454 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



Free Delivery of mail in the 

 rural districts is one of the things to 

 expect in the near future. A trial has 

 been made by the Postmaster General, 

 and the result is very encouraging. 

 Congress is expected to legalize this free 

 delivery at its next session. This will 

 be a boon to bee-keepers and farmers 

 generally, giving them much needed 

 mail facilities. Letters and papers will 

 be received with more regularity, greater 

 interest will be maintained in current 

 literature, and " knowledge will be 

 increased" in an astonishing degree. 



The following extract from a letter 

 from Washington, D. C, shows what has 

 been accomplished by our energetic Post- 

 master General : 



The present Postmaster General has 

 discovered that no matter in what way 

 the postal facilities are increased, added 

 business and added revenue are sure to 

 follow. 



He has established scorcis of sub- 

 stations in cities ; established hundreds 

 of small post-offices ; added railway mail 

 trains, and made them faster ; put clerks 

 in the post-offices, and added carriers ; 

 expedited the special delivery ; caused 

 examinations of post-offices by the thou- 

 sand, so that the ideas of postmasters 

 might be interchanged ; and, in a gen- 

 eral way, by drawing attention to the 

 minutest, as well as the largest opera- 

 tions of the service, caused people gen- 

 erally to take an interest in it, and 

 hence to use it more. 



He has argued in the postal telegraph 

 fight that the reduction of rates for 

 telegrams which he proposes, and the 

 facilities which he ofTers for collecting 

 and delivering them, would not be a 

 cause of loss to the telegraph companies, 

 but, on the other hand, would add to 

 their revenues. He proposes to reduce 

 the registry fee. 



He argued in the |)ostal savings bank 

 fight that with the establishment of the 

 postal savings bank in the communities 

 where it is now inconvenient to make 

 deposits of savings, not only would the 

 general business, as well as the special 

 business of the post-offices be increased, 

 but also that the activities of all busijiess 

 men would be added to by the tremen- 

 dous additions of quick capital which 

 these savings would inevitably involve. 



So of the free delivery experiments — 

 every sign promises success. 



Xlie Many friends of Mr. George 

 E. Hilton will be interested in the follow- 

 ing letter, detailing his sickness and 

 present condition : 



Dear Feiend Newmax: — You have 

 always exhibited more than a common 

 interest in my welfare, and I know you 

 will be glad to learn of my present con- 

 dition, as it is an improvement over the 

 past four weeks. I have not been out 

 yet, and can only sit up a little while at 

 a time, but am recovering from perhaps 

 the most serious illness of my life. I 

 was taken on the first day of September 

 with a terrible hoarseness and Summer 

 complaint, but kept around until the 

 7th, when I was taken with neuralgia 

 in ever muscle in my body. I was 12 

 miles from home at the time, and by the 

 time I reached home and got a doctor, I 

 was nearly wild. The doctor has since 

 told me that I would soon either have 

 been in spasms or insane. 



Well, about the time they got this 

 condition out of me by perspiration, I 

 was taken with congestion of the left 

 lung. This caused incessant coughing 

 and expectoration, which brought on 

 prolapsus of the lower bowels with 

 hemorrhage. This weakened me more 

 than all else, and accounts for my pres- 

 ent weak condition, both physically and 

 mentally, as you will detect by this 

 letter, 



I was very rebellious during the early 

 part of my sickness. The honey crop 

 was a failure, and other things com- 

 bined to make it the poorest season for 

 years, and I felt the necessity of taking 

 up my old occupation for a time — con- 

 tracting and building — was fortunate in 

 securing a contract that was worth $5 

 a day to me. I was on the works five 

 days when I was stricken down, and the 

 doctor says I can do nothing more this 

 Fall in that line. The work is going on 

 under the supervision of my brother, 

 but you know I ought to be there, too. 

 Geo. E. Hilton. 



We hope for a speedy recovery, and a 

 permanent cure, restoring our friend to 

 his usual health and activity. 



Xlie ]Vortli American Bee- 

 Keepers' Convention will be held at 

 Albany, N. Y., Dec. 8 to 11. Reduced 

 rates on all the trunk line railroads are 

 secured. The official notice is printed on 

 page 472. Read it carefully. 



