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

W
neople mostly live in rural ois'fio'''
bring this matter to pupilc a''0ii'i'
the Injustice and dlScFliiiiho'i o''
.g,i,s4 the rural sections will not pc
L,nun The large cities have all they
u-onr and all they need. and the con-
e+i+rents of CITY papers being wen
6xed in this matter do not reel the
burning of the fire and 90 hol CO
out. Therefore, the blS papers nv
shown no interest up to date III .ii'
,atter as they will do when theS
find that economy, so much 10 De ap-
proved is really not economy, pu' :"
,.ithholding of reasonable service 10
~, r,,,al districts The people of
America have been rejoicing 10 Ieao
Mr. Taft.s MESA ges and speeches IN
favor of economy and every move
rnent nv Postmaster General Hltch-
cock to put economy in the place OIL
extravaganza, is heartily endorseo'
but when they know the facts as 70
his shutting the door of hope and
opportunity to people in rura1 districts
VINO WISH TO nave DIS Sooo man Aes~AA-
ties in North Carolina as are given III
Kansas, they Will speak out PLAINLY
and demand that economy be practlseo
somewhere else instead Of denying tne
farmers the only thing they get from
the Federal Government that is dl-
rect convenience to them.
The farmers pay more taxes In this
country than any other class or peo-
pie They not only pay their taxes
on all that they wear and consume
as DO the merchants and lawyers and
business men, but they pay also taxes
on their farm implements and the ma
terial with which they work, and they
get no contracts from the government
1t is as little as the government can do
in return for the taxes to give the
farmers in all parts Of the country
good mail facilities. and I hope that
the mem bers of Congress from agri-
cultural states will follow Mr.. Small
and make it so clear and plain that
this Congress will take out Of the
hands of the postmaster general the
right to deny equal mail facilities to
the people in rural districts, and COM
pei him to take off the lid and estab-
lish new rural routes where they are
needed.
Some years ago when Mr.. Machen
was at the head Of the rural mail
service he came to Raleigh and made
a speech at a big Good Roads Con-
ference at which Mr.. p. H. Hanes, of
Winston Salem, was present and he
made a good speech. In the course
of his speech, however, he said that
the reason the South had not been
given more rural delivery routes was
because the South had not built good
roads and he urged the people to
build good roads in order to get rural
delivery routes. Afterwards. talk
ing with him about the matter, con-
graduated him upon his excellent
speech and told him that the progress
sive people of North Carolina were in
hearty accord with all he said about
good roads and were making steady
progress, but not as rapid as we would
like. But in the conversation I told him
that the matter Of building good roads
was one upon which the Postoffice De-
partment, not even remotely. had any
connection, and that it was out Of the
sphere Of it's power to demand the
building Of good roads as a condition
precedent to securing the necessary
number Of free rural delivery routes
Now if the government paid it's car
riers on the basis of mileage or if the
government bought the horse and
wagon used by rural delivery carriers
it might properly say that the people
must have good roads SO as not to
wear out its horse and wagon in car
rying the mails, but inasmuch as the
government pays fixed sum to rural
delivery carriers and requires them
to buy their own horse and their own