RURAL POSTAL DELIVERIES

Taihape Daily Times, 6 January 1919, Page 4

RURAL POSTAL DELIVERIES

One of the difficulties experienced by the Postal Department with regard to keeping up rural post services is the largely- increased cost of the tenders. That old factor, "horsefeed," is more formidable than ever, and other things are also much dearer In these circumstances the department is trying to persuade certain rural districts, where the cost of the mail service is much below the revenue, to increase their subsidies, but in some districts the settlers are loth to listen to such requests. The Acting-Postmaster-General (the Son. W. D. S.- MaeD.onald) remarked on Friday that the department did not press pioneer Settlers, who had to |carve their way into a position of profit, but it held that well-established, prosperous farmers should be willing to pj-iy reasonable subsidies' in localities where the mail business was run at a heavy loss. Numbers of these wealthy persons practically say to the department: "Pass it on to the general public" They declare th t at it would be a "retrograde step," to ease the, burden of the public by passing it on to them (as fneir contribution towards the deficit on a mail service for their benefit.)