Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1862-02-06


probably sixty thousand, and is certainly
as much as fifty thousahi.'' 81
The Gazette says:
Not less than sixty thousand daily pa
pers leave Cincinnati every morning. The
weeklies aid probably one hundred thou-
sand week to this
am glad to find these figures. in the
editorials, because they have given me n
clue to what wished to arrive at. West.
ern members know that the circulation of
the Chicago papers is nearly the same as
that Of the Cincinnati papers. Ont of the
single city of Cincinnati alone sixty thou
sand papers are sent daily. Even if they
all circulated in the State Of Ohio alone,
paying the lowest rate Of postage. one
quarter OF cent. on each-and we know
that fully one quarter go into Indiana-the
amount of postage actually thrown away
by us there. would be s46.S00 per year,
without counting the weeklics. the peri
odicals. or the increased postage on those
going outside of Ohio. 1t is so with the
Chicago papers. with the exception that
probably over half Of their circulation ont
the city is in the State of Indiana. Wiscon-
sin, and Iowa. But assuming that only
one half of this circulation is outside the
State of Illinois, the postage on it. If sent
through the mails, would be sc, 000.-
Thus at the very lowest figures. one hun
dred to one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars is annually thrown away on. the
postage of newspapers Of these two cities
without benefit to anybody, as the subscri-
bers have to pay more for the papers than
if they were sent through the mails
Apply these calculations to the news
papers of the great cities. which circulate
in the aggregate scores of papers for every
one that's circulated from Cincinnati or
Chicago. and you will find that $1,000
600 will not cover the gain to the revenue
Of the Post Office Department which our
bill would secure. believe that 8 500, :
900 per year could be realized from these
papers without burdening anybody. or in
teriering with the profits o: the newspaper
dealers.
There are eight great centers of newspa-
per circulation in the country-Boston,
New York. Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pitts
burg. Cincinnati. Chicago. and st. Louis.
There are also a number of lesser newspa-
per centers, such as Portland. Springfield.
Massachusetts,; Albany. Utica. Syracuse.
Rochester. Buffalo, Cleveland. Detroit,
Milwaukee. an Columbus Ohio; Louis-
vile. New Haven. Harrisburg. DC. l
have made my calculations from the sta
tistics given in the two Cincinnati papers
statistics furnished by these adverse edi-
tors themselves. and not manufactured for
the purpose of bolstering up arguments.
These statistics show that the loss to the
Post Office Department on the circulation
of the newspapers published in the great
centers is far more than any man has ever
dreamed of. and that, could it have been
foreseen, the law of 1845, which is now
stretched SO far beyond its permissive pro-
visions. would never have been enacted
why" they say. ''it will cut off the cir
cufation. Cut off circulation? / do not
see how that will follow. when every SUBJ
scriber receives his paper cheaper than he
has heretofore done through the expresses
and newsdealers. How. then. will the ef-
feet be to cut down the circulation of the
newspapers?
Mr.. Speaker. 1 last night received tele-
graphic dispatch upon this subject. 1t is
on a mammoth scale. a good deal like the
} manner in which the publisher of the New
York Ledger usually gets up his advertise
ments: but If the House will bear with me.
l think / can read it without OBTAINING
them long.
Mr.. CoIsAx thereupon opened out q
printing" photographic dispatch. amid
, much laughter, about dozen yards in
length. the end of which was carried to the
opposite side of the Hall. and proceeded to
: read:
New YoRK. January 20. 1862.
DEAR SIN: 1t seems to me that you can
not be fully posted in regard to the news
agency business, or you would never have
introduced the bill concerning il in the
House of Representatives. am aware, ..
you state in your communication in to-day.
Tribune, that the Government sadly need,
. additional revenue; and so far as newspa
per proprictors are concerned, know Of
. no class Of men more willing TO pay their
share. But bet Il come in proper shape
You have referred in the discussion o
I yous bill to the immense circulation Of tn,
: New York Ledger. Will you permit mt
7 to inform the House or Representatives
through the committee Of which you ar,
. chairman. that would prefer to pay ia,
Eof half cent on every copy Of that cir
:, culation rather than be required to conform
!. to the requirements ofyour bill. 1t woul,
: be less oncrous to give tine entire profit
: of onr business to tho Government Will
!, the war continues than to have that husi
ness entirely destroyed. We are willin'
:, Ito be taxed. but in common with othe
: newspaper publishers. we do not want tn
I. present we'll organized and satisfactor
II news agency system Of selling and distribu
:. ting papers broken up. which would virt.,
= ally be the effect Of your bill. II Con
!. gress considers it cxpedient to raise add
!, itionSl revenue off the circulation Of news
y papers, w,hy would not plan somethin
y like the following be good one. sis''.
4 Papers of one thousand circulation an
l. less to be free from taxation, papers Q
70 over one thousand and less than five thou
" sand to pay tax of one quarter Of a cen
+ on every copy published; and all papers {
,e over Eve thousand circulation to pay q Ia
RI Of half cent on every copy published