Show U S f r U L N f 8 S W U ft f H 1 V RAL FRI t 1 I IM DELIVERY k EXPLAINED BY FOURTH ASSIST ANT postmaster GENERAL de graw recommends rural delivery of packages at a special postage washington november 30 touch ing the heart of the agricultural communities mun muni ties ittes in every st state ate of the union the tho annual report of fourth assistant postmaster general 11 V do graw made public tonight announces increased usefulness of the rural free delivery service and the unprecedented bringing of the work of the bureau up to date and recommends rural delivery or of 0 ot f eleven pounds maximum at a special postage and the forming of rural carriers the package proY provision ision suggested requires congressional legislation and Is designed to be effective between the distributing postoffice post office and the patrons of any rural route emanating from such post postoffice office such a service according to the report would benefit alike the rural delivery patrons and local merchants without Jt hout injuring or competing with any other service it can call be given adds mr air DO de graw with the facilities now employed and would materially increase the revenues of the department ment A special reduced rate of postage for merchandise carried only by rura rural I 1 carriers would unquestionably be of material value to the retail mer mar chants on rural routes and at rural delivery distributing centers as well as enhance the influence of the rural ser 1 vice in making life in the country more attractive rural carriers at present are arc not permitted to carry for hire any matter of package k that IS 19 but congress increased the salaries of tho the carriers tho the demand for a package service by them fostered tit in the first years of rural free delivery still exists it should bo be met according to mr air de graw not lot in the old way which permitted tho the uso use of tile the governments abc agency ney tor for private gain but by tho the establishment of a system for tile the carriage of merchandise by rural carriers at such rates as will bo be a fair compensation tor for the service performed t the be revenues to be credited to tho the postal receipts pal pa ons and merchants ho be adds desire to have small packages delivered by rural carriers but will not pay tile the pi cosent fourth class rato rate which is prohibitive as applied to this class of service 1 the rural carriers in the service of which mr air de graw is tile the head dally pass homes hoine s and ho he recommends once more tho the adoption of a uniform ratu rate suitable sult ablo to tile the conditions editions under which they must work dvork as undoubtedly adding to the dignity and em efficiency clency of the rural service their high standard of Is attested by tile tho fact that only lbs car riera out of a total number of wern were dismissed for cause durl during ng tho the past t year I 1 rural del delivery ivOrY is now in operation in i I 1 miles of road over which carriers are arc required to travel dally of those loads leads miles are arc macadam tile tho remainder being earth sand or gravel ra cl since the gervice was waa first established babl ishad 11 has been expend ed cd on roads traversed by rural car biers road officials and patrons ate aie notified whenever repairs are necessary on rural routes more work has been done on such h public bublic highways and more expenditures made in their improvement during the past year than in any previous year in the history of 0 rural del delivery lvery and the ho official reports received clel clearly arly indicate that interest in road improvement Is being generally manifested ested throughout the country i the estimate of appropriations nee I 1 essary for this service tor for the next fiscal year as submitted by assistant i Past postmaster master general do graw is 36 i 1 an increase of over the current appropriation of this estimate Is tor for continuing the service on routes in operation i on june 30 last for continuing the service on routes which it is estimated will bo be established during the current fiscal year at an esti estimated mateL average salary for carriers of per annum to inaugurate new service during the fiscal year ending june 30 1910 to pay substitutes for carriers on vacation at an estimated average rate of per annum less six per cent deducted on account of carriers not in service twelve months to pay clerks in charge of stat stations Jons of rural delivery service and to pay tolls and forged charged chang for carriers who traverse toll roads or turnpikes or cross streams over toll bridges or ferras during the past year there were 1672 new routes established 17 routes discontinued prior thereto were rees reea re es ea and routes discontinued leaving net increase in number 1549 during the year 1958 discontinued and the patrons rendered service by rural carriers on only a avie more inore than 10 percent per cent cont of 0 tha rural routes the quantity of mall mail handled was lc less s than ples pieces per quarter which heretofore has been considered a fair average for a standard route Include din this number are tri trl weekly routes and a number of short routes serving restricted territories the report recommends legislation by congress which will permit the adoption of an improved method of disposing of undeliverable articles of mail so as to eliminate las as far as practicable the objectionable lottery features involved in carrying out the existing law on the subject in the dead letter office during the year there were received places pieces of mall mail and there were returned to senders letters and parcels or almost two million more than in the previous year on oil the last day of the fiscal year every piece of mall mail matter received had been opened and treated an unprecedented condition in alki mork of the division the report recommends increasing the number of positions in the higher grades of clerkships clerk clark ships with corresponding decrease in lower grades |