The Jeffersonian Democrat. [volume] (Chardon, Ohio) 1854-1865, 1862-02-07
The Newspaper Expulsion Bill--Mr.
Riddles Remarks. ss

Whom tho bill of Hon. Schuyler Colfax 20
exclude newspapers from express companies
charge, or to couine tboir circulation to
tho mails, was uuder discussion in tho
House, Hon. A. G.. Riddle, member from
this district, mado the following sensible
remarks upon it..
Mr. Riddle. wish to say word or two
only IN reference to one or two principles
which scom to be directy involved in tho
proposition before the House. | do nne
care anything about this coniest befweett
the leading newspapers Of the country and
tho distinguished gentleman at the head OF
tho Post Office Committee. That gentleman
is abnndantly ablo to take care Of himself,
and those great Journals arc certainly ca
pablo Of looking to their own interests.
do not know tho conductors Of them per-
sonally, but buy of thom as | buy my
boots and shoee. This Post Ofica ma.
chinery is no department of tho Govern.
nent. IN any legal, constitutional, or other
sense of that torn. Ii has nothing whatever
TO DO with politics; il has nothing to do
with tho Judiciary; It is no part Of the Leg
/ islaturo: and it has nothing whatever to DO
with tho executive department. IL is a bad
usc of language. which has several times
]
ment of tho Government.
Ver7 early. and for very sufficient reasons,
unquestionably tho Government undertook
to perform purely the functions of a dealer;
undertook to do for the people the transfur-
ence of her correspondence. The wisdom
of that is not now directly, perhaps, in-
vnlyed in this proposition. And for the
| purpose Of enabling tho Government tho
better 20 do it, they passed. laws by which
thev monopoized this ontire business aud
the purpose of it was tho Transmission of the
private correspondence of one iudividuah
| or of departments of the Gbvornmrnt with
| persons with whom they had business COM
nunicItlons. The department was designed
and established upon the theory that those
who employed it should pay for that EN-.
! ploymont Hence. in strict accordance with
that principle, the House decided the othor
day thai those classes of persons who had
been favored in this matter heretofore should
bo favored no longer. That is exceedingly
! proper, in my judgments but, sir, it was
not originally the design or the purpose to
make printed matter mailab'e matter, at
loast not to any such extent as that tho
! Post Office Department was organized for
the Transmission of printed matter. s
Now, sir, what is the relation of these
newspaper manufacturers TO this govern.
ment agency insist that these largo
| loading daiies. or small leading dailies, or
| no leading woeklies, sustain exactly the
same relation to this governmental agency
| that everybody else in the land sustains to
/ II, to wit +: when they wish to ccmmu., .,cate
by private correspondence, over the,r own
hands or 10y clerks. they must uso the Post
office organization bot, sir, when they
manufacture, as it is their business 20 do,
their journals. they manufacture thom for
tho purpose Of sale. just precisely as any
other manufacturer furnishes his articles to
+ tho market. Thev use ink to be sure, and
paper, but il is purely and simply a manu-.
focture. They occupy simply that position,
and thoy occupy none other, in relation to
this governmental agency. What right
upon principle have you to say that the
manufacturers of newspapers shall be com.
pelod 10 make use of your governmental
agency-which is but an uscrpation of pri-
vate enterprise-to convey or dispose OF
their manufactured articles to their Gus
toners. any more than you have tho right
to compel the manufacturers of silk and
cotton thread goods, or pig iron, even, or
of any other article, to uso it?
IL is not enough to say that the Govern.
mGnt wants money. We know that the
Government wants morey; but does that
authorize the Committee on tho Post Office
and Post Roads to say that to supply this
particular deficit they have a right TO tax
this particular branch of business, for they
admit that it is' tax Why should you
tax this particular branch of industry aud
production any moro than any and all
others 1t seems to mo that upon princ.
pIe tho measure so eloquently and ably ad'
vocated by tho gontloman from Indiana, 10
4 49,. 4 l.
AS has beon very properly remarked,
this is revenue measure; 10 is put upon
that ground, aud it does not follow that,
because exceptionally you carry printed
matter in tho mails. that gives you tho
! right to seize upon this special and peculiar
article of production, and tax il specially
and peculiarly to supply this pqrtcuar
deficit. Not at all, in my Judgment. Yet
that seems to be The principle involved
here.
desire to remark ono single thing further.
| should have been very glad If the prnoi.
ple which WAS involved in the fourth section
of the bill which was offered as a substitute
| Tor tho bill abolishing the franking privilege
by one of the gentlemen from Nov York,
Mr.. Duell. looking towards a remission ot
the governmental rights in favor of tho
country press. had been adopted. as think
il is entirely consistent with the principle
involved but did not rise for the purpose
OF discussing that question. did not rise
for tho purpose OF discussing tho details Of
this measure ut all. only proposed TO
call the attention of the House-and I pre-.
sumo it was hardly necessary-to tho
principle which is directly involved in this
| bill. We are called upon to supply a par
ticular deficit in the governmental revenues
by u tax upon particul lar branch of in"
dustry. which sustains no more intimate
aud iesossary rotation TO that branch of tho
! public service than do all others. ] AN
! therefore constrained TO oppose the bill |;
and now move to lay the whole subject on
the table.
This motion was lost, but subsequent
motion TO lay on the table prevailed.
L., Ika waeI nf Coatlaa1 fba