Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-12-07
NAMES RURAL ROUTES.
Their Increasing Business and Other
Interesting Postal Facts,


According to the figures of the Post
office Department. the rural free de-
livery service in Maine falls consider
ably short of being self supporting
The service mas been greatly increased
during the last eighteen months 50
that there are now approximately 3o5
routes tor rural delivery in the State
where June 80, 1903. there were only
las. June 20, 1904. when the last
official figures were available, the
number of rural routes had increased
to 81. Up to that time the total num-
Der of applications for the service was
436. 81 that something over 100 appii-
cations had either been acted upon adj
Versely or were held under considera-
ton.
The department is able to come
pretty clos. to telling what this service
cost in the Pine Tree State over and
above the expenses. The cost of the
rural carriers on the 81 routes in the.
state was. for the fiscal year, $751;
Sl3.o6. These carriers collected a total
of 2.319.303 pieces of mail during the
fiscal year and the stamps on that
matter represented $46,666.l5. This
money came from the stamps on 1879
registered letters. 1915 ordinary let
ters. c49,1 43 post;ils. 1856 papers. 81 .O57
circulars ana 43.772 packages. or a
total Of ISIS. 500 pieces Of mail matter.
1t Is not possible to make any good
comparison with the collections of the
previous year. because of the large
ard constant increase in the number of
routes.
But the department holds that con-
si,i,ratIon should be given the value of
stamps on mail matter delivered on
these routes, when one wants to arrive
at some idea of how much money the
service costs. The estimated value of
stamrs Oh the mail delivered on the
Maine routes for the fiscal year was
So. 1882 When the sum is added to
the valu, Of stamps cancelled on mail
matter collected it makes total re
ceipts of $139.319.9,. Subtract this
from The amount paid for carriers sal
aries and the difference is SIS, 5G5.59. Al
first blush this might seem to be the
deficit OH the rural free delivery ser
vice in Maine. but as an actual fact it
is very much more than that. The
cost to the government of handling the
mail matter collected. by no means
ceases wncr that mail passed from the
wagons of the rural carriers on to its
destination There is expense for
transportation and for delivery. In
the same way there was cost for col
lcctin% and transporting most of the
mil that is delivered by the rural
carriers so that the deficit is many
tiiHes the apparent deficit of SIS
J0a.5.
There is only one county service in
the state, that for kenncbec. with "a
routes. Connecticut has but one
county service, in Fairfield county. but
there is none III any other New Eng
I:,au state New York has thirteen
county services: Illinois has 81.
The delivery of mail on the 81 rural
routes in Maine for the fiscal year WAS
I. Su7.,51. There were 1850 pieces Of
registered mail. 2,ShO221 ordinary let
tiers, 5.19o.?1l papers. ,93S,So4 circui'rs
7!S,241 postal cards. The average de-
livery per month for Maine rural routes
VAS SO registered letters and parcels.
1,3c2.4 letters. 2.26o.1 newspapers, ana
an average total Of 3.5S1.1 pieces.
there are Ills postoffices in Maine?
of the presidential class and 1887 fourth
class offices This is reduction OF 'o
in the number of fourth class offices
as IL we're established during the year
and &C. discontinued. Many of these
diccOntinuanccs were due to the estaD-
Iisbment of rural free delivery routes.
The average compensation PAID to IN"
fourth class postmasters of Maine was
S"41 .42, which is a pretty high average.
A, cancelled stamps furnish the Only
conversation Of fourth class postmaS-
ters ths. amount of salaries paid indl-
cate the extent to which the mails are
used.
The total receipts from postoffices OF
all kinds in Maine during the last MS
cal year was 81, $50, oS.56. which is $1%
for every person in the State. III TINS
Maine ranks as the eleventh state in
the Union Only two New England
state Massachusetts with a per capita
Of s261 and Connecticut with a per
capita Of s2.1S surpasses Maine in that
particular.