OCR Text |
Show , j . Rural Tree Delivery. l S Tho fact th.1t at the piesent time faimeis that Use in a tenitory lepie- t-, 6 sentlng :i00,000 sipiaie miles of the I United State-. hae the mall delheicd Vl j J and collected by government uiuleis, S'a t Mf Indicates the development of the ' fif Kui.il Fiee Dollveo svstoin. When it j, jlf ls lemeinbeied that this aiea com- h ijj pilsesncirlj oiio-thhd of the picscnl M ' tcnltoii of tlie countiy devoted to t ' l agilcultuie. This seivlce In a small ijF! way began in lfcim. The peimanent f K oiganfatloii was not cllected until fflrt' July 1, UK).'. Since the date of the "; . permanent establlslmient of this ' HJj sjstem thofoiceof mall c.iulcis has , Wm Iweu Inuicased until theie Is now a P uyR force of li'.ooo men, who dally travel V, :mX about :500,ooi) miles of land for the 1 1 1 benefit of 7 000,000 of people. Some i !,' " counties enthely depend upon this & Sistein for their mail sen ice. About , L i 2,200 small post otllccs h.no been ills- jv f : continued, whose sal.uy list amount- l ', ed to jJOO.OOO annuall). In the f ( selection of men to cover the various ' M j loutes, tlie law piovldes that only '' j ; pels .. who have lived at least one sj i ? jciir within iho dlstiict covcicdaio 5 i i l' eligible to olllce. They must pass an 6 lh eviinlnatlon which tests their ability y to lead and write, and their knowledge f ' of iiiatheinatics. They must also pio-W. pio-W. - j vldo themselves with a suitable vehl-v' vehl-v' ' ki clo drawn by one or two hoi ses as be- 'yt comes necessary. A salaiy of 0on ; ajcar ispald to serve loutesoftvventy 1 miles and ovci; WOO for sixteen to inlEEES LMW mimi ji.if.iwijMWi fcipawnT jiwmi'mm wi.ii mm l twenty miles arh1g fiom these sums to $150 for shorter distances. These salaiies weie of a sulllelent Inducement Induce-ment for 00,000 applicants to be made In 1002. Many ofthemvvein farmeis and aged men, a small portion being lcsldents of towns. The Rcrvlcc Is not onlj dllllcult but includes some haidshlps especially In the sp.usely set tied and mountalnousdistilets. Many of the canlers exhibit a gieat deal of pride, in being able to serve the Government. Gov-ernment. Manyof them try toexcel In the appe.uance of their vehicles and In making the best lecord over tlielr respective routes. Uy the adoption of this sjstein, the faimeis feel that thoy arc mombeis of society and their welfaie is being consldeied by the Government to whom they pay ellegl-ance. ellegl-ance. To say the least tho thought Is uplifting and encouraging to all whoaieberiolltod by the system. It tends to make one moie satisfied with Ills lot, though it be far away from centeis of activity. The change thus being brought about may nave a tend-ejicy tend-ejicy to ovcicome the piejudice of a countiy life, which aheady ovists to some degiee among the joungcr gen-elation. gen-elation. Should It overcomo some of the existing discontent, the establishment establish-ment of the mini fiee tlellvciy will be well woith the expense to maintain it. The piesent Indications aie that the .svstoinwill bo self sustaining. Further Fur-ther the post olllce dcpailmcnt feel waiianted In asseitlng that It Is possible pos-sible to give cveiy ruial citizen of the United States the dally sci vice of a can lei except In some localities whore physical conditions lender It impossible. impossi-ble. Tiuly can It be said that we aie living under a broad, generous, benevolent bene-volent gov eminent. |