The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1913-01-03
MORE ABOUT PARCELS
POST.
soc PROBLEMS And ADVANTAGES
OF The Ne LAU.
lBY MandeISener.l

other hand in passing 1t to the brain
racked and labor weary consumer.
And SO In like manner and with that
never satisfied spirit of doing the very
best work for the people, he will de
liver groceries, dry goods, parts of
machinery, etc, right at the door of
the farmers home.
1t Is only fitting that Parcels Post
should have its first try-out in Mary
land as a tribute 10 Congressman
Lewis good work for 1t. 1t was in
Maryland that the first railroad was
started and 1t was in Maryland that
Samuel B. Morse flashed the first
telegraph message. Over fifteen years
ago the first rural delivery letter
carrier started out from the West
minister postoffice In Carroll county.
With the additional service resulting
from Parcels Post the country people
will have almost the same advantage
as city folks in the prompt receipt OF
daily newspapers.
1t was Mr.. Joseph B. Boyle. now a
druggist of Westminster, and one Of
the most prominent citizens of Car
roll county. who was Postmaster 1T
Westminster when the rural free de-
livery act was passed by Congress in
1896, and to him the honor of start
ing the actual service of rural deiIY-
cry in America is due.
Postmaster Boyle divided the terri
tory into four rural free delivery
routes, each extending over the terri
tory not further than two miles dis
tant from the Office and named as the
first carriers Joshua \. Corbin, David
II. Geiman, Samuel A. Tubman and
Mark Yingling. Mr.. Gorbin was The
first carrier TO leave the Office with
his little bundle of newspapers and
letters. This service has since grown
to such an extent that there are nov
seventeen carriers from this Office
which deliver over Il circuitof twenty
four miles with their wagons heavily
laden with papers, letters, magazines
and other mail matter. which Is the
largest number of carriers from any
office In the State Of Maryland. and
about AZ large as any other distrib-
uting point in the United States.
The first rural free delivery carrier
in America, Mr. Joshua n. Ccrhin. in
speaking of the growth of the service
in general and especially the increase
in the circulation of the daily news
papers. said We'll do ] remember
that on my first trip With rural mails.
| carried perhaps J Or daily news
papers and that very few of the
farmers in those days subscribed for
anything excep. weekly and monthly
publications and secured them by 20
ing To town Saturday evenings Tor
them. The extension of the rural
service. however, has been the means
of placing In the homes of the farm
ers and rural citizens residing in the
small towns daily papers. scarcely
any of the people residing on my old
route, the first rural route in America.
are nov without a daily paper. aud
some Of them get two or three. The
proportion of the daily papers as 10
bulk can we'll be described as about
2 per cent, for letters and IS per cent.
newspapers, and should the parcels
post develop In two deliveries i day.
as | think IL Will eventually result
In, the farmer viii then be supplied
with morning paper for his break
fast and an evening paper for h
supper thus receiving the news of the
world almost simultaneously with his
city brother"
Mr.. Gorbin Is nov Il prosperous
business man Of Frederick. and while
attending to his business affairs fire.
quentig refers to the early days Of
the | f ID. Service, is growth and
the recent Legislation adding to the
service the Parcels Post packages.
1t Was the wonderful development
OF the rural service throughout the
country that resulted In the passage
OF the parcels post bills, and this aet
provides for an addition to the rural
service. And like the rural delivery.
Westminster was selected as the
starting point or place from which
the parcels post will be inaugurated
as indicated by the action taken b
the postal committee which met in
Westminster, October }, 1912, at the
request OF Postmaster General Hitch
cock. Mr.. II. p. Gorauch. Postmaster
at Westminster called together
number of prominent business men,
merchants, manufacturers, farmers
and others, together with the rural
carriers to meet the following com
mittee Of postoiilee department e.
pertB Robert S. Sharp. chief post
Office Inspector; John {. Rooms. sup
erintendent OF the Division of Sal
aries and Allowances. 4. A. Fisher.
chief clerk of the Office of the second
assistant postmaster general; clar-
ence b. Hurley, Chief clerk of the
Office Of the third assistant postmas-
ter general, and George L. Wood.
superintendent of the Division of Rn-
raj Malls.
Westminster was highly honored IN
being the first town visited by this
distinguished body Of experts and IN
being the center of the territory IN
which the results of the plan will be
most closely studied.
1t ie one of the most gigantic busI-
ness propositions of modern times.
and 1t has Uncle Sam embarking On
a scheme different entirely from any
thing ever attempted before. He bucks
the express companies. with property
valued at nearly fifty million dollars,
and at the same time offers cheaper
rates than the express companies on
packages not exceeding eleven pounds
in weight and seyenty-tWo inches IN
length and girth combined. This
measurement is arrived at by first
measuring the length, then the girIh
and adding the two together. Uncle
Sam proposes serving a territory
embracing sixty thousand postoffiees.
one million miles Of rural routes.
four hundred and forty thousand
miles Of rail-, boat and star routes and
nearly three hundred thousand en-
ployee.
The Postofflce Department handles
each year 13,Q06a00 600 pieces of mall,
of whIeU 185.000,000 are parcels and
nnuaa r. Anr TIA fnslrIh aIaaa rota The