The Dickinson press., 1910-02-12
FREE MAIL
DELIVERY

DICKINSON faS Complied With
Govern ment Requirements.
| New Fixtures Ordered. Three
| Carriers Probable on Start.
1t looks now as though Dickinson
would have free mail delivery within
q short time The necessary street
signs have been put up and the houses
numbered and the same has been re-
ported by Postmaster Lawrence to the
proper authorities. An inspector was
out recently and looked over the ground
and while he did not give any definite
date for inaugurating the new system,
he did say that he saw no reason why
the city should not get the service this
spring. The fixtures for the carriers
room have been ordered and should be
here and placed by the first of March
if the department should order the serv-
ice for so early date.
AS has been previously stated in the
PRESS. the carriers room will be in
what is now used as a confect ionery
store just south of the postoffice en-
trance. The room is to be connected
with the postoffice either with door
or window cut through the partition
wall.
1t is supposed that the new service
will require three carriers. probably
two north and one south. Unless they
have had a certain length of experience
as postofice clerks, applicants will be
required to pass civil service exami-
nation. In the carriers department
the government requires only hours
actual service for a day, performed
only in daylight. However, if a
carrier performs two hours work in
the morning and on returning to carriers
department there is no work for two
hours. he is ordered to report in two
hours and has six hours of work to per-
form later in the day if required. The
arrival of trains will have much to do
with the regularity of service The
carriers will at all times be under the
direction of the postmaster and expert
enced inspectors will check them up
often on their work of delivering and
collecting mail in the city.
1t is probable that Dickinson will get
but two mail deliveries day, one
early in the morning and the second
after the arrival of No. 3. providing
this afternoon train from the east is
any where near on time. otherwise
the afternoon mail will be punched with
the regular morning mail of the fol-
lowing day. 1t is supposed that the
free city delivery will not extend much
beyond the side walk limits. which.
if correct, will be disappointment to
tIlOSc living IN t1e OutSklftS.
The business men of the city will
likely want to keep their postoffice
boxes and get their mail as at present.
They must take it one way or the
other. Those who elect to have mail
delivered at the door. will not have a
chance to 60 down town in the even
ing when the trains from the east are
a few hours late and get their mail as
they do now. On Sundays there will
be certain hours when they can get
mail by presenting themselves at the
carrier window. They will save the
former charge for box rent: on the other
hand the people who keep their boxes
will have the advantage of stepping
into the postoffice as at present and
getting whatever mail happens to be
distributed for them.
Postmaster Lawrence's force in the
Office will likely remain the same as
at present. an assistant and three clerks.
AS the trains run it is not believed
that it will be necessary to put on
night clerk. BY opening the office at
O'Clock in the morning the mail is
worked and ready for the daily stage
leaving for Manning at 7 O'Clock and
the Fayette-O -Oakdale stage half hour
later leaving on three days of the week.
The daily mail for New England does
not 60 out until afternoon. The New
Hradec mail does out in the afternoon
also.
Financially the government will
probably be loser by giving Dickinson
free delivery for time at least. The
81. 700 box rent receipts will likely
decrease one-half. For city postage
people will have to use cent stamps
: in place of / cent as now. but this
will hardly make good the box rent
deficit. The expense of carriers p':.-