The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-12-09
Fourth Assistant Postmaster
General, Thinks That There
Should Be Legislation Fav-
oring Its Establishment.
THINKS IMMIGRATION
LAWS ARE UNJUST,
Secretary of Commerce and
Labor Straus Hits Chinese
Exclusion Act Claiming 1t
TrampIes on Privileges.

Washington, Dec. 9.-The annual re-
port of Fourth Assistant Postmaster
General De Graw which has been
made public contains four recommen-
dations for Legislation tending TO inn
prove the distribution and handling of
mail, particularly that on the rural
routes. Mr.. De Graw wants legisla-
tion that will give a parcel post de
livery by rural carriers TO communit-
les remote from postcffices, at spec
ial rate of postage of cents for the
first pound or fraction thereof and
cents for each additional pound or
fraction of a pound, the weight limit
being set at eleven pounds.
The report also recommends that
the same uniform dress worn by the
city letter carriers be extended to the
rural carriers He further suggests
that congress appropriate $4,000 for
the publication of a new edition of the
street directory of the principal cities
Of the United States and urges legisla-
tion that will secure an improved
method of disposing of unbelievable
articles by sale, SO as to eliminate, as
far as practicable, the Objectionable
lottery features involved in carrying
out the existing laws on the subject.
Mr.. DeGraw opens his report with
| reference to the extension of the rural
delivery service throughout the coun-
| try and calls attention to the marked
decline in requests for new service,
which, he. says, indicates that the ap-
preparations made by congress have
| equaled the demands.
| Indiana is Fourth in List of Routes.
| Petitions for new service were filed
at the time the estimates were franz
ed for the current year at the rate of
| 4,50O year, but during the fiscal year
1902 these fell off 2,133. In his table
showing the number of requests for
new service, the action taken on such
and the number of routes actually in
operation, the figures for Indiana
show that seventynine requests We're
filed during the fiscal year ending
June 30, 1906, while at the close OF
the fiscal year 1907 there were but
nineteen cases pending for considera-
| ton. Four requests were referred
| thirty-five routes established, twenty
seven discontinued and twenty-nine
| got reverse reports.
The number of routes in operation
June 80, 1907, We're 2,113 which same
is the fourth largest number In the
country; Illinois leading with 2.771
and Ohio second with 2,493 and Iowa
| third with 2,314. There were ten
| routes that have only tri-weekly ser
vice
Parcels Post Fills Long Need.
In reference to the parcel post ser
vice on rural routes, Mr.. DeGraw
says:
There are reasons why a system of
parcel post delivery should be extend
ed to communities served only by
rural delivery. The conditions prece.
| dent tothe establishment Of rural SER
vice requirej remoteness from ether
modes of communication. From the
very nature of the service it is appar-
ent that the v2ople who receive it's
benefits have not access to the con-
venfent and cheap methods of trans
porting packages afforded to the resi-
dents Of cities by private corporations
which do not undertake to deliver
packages to people living miles from a
railroad. The star route contractors.
by whom, prior to the establishment
of rural delivery, many rural residents
had received mail service, through de-
! livery at postoffices situated in their
respective localities, were permitted
! to collect and deliver packages out
side the mails.
CHINESE EXCLUSION RAPED