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Show THE RURAL FREE I POSTAL DELIVERY. I WASHINOTON, Feb, 17 Introduction Introduc-tion of the postage stamp marked the firstgreat epoch In the history of the United States postal s)stem Another stride In progress wn the Introduction of tho free delivery s-rvlce by which mall was tnken to the doors of residents of cities nnd towns. Hut nn entirely new era wns begun by tho establishment establish-ment of the rural flee delivery service, which promises to pcrvado Ilia whole country In greater degtee. In proportion to populitlon, than does the free delivery de-livery )slcm pervade the population centeis Ths peoplo have never stopped to enquire en-quire w bethel or not the latter servlco was self-supportinr. It" convenience wns a boon to tlm people and the) demanded de-manded that their mall be delivered nt their doors. Bo It Is with the country folk In many rural communities freo delivery rmites have been placed In operation nnd the extraordinary benefit the s)Stem nfford to the mini populo-lion populo-lion aro known to every county of the Union Prom every section there la a wild clamor for freo delivery of mall, the Introduction of which la working n evolution In the lives of farm-dwellers and must'havo a civilizing and corrective correc-tive Influence upon rural society so highly beneficial that the question of the lost of tho service In dollars and cents will be lost sight of. nural freo delivery Is a fixed fact. Its growth has been phenomenal. It will make the American postal system the most perfect In the world. I have found It to be nn nrceptnl fnct In Wnshlngton that Hon Perry S. Heath, former First Assistant Postmaster Oencrnl Is the progenitor of the rural freo delivery sjslem In Un present affective af-fective form Something akin to tho Idea had been suggested by Postmaster Postmas-ter Genmal Wannnmaker, but the Cleveland administration repudiated the scheme. Postmaster Oenc rnl Wilson Wil-son considered It foolhardy. And so it was, under the Democratic) conception of what a rural freo delivery systeni wn or ought to be. It remained for Mr Heath, under Itepubllrnn auspices, to work out the great problems In the path of success, and to blaze tho way for coming generations In tho postnl service, nnd to make possible the delivery de-livery of mall to every country residence resi-dence from Maine to California. No one before hint had been able to do It, Leaders of both Houses of Congress were opposed to the proposition on tho ground of Its heavy expense to tho taxpayers, some of them holding that tp perfect the sstem would cost as much annually as Is now appropriated for army pensions Others held that Mr, Heath's propositions were visionary vision-ary and untenable nnd even If not, too expensive, tho system as he planned plan-ned It would be Impracticable. Ho was compelled to fight every Inch of the ground Summoned before Congressional Con-gressional committees time and again to defend the request for the appropriation, appro-priation, Mr, Heath was badgered and even Insulted because of his dogged persistency In pursuit ot the great object ob-ject he had In view. Firm in the conviction con-viction that final results would Justify his attitude, ho battteel through three Kf succcsslvo Fesslons ot Congress In do- B( fenso ot a liberal appropriation to de- E fray the expenses ot an expanding B tirnl free delivery service. Mr. Heath worked with the committeemen Singly 1 and collectively In nn earnest effort to ) show the certnln utility of tho pro- M posed servlco. a fact which has since t been demonstrated to every member M ot Congress Appropriations for tho rural free delivery service como now M largely as a matter of course, because M the constituencies of the members of f Congress will not havo It any other fl way. M A good story Is told here descriptive of Mr, Healh'a method of converting; "'lLfl obstinate members of the House ap. H proprlatlon committee, who declined to heed his arguments In behalf ot the M proposed rural service. Some of them M would admit the force of the reason- H Ing, but many declared the scheme to H be visionary and Impracticable and If M that were not so It would, It persisted M in, utterly binkmpt tho country They M were told III reply that the Inltlarcost 1 of instituting free delivery service In ,H cities nnel towns was Just 100 per cent greater than Unit of Instituting the M rural service, and et the people were , M not complilnlng of excessive cost of H the urban service. They were told that H one-fourth of the population is In free M delivery cities; that only 20 per cent of H tho tnxpa)crs (exclusive of New York H nnd Chicago aro served by free dellv- M ery and that 80 per rent ot the mem- M bershlp ot Congress nt that time rep. M resented constituencies which knew H nothing of free delivery of mall to H their doors, thnt rural delivery might M bo made self-supporting through the M abandonment of stnr routes and smalt H postnfllcrs supplanted by the rural H service. Many moro salient facts wera M hurled nt these obtuse Congressmen i H apparently to nn purpose yet Mr. B Heath did not despair. He resorted to H sharp tactics. A list was made ot the M House members on thn appropriation B committee nnd ot the Senate commit- , tee on poatolllres nnd postroads. Or BBl dcin were given that their constlluen- cles bo singled nut for special favor In HjSJ the matter of establishing rural routes, IBBJ nnd the crop wns quickly planted and jB well cultivated, without the consent or connlvnnce of the honorable member or Senator n the case mlsht be. It ja was expected that Ihe harvest would ) bo reaped at the next session of Con- 1 j Soon after th opening day a New ' ( Hngland Senator, who eyluaya does his i flHjg own thinking, met Mr. Heath In the M corridor ot the Capitol. I M "I congratulate you, Mr, Heath, up- j B on your success in building a fire all ) around mo In reference to your rural f route scheme, I guess I'll have to ca- 1-t HjSJ pltttlate You've given my people a JB taste nt tho service nnd now everybody HH must have It. Your nrgument may be ' questionable, but It in effective," HjVJ In thin way the long, stubborn fight wn won and some day there will be a Hjffl wide popular recognition ot the author B nnd promoter of nn Idea which Is rev- olutlonlzlug the postal system jf the jfj country. J 11. 1IAYNKS. , |