232 



CONGRESS. (Tns DIEECT-TAX BILL POSTAL MATTERS.) 



she still owes $277,493.52. Indiana's quota 

 was $904,875.33. It was paid. Mississippi's 

 quota was $413,084.67; she still owes $302,- 

 046.21. New Jersey's quota was $450,134; 

 and every cent of it has been paid. To make 

 things equal, this tax should be collected from 

 all or refunded to all. This uncollected tax 

 has been the subject of much controversy in 

 the past between the Treasury officials and 

 some of the States still in arrears. Some of 

 these States, having claims against the General 

 Government, have, upon their presentation, 

 been met by the officials of the Treasury with 

 their unpaid balance of this tax as a set-off. 



"What is the proposed measure? It is, 

 shortly, this : First, that the sum collected from 

 each State by collection, set-off, or otherwise, 

 shall be credited to such State ; second, that all 

 moneys still due shall be remitted and relin- 

 quished ; third, that the sums collected from 

 each State shall be returned to it absolutely 

 where the State paid it as a State, and where 

 it was collected by the Government of individ- 

 uals in a State, in trust, to repay to such in- 

 dividuals. 



" If the collection of this tax is not to be 

 completed and no one advocates that nor 

 claims that it is needed no fairer way, in my 

 judgment, of correcting this inequality can be 

 devised than the provision made by the bill 

 before us. 



" Bitterly as this measure is being fought, 

 even this falls short of doing exact justice. 

 Many of the States which assumed and paid 

 this tax borrowed the money with which they 

 paid it, and in some instances such States have 

 paid interest on this money so borrowed from 

 them until the present. My own State paid 

 (with the 15 per cent, allowance) $450,134. 

 She paid that money in 1861, now nearly 

 twenty-seven years ago. She issued bonds for 

 her war debt. Many of those bonds bore 7 

 per cent, interest. But if we reckon interest 

 on $450,134 for twenty-five years at 6 per 

 cent, we have the sum of $675,201 for interest 

 alone, which my State should be repaid to put 

 her upon an equality with Utah, which paid 

 nothing, or with Alabama, which has paid next 

 to nothing. 



"Mr. Chairman, there is no 'section ' in this 

 measure. There is no politics in it. There is 

 one simple, straightforward proposition to do 

 justice to all, so far as the principal paid is 

 concerned, and I am amazed at the fierce op- 

 position it encounters." 



Under the leadership of Mr. Gates, a num- 

 ber of Southern Representatives united in fili- 

 bustering to prevent the passage of the bill, 

 and they succeeded in preventing the transac- 

 tion of other business and the adjournment 

 of the House from April 4 to April 12; so 

 that the legislative day, Wednesday, April 4, 

 1888, lasted 192 hours, though the House took 

 several recesses, nnd was not therefore con- 

 tinuously in session during that time. The 

 deadlock was finally broken under an agree- 



ment made at a caucus of the Democratic Rep- 

 resentatives that the measure should be taken 

 up Thursday, Dec. 6, 1888, and put to a final 

 vote Tuesday, December 11, the Northern 

 Democrats who had been urgent for its passage 

 yielding so far to Southern Democrats as to 

 agree to its postponement for the session. On 

 the day set, the house passed the measure. 



Postal Matters, A bill relating to permissible 

 marks in printing and writing upon second, 

 third, and fourth class matter was passed by 

 the House Jan. 13, 1888, and by the Senate 

 January 17, and duly approved by the Presi- 

 dent. It is as follows : 



Be it enacted, etc., That mailable matter of the 

 second class shall contain no writing, print, or sign 

 thereon or therein in addition to the original print, 

 except as herein provided, to wit, the name and ad- 

 dress of the person to whom the matter shall be sent; 

 index-figures of subscription book, either printed or 

 written ; the printed title of the publication and the 

 place of its publication ; the_ printed or written name 

 and address, without addition of advertisement, of 

 the publisher or sender, or both, and written or print- 

 ed words or figures, or both, indicating the date on 

 which the subscription to such matter will end ; the 

 correction of any typograpical error ; a mark, except 

 by written or printed words, to designate a word or 

 passage to which it is desired to call attention; the 

 words "sample copy," when the matter is sent as 

 such; the words ''marked copy," when the matter 

 contains a marked item or article ; and publishers or 

 news-agents may inclose in their publications bills, 

 receipts, and orders for subscription thereto, but the 

 same shall be in such 1'onn as to convey no other in- 

 formation than the name, place of publication, sub- 

 scription price of the publication to which they refer ? 

 and the subscription due thereon. Upon matter ot 

 the third class, or upon the wrapper or envelope in- 

 closing the same, or the tag or laoel attached thereto, 

 the sender may write his own name, occupation, and 

 residence or business address, preceded by the word 

 "from," and may make marks other than by written 

 or printed words to call attention to any word or pas- 

 sage in the text, and may correct any typographical 

 errors. There may be placed upon the blank leaves or 

 cover of any book or printed matter of the third class 

 a simple manuscript dedication or inscription not of 

 the nature of a personal correspondence. Upon the 

 wrapper or envelope of third-class matter or the tag 

 or label attached thereto may be printed any matter 

 mailable as third class, but there must be left on the 

 address-side a space suflicient for a legible address 

 and necessary stamps. With a package of fourth- 

 class matter, prepaid at the proper rate For that class, 

 the sender may inclose any mailable third-class mat- 

 ter, and may write upon the wrapper or cover thereof, 

 or tag_ or label accompanying the same, his name, oc- 

 cupation, residence, or business address, preceded by 

 the word "from," and any marks^ numbers, names, 

 or letters for purpose of description, or may print 

 thereon the same, and any printed matter not in the 

 nature of a personal correspondence, but there must 

 be left on the address side or face of the package a 

 space sufficient for a legible address and necessary 

 stamps. In all cases directions for transit, delivery, 

 forwarding, or return shall be deemed part of the ad- 

 dress, and the Postmaster- General shall prescribe suit- 

 able regulations for carrying this section into effect. 



SEC. 2. That matter of the second, third, or fourth 

 class containing any writing or printing in addition to 

 the original matter, other than as authorized in the 

 preceding section, shall not be admitted to the mails, 

 nor delivered, except upon payment of postage for 

 matter of the first class, deducting therefrom any 

 amount which may have been prepaid by stamps 

 affixed, unless by direction of the Postmaster-General 



