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A 2 - Tim OMAIIA SUNDAY BEE: JULY 1911.
Rural Delivery Now Serves Twenty Millions of People
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TMI3 MAN HAS CHARq-C OP
.10.00O RURAL MAIL CARRIERS.
(Copyright, 1911. by Frank 0. Carpenter.) new routes have been largely complied with and that
ASHINGTON, D. C. (Special Correspon- within a few weeka the department will be up to date.
dence 6f The Bee.) Fifteen years ago The service has now been extended to every part of
- when Uncle Sam was ' still but little the United States, although there are scattering sec
tions where It has not yet been Introduced. Over
600 new routes were provided for last year. During
the comlag year the new salaries will come into
effect and from now on the carriers who have to cover
distances of twenty-four miles and more will receive
f 1,000 per annum, ranging down from there to $400
or $500, which la the pay for those who cover from
six to ten miles.
In my talk with the fourth assistant postmaster
general I asked him if he did not think $1,000 a
rather high wage for a man whose work was alto
gether outside the city, where board is cheap and
wages are generally much lower. He replied:
"It la not a high rate of pay for the service re
quired, and a man could not well do it for less. It Is
a lower rate comparatively than that of the postmen
of the cities, who get from $600 to $.1,000 a year,
according to the size of the town and the length of
their service; they receive this without having to
make any investment or to incur any extra expense
for their work. The rural free delivery "man, who
makes twenty-four miles a day for six days of the
week, needs at least two horses, and on some of the
routes three horses are necessary to render regular
service during bad weather. These have to be fur-
more than a machine " for ' collecting
taxes and paying 'employes, the" man
outside the. city got his letters as he
could once a day, once a week, or, per
haps, once a month. To do so he had to ride or walk
miles, and his only source of sending mail was
through the country postoffice, to which he must go.
Then began the era of Uncle Sam, patriarch, and
the agents of the Postoffice Department commenced
to call dally on the homes of the farmers. This
was the beginning of the rural free delivery, which
has now spread to every part of the country, and
dally serves more than twenty millions of people.
There are already over 40,000 rural mall carriers,
who are always en route, and the miles they daily
travel are more than four times as great as from
here to the moon. In a year, of 300 working days,
they cover a distance of about 300,000,000 miles, or
over three times as far as from the earth to the sun,
and the total annual cost of the service approximates
the enormous sum of $36,000,000.
Starting the Rural Iee Delivery.
Before I tell you of the new plans which Uncle
Bam has for this branch of his business plans which
Involve the parcels post and other important addi
tions I want to say a word as to how the Rural
free delivery was started. It had bee a in use la
other countries for years, when Uncle Sam took it
up. The British were sending their letters to al
most every home in the United Kingdom, and so.
(Were the Belgiaas, French, Swiss and Germans, long
before we began to consider the matter. Then about
the year 1890 our postmaster generals began to look
into it, and in 1893 one of them reported to congress
(igalnst It, saying that it was impracticable and that
It would cost at least $20,000,000 per annum and
irould bring little back. A year later congress was
(Willing to test the matter and made an appropria
tion of $10,000 for the purpose,' but Postmaster
General BIbbcII refused to spend the money so fool
ishly, and when, a year or two later, the appropria
tion was Increased to $20,000. Postmaster General
(Wilson said that the plan was. impracticable, and it
Was not until 1896, when congress gave him $50,
000 that he made the first test. The business was
then started in forty-two places, but it was badly
managed and it did not succeed.
The following year it was tried again, but this
time at the request of the. then first assistant post
master general,- Mr.-Perry 8. Heath, who got con
gress to appropriate $150,000 for the purpose. Mr.
Heath urged the matter, but some of the senators
Objected, and one of them said:
"Mr. Heath, you are acting very unwisely. The
TlrBt thing you know-we will have' all our farmers
demanding a daily delivery, and they will cause us
BO end of trouble."
Perry Heath replied that the farmers had the.
right to a dally mail as well as the city people; that
they were taxed just as heavily and that they had
Just as great a part In the government. At any rate,
the appropriation was granted and eighty-three routes
were established that year. The next year the num
ber was doubled, and ten years thereafter the carriers
were more than 37,000 in number. At that time the
mileage was over 800.000 and the cost had risen to
be more than . $26,000,000 per . annum. It is now
$10,000,000 more, and the length of the routes, all
fold, Is Just about 1.000,000 miles.
Talk With P. V. De Graw.
, During the last week I have had a long chat with
the fourth assistant postmaster general,- Mr. P. V.
