1, 1902. An application for
another was filed last June and is still
pending. The farmers on the roads adj
joining Frankfort were given modern
mail facilities April 1st last, and those
outside of Lincolnville now have two
routes, one established Feb. l, 1902, and
the other July, 1908. Nov. l, 1902, Mon
roe received the first rural route, and
there is favorable report in for anoth-
er. Stockton Springs was one of the
earliest, having route started July /,
1901. Thorndike had one July 1. 1902,
another exactly year later, and third
October 18th last.
The first route at Unity was secured
by Gov. Burleigh October 1, 1901, since
which there has been an unfavorable
report on one other application and
still another application is now pend
ing. Winterport has two rural routes,
one established Feb. Is, 1901, and an
other March /, 1902. An effort was
made to get rural route into the re
gion around Waldo, but the postal au-
thorities reported adversely upon it.
The same was true of an effort to get a