The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1916-03-23
THURSDAY MARCH %, 1915.
HELM Better Mail Service.

The postofice department has shown
q reasonable desire to improve condi-
tions surrounding the handling of the
business of the department. In Keno
sha and it is only fair to expect IN
return a reasonable cooperation from
the people of the city to carry out
these plans.
The extension of the postal service
comes as great developer for any
territory. In fact the postof6ce is one
of the greatest agencies for the pro-
motion Of local improvements. Uncle
Sam insists on certain things to be
done by the people if they desire him
to give them privileges Of having their
mail delivered at the house by car
rier. He demands that they put up
mail boxes ana that the neighborhoods
in which this service is given perk up
little and improve sidewalks and
street crossings. There are lot of
reighborhoods in Kenosha where the
coming of mail delivery has been an
active agency for betterment. The
delivery of mail out of the postofice is
being reduced to business PROPOSE
ton. The men in charge of it appre-
cate that to make postman stop ait
a house and ring the bell and wait for
the lady of the house to come to the
door is waste of energy.
It is wasting the energy of the car
rier and of the lady of the house
She may be busy with the family
washing and the time she loses going
out to get an advertising circular
which the mail man is forced to de-
liver may prove big annoyance.
Then there is another angle. Under
the old fashioned way of ringing the
bell and delivering the mail personally
to the householder, the mail carrier is
always forced to stop long enough for
a little gossip. OF course, some mail
carriers may be tickled to death to
carry this gossip along the route, but
the idea of the pestoffice is to limit
delivery of news to those which are
enclosed in envelopes and stamped.
The department does not make any
provision for the mail carrier gossip.
He has other duties which he is ex-
pected to perform and which are re-
garded by the department as being Of
greater value to the public than his
news carrying ability. When the mail
box is in place this trouble is entirely
eradicated The cost of the box to the
property owner is decidedly small and
q mail box will last just about the life
of an ordinary citizen.
1t is figured out by the department.
that gossip along the way takes up
at least two hours Of the time of a
carrier every day. This two hours can
be very proftably used in getting bet
ter and earlier deliveries of mail and
give the carrier time to work in other
districts of the city.
The best possible raail delivery can
only be secured through cooperation.
Sidewalks are necessary to make it
possible for the carrier to make the
best time in covering his route. IF
ne has to plough through the mud of
the early spring it is going to take him
longer to get about the route.
Just remember that you are going
to build the walks some time and that
now IS just as good time as ever.
When the walks are laid the communi-
w takes on better appearance, it
looks lot more like a community in
which real people are living. The
city council may object a little to
building cross walks, but the depart
ment is going to insist that the city
keep pace with the property owners in
making local improvements and this
has always been the intent of the
members Of the council.
The coming of new mail delivery
districts should prove the herald to
better improved residence districts.
There are a lot of problems to be
solved In Kenosha before the citv has
the best possible mail service and the
people can be the most active agen-
cies in securing the solution of these
problems. The postmaster and the
men at the postofice will lose no time
hombarding Washington for the best
possible service and if they know that
they have the active cooperation of
the people behind them these move.
ments are going to carry a lot more
weight.
Put up mail box, build sidewalk
IN front of your house and insist that
the city build cross walk.