SOLON ROBINSON, 1844 391 



franks to members of Congress," allow them a fixed sum 

 for postage — say $50 a year. It would do away with a 

 world full of corruption, carried on under cover of frank- 

 ing privilege. The editors of some half-starved news- 

 papers, who transact all their business upon the credit 

 system, will of course cry out against pre-paying for their 

 own papers. But the system will redound greatly to the 

 advantage in a short time, of all well established papers. 

 True it will greatly reduce the "exchange list," and so it 

 should, as nine-tenths of it would be cut off at any rate, 

 if the editors were even obliged to pay postage on the 

 papers that they receive, and which they never read. 



The new system would work so much easier than the 

 present unwieldy machine, that all post masters of the 

 small offices might well afford to dispense with the frank- 

 ing privilege, and in all larger offices, with a part of the 

 compensation. The cost of one half the clerks, too, in all 

 larger offices, as well as in the General Post Office, would 

 be dispensed with, and as a still further reduction in ex- 

 penses, all the great mail contracts would be taken at 

 least 10 per cent less, and those from Washington 50 

 per cent less. 



Letters of course would increase — lumbering, unsound, 

 and often unreadable matter, would cease to be mailed. 



The circulation of newspapers in their own vicinity 

 would greatly increase, and decrease upon long distances, 

 even allowing the tax to remain as it is ; which, however, 

 I would regulate equally upon all printed matter, by the 

 square foot of surface, without regard to distance. 



This thing of a scale of prices for a certain scale of 

 miles, is a great humbug. When a letter is once deposited 

 in the Post Office, 49-50 of all the trouble and expense is 

 incurred upon sending and delivering it 5 miles, that is 

 500. 



There should be but one price upon all letters mailed, 

 so far as regards distance, and that price should be so low 

 as to do away with the prevailing disposition that now 

 exists among all classes, to "cheat the P. O." 



27—50109 



