Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-03-15
CONGRESS-.
Work on Appropriation BillS..NeW Rural De-
 livery Route.
Especial to Democrat.)

Washington, March 15.-Congress is still hard at work on the appropria- ton bills. The house has already passed ten out of fourteen and is now considering the postOtfice> appropria- tion bill. The senate has passed seven bills, and six of these are now in con- ference. The work is well advanced and many members of congress still predict that adjournment will come about the middle of April. Still, con- gress is always liable to strike a snag, Last week was practically wasted in the house, when the members talked all the week on the Bristow postodice report This matter is not yet out of the way. The special committee ex- poets to report in ten days, but wheth- CT they can get ready in that time or not remains to be seen.i
 The postoffice bill is liable to cause considerable discussion ill the house, There is an ugly temper among the members and many threaten to do things to this bill. Just how much this will amount to remains to be seen. 1t is not expected that there will be an effort to cripple the ser vice to any extent, although some of the increases are very large. The largest one is in the rural free deliy- cry service, where the sum of $20,- 773,770 is asked for. This is an in- crease of 64.6 per cent, the appropria- tion for the present year being S12,- 621 TOO. This service has grown stead fly each year from 1897 when the amount appropriated was only $1O,OO0 The first real appropriation was in 1898 when congress allowed S50,250 for the service. Since then it has jumped up to the immense sum for for this year.
 There will be considerable discus sion of this rural free delivery section on the floor of the house, especially on the provision that carriers cannot act as agents of persons or firms, but can carry packages for patrons living on their routes when requested to do so. Just how far this provision goes is not known, but it will be changed in some respects. It is aimed at the large de- partment stores, who have used the rural carriers in many instances as their agents. The department claims this has grown up to an abuse and the service has suffered in consequence. The result will probably be that the carriers cannot act as agents for any DuL Stlh SdI1y PuShuSCS AOA LIlCII patrons
 Another important provision of the bill is the one allowing postmasters to transmit third and fourth class matter in bulk by prepaying the postage on the whole lot instead of putting post age on each piece. This has been ask ed for for several years by the manu- facturers and large concerns who send out many circulars and reading matter The sect Sion provides that not less than two thousand identical pieces must be sent out at the same time The Connecticut manufacture CTS and other large concerns have urg- ed their members to favor this provi- sion, and it will probably go through. unless the house decides to curtail out of spite.
 Of the three remaining appropria tion bills only one will cause much trouble Still, there is work enough to keep congress here until the middle of May. There is no reason, how ever, why congress should not adjourn before June 1st, but by doing so con siderable work will have to be left over for the next session.
 Congressman Henry has been noti- fed by the postoffice department that a rural free delivery route Will be es- tablished covering the southern DOT ton of Glastonbury, and also another route covering the southern part of WethersfieId, the service to begin in both instances April 18th. This makes about forty rural free delivery routes in Hartford county, covering about l .OOO miles. Every town on the west side of the Connecticut river, except Rocky Hill, will have one or more ru- ral delivery routes when the Wethers- field route goes into effect.
 Charles G. Phelps, secretary to Senator o. IT. Platt, who has been confined to the house by an attack of the grip, was at the capitol to-day for the first time in three weeks.
 Among visitors at the capitol from Connecticut are: MT and Mrs H. c. Warren of New Haven; Mrs H. r. Boardman and Miss E. M. Arnold of Middletown, at the Arlington.