The Delta independent., 1904-10-21
Rural Free Delivery Service Of Inca|cu' able Ben
. eft to Farming Communities.
DEMOCRATS WORKED HARD AGAINST It
FIatIY Refused to Obey the Mandate of Con-
gress to Establish Routes, but Are
Now Claiming Honor-Rec-
ords Compared.
population should share In the improvement

population should share In the improvement
OF this service.
Roosevelt's Recon, mend altos.
In his last annual message President
Roosevelt again called attention to the
Importance Of the rural free delivery
service. saying:
The rural free delivery service has been
steadily extended. The attention Of Con
Eress ls asked to the question Of the COM
pensation Of the letter curriers' and clerks
engaged In the postnl service. especially on
the new rural free delivery routes. More
routes have been Installed since the LIST of
July last than In amy like period In the
departments history. While a due regard
TO economy mr.t be- kept In mind In the
establishment Of new routes. yet the ex-
tension Of the rural fre--delIvery system
must bc continued for rrasons u round
public policy. No governmental movement
mediate ienefit I" the people of the coun-
try districts. Rurui frce-deIivrry. taken In
connection with the Telephone. the bicycle:
and the trolley, accomplished. much toward
iessening the isolation of farm life and
making II brighter. and more attractive.
In the Immediate past the lack Of Just such
more active and rrstles. young men aud
women from the farms TO the cities. for
they rri'~lied at Ioneliner. and lack Of
mental coinpa nionrhip. II IL unhealthy and
undesirable for the cities to grow At the
expense of the county. and rural free de.
m-ry Is not only good thing In Itself.
II
which check this unwhoieeotne tendency
toward the urban concent ntration Of our
population at the expense Of the country
dist rictH.
The foregoing quotations are sufici-nt
to show that Republican executives real
i1ed the Importance Of the rural delivery
system Ia the farming communities and
did everything in their power to extend
II. During President McKipley's first
fs.rV, Sab ttsl., ~ tl
given sr,'h an impetus that by 1900 the
service Lnd rass-d far beyond the expert
n,en;nl siege and Congress had approp
RATED $35bwO for maintenance Of the
r"utcs ihsn In operation. These routes
numi--'-i ! l.2II At the close Of Mckin-
!cy's i-~t term. hut many other. had
been surveyed and were ready to lie
established. The service becnmc 80 pop
ular that farmers flooded the pos, once
department with petitions for new routes.
CORPS Of insps-tor~ were appointed. divi-
si"ss were created. superint-ndrnts plac-
r'i In charge and the s-rvic. was put on
n nn th"dical business basis.
Routes Now In Operation
Tue system has bc~n 80 rapidly e1.
tended under President Roosevelt that
C"nere~. this year appropriated S2i 600. :
on for tie service. ~hich now -m.
hrrrc> approximately -. $50 routes,
"iflrr in operation or about to be ~stab-
ls,ic'!. These route. are scattered Over
all the Sat'~ and territories. a. will
i-c strn by the following table. which
gives the total number of petitions re-
ferresi for examination aud Investigation.
ih" r'u,es In operation on September
II. 1901. and the number Of petitions
ps.ndinI on the same date: