178 



CONGRESS. (POSTAL MATTERS.) 



of te-d*y. can-Tin* to the homes of the people 



me of excellent and varied in 

 -ill m all probability U- reduced to th. 

 veafctiea of a quarter of a century ago, in which 



. ,' ,.,!, . - .. : .: Rl <* 



the neighborhood, in which they were published. 



This would be a mlai 



I propose* to drive out .f the second class 

 int.. the third oiaSS, ,.r .ml of th.- in., V, all 



book* or reprints of book*, whether tiny be issued 

 complete or in parts, whether the/ be bound .-r un- 

 bound, whether they be told by subscription ..r 

 y purport to be premiums 

 .menu or part* of regular newspap-rs; 

 ecooiea of newsfiaf.eworperi^.eals: al 

 copies of newspapers or eriodicals; all 



,11 



U free by the publisher; all unsold copies 

 returned to news* companies or to the publishers. 



in addition to all tin*. U invests the 

 Office Department with supn adopt 



avail rules and regulation- for the determination 



tinn affect mi; the right of a : 

 or periodical to be carried in the mails as se 



matter as practically creates a press censor- 

 ship: narrows the field now occupied by a large 

 portion of the press of the country, and necessarily 

 cripples its usefulness. All this is proposed in the 

 interest of economy in the set 

 which has been shown to be visionary and unsound. 

 "Third-class matter costs the Government to 

 handle more than double what it costs to handle 

 second-claw matter. It covers printed n, 

 other than periodical publications. In addition to 

 the handling and furnishing and canceling of 

 fUmps. the packages must be handled and sort. -d, 

 both at the office of deposit and that of delivery. 

 The mails are used as a rule only to send small 

 packages, or to places remote from the railroads, 

 and which are not reached by the express com pa- 

 he express companies carry this class of mat- 

 ter to practically all of their delivery points, under 

 a uperial printed-matter' rate, at 2 cents per pa< k 

 age less than the mail rate. The rate is advertised 

 as 10 cents for each 1} pound or less, and for 

 single packages exceeding U pound. 1 cent for 

 each additional 2 ounces. The third-class mail 

 rate for 1* pound is 13 cents, snd i i each 



additional 9 ounces printed- 



matter' rate was evidently adopt el by the express 

 companies for the purpose of securing* the handling 

 of all such matter as can be handled profi: 

 leaving to the Government the handling of pa- -k- 

 afees casting less than 10 cents per package, or !< 

 lined to remote points not reached by the compa- 

 nies. This becomes very apparent when it i-, 

 remembered that ihe -pr.: r' rate was not 



the result of competition among the companies.. 

 but was a 'pool* agreement among them. For the 

 year ending June 90, 1804, the pieces of third-class 

 matter carried bv the mails only amounted to about 

 It per c*nL of the wh..|.. number of pieces of mail 

 carried, and the percentage has not increased 

 much, if any. since. Under the operation of tin's 

 lull. h ;il I it Income a law. all of the matter trans- 

 ferred from the second claw to th- third class 

 which can be profitably handled will lie carried by 



-When the declaration of the chairman of the 

 iuee thai -he does not care* foremen,! 

 with th- *u'iufieant fact ti, H t the express 

 companies are all for the bill. U it wbol IT unwar- 

 rantable to inquire if the bill is not framed rather 

 in the intern-* of the express companies than of t he- 

 people f If the express companies contim. 

 handle the profitable third-class matter, which they 

 will do as long as they have a cheaper rate, how 



will the increase of third-class matter through the 

 that class of matter now in the >.. ,md 



(lass decrease Hie deficit ill the revenues of the 



department f Sinee it mMs about as mu<-h to 



.ite a jKwtal car 10 i..n-...f mail a- it 



\\li.-n it Cai OS, ina-miirh as the .p-r- 



uses of the de|iariment 111 -u>ly 



usea by a decrease in the amount of mail 



handled, the i|iiestion of ||,,u this I. ill enacted into 



Law will enabu the P.^i Office Department i 

 come solf aoataining becomes n jiroiilem uim-h will 

 probably wait Eorasolntion uajtu it is demonstrated 



now one from 'J lea\ < 



The measure .\iili amendments in 



-nute by a majority of the eoinmittee i>n jM,-t 

 tlld Mr. I'.ui ler. of South 

 Carolina, presented a min<>rit\ ?-e|- .rt in >\ 



t|o||. 



The majority report said : 



i is bill was received in>m the EonseonJan, 



'1. The i-oiiiiniilee fi.iinil a widespread intei- 



e>t In the bill prevailing throughout the ooui 



on the one hand on the par! <>f tln>-e patrons of tl'ie 

 mails s4-ndin>; second-class matter, wh" a|ipeared to 

 di-ire to preserve the pn-M-ni >y>tein substantially 



\ists. and on the oilier haml on the j, 

 those who wi>h alleged aluises to lie corn 

 hoping that tl, in e\|,eii<lituiv il. 



elTeeted will enable the Post < Mliee Department, 

 without too great an im-r. . .>nnual ilefieit in 



revenues, to give to the pulli- a 1-eent rate oi 

 age on single le jiTe l-eneiits 



to the community not now attain. .'in^s 



were asked for on both sides and ^iven by th. 

 mitlee mi the Kith. VNId. and :{nth days of .laniiaiy. 

 A- time has parsed, it has seemed to the com- 

 mittee that with the \\ide difference of opinion 

 existing between the various interests and 

 uiiioni: members of the committee as to the extent 

 of existing abuses and the proper method of pro- 

 viding remedies it will not be poible to Beam 

 passage of the bill through the Senate a; th. 



ell! session. 



'"The committee, however, report the bill to the 

 Senate, with certain amendments prepared I 

 acting chairman, in order that it may be taken up 

 for consideration, if time permit*, each nieiiil- 



>.T\ ini; opinion upon the amendments and the )>ill 



until they come up for con-ideraticui. 



"The committee aNo recommend that a t 

 commission be created by legislation, as folio 



"That the que>ti'ns OOnceiming the correction 

 of al!- M in the postal >ervice in connec- 



tion with second-class mail matter, the extension of 



;. 'livery to rural regions, the reduction of the 

 cost of the rail road transportation of the mails, the 



in the Senate and House of the tn ;:ittees 



on Post Offices and Post Uoad*. the po-.ii:,.. 



'.il. and two citi/ens to be app.-il.Ied by the, 



i.'iit. \\ho shall make their report and recom- 

 mendations for legislation to the next Congress; 

 and for the services of .said civilian commis- 



\penscs of said commission the *.mi of 

 $10.(N><> i- hereby appropriated, to be immediatelf 

 available and to oe expended according to the di- 



n of the Postmaster-General; said commis- 

 sion to expire on the :!Ut day of hecember. 1 



The minority report asserts the deficienci. 

 the Po-t Office Department to be due to exorbi- 

 tant rates paid for mail service : 



be attempt t. reform the mail service and re- 

 duce expenses in the uianriiT proposed by \}t\^ bill, 

 without any information from the department or 

 otherwise as to what are the abuses, seems to the 



