The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-08-01
a PARCEL POST FOR
H FARMER
CONTINUED from page one-)

tent. 1t has made the farmer a ddA4
subscriber and has led to the bulldlnS
Up of small dailies all over the coun-
try. The farn1ers are the real think
ers of the United States, and since the
rural delivery has been established
they have been doing more thinking
thar ever. They are more careful
readers than the city people. Ihey
go through the papers column by col
umn, reading the news articles n
not merely the headlines. They study
the editorials, and the result of their
thinking is seen in the letters which
come here to Washington and to Con-
gress. We have had to discontinue
some Of our routes, and in such cases
we find that the most pro-
tests come from those who are thus
prevented from daily receiving their
favorite
Working" for Road Improvement.
Another important thing that the
rural mail service is accomplishing.
said the Fourth Assistant Postmaster
General, is connected with the roads
Of the country. We are now working
with the Agricultural Departmental
Bureau Of Road Improvement. and
are insisting on good roads wherever
the mails are carried. We refuse to
grant a route until the rOads have
been put into shape, and if they be
II iii cSSob u Ia SbtIl " INV
ton that the delivery cannot De easily
continued over them, we insist that
they be repaired or say that the ser
vice will be Discontinued In this
work We are assisted by the road Off
cials of many Of the States, who send
out to each rural carrier a blank con-
tanning questions to be answered as
to the conditions of the roads over
which he travels.
EfLJo iC a SI-aI 70 ronnrt a c TO tho m a
terials Of which they are composed, as
to the condition of their bridges, and
as to how they are worked.
The State of Indiana, for instance.
has made a law that all the highways
along the rural delivery routes must
be kept in passable condition all the
year roDnd. a neglect TO comply with
this law after five days notice is pun
ishable by a fine of from ST to s25 per
day. which is levied on the locality.
Other States are considering similar
laws, ard by these mean material i'm
proven entS are being made in the
roads OF the country.
'As it is now. our carriers are going
daily over nearly a million miles of
roadway. and we have now instructed
the postmasters at the rural delivery
offices to send in detailed reports con-
corning these roads. SO far as we
find that, only $4,000 miles of them
are of macadam. the remainder being
of earth, sand or gravel. The reports
show that since the rural delivery ser
vice was established, more Than $7O,-
000,C0O has been expended on the
roads traversed by our carriers. and
We are glad to say that the road off,
Gals and people generally are doing
much to put the roads into better
shape for the service. In the past
year more work has been done on
such public highways than in any
other year since the rural delivery
was started. and our reports indicate
that a general interest in road i'm
provement is being manifested
throughout the country.
The Passing of the Small Post Offices.
Does not the rural delivery do
with many Of the smaller post
Offices" asked.
They have been discontinued by the
thousand. There is no necessity for
many such offices with an efficient
rural carrier service. The carrier is
not a mere collector and distributor
of the mail. His wagon is a NINA
ture post office on wheels, often con-
tanning compartments for stamps Of
the denominations in general use and
stamped envelopes and postal cards.
He has the authority to sell these as
we'll as to register letters delivered
to him which may contain money or
other valuable matter. In some places
he is authorized to exchange currency
for money orders sent by the people
on his route, and he delivers registered
letters and special delivery mail to
the individuals, taking their sigma
lures therefor. If a farmer Wishes~ to
mail a letter and has no stamps he
can leave the amount necessary to
prepay the postage with the letter in
tho hoY and tho carrier must Sfano ,, II
In short, the service is as far as pos
sible what~I have described ia little
post office on wheels"
Making Road Maps of the United
States.
What else is your division doing,
Mr.. De GraW?'
AS to this DIVISION" said the Fourth