Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-05-03
CAPITAL CHAT.
New Order for Rural Free
Delivery Carriers.
Shall Not Solicit Any Business Of
Receive Orders.
Both the Maine Senators Are Still in
Washington.

lJuly l, next, an entirely new order If
Things as to rural IRE. delivery carriers
will go into operation. After q meri-
lOrable fight In Senate and House as to
what the rights of these rural carriers
should be in carrying ncwspa pers and
packages. the confercees agreed upon 4
provision. which has bee ONE a law OIL
the postoffiCe appropriation bill. That
law, however, does not 90 into effec.
Tin the new fiscal year begins and all
the appropriations made therein for III.
maintenance of the postal service be-
leone available.
| The language Of the new laW reads.
And on and after said date July II
said carriers Snail not solicit business
Ter receive orders Of any kind for any
lpcrscn. firm, or corporation, and shull
not, during their hours Of employment
Ioarry any nero handisc for hire: pro-
IvidCI that said carriers may carry mar
chandise for hire and upon the request
of patrons residing upon their respec-
tive routes. whenever the same shall
not interfere with the proper discharge
of their official duties. and under sTcn
regulations rs the Postmaster General
may I.reScTlhe.'
| Another provision in the same law
reads: "On and after July /, 1907.
letter carriers Of the rural free delivery
service shall receive a salary of not ex-
icecdinS $40 per anEun, and no further
,aIowancc NJ salary shall be made 10
said carriers.
! Fourth Assistant Postmaster General
Bristow, under where bureau the rural
carriers come and VINO Will have the
actual supervision of the cnfcrcem ant
of the new law. said lol;.y ttat it met
with his entire approval ana in the.
course of Il few weeks Mr.. Hristow
said II" Should draw up regulation.
fully specifying how the new law
should he irterpr .tcd in SO far as +
lodges discretion IL the Del artmcnt.
The 11aNimu:c salary to be raid rural
carriers will be $7:o 4 year" said Mir.
| 13ristuw.
That will be for carriers who have
tine longest routes. AS I look at the
matter now, | shall favor fixing the
standard rural delivery route at a GER
tam number of miles. l can not say,
OH hand, what the length of the STAN
card route will be- but it will be made
the BASIS for calculating the salaries of
rural carriers. Where the length of
routes excel the standard route. we
shall probably arrange a scale for high
or compensation.
| Mr.. BrStOw saws that carriers will
be strictly prohibited from ;ic.ing as
agents for any ncwspa pers or BUSINESS
! firms. II is his idea. however, u per
| nit carriers to brI:r packages and
| merchandise from town. whenever q
| farmer or patron long the linz re-
quests this TO be done but the farmer
must ray the carri,c for the service.
according as the matter may be ar
ranged between them.
| The postoffice department must
necessarily fix a penalty for the viola
! ton of this law and also for the viola-
ton of whatever regulations the de-
partnent sees fit to make within the
discretion placed in the postmaster gen.
| cral by the law. What these penalties
Will be Mr.. Bristow is now unable to
say. They viii be fixed with view to
the strict and impartial execution of
the law and the regulations. AS it is
| two months vet before the new law
goes into operation, it may be three or
four weeks and more. before the new
regulations are formulated.
The Civil Service Commission gives
| notice that an examination for clerks
| and carriers will be held at Gardiner
Me-, May ID. The age limit will be for
al positions between is and As years
The subjects and the weights given in
the examination are: spelling copying
from plain copy. geography of the
United States, and reading addresses,
ten points each: arithmetic, letter writ
ing and pcnmanship. 20 points each.
The comptroller Of the Currency has
given notice of his approval of the
First National Bank, OF Boston, as a
reserve agent for the First National
Bank, of Augusta, Maine.
Both the Maine Senators are still in
town and will proba bly, remain here all
Of this week. Senator Hale has been To
the Capitol almost daily. having some
business there still to close out He
has been giving close attention to the
preparations for erecting new office
building for the Senate, which was au-
thorizcd by Congress on the General
Deficiency Bill. During the long debate
on the erection Of that Office building
NJ. Hale had q leading part and he is
interested now in the INCORPORATION in
the structure of certain features for the
accommodation of the public, rs well
as Senators. Mr.. Hale was the first to
suggest that such an Office building
ought to have an audience room. of
sufficient proportions That the public
could generally be admitted when
hearings OF general interest were to be
held.
AT present there is no such room
about the Capitol and most of the COM
mittee rooms are of such small dimen-
sions that hut few spectators can be
admitted. Mr.. Hale believes that at
many of those hearings the general
public has e right to be present and
that the Senate ought to provide ac-
commodations. The hearing of the
case of Senator Smoot is a recent Illus
tration. Outside of the newspaper
correspondents and witnesses. there
has not been room for more than rs
CONTINUED on page 81