Iditarod pioneer., 1917-04-21
POSTMASTER'S SUGGESTIONS AS TO LOCAL MAIL SERVICE
 REFERRED FOR REVIEW"

Readers of The Pioneer will recall that Postmaster Ansley recently telegraphed the postoffice officials at Washington with refer ence to the inadequacy of the mail service provided for this district, and making some timely suggestions In last weeks mail he received letter in reply to his telegram as follows;
 ashington, Feb. 26, 1917. Postmaster, 1ditarod, Alaska:
 Replying to your telegram of the Z3d instant, in regard to the weight of malls carried to 1dltarod on route Mo- 7Sl49, Seward to Flat, l have to inform you that the mails for each office are apportloned according to the size of the office and the amount of mail received and it is thought that in view of the very high cost of serv- ice the department would not be warranted in mourning the expense that would be in volved for increasing the service for the transportation of additional mails at this time However, your telegram has been re- ferred to the representative of this office having direct supervision of the dispatch of the mails for review as to whether the proper amount of mail Is being dispatched for Iditarod. OTTO PRAEGER, Second Assistant Postmaster General"
 Action Should Be Taken
 As there are but two more mails to be dispatched over the trail from ldltarod, 1t is not likely that there will be any changes in the present method of handling malls. But preparations should be begun immedl- ately to lay the facts concerning the situa- ton before the officials for their guidance next season The present contract expires in 1918, and before a new contract IS CT tered into by the government efforts should be made to secure better treatment for our people by the postal authorities.
 The service during the past winter has been less satisfactory than in either of the previous two years of the Seward Idtarod contract. Not because of failure to deliver the mail dispatched; this has been eminently satisfactory and has been interfered with only occasionally by severe weather condi- tions. The difficulty is that the territory served under the contract Is gradually belng enlarged while the amount of mall dis patched each week remains the same as at the beginning Residents of surrounding districts which are supposed to be served by other routes have discovered that they can use the Iditarod service to better ad- vantage and they have their mail addressed here and forwarded by private carrier. New camps which have been established since the contract was let draw on this office also, large quantities being frequently dispatched to Marshall. Tolstoi and Kuskokwim points by private carriers All this tends to dimln- ish the mail service to actual residents of this district
 In the matter of first class mail delivery there is no complaint. The difficulty lies in the failure to receive second-class matter, which is so important to 8 community which Is isolated from the outside world for eight months of the year. It is probable that many hundreds of dollars are spent yearly in this district for subscri ptlons to news papers and periodicals of which not single copy is delivered during the winter. They are allowed to accumulate at the terminal and then dumped by the wagonload on the local postofice after the opening of navl- gation in the spring, when they are of eb- solutely no value.
 It is not unreasonable to believe that if these facts were put before the department officials in the proper light and backed up by the people of the district, as much at tention might be paid to the matter as has been given to the vigorous protests of the people of Fairbanks, which city is now in the enjoyment of such an excellent service.
 In the meantime the postmasters tele- gram will probably repose peacefully with the Representative" of the postoftice de pertinent to whom it was consigned.