Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-12-04
Lack of Patronage Makes Many
of'Them Expensive for the
Government
NOT ALWAYS APPRECIATED
Suggestion That a Number Of Routes
Which Are Apparently Not Greatly
Desired by Those Whom They
Benefit Should Be Discontinued
Thayer's Letter.
Special to Times Republican.

Chelsea, Dec. 4.-The recent publ
has again stirred up the town citizens.
There are over 1900 routes in our
state. The enormous expense, the little
good derived by the farmer and the
detriment to small towns Is again
heard, and in some few instances with
good reason. But in most cases the
benefit to the farmer is greater than
the money outlay, and in almost all
cases the routes are appreciated A
few Gays ago l was In a town where
the population was mostly foreign born.
On one route there were ITO families
of wa!ch sixty-nine put up boxes on
this route. There are carried on an
average, counting circulars, sample
copies of newspapers both In and out,
ninety pieces a day. OF those having
boxes only nine take daily news
paper, four Americans and five of for
eign birth. This route presents an in
don't care enough for it to patronlZe
it. When the recent order was issued
ordering boxes numbered, one man
took his box down, saying he would not
be bothered any longer, and OH another
route not twenty miles away. the car
rier with the same number of houses
has LOG boxes and carries, on an aver
age, 400 pieces per day, has 125 daily
newsp,i pers, and when snow Is deep In
winte. finds the roads broken so he
can get thru. The two carriers travel
the same distance and draw the same
pay, yet one does more than four
times the amount Of business that the
other does.
There will come time when the gov
eminent will enforce the rule as to the
amount of business q rural route must
do or go out of existence. There has
been a tendency since rural routes
came to discontinue fourth class offices.
offices that get per cent OF business
going out but it's seems to many that
IL expenses must be reduced 1t would
be better to cut off some routes which
are not wanted and leave the fourth
class offices alone.
This has been an off year politically
only in the sense that there was no
election. During the last five years
have been thru every kind of an elec-
ton from presidential down to that for
school directors, and have not heard so
much politics talked as I have this
fall ann speaking of the rural man.
Nearly every man takes his daily and
reads 1t. He either agrees with the
editor or goes farther than he does,
and no matter what his politics are
he is for Roosevelt, but when 1t comes
to question of being a stand-patter
or not, he Is very pronounced as to
his views, has his own ideas as to the
in which railroads should be
regulated and will stop any time to
tell you what he thinks Of his con-
And In nearly every case
he says he is sorry that he doesn't
have chance to vote every year as
formerly.
A question which is now bothering
the farmer is how he is to continue
his farm buildings at this
advance of the price of
lumber. Some, in fact, great many
are using cement for most all purposes
where 1t can be put in place of lumber.
Near Scranton the other day 1 saw a
hog house just about completed. 60x24.
the walls feet up were of cement. OF
it the owner said: ut is cheaper and
warmer than an all wood structure,
Will not rot down or boards come Off.
I made 1t all myself. I had the sand
and water and bought the cement. Why
the shingles cost more than all the
rest put together"
Another man had put cement floor
ell over his COW barn floor where tho
planks had rotted out, but found ou:
that his cows got sore knees from ly-
ing on it, so had to tear up the part Of
the floor near the stanchion. Others
have built water tanks and a few set
their corner posts in cement while 9TH
ers have built entire posts of cement
The great advantage of the use of
cement is in the fact that any one can
mix 1t and put it down and while the
price Of lumber has been going UP, ce-
ment has been getting cheaper.
GEORGE F. TTIAYER.