Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1905-02-24
GRANTS PASS MAIL SERVICE
Four Rural Routes Likely and City
Free Delivery Possible.

having Deen postponed from teDruary
10. owing to the delay in securing a
carrier. VIM. L. Jewell, q son of
Stephen Jewell, farmer living
south of this city, having successfully
passed the examination, has been
given the position and next Wednes-
day he wall make his initial trip over
the route, which is from Grants Pass
by way the lower road to Jump.off.
Joe and thence mp that stream to
the upper road to Grants Pass over
which the return will be made Mr..
Jewell will use a horse and light
wagon on his trips and in addition to
the mail, will carry small parcels and
passengers, the rules Of the rural
service permitting him to do this SO
long as he makes his trips within the
schedule time. His schedule requires
that he leave Grants Pass at a. m.
and arrive back at 8 p. IN. The dis.
tance he will travel will be about "a
miles. One postoffice, Winona, will
be discontinued and considerable mail
that now is handled from Grants
Pass, Merlin and Hugo, will be
handled by this route. 1t will cause
number of lock and call boxes in the
Grants Pass office to be given up by
the holders, who will hereafter get
their mail by rural route But there
will be no vacant boxes in the Office
in this city as they will be taken so
loon as released for there is a greater
demand for boxes than Postmaster
Harmon is able to supply.
1t is quite certain that Grants Pass
is soon to have two more rural mail
routes and eventually will have the
fourth route. A petition is now being
circulated to ask the postal depart
ment to establish a route to embrace
the territory between Grants Pass
and Merlin and west Of this city ON
the north side of Rogue river. The
third route, for which n petition is
shortly to be Giro ulated, is to embrace
the territory on tho south side of
Rogue river to the south and west
of Grants Pass. The fourth route.
which will probably not be petitioned
for before another year. will embrace
the territory to the east of Grants
Pass, the route being on the north
side of Rogue river and back by way
OF the south side OF the river.
These rural routes will add very
considerable to the revenue Of the
Grants Pass postoffice and 10 will
make it certain that the income for
this office will be brought up to the
$40, 600 limit. per year, that is re.
quirod to secure city free delivery
service. The revenue Of the Grants
Paspostoilioe is now only about 5000
short of the limit, which at the rate
it is increasing, will be reached by
the close of another quarter. But to
be entitled to free delivery ser
vice, "A postoflice must have not less
than $40, 600 of income for four con-
secutive quarters, one year, 30 under
the most favorable conditions, 1t will
be more than year hence before
, Grants Pass can secure free de.
livery service. There is no doubt
bat what the city could now be hay-
ing free delivery had all the stamps
used in the city been purchased at tue
Grants Pass postotlice. A number OF
the stores have an extensive mail
order business with tho country dis
-. tricts Of Southern Oregon and some OF
the big stores get in several hundred
. dollars worth Of stamps each year,
some getting more than they can US,
and have surplus to sell to Other
. parties. The money order and regis
try department salso yield considorabl,
revenue and 1t would be- an easy mat
ter for that income to be doubled fo
. the Grants Pass Office by prope
> effort on the part Of the business mel
Of the city, thus hasteniDg their mucl
= needed free delivery service. The
free deliyeryof the mails has become
~ an absolute necessity for Grants Pas
as the city has become so large tina
N the box and window delivery system
" will no longer meet the demands o
ia the patrons Of the office. There ar
Is now not enough lock and call boxe
/. to supply the demand and Postmaste
lR Harmon does not feel that he is justi
[. hed In putting in moro boxes, as h
70 has to do that at his own expense
in while the government gets the entir
r. rental so soon as free deliver
es would be established, the boxes woul
AZ be discontinued and he would hay
OF them on his hands to sell the best Il
OF could. The window delivery has b.
come TO be very serious annoyanC
TO those getting their mail by ii
4, general delivery, for men, womC
ia and children are compelled to fall
i.o line and often stand nearly half q
40 hour, while the mail is being work,
=. and those ahead Of them are beir
,ss served. The growth Of the city h
on place many Of the business men
., such a distance from the postoifi
.ho that 1t il a serious inconvenience
=, them 70 leave their stores or Off
,or and 60 for their mail the three tim
an daily that Is now their rule. II
oniv raiief from this unsatigfaCtO
~ service is to secure free delivery
"a. the mails by carriers The bott'
ment OF this public utility is matt
that the Grants Pass Miners Assoc
tion could well take up aud secure I
IN. operation Of the business men
,,a working TO increase the revenue
'u the postofiice up to tho sl@ 600 a
W. the establishment Of u city Il
l0o. delivery service.