River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1908-10-15
REPUBLICANS FATHER
RURAL FREE DELIVERY
Its Remarkable Development During
Eleven Years of Republican
Rule.
Enables More than Sixty Per Cent
of the American People to Come
Into Their Own.

Iican party, is scarcely twelve years
old. 1t has fully kept pace with the
growth and development Of our whole
country. The farmer is now reaping
some of the rewards he justly earned
in the past, by the burdens he has
borne He is the producer of wealth.
He is coming to be one of the most in
dependent Of all our citizens. No
branch Of the public service has been
SO well developed and improved in the
past few years as our rural free deliv
cry
Only six years ago there were only
5000 rural routes in operation. There
are now about 10000 and these are
scattered through every State and Ter
ritory in the country, SO that there is
not a rural section in the whole land
that is not practically covered. This
entire service has been evolved from
small beginning, q little more than eley
On years ago, during the three Republi.
can administrations, with which the
country has been blessed since 1897.
The Democrats object, of course, to
the appropriation of $35,OO0000 made
this year for the support Of rural free
delivery, but this service brings more
direct benefit to the people of this coun-
try, whom it affects, than almost any
other appropriation made by the gen
eral government.
Great Aid to Education.
The development of the postal faciii-
ties has been the development of the
people in wisdom and greatness. When
these facilities reached but a few at
wide intervals, it was a blessing. The
tardy system by which letters were
carried by canal and horses from
the East to the western frontier
at great expense was a blessing !;
and when steam was harnessed to
the mails and delivered it's precious
freight to the large cities and towns
to which the people went from miles
around to get the weekly paper, the
benefits were still greater. Larger yet
did they become when business men in
large cities could receive their mail
several times a day at their desks by
city carriers.
But not until very recent years, and
under Republican policy, was it dis
covered that the people whose money
pays the majority of all taxes levied for
government purposes; who constitute
the majority of the people; from whose
ranks are recruited armies and navies
in time Of war; in whom the hope of
the nation rests for that stability and
wisdom which is unmoved by new and
untried schemes, and in whom is cast
safe anchor when storms of corruption
and squalls of political decisions beat
against the ship of state; not until re-
cent years have any of these people
from the country received the benefits
Of free delivery, and not nearly all of
them do now. Yet judged by policy, OF
right, is any class more entitled to the
benefits of free delivery with its CON
stant dissemination of useful knowl-
edge?
1t POpuIarizes Country Life.
When municipalities are being crowd,
ed and congested by people drawn from
tie country and from foreign lands, it
is the part of wisdom to encourage life
In the country; and with electric roads,
telephones and rural delivery, the bene-
fits of city life have been extended. and
municipal boundaries have been re-
moved. Democrats talk as if Republi-
cans were making concessions to the
people of the country by arranging for
the extension of rural mail service
when in reality the Republican party
is simply aiding the rural districts to
come into possession of a portion IF
their own.
Democrats 'View with Alarm"
Democrats are viewing with
alarm" the possibilities of deficit in
connection with the extension of the
rural free delivery service. That there
will be a deficit for the first two years
it is practically certain. This belongs
naturally to the business end to the
constructive Republican policy, when
it sees how it can best serve the peo-
pie at present, and recoup the govern
ment treasury later. After three years,
the rural free delivery service will be
more than self-supporting The re-
ceipts of the Postoffice Department
have been largely increased already
since rural delivery was established,
and every route of any age shows
steady increase in pieces of mail ham
died and in stamps sold and cancelled.
Yet this cancellation and sale of
stamps does not measure the whole eff
feet of rural delivery Its benefits
reach every other department, and
much of the general increase in bust
ness can be traced to it,
Aids Character Building.
But is it necessary that the system
should be self-supporting to entitle it
to the support of the Republican par
ty? Do we maintain schools. found
ana support colleges because they are
selfsulporting? Do we not provide
general education because that people
is greatest and most prosperous which
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