The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-03-21
LOCAL FREE DELIVERY SERVICE.

During period of six dayG begin
ming March and ending March II
1911, the letter carriers in the Keo
kuk postofiice kept records of tM
4 weight and number of pieces of mai
they handled, their hours Of work
the distances they travelled, the mum
Der of persons to whom they deliver
ed mail, and took note OF the number
| of residences and business houses
supplied with mail receptacles. The
data thus secured were tabulated and
| forwarded to the postmaster general
| TO be Incorporated with like data
from every other city in the country
III which there is free city delivery.
Some of the information is of enough
local interest to warrant its publica-
| ton in this connection
1t appears from the records that
| approximately $4,000 persons are sery-
ed by the Keokuk letter carriers. BY
actual count each carrier on an aver
age delivers mail TO 1,049 persons.
In doing this he goes TO an average
of $40 places daily The average
weight of the mali carried daily by
each carrier is 1873 pounds The
average number of pieces OF mail of
all kinds delivered daily by each car
rier is 557. In making their rounds
the foot men travel an average OF
fourteen miles daily and the mounted
carriers twenty-four miles.
Some time ago campaign of ed
ucation' was inaugurated with view
of increasing the number of resi-
dences and business houses supplied
with receptacles for mail The pur-
pose was to increase the efficiency of
the local delivery service by lessen
ing the delays to which the carriers
were subjected in making delivery
The campaign in question was only
partially successful On some of the
routes many boxes were erected. but
taking the city as whole there is
need Tor many more. Al present only
80 per cent of private residences are
supplied with mail receptacles. and
only ~ per cent Of the business
houses These figures put Keokuk in
an unfayorable light compared with
other Iowa cities that might be
named. In Cedar Rapids, for instance.
nearly. 80 per cent of the homes are
supplied with boxes. It was conser-
vatively estimated not long ago that
II all the houses in keokuk We're sup
piled with mail boxes the local SER
vice would be improved as much as it
would be by the addition of two more
Of late the department has
been 10th to grant additional carrier
help unless ii can be shown that the
facilities afforded the present carrier /
force are whf. they should be. the
idea OF the department being that the .
community should be willing to CO.
operate with it in improvement of the
service. Unless all indications are at
iault it will not be long until ali per
sons residing within tie free delivery
limits of city must erect and main I
tain mail boxes as a prerequisite to /
the delivery of mail to them at their
homes and places of business. Such
a requirement. would not work a hard:
ship and would greatly increase the
efficiency OF the free delivery service.
1t is confidently expected that the
of "a numbered postal /
station in O'Neill's grocery store in
West Keokuk will prove a great con-
Tenience to the people residing in that I
part of the city. Hitherto they have I
lad to come to the main postoffice to I
purchase stamps and money orders
md TO register letters. After April I
% next they can transact all such +
business at the new station. With
he growth of the city it is more than
probable that the numbered stations
viii become sub-stations, in which
event mail will be distributed from
hem. For the present. however. they
sill handle only postofice supplies.