River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1908-10-01
OUR RURAL FREE
MAIL DELIVERY
How the Democratic Party Sought
to Throttle 1t in Its Infancy.
Originated by Republicans, the Dem
ocrats Saw in It a Bugaboo of
Extravaganza and Tried
to Kill It.

livery in the United States was beset
with many difficulties. In it's infancy
it was pOunced upon by the Democratic
party, a party that has an unbroken
history Of never missing an opportu-
nifty to 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
office
Opposed by Democratic officials.
The Postoffice Department headed by
a Democratic Postmaster General, dur
ing Clevelands 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 law, the
Assistant Postmaste General under
Cleveland in his report transmitted to
Congress in December, 1893, expressed
strong views against rural free delivery
and the postmaster general of this
same Democratic administration, APP
proved these views, and in his report to
this same Congress, spoke of rural free
delivery in sighting and somewhat
cOntemptuOus manner. In conclusion
he stated
II therefore adopt the opinion of the
first Assistant Postmaster General that
the department would not be warranted
in burdening the people with such eX-
pense when it can more properly, ade-
quately and economically meet the re-
quirements of postal extension by wild
ening it's scope along reasonable and
conservative lines and by establishing
additional post offices wherever the
communities are justified in asking for
them" He thus ignored the reasonable
and just demands of 100000 of our
pCOD1C, TIC NC1J UOnC duu OInCW VI OuI
republic, and cast their interests aside,
by 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 opposition
included the other Democratic branches
of our national government The
House of Representatives was also
Democratic at that time and on Feb
ruary %, 1894, the committee on post
offices and post roads, in reporting to
the House the annual postoffice appro-
priation bill, used the following Ian
guage in reference to rural free de-
livery:
ct 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 Statesmanship.
Thus again, the party which has
SOhC 1hIO p1l Will
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 it
available for the current year, I 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 impracticable, are fully set
forth in the report Of the House Com
mittee on the PostOffice Appropriation
bill of the second session of the Fifty
Third Congress"
Democracy Was Against Rural De-
livery.
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
impracticable again, and should be
abandoned. In the message of Presi-
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 an introduction of this
feature of mail service as is now NEG
ESSARY OR DESIRABLE, and that
it 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 so very
large that it OUGHT NOT TO BE
in the present condi-
ton of affairs"
Thus, the only Democratic President |