Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1862-01-22

rule, aud virtually prohibiting the trans
mission ofnewspapeis excepting through
Tie mails, and in effect preventing tue
ale OF papers on the routes OF pab!'c
travel. Owe spoke Of the restrictive c'-
feet the two fist named PROVISIONS
would have on the newspaper circulation
# the country. The result would b
disastrous to grea, portion Of the loca'
countiy newspapers, and deprive hun
lreds OF thousands Of poor people, who
AN now afford TO take and pay tor
weekly journals, of the benefit OF this IN
valuable medium Of Intelligence aud cd
cation. Thus would the bill be promo
tive Of popular ignorance "a step "hich
40 rejecting law maker or citizen Should
tegald with favor in this period OF the
.sorld and ia this universal reading age.
The last mentioned provision OF tLis
bill-that prohibiting the TRANSMISSION
f hund es Of newspapers outside OF me
mails, by express or otherwl.c-wonio
rove even more disastrous TO Tue dis
,emiuation Of information among The
people than those already comn.cntod
.pon. The publishers of daily newspa-
3crs in the great cities now send the
,rca,er portion Of their circulation into
the country by express, the mails beng
10Th too slow and too uncertain tor the
prompt delivery Of large packages. Ca,
off from this privilege, as they virtually
would be, by the imposition of onerous
postage charges, their circulation would
be sure to suffer a material dlminutlon,
inasmuch as great portion Ct these
who now receive their papers from news
dealers in the country towns, to whom
hey are transmitted by express, could
not afford to pay the additional charges
that would necessarily be made.
Bat, setting aside the question as to
The effect THIS law would have upon the
circulation Of newspapers, we DO not
see on what principle Of Just dlscrlml-
nation it is attempted to make packages
Of unfoldcd newspapers an exception IN
he general articles that arc carried by
express and rail road companies. With
as much proprety could Congress enact
| law requiring paper makers or other
manufactures to send their bundles and
| packages through the mails instead OF
| transmitting them as freight or express
| matter. For instance, We now send cut
each evening,by express, packages mum.
| bcrlno from one hundred to five and six
hundred papers each, making large bun
\ es, too large and too numerous tor the
| mails to transmit promptly, without en-
ploying a largely additional number 0
men in the post offices on the routes,
whose salaries wonld more than eat Up
he additional post office revenue that
The bill in question has in view in com
pellins the publishers to send their pa
pers through the mails.
As ma ter Of revenue to the Govern
mcnt, thcrcforc-the one great object OF
the proposed law-the end aimed al
would not be retained, because the ex-
pense Of the additional post office clcrl-
| cal force would more than countcIbal.
ancc the additional revenue that the
post Office would gain.
As matter Of public eApediency, ii
would be highly impoitic, inasn.uch as
it would encourage popular ignorance,
by restricting the circulation of news.
papers among the people; and as amat
ter oil justice to newspaper publishers II
would be outrageous, inasmuch as it
singles ont their products alone to be
prohibited from Transmission by private
conveyance. We therefore protest
,gainst the proposed measure as unnec-
essary, oppressive and unpopular, and
warn the members of Congress, who
have, in the majority Of cases, been
elected through the help Of the newspa-
pers they are trying to crush, that the
weapon they are handling may be made
to cut two ways.
Newspaper proprietors, publishers
and editors ought, OF course, to be taxed
their full proportion for the support of
the Government, when the general as
sessment of taxable property shall be
made. But let their property be toced,
not deprecated in value by destroying
its means Of profit. This is all we ask,
and we ask it with emphasis Chicago
Journal.
The National Ln,eNigencer gives the
following adjuration addressed to his
coun,rymen by James Madison, the
"Fathcr Of the Constitution" The orr
ginal is in possession of James c. Nc
Cure, Of Washington:
"As this advice, if ever it see the
light, will not do 80 til l am no more,
it may be considered as issuing from the
tomb, where truth alone can be respec.
ted, and the happiness of man alone
consulted. 1t will he entitled, there.
fore, to ~hatever weight Can be derived
from good intentions, and from the ex
perience of one who has served his
country in various stations through 9
period of forty years; who esponsed in
bis youth, and adhered through his life
to the cause of its liberty; and who has
borne q part in most OF the transactions
which will constitute epochs OF its des
tiny.
"The advice nearest to my heart and
deepest in my convictions is, that til.
Union of these States be cherished one
pespetuated. Let the open enemy to j
be regarded as Pandora with her DO,
opened, and the disguised one as tn.
serpent creeping with his deadly vile
into Paradise"
II the open enemy to the Union, fore
seen by Mr.. Madison, be secession, th
diconisod opo "a ohol;t;or;em sI ~ 81