The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1908-10-08
TOUR RURAL FREE
MAIL DELIVERY
How the Democratic Party Sought
to Throttle Ii in Its Infancy.
Originated by Republicans, the DEM
ocrats Saw in 1t a Bugaboo OF
Extravaganza and Tried
to Kill It.

VIII ulduN ullllCullltS. III lUS lhIuhSy
1t was bounced upon by the Democratic
party, a party that has an unbroken
history Of never missing ar oppOrtu-
nifty 20 try to throttle the life Of every
infant industry that may be so unfOr-
tunate as to meet It upon the great
highway Of progress. Postmaster Gen
eral Wanamaker, under a Republican
administration in 1892, first recon-.
mended the establishment of a rural
free delivery service. During the three
or four years of Democratic admins
tration following, small appropriations
were made, but not expended, and the
system was never given a fair trial
until President Mckinley came into
office.
Opposed by Democratic officials.
The Postofice Department headed by
a Democratic Postmaster General. dur
ing Cleveland's last term. opposed
rural delivery, and refused and neg
leCted TO make any experiment, or to
institute any free delivery routes. As
an excuse for this failure and neglect
to obey the mandates of the Ia ", the
Assistant Postmaster General under
Cleveland, in his report transmitted t.
Congress in December, 1893, expressed
strong views against rural free delivery
and the postmaster general Of this
same Democratic administration, ap
proved these views. and in his report {,
his same Congress, spoke Of rural free
delivery in a sighting and somewhat
cOntemptuOus manner In conclusion
he stated
Il therefore adopt the opinion of tn,
first Assistant Postmaster General tina
the department would not be warranted
in burdening the people with such eX
peISe when 1t can more properly, ado.
quately and economically meet the re
Quirements Of postal extension by wild
ening its scope along reasonable anC
conservative lines and by establishing
additional post offices wherever tn,
communities are justified in asking for
them" He thus ignored the REASONABLE,
md just demands of 100000 of gu
people, the very bone and sinew of OuT
"epublic, and cast their interests asida
by a wave of the hand.
Too Many Obstacles in the Way.
Not only was the Democratic admin
istration thoroughly against rural free
delivery, but the Democratic oppOsitiO"
included the other Democratic branches
Of our national government. The
House Of Representatives was also
Democratic at that time and on Feb
ruary p, 1894, the committee on post
offices and post roads, in reporting to
he House the annual pOstoffice appro-
Driation bill, used the following Ian
guage in reference to rural free de
livery:
1T has been found impossible by rea-
son Of the pressure Of more important
questions, for the officers having that
subject in charge, to give the subject
The study and consideration that it de-
mands, much less to establish such
rural free delivery"
No Constructive Stntesmanship.
Thus again, the party which has
gone into partnership with calamity,
saw "a lion in the way" at the very
inception Of constructive statesman
ship, and did not exhibit the energy
and initiative to take up the work for
which experimental appropriations had
already been made. In the report of
Cleveland's Postmaster General, VIM.
l.. Wilson, referring to the appropria-
ton which had been made and which
had not been used, we find the follow
ing:
SHOULD Congress see fit to make II
available for the current year, l will
make the experiment ordered, by the
best tests l can devise; but the diff.
culties in the way of such experiments
and the reasons for viewing the whole
plan as inpracticable, are fully SCI
forth In the report of the House Com
mittee on the Postofice Appropriation
bill OF the second session OF the Fifty
Third Congress"
Democracy Was Against Rural De-
nyery.
1t Will thus be seen that Cleveland's
Postmaster General, after two years of
study and reflection upon the subject.
after having absolutely refused to use
the money which Congress placed at
his disposal for this purpose, gave it
as his opinion that the whole plan was
inpracticable again, and should be
abandoned. In the message of Presl
dent Cleveland sent to Congress Dec
4, 1893, referring to the matter of
rural free delivery, he himself said:
II am decidedly Of the opinion that
the provisions of the present law per.
NIT as general a introduction of this
feature of mail service as is now NEG
ESSARY OR DESIRABLE, and that
1T ought NOT to be extended to smaller
communities than are now designated"
Again In a single sentence, from the an
nual message Of Cleveland the follow
ing year he dismisses the matter in
these words: The estimated cost of
rural free delivery generally Is 30 very
large that 1t OUGHT NOT TO BE
CONSIDERED. in the present condi-
tion of affairs"
Thus, the only Democratic President
for more than forty years rid himself