Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-02-29
FIFTH DISTRICT CONGRESSMAN
MAKES HARD EFFORT 70 RE.
STORE RURAL ROUTES.
PEANUT POLITICS
DEFEAT AMENDMENT
Good Makes Strong Speech in osfsnss
Of Amendment and Shows Injustios
Of Recent Orders Of Postoffics De.
partmsnt .- Farmers Mail Now
Twenty. Four Hours Late.

! Washington. Feb. 29.-The efforts OF
Congressman Good to amend the post
office appropriation bill, now before the
house, resulted In failure. despite the
fact that convincing arguments were
presented on the floor of the house BY
the Iowa legislator in behalf Of the re-
foFms he sought to procure.
A point Of order KILLED this amend
meAt by Congressman Good:
PROVIDED further, that no part of
the Aum hereby appropriated shall be
used 70 pay the salary Of any rural
carrier using horsedrawn vehicle and
carrying mail over any route the ma
sor portion Of which Is over a. dirt
Road, thA total length Of which exceeds
ty;enty-sSx miles"
IN SUPPORT. of his amendment, Con-
gresham GOOD said: N
Mr.. Chairman, during the past
thres years. three distinctive visitaS
tioas have dome to the farmers of the
middle westA each of which increased
in it's destruc\tiveness to the interest OF
the farmer. Nirst, in 1913, our farmers
lost about $4,000. 900 by hog cholera.
Then, III 1914, the foot-and- mouth dis,
ease spread over the central west, re-
sulting III tremendous loss to our farm
ers; but in 1919 there came a vista
ton, directed from the postoffice de-
partment, which was more destructive
to the real interests of the central west
than any that had preceded 1t.
Service disrupted.
& That was disruption Of the rural
delivery service Of the central west l
do not believe that the members Of
this house who represent rural com
munities or who represent city COM
munities, where no such change has
been made in the rural utes, can
have any idea ofAthe effect Of the or
der of the postmaster general, by
which rural routes were discontinued
by the wholesale and new routes were
established where there were no roads,
over creeks here there were no
bridges, over roads that are impass-
able. changes which require men to
change their postotice addresses
without their CONSENT and compel
them to select a postoffice SIS their
postoffice address from eight to ten
miles farther from their home than the
one which had been their ioostofYice adj
dress for many years.
IF members will take the time to
consider the Inconvenience OF the farm
ers and stock raisers who are today re :
ceivirs their mail and daily papers
and their reports Of the livestock mar
ket some twenty-four hours later than
they did before the changes weae
made. think they will understand the
real grievance of the men who live OH
the farm. who have had this service
and who believe they are entitled to
the continuance Of it.
!. The amendment I have offered lis
Limitation on this appropriation and
absolutely places the rural service
where the postmaster general can not
use a dollar Of his money to pay the,
salaries of the rural carriers over dirt
roads II that route is more than twent-
ty-six miles long. That Is two miles
more than the standard route, and It
was drawn intentionally with that in
view, in order to give the postmaster
general some leeway in establishing
these routes"