Some years ago at the request of Postmaster General Gary, the Secretary of State addressed a letter to each of our ambassadors and ministers in Europe, asking for information touching the extent and character of rural delivery in the countries to which they were accredited. In the answers received it was shown, for example, that in Great Britain there was substantially a house-to-house rural delivery, only the most inaccessible domiciles being left unvisited. The English rural postman, traveling chiefly on foot, walks from 15 to 18 miles a day, for an average pay of 18 shillings, or $4.50 a week. A paternal government provides him with a uniform, gives him $5 a year to buy shoes, furnishes him medical attendance when sick, and permits him to retire on a small pension after ten years of faithful service. In France rural carriers, who also travel on foot, are paid a mileage of 7¼ centimes a kilometer, or not quite 2½ cents a mile, for the distance they cover. The average length of a route is from 10 to 15 miles, and they are required to cover it every day in the year, Sunday included. They receive an allowance for clothing, and may retire on a pension at the end of fifteen years. The service extends into every commune, and practically all France is covered by rural free delivery. In Germany the delivery of mails in remote rural districts is not exactly free. Extra postage is charged, part of which goes to the carrier and part to the government. The pay of carriers, outside of this allowance, is from 700 to 900 marks a year, with 100 marks additional for house rent (a German mark being equivalent to 24 cents of our money). In Austria-Hungary the rural carrier is hired by the postmaster of the local office to which he is attached and paid by him. He is authorized to collect a fee of half a cent on all letters and an eighth of a cent on all newspapers delivered by him. His average pay is about $120 a year. To earn this sum he travels 10 miles a day, always on foot. Before he can enter upon his duties he has to make a deposit of $80 (or two-thirds of a year’s salary) with the postmaster as security for carrying out his contract. The Belgian rural carrier makes a daily round trip of 15 or 16 miles on foot, and is paid a salary which varies according to the supposed cost of living in the district where he serves, but which seldom exceeds $250 a year. He is denied the right to vote, and prohibited from taking part in politics. What Was a Newspaper? Act of 1825