RURAL MAILS

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLV, Issue 142, 20 May 1925, Page 4

RURAL MAILS

SUGGESTIONS TO DEPARTMENT. BY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Following the delivery of his address yesterday on the work of tlu> Post and Telegraph Department, Mr A. T, Markman. secretory "of tho department, was waited upon by a deputation of members of the Palmerston. North Chamber of Commerce, including Mr J. A. Nash, M.P. Mr H. E. Paoey, in 'the absence of the president (Mr H. L. Young), presided, and addressing tho gathering expressed the pleasure of the chamber .at, for the first time, receiving a visit from Mr Markman. “Bv announcing that Palmerston North is to ‘be constituted a chief post office you have largely drawn our teeth;” said Mr P.aoey, when alluding to the matters which the chamlier had dittoed to bring under the notice of the secretary to-the department. “We can only express gratification at tlie treatment accorded Palmerston North in that matter,” Jm continued, adding that .later they desired the General Post Office to be located here ihd to have the district represented by a Cabinet Minister. He then called upwn Mr J. H. Stevens, as a former officer of ‘the department and a preoent member of the chamber, to place several boifon* -Alt Markman. Mr Stevens said, dial; toe first thing he desired to mention was the addresses adopted in rural deliveries, Often, 'he stated, these were too cumbersome and caused confusion, and he suggested that rural residents be given a number like an ordinary post office box number to simplify matters. There was also the matter “rural” numbers in the telephone licit- When one came to die name of a. person on “rural” there was a cross and the instruction to look up another page for'the" special numbers applicable to that iiiaotion, That he deemed a waste of time and -he thought that the rural number itself could, be placed opposite the name where it firat appeared, with instructions to dial 8880 to connect it. That would save a double search in the directory. The disappearance of the alphabetical index from the directory he also deplored, stating that it find prove d most useful. His fourth representation was that the Woodvino directory should be included in the Palmerston. North one, for although Woodville wan only 18 miles away they had no immediate means cf itscerlaining the number of subscribers on that exchange. That in-formation wan not to be found in the Wellington, . Wanganui, or Napier directories, but in those of Maeterton, of all places. It would l>r on advantage to local business men also, he added, to nave Dannevirke included in tike Palmerston North directory. MR MARKMAN’S REPLIES. Regarding: numbers for rural mail deliveries, Mr Markman said that ho would give th:> matter consideration though he thought that the proposal would be fraught with difficulties in the matter of numbering, having regard to the fact that new subscribers, to the scheme would be added at divers points, .making consecutive numbering very difficult, and that they must have for the purposes of efficient. delivery. Regarding the second' question, he agreed that the present method of listing rural numbers ivas cumbersome and promised that, he would loollt into the mailer, which had not. before been brought under his notice. Regarding the indexing of telephone subscribers, he could not explain why that procedure had been discontinued, but lie could stale with authority that it wasi not done in nioet overseas countries. Canada, for instance, had just such a directory as they had in Palmerston North. It wan a point which would receive his attention. The request to have Woodville included in tho Palmerston North directory was a big thing, for the cost of printing 'extra copies ot the directory was very heavy and the department hud to consider keeping down overhead expenses as much as possible. Probably the business people knew best whether Woodville had much business connection with Palmerston North. “We print 15,0C0 to 20,000 directories in Wellington and it ia a very costly business,” ho stated. Mr Markman promised, however, to give tlu mutter consideration.

Mr W. McKensie (secretary of the chamber) brought up the question of the intiil dclvery from Packakanki to Palmerston North und the intermediate towns, at night, lie pointed out that a motor car running on behalf of a Wellington newspaper mot a train from Wellington at l’ackakariki early in the evening and ceaic on to Palmerston North. He asked Mr Markman whether there could not be :> mail delivery by the car for places ea route..

Mr R. 11. Billons said that for a letter from Levin to- reach Palmerston North the same day it had to be posted at 10 a.m. That caused a. loss of business and created an inconvenience. Formerly, the mail service bed been better on this line, but the alterations effected by the Railway Department hail altered the position. Mr Markman said that that might, be the correct, point cf view of those outside th# department, but. those within had to view the matter from Che point of view of whether it service ins proposed was necessary and warranted, evert if the facilities were there. The 'department was opposed to subsidising private enterprise unless it was quite necessary. The Hutt. for instance, received about eight mails a day, but only because there were trains running to suit. Were that not the case there would bo only one mail per day in that direction. It was a question of whether the ' amount of business transacted from places like levin by letter after 10 a.m. warranted a further mail. He would investigate the position. Mr Nash, in moving a, vote of thanks to Mr Markman, expressed cordial appreciation of the work of that officer and the action of the Postmastei-General in constituting Palmerston North a chief post office.

The motion was carried with enthusiasm, Mr TT iR. Hodder who seconded it, also supporting the remarks of Mr Nash.