Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-01
URGED BY De cRAN
Establishment of a Package
Service Favored.
DESIRED By FARMERS
Proposed to Utilize the Rural Deliv-
cry Carriers.
RATES ARE NOW PROHIBITIVE
Believed That the Government Rev
enues Could Be Much Increased
and Persons Accommodated
RATES ARE NOW PROHIBITIvE

Interest in the annual report of the
fourth assistant postmaster general =. v.
De Graw, just made public, extends to
! the heart Of the agricultural communities
| in every state in the Union. Mr.. De Graw
! has the betterment of the rural free de-
| livery service in mind at all times. and
again this year recommends several i'm
provements much desired by farmers and
others reached by this service. Probably
the principal suggestion for increased use
fulness Is that a package service by rural
| carriers be established by Congress.
Package Service Urged
In former years rural carriers were per-
mtted to carry packages for persons
| along their routes and to accept whatever
pay they could get for the accOmmoda
| ton. but subsequently Congress raised
their salaries and denied them this privi-
| lege. It is Mr.. De GraW's idea that
package service should be permitted. the
| fee for carriage to go to the government.
| He has this to say about its advantages
| 1T presents an opportunity to increase
the usefulness of the postal service to
large class of its patrons, and should be
met. not in the old way, which permitted
the use Of the governments agency Tor
private gain. but by the establishment of
a system for the carriage of merchandise
by rural carriers al such rates as Will
be A fair compensation for the service
performed the revenues to be credited 10
the postal receipts. The present fourth
! class rat is prohibitive as applied to the
transmission Of merchandise on rural
routes. Patrons and merchants desire to
have small packages of merchandise de-
livered by rural carriers, but Will not pay
the fourth-class rate.
.Such a service would be beneficial alike
to the patrons Of rural delivery and local
merchants without injurlng or competing
with any other service. 1t can be given
with the facilities now employed ano
would materially increase the revenues of
the department A special reduced rate
of postage for merchandise carried only
bv rural carriers. such as you have rec
commended would unquestionabiy be or
material value to the retail merchants on
rural routes and at rural delivery dis
tributing centers, as we'll as enhance the
influence Of the rural service In making
life in the country more attractive.
Over 100000 Homes Served.
Three million four hundred thousand
homes are passed daily by the carriers
in the service of which Mr.. De Graw is
the head. The fourth assistant believes
that dignity and efficiency would be added
TO the service if these men were required
to wear uniforms. He presests this in
the form Of a recommendation to the
Postmaster General That the standard OF
the service is already very high is al
tested by the fact. as he points OUT that
only 1855 carriers were dismissed for cause
during the last fiscal year out of total
of 39413.
The report also recommends legislation
by Congress which will permit the adop-
ton OF an improved method of disposing
of unbelievable articles of mail by sale.
so as to eliminate as far as possible the
Objectionable lottery features involved In
carrying out the existing law on the SUD
ject. During the year the oeao iee'ef
office received 13145,172 pieces of mail. OF
which 72O2, 6S4 were returned to the SEND
erF.
1t is recommended that the number or
clerkships of the higher grade in the
fourth assistants office be increased ana
the number of the lower grade corre-
spOndingly decreased
Augmentation Deemed Necessary.
The estimate of appropriation neces-
sa-y for this service for the next nscal
year, as submitted by Assistant POST
master General De Graw, is S36. 246,OOO.
an increase of $4,000 over the current
appropriation OF this estimate $34,0o3.
159 is for continuing the service on 50.
277 routes in operation on June 80 last
x626 S41 for continuing the service on -
routes which it is estimated Will be es-
tablished during the current hscal year
AT estimated average salary LOT cdi
riers of 1861 per annum: $4,000 to in
augurate new service during the hscai
wear ending June 80, 1910: Sl,36O.OoO 10
pay substitutes for 1850 carriers on va
cation at an estimated average rate or
SSe7 ner annum less 6 per cent deducted
on account Of carriers not in service
Twelve months; $4,000 to pay clerks In
charge Of stations Of rural delivery serV-
ice and $4,000 to pay tolls and ferryage
charged for carriers who traverse toll
toll bridges for ferries.
New Routes Established.
During the past year there were 1877
new routes established, IL routes discon-
tinued prior thereto were re-established
and 40 routes discontinued, leaving net
increase in number 1,J49. During the
YEAR I95S post Offices were discontinued
and The patrons rendered service by rural
carriers On only little more than 10
per cent OF the rural routes the quantity
of mail handled was less than 1900 pieces
per quarter which heretofore has been
considered n fair average for a standard
route. Included in this number are $50
tri-Weekly routes and a number of short
routes serving restricted territories.