The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-01-09
POSTAGE MATTERS.

The House has had hard work to come to any
agreement on the subject Of postage reform.
Members embarrass the question with too many
propositions 1t is useless, it seems to US, to at
tsszsIas complete reform at once One wants pro-
vision made for the extension Of mail facilities,
another must have newspapers carried free, in the
county or distriq. where published; another in
sists upon the reduction Of postage on periodicals
and magazines; another desires free exchanges
between newspapers and magazines. And SO
they go.
The first object is, or ought to be, to obtain q
uniform low rate of letter-postage. This is the
thing that concerns the People most, and this
accomplished, other judicious changes will follow
as matters of course. We hope the real friends
of reform will resist attempts to combine too many
things in one bill.
One suggestion is thrown out that requires
more particular notce-it is, that the publishers
of newspapers should prepay all the postage on
them No man who understands the publishing
business would dream of such proposition If
newspaper establishments in the country. The
National Iaelligeacer, for example, issues IS 900
copies, in the aggregate, week, more or less,
Under the change suggested, the publishers would
be obliged to pay weekly, 1925 postage on their
edition, or Gil, 200 a year-twice the amount Of
their profits, we presume. And is any one foolish
enough to suppose that they could collect this
amount of sl1 700, due from subscribers over a
whole continent in sums of y cent a week We
have vet to learn that one of the evils complained
of under the present system, is the non-payment
ofnewspaper postage. Of course this never hap
pens where paper is paid for in advance, as is
the case with the Era. A subscriber who pays
80 year in advance for his paper, win be sure
to take it from the office of delivery and pay his
nineteen cents quarter But, in any case, should
subscriber neglect or refuse TO pay his postage,
the remedy is easy and conclusive. The post
master notifies the publisher of the fact, and
the paper is stopped"
Besides, if all newspapers are to be prepaid,
the postmasters generally, throughout the coun-
try, except at the large offices, are deprived of
their commission and what inducement have
they to be attentive or polite in the delivery of
papers2
If any provision be needed on this subject, let
a regulation be made by which every subscriber
to a newspaper, by paying his postage quarterly
in advance in the office Of delivery may obtain
reduction. For instance, let the postage be ten
cents, If paid in advance, or fifteen cents if not
We do not believe that there is newspaper
establishment in the country which depends for
its revenue chiefly on its issue sent by mail, that
could bear the enormous tax of paying in advance
the postage due by its subscribers
1t is easy enough to say that all we have to do
Is, to add the amount, so cents or rs cents to the
price of the paper We know that we can never
raise the price of our weekies, generally, above
81 Under such change, we should get just
what we now get, and have the pleasure of pay
ing some ten or twelve thousand dollars in adj
vance for our subscribers.