The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-07-23
'AUTOMO.BI.l|..E:F0R||i|..
RURA | | ] |! \ E|:..||;|.' {!
CLIMB GRADES With y i EASE y IS :.
Carriers iNVill#lBc Forced to Pro-
Vide Their Owns
Cars. 38

Cars. i
lgf {4gS -..- " 49,. 3IF N
I It From Our Regular Consequently Il
WASHINGTON, y Il. e., FJ uyi Y The
4 p1an 81 co.operation for the improve.
ilicht Or public roads Innugurated several
u illontlis ago be tween H tho ofiicc n f;e-l
partneit, the Department OF Agriculture
q ana various State highway on clnls, is
developing satisfactory result To-. a S1ctter
received at the Postofco Department
from the state engineer and surveyor 4, y.
& Or New5York states that % bulletin " 70
y be listed furnishing directions and s,g-i
n gestions for tho guidance of town OH
n ctnls having care ana 5qnuthority over
4 public highways In the state OF 4 New
s. York, and that 1t Is desired 70 publish
n therein the 3requirements OF tho Depart
fatlent Srclatiye to the bllshment in ana
Y continuance OF rural delivery route a
Il slatant posttnaster-G General DeGrhW mas Nla
communicated with state Engineer v ~
sxk1styne, and hopes to secure CO. perA1loni
a or the New York State road q ofiicinls IN
Il the general movement for good ROADS. 81
Rural D elivcryI Routes.
RE n REQUIREMENTS OF the Department
Il concerning cstab lIshmcnt land maintc-'
+ nance or rnrnlEd delivery routes Include az
Y conditions precedent to the adjustment
sIpf d route thai roads shall be IN y good
N condition, 8unobstructed by gates, ana
SHthatSthere shall be no unabridged creeks
Il Of, unfordable streams. These req ulre-ss
N 1ncnts have resulted In the ex penditulre
ii 81 many thousands OF dollars I'LL over
59the country In road improvements and
Il br1 dye building by communities which de-
n aired 3Ethc benefits OF VI rural cliycry OF
Ii mai az Failure to maintain road covered
By rural routes In condition to- be ira vel
Il cd with facility and safety at all sea-
sons OF the year is considered suiiiclent
4 cause for vi thd rnWal OF rural delivery
service for n community MI 81 BIT 5
Plan Of operation.
The plan OF co cooperation referred 70.
& includes forwarding to State road COM
ss,,,issIoI,crs reports from rural carriers
Iral routes, also that postmastcrs st1a al
8l nscertnjn the condition OF roads IN the
vicinity OF their pos to fllces and forward
81 reports directly to the Sta te officials IN
Illinois the State Highway Commission on
A has sent out q list OF questions 70 e pe!
filled In by rural carAlers. giving lnfor-'
\ NATION relative to the highways which .h,
v they traverse In delivering mail. lnf or
ns to methods used In Keeping
4 roa Dis In repair Is also being disseminated
4gitl this manner. The State Road Com
4 missions OF wisconsin and 5Missouri' Joined
IN this movement some months ago and
e i ra now actively cooperating with tho.
Il pcpa rtmcnt. Pos tmas ter- g enernl Il Cor
B5voii, and his assistants believe the rural
delivery service can render great e as
& sistancc III the Important matter OF I'M
Il proving the public highways and hope
within a short time. to have the coo pera-t
# ton OF all State road q ilcial
Autos On the Road.
s5asS rn1riaf tests have recently been made
II 81 direct I'M or t lie Postotiicc Depart
nicnt OF the nptability# OF automobiles
& 10 the rural delivery. serv ico. VIC rlral
routes, which, tho ugh starting within itttll
I ca s. reach OF the Washington CT y post
pfflce.3 presented many OF the adverse con-
4 ditlons # OF rocky and corduroy road
I. beds. steep grades and mud-holes TO be
4 found In mo 70 remote communities, were
selected for the experiment. SO far az
the practical result attained. the tests
A met all tho requirements Of the Depart
5mcnt. The particular motor cars useo
& were buckboards OF four horse pc Wei (,
with a wheel gauge OF AZ nchcs, pro-
pelled by single-cylinder. air-cooed8
II gasoline engine, the cars weighing about
! SEQ pounds On repeated tests the motor
u blackboard got over the bad roads with
f3out delay or disaster Some OF the
u points noted IN Its favor blythe agent or
Y the department who made the " trips
were tho absolute control Of the machine
I; by the operator, the precision with when
#It rea ched properly-placeds rural boxes
the ease with which 1t climbed and de-
scendcd steep, rough and dangerous hills
q and waded through mud-holes, and the
n thorough protection fforded the mail
4 during a heavy rain storm. ~ il
Three routes which. by ordinary horse
" conveyance, took a little over seventeen,
n hours to serve, were fully and satisfac-s
SStorilyt covered by the motor cars IN less
~ thanh nine hours. 81 133s n s.8 Il
Tho average cost OF fuel consumed In
NJ operating these test machines was COM
y nut ed to be less than one cent and one
tenth per mile The adaptability OF mo-
4 tor transportation to rural service having
thus received favorable dernonstra ton. the
question of Its practicabllitys as applied
to all sections OF the country remains
a matter for consideration. The element
\ OF the original st OF tho motor car
ia one which will have to be passed upon.
i by the rural arriers themselves, as they
are required to furnish their own mode
or conveyance, which Is included In their
ma xilnum annual salary Of $73o. So
Il Postmaster Generals Order.
Postmaster-G cneral CorteIyou's order.
which goes into effect on August 1st,
permitting patrons OF rural delivery to-
= make & their own boxes or to have
them made to order, provided such Boxes
are so constructed as to fat within the
requirements OF the department, seems
to have been misunderstood. Misleading
1 comments have appeared, stating that
farmers can now whittle down their
wooden boxes to make a rural mail posi-
box IN any way they choose. The order
#of the Postmaster General provides ex-i
actly5 the contrary, All boxes must be
made OF galvanized sheet iron or shees
4 steel OF certain specihed 3y dimensions,
mel Tier SECURE nor Weatherproof Within
tho requirements OF the department, ana
all such boxes now In use will be grudu'
ally eliminated from the service, q FL
3s.i. IOWA COMPROMISE.
n CkanI D,%%arar hfa,vS NTottJ0rrNce