VOL. LXIII
MAR 2U1908
INDIANAPOLIS, MARCH 21, 1008.
NO. 12
PUBLIC LIBS
fc*fc- DfifctVEftY.
u ,■*•>. ■■'"
ORIQIN OF   RU
Hon.  Milton  Trusltr,  an Indiana
Man Originated tbe Idea and
Worked to   Successful   Accomplishment.
By Fred P. Lutz.
When the white rural carrier wagon
lasses your farm liouse door, hastening
with its load of mingled joy and woe, with
the story of the doings of the great worhl.
how few there are who pause to think of
him, who was the cause of it all—in whose
brain the microbe of this progression tirst
found fertile soil, and grew until it had
spread its contagion, through the mentality of the mass of the miiul of the nation!
What spurred that man tss action?
Twenty-eight year* ago. there was a
(.'range organized in Fayette County, Indi-
i na, and christened, "Bentley." It stood
hy the roadside in a farming settlement,
wliere there was no Tillage,, not even a
'is'ssroad nor a siuithsliop, usually the
prominent factors in determining the smaller  rural  centers.
The villages of Fairfield. Everton trod
Klooming Grove each lay three miles from
the selected site. Indeed it was the equal-
baton of the distance of these places tbat
determined the cite.
As a matter of course, the natural leader of the community—and there is such a
one in every community—Milton Trusler
had been, selected as the first "master" of
the grange. In assuming the chair, he
spoke of the benefits that were to come to
them from the conveniently placed (lading
place and pledged his political influence toward securing a postoffice for the store.
It was just at this time tl'tt an inspiration came to him "out of the some where
into the here" and he thought, "Why shall
not the farmer have his mail laid down to
him at his door as well as his brother of
the city?" Fired with the ardor of a new
thought, and eloquent with earnestness,
he forgot place or occasion and for over
an hour, he pointed out to his hearers the
objections, which might be urged against
the scheme and answered them as he advanced them. So well did he arrange his
plans that those who heard him, tell that
the manner of operations, which he outlin-
1 'i.    are practically the plans of today.
The state officials of the grange, who
were present, were converted to his idea,
ond induced him to travel over the state
and talk rural mail delivery as a farther
ivaiis-ement of the granger movement.
And so it was that the name of Trusler
1 "same so well and favorably known that
'te was made "master of the state grange,"
a position which he tillcsl nine years. As
state master," he was ex-ofncie a dele-
Bate to the national meetings and here too
he kept the idea <i( rural mail delivery
to the front.
From, the national conventions, the subject went back to the various states, and
 'slant agitation took it farther and far-
'lier away from a Utopian dream. Finally the consideration was serious and so it
'"iitinued until the proudest day of Milton
Truster's life, was thai when the little
"lute wagon first stopped at his gate and
ofl the daily paper fssr the same day of
'"'I'lication. His earnest unselfish work
"ad kept the people with him, and they
sf,"t him to the legislature for several
^'""s. finally nominating him for the of-
i retary of state, in lsirj.    Th.nigh
*« ■weiWtlowu iii the tidal wave of that
campaign, he ran 2,000 votes ahead of his
tii-xet.
Mr. Trusler descended tram a strong
family, one of his brothers having served
as ss>s-retary of state for Indiana, just after the close of the Civil War. Another
brother spent the greater part of his life
in the round of the various offices of his
home county, while a grandson, Clyde
Trusler, of Connersville, Ind., is today the
youngest county school superintendent in
the static, having beeu elected when only
2o years of age.
The Trusters are well to do Virginians,
with a family story of descent from Pocn-
has, which is better than the primal s'a\s'
man enjoyed is the direct outcome of da;
slivnins. an ideal, and far too frequently the world never knssw.s iis real benefactors.
I'tyshis paddle wheels plashed through
ths' pulsing currents ssf Fulton's imagination, long ere the Clermont breasted the
waters of the Hudson; Mone lay, listening
is, tin' tintinnabulations ,>f ghostly armatures, through many a sleepless night lie-
fore the win' list ween Washington and
Baltimore flashed ths' meaaage, "What God
Hath Wrought."
Iu the growing of dawn, there are ths'
rarest  tints.
Bentley Grange Hall,   Fayette County, Ind.
hontas. Tbey came to the Whitewater
valley before the land hasl been surveyed
for entry and when the remarkable coterie
s>f famous families who first located in
Indiana were coming.
Brookville, Ind., was then the center of
this community, and it was in this town
that Lew Wallace was bom, while Mauris -s Thompson and Joaquin Miller first saw
the light of day, within an hour's drive.
Capt. Fads, the great civil engineer, was
the son of a Brookville merchant, whose
partner's sou was General James N. Tyner. who as postmaster general under
Hayes, gave the postal card tsi this country.
