The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-01-24
Editorial Correspondence

Editorial correspondence
Washington, D. c., Jan. "a
On Thursday, while the Postofnce
Appropriation Bill was up for cons'd-
GRAFTON. Representative Small, or the
E-;,st district who is a member Of the
Postottice Committee, discussed at
some length and with clearness ana
force the present attitude of the de-
partment with reference to rural oe-
liyeries For some months now the
department has been parading to the
public it's record In reducing the ex-
penses IN the PostoftIce Department
and taking great credit to Itself
for it's policy of retrenchment. MT.
Small showed that this record OF re-
trenchment had largely been secured
by discrimination against the rural
portion of our country and by denial
of rural delivery routes to q large sec
ton of the country. For two years
it has been the policy Of the Post
- office Department to hold up the in
vestigation of petitions and to decline
10 install free rural delivery routes,
WHICH 1lu Deeu 1tNOidDiS ICDOItCu
and were ready for installation. He
took up the various so-called reasons
excuses would be a better term)
given by the department in justitica-
ton Of the denial of new rural de-
livery routes, and said that the re-
fusal to give more free rural delivery
routes was thwarting the will of Con-
gress and perpetrating a great injus-
tice upon the rural sections. l was
very glad to be here when Mr.. Small
made that much needed speech.
For years l have been urging the
members of Congress in The News and
Observer and personally, to read the
riot act to the Postotfice Department
and demand that the discrimination
against the Southern States In the
matter Of free rural delivery routes
be ended, and I was glad to hear Mr.
Small in a temperate and just criti-
cism call national attention to the
wrong which Mr.. Hitchcock is per-
petrating. Reading his report to
Congress I observe that he has made
no real attempt to reduce the extrava-
CANT sums paid to the railroads for
carrying the mails. II he were to
pay the railroads a fair price and stop
the exorbitant prices paid to SO many
of them. which. prices are SO high as to
be in effect subsidies, he would be able
to make big reductions in the cost Of
running his department without de-
ho rbo R,yn Tn
try modern mail facilities. There is
now pending in Congress a bill to give
subsidies for carrying the mails to
foreign countries. Everybody knows
that this bill is a mere entering wedge
to grant bigger subsidies that are to
be given and the subsidy grafters
are using the matter of foreign nails
as a method Of getting their hands
into the treasury. I have not heard
Of any great indignation of Post
master General Hitchcock against at
taching this great expense on the
Postoftiee Department; neither have
we had much evidence of his econo-
mics except in the denial Of necessary
mail facilities. He has made some
real reforms and the country endorsed
them, but the country would be I'D in
arms in criticism Of his much boosted
retrenchment if they understood il is
being brought about by refusing to
grant rural delivery routes WHARF tho.
are sorely needed.
Naturally, unless the members O,