The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-01-15
POSTMASTER URGES
MORE CARE OF ROADS
So That the Post Office Departments
Requirements Shall Be Lived up
to in This vincinity.

a brief statement OF some of the reg
ulations concerning the delivery of
mail on the rural routes from this
Office may tend TO make those regula-
tons better understood, the requike-
ments better observed by the patrons
and those persons whose duty it is TO
keep the highways 'in passable condi-
ton" IL seem TO be generally under
stood that all of those routes were es-
tablished by Inspectors employed IN
that branch Of the service; the man
ner of serving them scheduled with
daily service required over each
route.
IL is to be noted in passing that the
undersigned appreciate the cheerful
and thoughtful manner with which the
patrons OF that service comply with
the regulations in regard TO their mail
matter, both that received and dis
patched, and is encouraged thereby 10
say word about keeping the high
ways in more passable condition.
II is not for me 10 say whether the
| highways are or are not kept in suit
able condition for the service and
what say are simply words OF vol
unteer making an attempt 70 accom-.
plish such results as 1t is believed will
be more satisfactory TO the service,
and all concerned.
If the routes are not matter Of
convenience or of value to the patrons
they cetainly will not be interested to
have them maintained, but If they are
desirable II seems reasonable to expect
that the patrons ON the routes, and the
officers Of the towns through which the
routes pass, will be interested TO do
what is necessary for them to do in
order to have the service. 1t may be
said, "WIho Is kicking about thisf" II
we do not break out the roads In the
winter, or make them passable at ether
seasons Of the year, why 1t is only the
patrons who are the losers and no one
else ought to complain. That Is why
say that each rural carrier is re-
ouired 10 make Daily Trip report, en-
Tor up the record each day on a blank
furnished by the Dept, for that pur-
pose; and those trip reports are pre-
served in the permanent files OF the
Post Office. If q carrier fails TO serve
his whole route exactly according to
his schedule he must enter up just what
the failure consisted Of, and state the
reason therefore.
This is one of the later branches OF
the postal service, and much has been
said and written about tie expense Of
its maintenance as compared with the
revenues received from 1t. According
to the last annual report OF the Post
master.G General the expense OF main
tanning this service during the last fs-
cal year was s34 1856 ,209ea An e1epnd-
iture that is only equaled or exceeded
by the payments to the railroads for
transporting the mails On November
10, 1908 there were as,6l6 rural routes
in operation, with patronage Of more
than 100000 people, and delivery is
made on nearly 100000 miles Of roads |
throughout the country.
To properly administer this great
branch of the postal service regulations
have been adopted, and 1t il expected
they will be enforced.
Some of them are as follows:
Sec. so. Failure to maintain in pas
sable condition at all seasons of the
year the highways traversed by the
rural carries will be considered sufi-
cient reason for the withdrawal of es-
Sec. 90. Rural routes shall be serv-
ed by the carriers as officially deserib |
ed and as orderd by the Department, /
and shall not be varied from by car
riers or poatmasters, except In obedi-
enca to instructions from the Depart
ment or In case of emergency. Elmer
gency deviations shall be reported i'm
mediately by carriers to postmastera
and by the latter to the Fourth Assist
ant Postmater General, Division of Rnr
al Delivery
Sec. 81. The exact time rural ear
riers report at Office, leave to serve On
routes, and return at completion of trip
shall be registered daily by them on
the form provided for the purpose, and
such entries shall be made at the be-
ginning and end OF each trip. The MAX
ing of false or inexaot entries Ii pro-
hibited.
Sec. DC. From tho data contained ON
carriers, trip reports postmasters Of
Offices are required to make
up, on blanks supplied for the purpose,
condensed reports concerning service
rendered during the month and promptly
mailed same after the last day of each
month to the fourth assistant postmas-
ter-general, division of rural delivery.
Tn other words If the carrier deviates
in any manner from his schedule he
must state ii each day on his trip re-
port. and give the reason therefore.
The postmaster either immediate Or at
the end Of the month, according to the
nature of the failure, must notify the
Dept.
The towns through which the routes
pass are as follows:
Route No. /, Barre city, Barre town,
Orange, and Plainfield.
Route No. 2, Barre city, Barre town,
Plainfield. and East Montpelier
Route No. 3, Barre city, Barre town,
Berlin. and WGlliamstown
Route No. 4, Barre city, Barre town,
and Orange.
The respective lengths Of the routes
are as follows: No. |, 24.3 miles No.
;, 25.5 miles; No. 3, 2l.7miles; and
No. 4, 242 miles.
1t may also be a matter Of interest
10 know that the rural carriers are re
luired to keep q separate daily record
ST registered letters and parcels. letters,
postais, postal cards. newspapers, cir
,ulars, and packages; both delivered
md collected. Also the number of APP
olications for money orders; the value
If stamps on mail collected by them;
Ind the value Of stamps, and stamp
papers etc. sold by them.
Do not expect that anybody. ex-
,eots that it Is practicable or possible
o prevent drifting in some places on the