FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN 



2313 



FRANKING PRIVILEGE 



FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN, a German 

 commercial city, the birthplace of Goethe, the 

 nation's most distinguished poet; Feuerbach, 

 the philosopher; Schlosser, the historian; 

 Kirchner, the scholar and naturalist, and many 

 other celebrated men. The city is situated in 

 the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, on the 

 right bank of the River Main. Frankfort was 

 long the place of election of the German em- 

 perors. In the election room of the Rathaus, 

 or Romer, a Gothic structure dating back to 

 the fifteenth century, electors have had many 

 historical meetings, while in its Kaisersaal, or 

 imperial hall, many newly-elected emperors 

 have held public banquets. From the thir^- 

 teenth to the sixteenth century, the coronation 

 took place in the Cathedral of Saint Bartholo- 

 mew, one of the city's most remarkable 

 churches. 



In recent years Frankfort has been greatly 

 extended and improved, and many fine public 

 and private buildings have been erected; 

 among them are the new opera house, one of 

 the finest in the world; the courts of justice, 

 and the new exchange. The city lies at the 

 junction of seven railways, and it has direct 

 ocean communication by way of the Main and 

 the Rhine. It is one of the most famous 

 banking centers of Europe. Although insignifi- 

 cant compared with its commercial activities, 

 the city's leading manufactures include colonial 

 wares, machinery, soap, perfumery and hats. 



Frankfort is rich in associations of litera- 

 ture and art, as well as in establishments to 

 promote them. Notable among the latter are 

 the Historical Museum, the Stadel Art Insti- 

 tute and the Rothschild Library. In the pub- 

 lic squares are fine statues of Goethe, Schiller 

 and Gutenberg. The city dates from the time 

 of Charlemagne. After Napoleon's downfall 

 it became a free city one of the four in Ger- 

 many. However, in 1866, having espoused the 

 unsuccessful Austrian cause in the Seven 

 Weeks' War, it was seized by the Prussians 

 and later formally incorporated with Prussia. 

 Population in 1910, 414,576. 



FRANKFORT-ON-THE-ODER, an impor- 

 tant commercial town, carrying on an exten- 

 sive trade both by land and water, is a town 

 of Prussia, in the province of Brandenburg, 

 fifty-one miles southeast of Berlin. Three 

 great fairs are held here annually. The town, 

 which is well built, has many iron foundries, 

 tanneries, and breweries; its chief manufac- 

 tures consist of machinery and metal goods, 

 chemicals, organs, leather, stoneware, tobacco, 



spirits and paper. The university, founded in 

 1506, was incorporated with that of Breslau 

 in 1811. Among its chief buildings are the 

 Church of Saint Mary, the Rathaus and a 

 theater. The Oder is a navigable river, and, 

 because of its connection by canals with the 

 Vistula and the Elbe, Frankfort-on-the-Oder ' 

 has always enjoyed considerable commercial 

 importance. Population in 1910, 68,230. 



FRANK 'ING PRIVILEGE, the right to 

 send letters and packages through the mail 

 without charge.' In Great Britain the privi- 

 lege was abolished by Parliament in 1840, ex- 

 cepting for official documents. The same rule 

 applies to Canada. 



In the United States it was first accorded to 

 soldiers in actual service during the Revolu- 

 tionary War; then to officers of the govern- 

 ment, Senators and Representatives in Con- 

 gress, postmasters for official correspondence, 

 newspaper exchanges and petitions to Con- 

 gress, and later, exchanges of the Smithsonian 

 Institute and medals and testimonials to sol- 

 diers. The first four Presidents were accorded 

 the franking privilege for life, and it was 

 granted to the widows of ex-Presidents Gar- 

 field, Cleveland and Harrison by Congressional 

 vote. 



The privilege was entirely abolished in 1873 

 in the United States, but was partially restored 

 later. The President, Vice-President, Senators, 

 Representatives and Delegates in Congress, 

 Secretary of the Senate and Clerk of the House 

 of Representatives may send and receive free 

 through the mail all public documents printed 

 by order of Congress. Official business of each 

 executive department or bureau of the gov- 

 ernment is always franked. Seeds may be 

 transmitted by the Department of Agriculture; 

 any member of Congress receiving see'ds from 

 the Department for distribution may mail 

 them free. All official correspondence of the 

 Superintendent of Documents is entitled to 

 free transportation, and he is entitled to frank 

 public documents. Envelopes for franking 

 mail are marked Official Business. 



The franking privilege has been greatly 

 abused at times. In theory it is excellent, for 

 public documents of an instructive nature 

 should reach interested persons without expense. 

 However, there have been instances of mailing 

 half a million copies of Congressmen's speeches 

 simply as arguments in the heat of a political 

 campaign, against which practice much objec- 

 tion is made. The fine for franking private 

 mail matter is $300. 