De Graw, concerning the new plans for the extenaion
pf the service. He fells me that the applications for-
nlshed out of the
pocket 6f the
man himself, and
he has only $600
or $700 left for
his wages.
"Mor eo ve r ,"
cnoQhued Mr. De
Graw, "It is
found that with
the dally wear
and tear to
which a carrier's
equipment is
subjected that
the life of both
horses and veh
icles ranges
from three to
five years, so
you see he has
not such a soft
snap, after all.
In cases where
he travels less
than twenty-four
miles he gets
less money. I
am not in favor
of too low wages
n the Postoffice
department. My
idea is the same
as that held by former President Roosevelt; this la
that the national government should be a model em-,
ployer; that it should demand the highest quality of
service from its employes and should care for them
properly la return.'" ' ' '
Parcels Post and Rural Delivery.
"What do you think of the parcels post In connec
tion with the rural delivery? Will It come?"
- "Yes, la time, although congress has not given
us an appropriation to experiment with as yet. The
Postoffice department would Jlke to see It tested; It
would certainly Increase the usefulness of the postal
service, and a system might be established for the
carriage of merchandise at such rates as would be a
fair compensation for the service performed and
would materially Increase our revenues. The people
want to send small packages of merchandise by mall
through the rural delivery, but they will not pay the
fourth class rato. Such a service could be organized
for the local merchants and the rural delivery to cus
tomers of anjr one section without injuring or com
peting with any other service. We have the machin
ery for it In operation, and it would materially ln
must In addition pay for hlB (vehicles. The estimated
average cost of maintenance such an outfit Is $250
per annum, and the original cost of the horses and
vehicles Is $275 or more.
" The average annual cost of the carrier's outfit.
In fact, is from $300 to $350, and even at the best he
crease the income of the department. By this means
a special reduced rate of postage could be made upon
merchandise carried only by rural carriers. I have
no doubt of its practicability. If every one of our
rural delivery carriers would take on an average of
three packages a day at a cost of 25 cents each there
would be a return of $16,000,000 from that business
alone. We are now running the department without
a deficit, but that $16,000,000 would be added to the
surplus, for it would not cost us any more than the
amount we are now spending. i
"A few years ago I recommended that the delivery
by rural carriers to communities remote from post
offices be supplemented by a parcels post delivery at
a special rate of postage if 5 cents for the first pound
and of 2 cents for each additional pound or fraction
thereof up to eleven pounds; provided that the goods
were mailed at the distributing postoffice of the rural
route upon which the customers live. I have no
doubt some kind of a satisfactory arrangement could
be made which would be of great convenience to thd
people and to the country merchants."
Cheap Postage for Foreigners.
"Ab it is now, Mr. De Graw, a merchant living in
London or Berlin can send goods through our malls
more cheaply than though he had a branch office in
New York and sent his goods from there, can he not?-"
"That is true," was the reply. "According to the
present arrangements all fourth-class matter posted
at any one place In the United States to any other
place therein costs 1 cent an ounce or 16 cents a
pound, and the limit of weight is four pounds. The
New York agent of the London firm, if he seat the
goods by mall from New York, would have to dlvldn
them up into four-pound packages, and If they were
full weight, pay 64 cents for each such package, and
should he wish to ship eleven pounds he would have
to put them into three different packages, one of
which might be three pounds, and the whole eleven
pounds would cost him $1.76. Oa the other hand,
suppose the London merchant shipped direct from his
house In London; he could then put the eleven pounds
In one package, provided that, package was not more
than three feet six inches long, and could send it for
12 cents a pound, or for $1.31. For this sum he
could mall It to San Francisco, Los Angeles or any
part of the United States. If he sent a four-pound
package from London, instead of its costing him 64
cents it would cost him 48 cents, aud if two pounds,
24 cents instead of 32 cents, which would be the rate
if mailed in the United States. Similar rates prevail
for the shipment of articles from here to foreign coun
tries, it being much cheaper to send the same article
from Chicago to Cairo or Calcutta than from Chicago
to New York. In the one case the merchandise goes
by the international parcels post rate at 12 cents a
pound and in the other at our domestic rate, which
la 16 cents a pound."
Rural Delivery and the Newspapers.
"What has the rural delivery done for the press
of the United States?" I asked.
"It has increased the circulation of the newspapers
to an enormous extent; It has made the farmer a dally
Is Woman's Constitution Stronger Than Man's?
1
kO GREAT advance in the development of
the human race can be hoped for until
the physical disparity between the sexes
is first thoroughly understood and ac
counted for.
Scientists have long realized this and
efforts have been made to solve some of
the many problems which the subject presents.
