[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11816-S11817]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RFD'S 100TH ANNIVERSARY AND CONGRESSMAN RICHARD HENRY CLARKE

  Mr. HEFLIN. Tomorrow, Mr. President, on October 1 of this year, the 
Post Office will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Rural Free Delivery 
[RFD]. RFD now serves the whole country, some 25.5 million households 
and businesses in all, and it is a necessity in States like Alabama. In 
fact, I am proud to say that Congressman Richard Clarke of Alabama was 
an early leader in the effort to initiate this service. As this 
important anniversary approaches, I would like to recount Congressman 
Clarke's leadership efforts in its successful implementation.
  On January 5, 1892, Representative Richard Clarke became the first 
Member of Congress to introduce a bill to make RFD a permanent service. 
He introduced bills in two succeeding Congresses, H.R. 13 in the 52d 
and H.R. 402 in the 53d ``To provide for the free collection and 
delivery of mails in rural districts.'' He contacted many Members on 
the need for such legislation and made the first speech advocating the 
establishment of the program. When the bill was finally adopted by 
Congress, Mr. Clarke was engaged in a campaign for Governor of Alabama. 
Therefore, Congressman Tom Watson of Georgia took the lead in obtaining 
its passage. Although his name does not appear as the official sponsor 
of the legislation which ultimately created RFD, the people of his 
district and the State of Alabama have every right to claim that this 
Member of Congress was a leader in establishing RFD.
  Richard H. Clarke was born in Dayton, Marengo County, AL on February 
9, 1843. He attended Green Springs Academy and was graduated first in 
his class from the University of Alabama in July 1861. During the Civil 
War, he served in the Confederate Army as a lieutenant in the First 
Battalion of the Alabama Artillery. He later studied law, was admitted 
to the bar in 1867, and began practicing in his hometown. He later 
moved to Demopolis, also in Marengo County, where he continued to 
practice law. From 1872 until 1876, he served as the State solicitor 
for Marengo County. He was the prosecuting attorney of the seventh 
judicial circuit in 1876 and 1877 and later resumed his private law 
practice in Mobile, AL. He served as president of the Alabama State Bar 
Association in 1897.
  He was elected as a Democrat to the 51st Congress and to the three 
succeeding Congresses. He served from March 4, 1889 through March 3, 
1897. He served on the Rivers and Harbors Committee. Among his many 
legislative accomplishments was the deepening of the channel of Mobile 
Harbor and the establishment of Mount Vernon Hospital for the mentally 
ill. He ran for Governor of Alabama as a ``sound money''--gold 
standard--Democrat in 1896, but was defeated by the silver standard 
candidate, Joseph Johnston. He resumed his law practice and served

[[Page S11817]]

in the State house of representatives in 1900 and 1901. He passed away 
in St. Louis, MO on September 26, 1906 and was buried in the Magnolia 
Cemetery in Mobile. His grandson, Dr. Richard Clarke Foster, served as 
president of the University of Alabama in the late 1930's and early 
1940's.
  Of course, Congressman Clarke was by no means alone in his efforts on 
behalf of RFD. The Post Office says that the first rural delivery route 
began just after the Civil War, in a very unofficial way. In 1868, a 
group of families in Norwood, GA, hired a freed slave named Jerry 
Elliot to deliver their mail. Mr. Elliot collected his employers' 
sorted mail at the local post office, where future Congressman Tom 
Watson worked as a clerk. Apparently, Watson was highly impressed with 
the idea, and years later he joined as a crucial sponsor of legislation 
to fund the service.

  The official battle over RFD began more than 20 years later and 
spanned four Postmaster Generals. John Wanamaker, appointed in 1889, 
was the first Postmaster General to urge adoption of Rural Free 
Delivery. Wanamaker had received a number of letters complaining that 
the cities received free delivery, but rural America did not. Free 
delivery for urban areas had begun in 1863.
  At Postmaster General Wanamaker's request, the Congress passed a 
joint resolution on October 1, 1890, to authorize a test of the free 
delivery system in small towns and villages. It also appropriated 
$10,000 for this pilot program. The towns Wanamaker selected for the 
experiment ranged in size from 400 to 8,000 residents. Farmers became 
strong advocates of the service, realizing that they would receive 
daily market quotations and information about where they could sell 
their crops.
  With the success of his experiment and the strong support of the 
farmers, Wanamaker continued to push for Rural Free Delivery.
  The same year that Congressman Clarke introduced his second RFD bill, 
Congressman Tom Watson's legislation to extend RFD to farmers, rather 
than just villages and towns, was passed. But this measure, too, only 
provided for an experimental expansion. Postmaster General Wanamaker's 
successor, William Bissell, argued correctly that this amount was 
vastly insufficient to facilitate permanent RFD. In fact, Bissell 
refused even to continue experimentation, and a stand-off between him 
and Congress ultimately forced his resignation.
  Bissell's successor, Postmaster General William Wilson, complained 
that the Post Office's funding was so small that he might only improve 
existing services. So, a Senator named Marion Butler from North 
Carolina urged passage of a further appropriation, and the Post Office 
began an experimental system in West Virginia. This experiment proved 
successful, and it led to the establishment of the current system with 
the help of further Congressional appropriations. By that time, 
Postmaster General Wilson had been succeeded by James A. Gary.
  Mr. President, I am proud that a Member of Congress from Alabama--
Richard Henry Clarke--was so influential in the establishment of Rural 
Free Delivery, a service most Americans in rural areas take for granted 
today. Although there are several individuals who might arguably be 
considered the father of RFD, I wanted to make sure Congressman 
Clarke's efforts did not go unrecognized. The creation of this service 
is very much a part of his legacy.
  Mr. STEVENS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alaska.
  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, I see the distinguished chairman of the 
Appropriations Committee is here. If he wishes to make an opening 
statement on this bill, I will be pleased to yield to him. I have a 
lengthy statement to make about the subject I believe should precede 
this omnibus appropriations bill, the FAA conference report. If the 
Senator from Oregon wishes to make a statement, I will be happy to 
yield to him.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to yield to the Senator from 
Oregon with the understanding that I will resume the floor when he has 
completed his statement.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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