Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-01-04
POatnastet TsshadIsii. flefence.

q lamb before his shearers. But finding
s that public sentiment was rapidly settling
e against him, and that bis silence was uni
9 versally taksh as evidence of his guilt, b
was forced to say something to excus
himself Accordingly, last evening, h
published statement in the Herald, il
which he uttered several deliberate false
hoods, which we s,cll prove on him befor,
we get through with the matter.
He commences by saying thatthe paper
detained @were directed generally to Pos
Masters, all over the State, and in such
numbers as to satisfy any enc they wer'
not directed to regular subscribers, but
were transient papers, or specimen papers
on which all honest publishers pay post.
age" How did Mr.. Benedict know that
they were not sent to regular subscribers
What right had he to presume that they
were transient papers, coming as they did
| from q known Office of publications. II
| they were not sent to regular subscribers,
why did Mr.. Benedict call at the LEADER
ofice one week after he commenced delay
ing the LEADER and leave word that he
had concluded to send all the papers he
had detained" He either violated the
law by OBTAINING our paper week or ten
days; or he else violated the law by send
ing 1t finally without prepayment.
We agree with Mr.. Benedict that ali
honest publishers prepay postage on tran
sient matter. During the last fall we have
prepaid the postage on 1000 specimen
copies of the LEADER, and he knows it.
The Herald proceeds:
"a call was made at the Post Office by
one Of the employees or Proprietors of the
Leader Office who gaee his ioord that the
papers were directed to regular subscribers,
and were single papers, and on that assur-
ance, questionable as it was, the papers
were forwarded"
The gsntleman's simple word has more
weight than G.. A. BIS oath. The reason
given above was not the real one which
caused Mr.. B., to send the papers detained
for a week. The fact is that he was fright
ened into sending them by being informed
that telegraphic dispatch would be sent
to Mr.. Cowles, President of the LEADER
Company, who was then in New York
requesting him to lay the matter beforethe
Post Office Department. He called at the
LEADER Office on the same day, anxious
ly enduired if the dispatch had been
sent, and on learning that it had, expressed
his regret.
Ths Hs1ala says farther:
at subsequently, came to light that an
examination was made while said pack
ages were lying in the Post Office, and, as
far as examined, they contained tl0o
LEADERS each, tri-weekly and weekly.
1t is fair presumption that every wrap
per contained two papers"
The above charge is wholly false and
groundless. Not one of the packages de-
tanned at the postofice contained two pa
tRSaday Rstdfa to deliver all packages Containing
two papers each, and the truth will then
be known in regard to the number of such
packages. It is possible that out of the
A, ,OOe specimen LEADERS sent out last
fall, which in some cases were sent two in
a package, one or two may have been ac-
cidentally mailed without prepayment
but not one of the packages detained by
the Postmaster, which were ADDRESSED to
regular subscribers, contained two papers.
But Mr.. Benedict, in opening ou
LEADER packages, as he eonfeSsss to have
done, has committed another illegal act,
for which he will be called to account
Postmasters have no business to ply into
papers coming from aknown office ofpub-
LEGATION. Postmaster-editors especially
have no legal or moral right to tamper
with the mail-matter Of rival establish
ments. Postnasters have only the right
to examine papers received at their Office
for dsIiee'y, and not papers coming from
a known Office of publication to be mailed
to another postofice.
Mr.. Benedict claims that papers sent to
Postmasters, who pay for them by services
in getting up clubs, are transient matter,
and should be detained. When Mr.. Cowles
was Postmaster, it was a matter of no.
toriety that thousands of RerGlds were
sent to Postmasters, free, and yet he never
detained or interfered with them, simply
because he had no fight to do SO. And
even now Mr.. Benedict acknowledged to
Mr.. Pulling, Of the LEADER Office, that
he is sending few copies of his paper
free to Postmasters." If he can send pa
pers to Postmasters free, we would ask his
Postmastership why cannot the LEADER
do the same2 ~
If Mr.. Benedict will spend little time
in reading the Postofice laws and regsla-
tions, instead of devoting it to peering in
to the mail-matter Of a rival Office, to find
out how much I" the country is being food
ed with LEADERS" he will find that he
has no right under any circumstances, to
interfere with papers coming from
known Office of publication. An he is au-
thorized to do is to notify the Postmaster
General of any suspicion of fraud, and
await instructions as to his further pro-
ceedings.
In day or two we will give the laws
bearing upon the subject. We shall show
that Mr.. Benedict violated the law:
ist. In OBTAINING the LEADER at the
PpstOfice,
I'd. In giving his own paper the pref
erenee.
Sd. In opening copies of the LEADER
left to be mailed. ,9ts# 80
The WoOI GroWers' Convention.
On Tuesday, at Columbus, as we learn
from the correspondence Of the Cincinnati
COn.mereiGI the Ohio Wool Growers
Convention met in the Senate Chamber
and was called to order by the President
Hon. r. N. Montgomery, of Mahoning,
who made neat and appropriate address;
congratulating his hearers on nlsafS auspices
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