Not long ago 2,000 students of both sexes, aver
aging 21 years of age, were subjected to the most
searching scientific tests at Amherst college, in order
to obtain reliable comparative data. It was found
that in almost every respect the men were physically
superior to the women, and yet the fact remains that
women live longer than men. How is this apparent
anomary to be explained?
The Amherst experiments showed that the average
capacity of a man's lungs is 251 cubic Inches as com
pared with 145 cubic Inches for the woman's. The
male right foot, 10 1-5 inches; the female 9 Inches.
The strength of the male's right arm compared with
that of the female is as 85 to 48, while the strength
of the man's legs is as 836 to 149 compared with the
woman's.
The accepted belief of man's superiority is boldly
attacked by Dr. A. H. Stewart of Lawton, Okl., in an
article in the New York Medical Record ou the com
parative longevity of the sexes.
As a result of a careful Investigation of the sub
ject, Dr. Stewart reaches the conclusion that women
are better equipped for the battle of life than meu,
and are therefore the better able to survive its shocks.
As he picturesquely expresses it, "woman is a phy
siological miser; she accumulates energy without ex
pending it, while man is a physiological prodigal; he
expends more energy than he accumulates." Dr. Stew
art cites the census returns of this country and Eu
rope. These figures clearly establish woman's greater
longevity.
Women, it seems, are more apt to contract In
fectious diseases than men, but they offer better re
sistance than men, and therefore succumb less fre
quently. Women mature at an earlier age than men, and
this fact, Dr. Btewirt believes, makes them respond
more readily to external and internal stimuli than
men. It is this special susceptibility of woman, too, that
readers her more liable to attacks of hysteria, neu
rasthenia, emotional states and the milder forms of
Insanity. Instead, however, of this special affectlbility
being an evidence of constitutional frailty, as has been
supposed, it appears to serve as a distinct advantage,
acting somewhat as a sentinel or outpoBt to ward oft
attacks upon more Important centers.
When the emotions, the affections, stimulate to
activity, as in the case of nursing sick friends, it ap
pears that women can endure more hardships, espe
cially in the loss of sleep, than men can.
All physiologists agree that woman's blood has
fewer red corpuscles, contains less coloring matter, Is
of lower specific gravity and Is more watery than
man's blood. Man dies suddenly much oftener than
woman. Men suffer from baldness much oftener than
women.
The fact that woman lives a more protected life,
avoids the stresses and strains that favor senility,
may be a factor, but It can hardly be the only factor
In her superior tenacity of life. If 1,000 able-bodied
men and 1,000 able-bodied women be uniformed,
armed and equipped for battle and ordered on a long
and weary march to the front, more men would prob
ably reach their destination, while more women would
be found exhausted, but more men found dead on the
roadside.
Owing to their peculiar psychological organization,
women heed the warnings of fatigue and avoid the
fatal crash, while man, with his iron will, after com
plete exhaustion, resolves to take another step if he
dies In the attempt.
Wonders Worked by Indian Magicians
M
ANY travelers have TlBlted India for the
purpose of studying and learning the oc
cult art of the Hindoo magicians, says the
Philadelphia Inquirer. The mango trick
has become quite famous. The mango is
an Indian fruit, something in the shape of the Ameri
can pear. The mango trick may be described as fol
lows: A Hindoo magician will walk into a room where
an audience of thirty or forty people are assembled;
he will call for some earth which any one may pro
cure and set before him. He will take- a seed of the
maugo and, covering it up with the earth, place a
sheet over the whole. He will then call for one of
the audience to lift up the sheet, when there tflll be
seen a small . sprout budding forth. Presently It
grows Into a tree and at last bears fruit, of which
the magician plucks one and offers it to any person
present to eat.
In another trick the magician has a basket, which
be offers to the public for Inspection. It is a large,
plain straw basket A woman gets Into it and he
covers her with a sheet. He then draws a dagger
from his belt, which he plunges into the sheet. You
hear the cries of the woman; some of the audience
faint and the next moment you find the same woman
whom you saw enter the basket standing behind you
asking for backsheesh (money).
A Hindoo magician will stand in the open field
in the city of Calcutta and, when surrounded by quite
a crowd, will Imitate the cries of birds and very soon
different varieties of birds, coming from every direc
tion, will hover at a height above him and fly around
his person.
Among the Hindoo magicians are to be found
snake-charmers, whose power over the reptiles 1b won
derful. You may often hear In the streets of Calcutta
the sound of the Scottish bagpipe, which is the herald
of the Hindoo snake-charmer.
