The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1903-02-06
MAIL FOR FARMERS.
10000 Rural Routes Promised BY
July l. 1905.

July |, 1905.
By John Fitzsibbon In the Detroit Tribune.
Washington, Jan. 2S.-A. w. Machen
general superintendent of the free de
livery system of the post office depart
ment, made the interesting statement
today that by July 1, 1905, the depart
ment expects to have all of the avail
able territory in the United States GOV.
cred with rural delivery routes. This
will mean well onto 10000 routes and
the discOntinuance of an equal number
of fourth class offices. Supt. Machen
has had charge of the rural delivery
service from its inception in 1896, so he
is thoroughly familiar with all of the
conditions under which it has grown.
Speaking today of the rural service gen.
orally and its future, he said:
'"The number of rural routes in the
entire country has increased about 100
per cent during the calendar year 1902.
To be exact, the number of routes in
operation Jan. 1, 1902, was 6.211, and
ON Jan. 1, 1908, 12,473. BY July 1 next
$500 more will be added. The postal
appropriation bill now before congress
calls for sufficient money to establish
10000 new routes for the next fiscal
year, so that by July 1, 1904, there will
he approximately $4,000 routes in the
country. The time when the depart
mens hopes to have rural routes every
where is one year further on. BY every
where mean in all sections where the
population is sufficient so that at least
100 families live along the roads of a
proposed route. One hundred is the
minimum number of families that must
be on route Of course, in scattered
sections. notably in the west, the popu-
latien is so thinly scattered that the
people there cannot hope for rural mail
delivery.
FIRST ROUTE IN MICHIGAN.
This fine growth of the service COW
srs period of less than seven years,
for it was on Oct. 1, 1896, that the first
route was established. The village of
Climax, in Kalamazoo county, got the
first rural route in Michigan. On Oct.
9, 1896, Frank H. Jones, then first as
sistant postmaster general, directed,
upon the. request of Senator Burrows,
that Climax be selected to test the rural
free service, and the service went into
operation from that Office on Nov. LIST
following. Up to the LIST of the present
year the number had increased to GA.
There have been received petitions for
1896 routes in Michigan OF this mum.
Der, 107 have been denied mostly be-
cause of insufficiency of population. BY
the end of April next, ia additional
routes will be established there BY
March 10, next, the department will
have complete rural free delivery in
Ingham and Clinton counties, and the
establishment of complete delivery viii
follow shortly in Kalamazoo, Kent
Hiilsdale, and probably a few othel
southern Michigan counties. All tina
will be necessary is the establishment
of few additional routes in these coun
ties and the rearranging of existing
ones.
"It was only by experience that the
department has been able to have route.
laid out that will afford service to tn,
greatest number of people. Some o.
the earlier routes were laid out so tina
the carrier travelled the same number O.
miles and served good many les
families than he now does with thu
routes rearranged.
There are no exact figures shown.
the ratio of fourth class post offices tina
are being discontinued by reason of tn
establishment of rural routes to tn
number OF routes. Broadly speaking
however, might say that each rura
route displaces one fourth class office
Statistics of the department show tina
the number of pieces of mail matter in
creases from 40 to IS per cent the frs
year rural carrier has route, owe
the number of pieces that the sam
families have been receiving through
fourth class Offices. Here let me rea,
you few things about the service tina
embodied in my recently issued annua
report:
REPORT ON THE SERVICE.
'The continued marked increaf
from month to month and year to yea
in the number Of pieces of mail handle,
by rural carriers is not only. proof tina