The Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1846-1852, 1847-11-12
We nsk but Justice.


At the late Session of Congress, q
clause was inserted in, we believe, bill
establishing some Texan post-routes,
taxing newspapers with postage within
thirty miles Of the place Of their pubica'
,iun. If all is true that we have seen,
we do not believe that fifty members of
the House knew what they were voting
for. The bill was brought forward late
in the Session and amid the hustle and
confusion of business, Cave johnson well
knew that he could surreptitiously obtain,
what the members of Congress would
not knowingly grant. Be this as it may,
it is certain that newspapers are now
taxed within thirty miles Of the place of
publication, and however this was at.
tanned, it is our purpose to inquire into
the justice of the law regulating postage
ON newspapers.
Within hundred miles or within
State, papers are taxed one cent-over
one hundred miles when sent out of a
State, they are taxed one cent and half.
Now is this proportion just} Does it
operate equally upon subscribers receiv-
ing papersl Do different papers pay
fair proportion Of the expense they cre-
atel We send paper TO Dumontsville,
q distance of 4 miles-to Rushville, a
distance of Q miles-to Cincinnati dis
tance of 120 miles, and the postage is
the same. Again. A paper comes from
Boston to Amanda, distance of over 500
miles-we send one there, distance of
8 miles; in tho first case, the tax is u
and in the second l cent. Is the cost
fairly proportioned!
The thousands Of Eastern papers daily
sent TO the West is the main cause of the
high charges for transportation of mails
and is it not more than just that they
should pay fair proportion.
But let the publishers of this paper
aud tho Eagle send thousand copies
weekly throughout the County and it does
not cos! the department a single farthing
additional expense. The mail routes are
already established the mails are carried
semi weekly or weekly as the case may
be--the papers sent from these Offices
do not require any additional power to
carry them and the only difference is
the trouble of the post-masters in distrib-
uting them. But is it fair that county pa
: pers should help to make up the cost that
other papers make to the department.
Let some kind of equality be estab
lished and no objections will be urged.
Say that 800 papers. per week, come
to the various post.offices in this county
from the Eastern Cities They pay to
the department $1,000. The same mum,
Der is distributed throughout the county
by means of the post-offices. from thi:
town. They pay $500. The former
comes from 800 to 400 miles, requiring q
large amount Of additional expenditure
over and above what the letter mai
would require. The latter go from A tc
6 miles and do not cause one additiona
r cent cost to the department, Yet the,
bear q ratio of expense as to 3.
; For the advantage of having mails, 70
the labors of the post. masters, subscriber
to country papers ATE willing to be taxed
t but we submit that it is unjust, unequa
e and oppressive to have them taxed t.
help pay for the transportation of East
ern papers If tax should be imposed
at all, there should be some equality abou
it; but when the department, besides al
other disadvantages under which count,
papers labor, throws its influence in tn,
scale against them. surely there is goo'
ground for complaint.