The Sun.
London, England, 1851-09-19 00:00:00

THE PRESS IN THE UNITED

STATES.
Yesterday the Parliamentary paper giving the
minutes of evidence taken before the Select Commit-
tee on Newspaper Stamps was published. The
following extracts will place before our readers the
statements of an American publisher relative to the
press in the United States
MR. HORACE GREELY CALLED IN AND EXAMINED.
CHAIRMAN (Mr. Milner Gibson)—Are you able to
give the Committee any information with respect to
the press in the United States, and whether the ab-
sence of a stamp in the United States is productive of
any bad effects, in your opinion P—l will readily
answer your question. We could not comprehend
the operation of the stamp ; it would be impracticable
under our institutions every way. I can state some•
thing with regard to what the press is doing in our
country, but I cannot imagine the application of the
stamp at all ; it would require an entire revolution
in the habits and feelings of the people generally.
You are the publisher of a newspaper, are you not?
—I am.
What is the name of it ?—The New York Tribune.
At what price is it published ?—ln the first place
there is a daily journal, that,is the size of it (producing
the same).—lt is not printed on so good a paper as
those in England ; it is published daily for one penny.
What is the circulation of that paper?—lt is a
little under 20,000; I should say 19,000 copies daily.
Is it a paper circulated principally in New York
and the neighbourhood, or does it circulate exten-
sively through other parts of the states ?—I should
say that 10,000 copies are circulated within the city
and its vicinity, and then the balance is about equally
divided between the mail subscribers and the other
towns wherever it is sold ; say 5,000 are sold in other
towns like Boston, Philadelphia, and Albany, and
4,000 sent by mail to subscribers. There is a weekly
and semi-weekly in the same form. I must first say,
that the daily of that size contains half reading, per-
haps, and probably half advertisements—four pages of
reading and four of advertisements ; that is one penny,
or less, by the year; it is fives dollars for 313
copies for a year, which is less than a penny when it
is subscribed for and is taken from the office by the
year.
Can you give the Committee any idea of the num-
ber of the New York daily papers that are published ?
—The number of daily papers that are published in
New York are 15 in all, in the city.
Mr. COBDEN—How many morning, and how many
evening papers are there ?—Ten morning and five
evening papers ; some of the morning papers are also
published in the evening ; we publish two evening
editions, like the Times and other papers. There are
five distinctive evening papers.
There are fifteen daily papers in New York ?—Yes.
What is the population of New York ?—Five hun-
dred and seventeen thousand, but with the suburbs
seven hundred thousand.
Can you inform the Committee what the aggregate
circulation of those daily papers is ?—There are five
of them cheap ones, at Id. or lid, whose aggregate
circulation is a little over 100,000 copies per day ;
the other ten are sold dearer, that is, at ten dollars
per annum, a little more than lid. each, not 21 a
copy. Of those ten I should say that the average
circulation is about 3,000, being 30,000 of the dearer
papers, the commercial sheets, and 100,000 of the
cheap journals.
The aggregate is 130,000 papers daily ?—Yes.
What proportion of these, at a rough guess, should
you say are consumed by the 700,000 inhabitants of
New York, and what proportion do you suppose are
sent to remote distances ?—About 60,000 are circu-
lated in the city and its suburbs, and about 45,000
are sent away.
CHAIRMAN—What are the postage regulations in
reference to those which are transmitted by post?—
The postage has been one cent per copy within the
state where it is published, or within 100 miles ; if
out of the state, by the new postage regulations, which
will come into effect on the Ist of July, it is reduced
about one-half, except for long distances, excluding
California, which is also reduced, for 1,000 miles or
over the rates will be equal to what they now are;
out of the state, over 100 miles, it was one cent and a
half (three farthings), and a cent within the state, and
a cent and a half beyond that; and it is to be reduced
one-half, except within certain distances; the average
reduction, I think, will be a little more than one-
,hird.

CHAIRMAN—It is to be reduced to half a cen
within the state, but for all greater distances it is to
remain as it was ?—No, it is not to remain as it was ;
but there is a graduated scale, increasing, say over
500 miles, and increasing again over 1,000 miles; it
increases because the newspapers constitute the bulk
of the mails ; and thus, for distances over 2,000 miles
on this side of the Rocky Mountains, I think the
postage will be a little higher than it is now. I think
it will be 80 cents per annum for the weekly papers,
instead of 78. There is very little increase on dis-
tances over 2,000 miles.
The postage is paid every time the paper is sent, is
it not??—No, it is generally paid by the quarter; a
man pays for his quarter's postage, if a weekly paper,
and if in the state, 13 cents, and out of the sate
19 cents.
Mr. EWART—How do the Government check the
collection of the postage ?—lt has not been very
closely checked.
Mr. TUFNELL—Supposing an individual wants to
send a newspaper, how is the postage paid?--He
does send it; but I think, since the reduction of the
postage five or six years ago, an individual newspaper
has to be paid for in advance ; if you put in oae not
coming from a newspaper office, you have to pay in
advance.
CHAIRMAN—Does the Post-office deliver these
papers to the particular parties to whom they are di-
rected ?—Yes ; but they make some objection to de-
livering them when we send large packages of papers.
By package we send 20 copies a year (weekly) for '2O
dollars, a little less than a penny each. They object
to the delivering of those without the directions. We
send, for instance, a package of 50 to one office,
and they have a list of 50 subscribers, and as they
come in they deliver the papers to them ; but they
sometimes say, "No; you must write the names on
each of the papers." Of course they must deliver
them if the names are on them.
Mr. TUFNELL—If they are not delivered, they are
called for ?—Yes; they are delivered to the gentle-
men who have boxes; to the subscribers at their
houses, they are not distributed without an extra
charge.
Mr. Iticii—Where the postage has been either a
cent or a cent and a half, that has been irrespective of
weight, has it not ?—Yes, entirely.
Was there no limit at all ?—None.
Hereafter will there be any liteit?—l have known
journals sent very large as to size ; the limit now is
1,900 square inches, and if you exceed that, you pay
a double postage.
You stated that the weekly newspapers cost a
penny,or two cents ?—Yes, when sent to clubs of 20
or more subscribers; we charge more for a single
copy of a weekly than of a daily paper, because the
advertisements form a great part of the contents of
the daily journal. The charge is two dollars a year
fora single copy of a weeekly paper; that will be
twopence each number ; but to the clubs it is re-
duced to one dollar a year, 20 copies for 20 dollars.
The object is to get a wider circulation in the different
villages by making them cheap. A large number of
city papers are taken so as to come to about one
penny to each subscriber, and a halfpenny for his
postage.
The publisher does sot charge the postage ?—No