The Northern galaxy, and Middlebury people's press. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1843-1844, 1844-01-10
T HE GALAXE
MIDDLEBURY:
Wednesday Jan. 10, 1914.
POST OFFICE REFORM.-THE
COUNTRY PRESS.

SOOlN L N L
/ The exhorbitant tariff of charges estab-
lished in the post-office department, its
slow and tardy movements, and the enor-
nous extent and abuse ofthe ranking priv
ilege have at length aroused the people
to the necessity and justice Of reform
Petitions are being signed, and sent to
Congress from every section Of the coun-
try.
The department is nearly bankrupt
from the causes to which we have alluded
Private expresses upon all the great thor
oughfares Of commune ation have been
established, through which the epistolary
correspondence of the country is carried
on vastly cheaper and more expeditiously.
The present system must be abandoned for
one which is cheaper, more uniform, and
more expeditions in its operations, and
from which the franking privilege is ex-
cluded
But when the spirit of reform begins to
work, it is apt to be too hasty and indis-
criminate. The reduction should take
place on letters, the burden of transporting
which is scarcely nothing, while upon
newspapers and printed matter with which
the mails are overloaded, the rates of pos
tage shoui,. be increased at least so far as
to produce just equalization between
the larger and smaller publications. In
relation to newspapers the real difficulty
is, that postage is entirely arbitrary and
not adjusted to the services rendered by
the government, nor the benefit received
by the citizens. Why should government
charge no more for carrying the man.
moth sheets from the cities than they do
for country papers of an ordinary size, and
why is it not perfectly just for the subscr-
Der to pay more in proportion for his in
creased amount Of intelligence. Make
every one pay and receive in proportion to
the benefits he receives and confers. 1t
is not diminutiye letter sheets which en-
nance the expense of mail transportation,
but the leviathan weeklies, filled with
trashy miscellany, and miserable novels
such as the Brother Jonathan, New World
and fifty other publications, which swell
the mail bags, and in many instances vi
tiate the taste and morals of community.
1t is far from reasonable that the govern
ment should charge the same for paper
weighing an ounce perhaps, as for one
weighing quarter of pound.
This most obviously just view of the
subject seems to have been overlooked by
the city presses, whose newborn zeal for
diminishing hostages seems to be quite
too much inspired by the hope of compile
ting the monopoly which they have hither-
to enjoyed in the circulation of their pub
locations, by driving from the market all
country papers. No one can be ignorant
that where paper obtains large circu-
lation its copies can be afforded at very
reduced price. Immense fortunes are thus
yearly accumulated by soma of the city Of
fees, while the country press, is left to !
starve in the midst of reading communi- |
ty, and spurned for the high rate of SUBJ
scription, which after all affords but mea-
ger livelihood. Add to the present adj |
vantages Of the city press reduction of
postage without discriminating between |
large and small sheets, and the coun-
try press cannot subsist but in a very
sickly condition. Is it good policy to re-
duce the country press to state of WORTH
lessness. There are talents. learning and
piety displayed from the columns of the
country press. And shall they be driven
to the cities, and their productions then
return upon us adulterated by the impuri-
ties which they must necessarily imbibe
from the tainted atmosphere with which
they are surrounded Shall the wide
spread country, with its millions depend
for its literature, politics and religion up
on city publishers, too often the pander-
ers of corruption, and many of whom are
well known, even now, to be accumula-
ting fortunes by tens and hundreds ofthou-
sands Of dollars per annum by their mon