The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-06-03
OF THE DEPARTMENTS
CURIOUS HISTORY.

Before commencing our history, We must
| guard the reader against mistake.
The printing ordered by Congress is done
| by Public Printers, each House electing its
own Printer. The election being a matter OF
patronage, we have never been, and with our
views of what belongs to the Press, can never
be candidate for that position nor would we
have it, if offered to us, of which there is not
the remotest probability.
The advertisements issued by the Erecsltioe
Departments or Bureaus, are not matter OF
patronage, but are regulated by law. On these
we have just claim, which we have repeated.
ly presented and urged, but it has been uni
formly evaded or denied. We have never
solicited patronage, never asked a favor, from
any Administration but we have asserted our
| legal rights, and these have been deliberately
violated by every Administration since the year
| I848.
| The legitimate yearly profits on the adver.
tisements of the Executive Bureaus are esti-
mated at not less than $4,000. During the
last ten years. the National Era has been entitled
under the law, to these advertisements but it
| has been defrauded of its right-defrauded by
| the Government in the amount of $4,000
annually.
| The 18th section of the act of March 3, l845,
making appropriations for the year ending
J June 80, 1916, provides:
"That in all cases where proposals for any
| contract or contracts to be made by any of the
| Erecutire Departments or Bureaus, and in all
| cases where notices of any description issuing
| from the same, are now required by law to be
| advertised, the same shall be advertised in two
newspapers in the city of Washington having
| the LARGEST PERMANENT SUBSCRIPTION and,
at the discretion of the Executive, in any third
paper that may be published in said city"
Every year since ls48, the Era has had q
larger "permanent subscription" than any
newspaper in Washington City but at no time
has our claim to the advertisements been rec.
ognised. When first presented, it was scarcely
| noticed; but member of the Cabinet re.
marked that it remained to be proved whether
the Era was in fact permanent paper. At
| another time, the application, it was said, was
made at a season of the year just after the Sc
lection of the two newspapers, and the subject
could not be reopened. Next, an Attorney
General rendered the opinion that the Era, not
being published as often as the other papers,
must be ruled out. His successor, Mr.. Crit.
tenden, Ia gentleman always disposed to act
JUSTIFY gave his opinion that the Law referred,
not to the frequency of the issues, but to the
extent of the permanent subscription. Not.
withdrawing this, member of the same Ad-
ministration decided that the Law meant Daily
newspapers, and as the Era was only week.
ly, it must be set aside. No one presumed to
question the fact that the Era had the largest
"permanent subscription" The standing de-
vice, however, resorted to for the purpose of de.
featng its just claim, has been to take the aggre.
gate number of papers issued in the course of
week, by newspaper, as the standard of
its permanent subscription" Suppose, for
example, the Lntelligencer should issue only
Daily, and its subscribers should number
5000, the Departments, determine its "perma.
nent subscription" would multiply the 5000
by 6, the number of publishing days in the
week, and reach the sensible conclusion that
the permanent subscription of the paper is
10000 Thirty thousand permanent subscri.
bers, because it sends its Daily six times a
week to FIVE thousand persons Why not null.
tiply the 5000 by 3l2, the number of days in
the year the paper is issued? This would give
a"permanent subscription to the htelligencer
of only l,56O,OOOi
What an absurdity Would a merchant. in
seeking newspaper which would give the
widest publicity to his advertisements, act upon
such rule?
In this connection, we extract the following
remarks from the States of this city. The pa.
per designated by the -, we suppose, is
the EUening Star. 1t omits any reference to
the Era, but we shall supply the omission.
"The following statement exceeds instead of
under estimates the number of permanent sub.
scribers said papers had on the first of January
last, when the contest was made for the Gov.
eminent advertisements *
loJ Ios1c