At one time in the history of this com-
munity, there lived in Brookville, the
governor of Indiana, his leutenant, oue congressman, one United States senator, with
tin    entire  supreme  court. In  all.   one
hundred congressmen, united with seven
governors—all of whom came out of the
community in and around Brookville.
Prominent anising this class ssf kes'ii.
biainy men and women, the Trusters di<l
nsst spring into the blaze of publicity, like
ii,any ssf their associates for they were pr-
culiarly "homing," rolks, who placed the
family and the neighborhood above the
world al large. lt was this desire to aid
his iinmeilate neighbors that prompted the
founding of the lt. F. D.
l'aitis-ularly noteworthy is the part that
this homing instinct bail in the promotion
of rural delivery, when the mind reverts
ts> the earlier efforts for Bpeedy ctmwnunica-
tissn. which forced the "homing" habits ssf
carrier pigeons tss act as tbe winged messengers of the world's business.
How few realize the importance ssf ideals
in material progress.        All that this era
Then, the white light leaps, in full glory,
ll's'e.
Sss, the g 1 things of earth,
Had   tsi  herald   their  birth,
All the heart warm words of pure poesy.
From the desire to save himself ansl his
Hssn. Miltssn Trusler,
Author   of    Rural    Free   Delivery
Ides.
i eigbbors, a journey of three miles, grew
the entire system, though more was needed
than the mere conception. Dreams are
fugitivs' and intangible enough, they only
materialise under anient labor. It re-
s.niri'sl years fur the infection, Industriously propagated to reach lienefioent frutition.
.Inst across the rotvJ, from the ohl grange
hall, is a nisssls'st wooden church, which is
a msmr.ment to the homing instincts of Miltssn Trusler, ansl whicli was as much an
object of his care as the winning of tin-
daily   mail  for  the  farmer.
This church was founded by Mr. Trusler
and five others. When it was dedicated,
Mr. Trussler quoted from the words sif
.Issn^ "1 must lie about my father's busi-
tis-s." anil    continued in     his own  words,
"Brethern, I believed that when lis' uss-.i
ths' word,    business.  Hi' meant  it. Our
church shouhl be run as a business proposition. We expect tss be benefitted by this
church,    and sbonld pay  lor tils' gosssl thai
is to result.     Ii wouhl he strange business
fssr sine pf us farmers tss go out and ask
alms ssl' his  friends,  anil  1  think  that  Ills'
funds t'i run tliis church should l»' raised
without Intrusion upon its spiritual
wsirk."
Tin' .jssks> smith has a big basket ssf alleg
ed humor, anenl thi' eolation plate, which
he reshapes, when unusually hard up for
material, but his utmost efforts would fall
thu at tin' Ireland church, for from 17S1
tbe church has prospered. There has aevftr
l I'i'u si collection plate pnsssM insist its
walls, savs' ths' annual missionary offering,
.•msl that donation is sacredly sit ashle f«>t-
its intended purpose.
There has never in sill thai  time, bs's'ii a
minister sir a lecttirei cupylng the pulpit,
who was nssi paid fssr his Individual effort
before he left tin' building.
Tin' financial rword kept in the plain
handwriting of Milton Trusler to the time
sif liis death, a few years ago. and since by
thi' sssn. wins hsihls the century old honie-
Stead, with its spacious lawn, is a curiosity.
The entries read "paid Kev. Crossley for
preaching," and the amount. If the occos-
sion were n seriel meeting, each day's entry shows the daily payment. The church
was planned to work along the liues of tne
modern institutional wssrk of the cities.
A large parklike yaril surrotinds the build-
Ing, I's'iiutil'ully shaded with native trees,
anil the burial place is far away out of
sight. The church is the social clearing
lis use for tbe community. and reunions,
celebrations, picnics anil like gatherings
are hehl within its walls or in the yard as
the occasion demainls. As a certain consequence the church has grown without
parallel, ln denomination the society is
I nivorsalist. In the Ireland Young People's Christian Union is found the latest
e>.emplitii-ati<sn of the homing, neighborhood unity, idea of the founder. Twn years
ago, the union discovered that it was numerically well up in comparison with similar ssssieliis and a special effort was made
to realize a great ambition to havo the largest society in the whole nation. In tbis
the members  have succeeded.
Xsiw considering all the circumstances a
■country church sitting by the roadside,
with only the surrounding farms to supply
its memberships maintaining the largest so-
s isty of the kind in the country, through
th,' harmony of communal interests, is a
splendid tribute to the memory of the unlet
unostentatious man. who sends the daily
mail into hundreds of thousands of country homes through the realization of an
ideal.
Kilitora Indiana Farmer:
What is paprika, mentioned in Farms t
uf April r). 1906, and where can I get th"
seed? Subscriber.
Paprika is a mild variety of capsicum,
or red pepper. Write W. Atlee Burpee
Seed Csi.   Philadelphia, for the seed.