Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1905-07-26
BITS OF WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
Some Ot the Things Talked About In
the Capital During the summer.

the Capital During the summer.
An interesting result Of the installation
Of county rural free delivery service is
on exhibition in the Office Of the fourth as
sistant postmaster general in the form OF
completed service. as shown by the de-
partment map for the county Of Lancas-
ter Pennsylvania. In this particular
county the conditions were particularly IA
vorable to the operation OF rural free de-
livery service by reason OF its being densely
populated and we'll equipped with good
roads. enabling an unusually large pro-
portion Of the patrons to receive their
mail directly in front OF their homes The
routes as rearranged and established in
| Lancaster county will conveniently
serve ll,SlS families, at an annual cost Of
Ss7,OlL
The popularity Of the rural service
| continues undated. Hardly a day passes
that the malls do not bring letters Of high
| commentator Of the effects Of the estab-
lishment OF this or that route Some OF
these comment on the line OF fast con-
versions OF the rural towns into cities.
others dwell upon the enhancement of
values because Of the increased conven-
ience, while still others lay great stress
upon the educational advantages which are
being derived from the rural service.
During the last year there have been
nearly 5000 applications received for the
establishment of rural service. Up to the
close of the fiscal year nearly 1900 Of
these had been rejected because Of the fact
| that the proposed routes in the matter
| OF patronage, etc, fell below the standard
required. OF the $500 petitions pending
| at the close Of the fiscal year, nearly
1000 have been assigned for establishment
/ while the remaining $500 are being ex-
amined with that end in view.
On July ! there were S2O5s rural routes
In operation, or 1892 more than at a cor
responding period last year.
To facilitate a more accurate handling
OF the mail by rural free delivery carriers
the Postofice department is arranging for
the numbering of all rural letter boxes
winch under the regulations of the de-
partment are entitled to service, and au.
| thorizing the delivering by rural letter
carriers of ordinary mail matter Of all
classes addressed to boxes by number
alone, so long as improper and unlawful
business is not conducted thereby the
| same as is now permitted in the case of
| postofice boxes. Instructions will be ia.
| sued to postmasters within a short time
| TO assign to boxes entitled to service con.
| secutlVe numbers, beginning with the first
| box reached by the carrier after leaving
the postoftice and a new box erected sub
| sequent to the original numbering will be
assigned the next consecutive number in
use on the particular route.
II all natures extremes in weather. the
intensely hot wave is doubtless the most
costly. 1t is doubtful If temperatures OF
the last week have reached this charac-
terization, but their tendency is in that
| direction. 1t was estimated that the hot
wave OF 1894 cost Iowa alone $4,000. 900, or
nearly double the property loss in the
| Galveston disaster. This estimate was
based upon comparison of the average
value of the states crop with its re-
duced value after the extreme and pro-
tracted heat had produced it's blighting
effects. And this is only one form of the
| financial loss of extremely hot weather.
The efficiency OF the worlds workers, as
well as their health and comfort, is greatly
! reduced.
Extremes OF cold weather usually come
at time when there is little to lose in the
| way of crops. They have been harvested
and are protected, except such articles as
happen to. be in transit and so liable TO
freeze in an extreme drop of tempera ture.
! What the world really wants is Season
able weather." to use a phrase which is
made familiar by the crop reports This
means the average weather of the season,
and 1t is not so much that the average is
ideally desirable as that the public ha s
become accustomed to it, that makes it
the most welcome.
Crops are planted on the basis of season
| "a fhnP A., H..
or early frosts, or belated planting through
spring floods, put the northern rim of an
area devoted to particular crop to a dis.
advantage. Similarly. an exceptionally hot
summer upsets the calculations of those on
the southern line of each great crop belt
Especially is this true of an unreasonable
warm spell in the spring, which starts out
vegetation earlier than the general condi.
tons justify. 1t is almost as destructive
as the extreme hot wave of midsummer
Abnormally warm weather In the sprinl
does about as much damage, in the opinion
of the Agricultural department experts, az
abnormally early frosts.
The difference between a cool summer
in popular estimation, and a hot one 4,
much less, the weather bureau people say
than is generally supposed. The differenc,
comes In the extremes, Thirty days OF
temperature of so make much less impress
: sion on the public than would five days OF
a temperature of So, and the remaininl
twenty-five days averaging enough below s
10 bring the total down TO the same figure
But this is not the way that it usually
works. The hot summer has all the mod
erately, or ordinarily, warm days of tht
! cool summer, with few mountain peak
I of exceptional temperature thrown in, ant
8 It is these that give the season its repu
= tation. The difference in long-distanct
averages between any two summers is sur
prisingly small.
Although drought is generally associates
-, in mind with the hot wave, the two are en-
tirely distinct in their operations. Mos
crops affected by drought alone vii
, promptly revive If seasonable weathe
comes in time, but II their vitality has bee
, destroyed by excessive heat no amount o
moisture can restore them. Corn and cot
/, ton are among the worst sufferers, at
: | critical stage in their growth althoug
= both ordinarily need rather high tempera
q lures.
Need of Insurance.
Chicago Tribune.
The attorney general Of New York is
;. begin suit TO compel the restitution @
= roopevs vyrongfully diverted from the POI