One of these men is often known to walk into
the residence of an Englishman in Calcutta and, after
having gone through a most rigid examination to show
that there Is nothing on his person, will begin to play
on his bagpipe, when a cobra de capello will be seen
crawling from one of the corners of the room, to the
utter amazement of the English man.
subscriber and has led to the building np of small
dallies all over the country. The farmers are the
real thinkers of the United States, and since the rural
delivery has been established they have been doing
more thinking than ever. They are more careful
readers than the city people; they go through the pa
pers column by column, reading the news articles and
not merely the headlines; they study the editorials,
and the result of their thinking is seen in the letters
which come here to Washington and to congress. We
have had to discontinue some of our routes, and in
such cases we find that the most strenuous protests
come from those who are thus prevented from dally
receiving their favorite newspapers.
Working for Road Improvement.
"Another important thing that the rural mall serv
ice is accomplishing," said the fourth assistant post
master general, "1b connected with the roads of the
country. We are now working with the Agricultural
Departmental Bureau of Road Improvement, and are
insisting on good roads wherever the malls are car
ried. We refuse to grant a route until the roads have
been put into shape, and if they become lmpassablo
or in such a condition that the delivery cannot bo
easily continued over them we insist that they be re
paired or say that the service will be discontinued.
In this work we are assisted by the road officials of
many of the states, who Bend out to each rural carrier
a blank containing questions to be answered as to the
conditions of the roads over which he travels.
"He Is asked to report as to the materials of which
they are composed, as to the condition of their bridges
and as to how they are worked.
"The state of Indiana, for instance, has made a
law that all the highways along the rural delivery
routes must be kept In passable condition all the year
round. A neglect to comply with this law after five
days notice is punishable by a fine of from $1 to $25
per day, which Is levied on the locality. Other states
are considering similar laws, and by these means ma
terial improvements are being made in the roads of
the country.
' "As it 1b now our carriers are going dally over,
nearly a million miles of roadway, and we have now
instructed the postmasters at the rural delivery
offices to send In detailed reports concerning these
roads. So far we find that only 35,000 miles of them
are of macadam, the remainder being of earth, sand
or gravel. The reports show that since the rural
delivery service was established more than $70,000,
000 has'been expended on the roads traversed by our
carriers, and we are glad to say that the road officials
and people generally are doing much to put the roads
into better shape for the service. In the last year
more work has been done on such public highways
than in any other year since the rural delivery was
started and our reports indicate that a general inter
est in road improvement is being manifested through
out the country."
Passing of the Small Postofflces.
"Does not the rural delivery do away with many
of the smaller postofflces?" I asked.
"They have been discontinued by the thousand.
There is no necessity for many such offices with an
efficient rural carrier service. The carrier is not a
mere collector and distributer of the mall; his wagon
is a miniature postoffice on wheels, often containing
compartments for stamps of the denominations in
general use and stamped envelopes and postal cards;
he has the authority to sell these as well as to register
letters delivered to him which may contain money or
other valuable matter. In some places he is au
thorized to exchange currency for money orders sent
by the people on his route, and he delivers registered
letters and special delivery mall to the individuals,
taking their signatures therefor. It a farmer wishes
to mall a letter and has no stamps he can leave the
amount necessary to prepay the postage with the let
ter in the box and the carrier must stamp it. In short,
the service is aa far as possible what I have described
it a little postoffice on wheels."
Making Road Maps of the United States.
"What else is your division doing, Mr. De Graw?"
"As to this division," said the fourth assistant
postmaster general, "it does considerable outside the
rural delivery service. We have to do with all the
dead letter mail, which last year amounted to over
13,000,000 pieces, of which we opened and returned
to their owners more than 7,000,000. We have a
force of 176 clerks, under Colonel James R. Young,
who do nothing but handle dead letters and packages
which have been too badly addressed to be delivered.
That alone Is quite a chore.
"But outside that, and more directly connected
with the rural delivery service. Is the division of
topography; this Is little appreciated except here In
the department, but It is an Inijwrtant cog In our ma
chinery; it collects, compiles and publishes all the'
geographical information required by the service, in
cluding the platting of existing postofflces and the
mall routes. This Information is embodied in post
route maps and In blue prints. We have 500 such
maps In the department here, and they have to be
corrected to date every month. In addition we have
about 23,000 special diagrams, which are intended
for the railway mall service, and we have to draft
maps of the counties where the complete rural de
livery service has boer established. We made 275
new maps of that kind last year; these maps are of
great value not only to the department, but to out
siders; they are used by business, firms and private
individuals and are Bold at Just 10 per cent over the
cost of printing, the proceeds going to making mors
maps. Indeed, we have plenty to do."
FRANK O, CARPENTEH,
