The Government requires that the states or counties shall keep in good condition the roads traversed by the mail carriers.
Gates must not obstruct, and it is required that every unfordable stream shall be bridged.
It is further required, as a condition for establishing a line for rural free delivery, that each route of twenty-four or more miles in length shall have at least one hundred families resident on either side.
CLASSIFIED MAIL MATTER
Mail matter is divided into four classes. For each class a different rate is charged.
First Class:—All letters, and all other written matter, with a few exceptions, pay two cents for each ounce, or fraction of an ounce.
Second Class:—Newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals, one cent for each four ounces or fraction of four ounces. Publishers of periodicals, sending direct from place of publication, get a lower rate,—one cent a pound.
Third Class:—Books, circulars, and other printed matter, one cent for two ounces or fraction of two ounces.
Fourth Class:—Merchandise and miscellaneous articles, weighing not over four pounds, one cent for each ounce or fraction of an ounce.