Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1870-01-21
30 moRE eARDEN sEnDs.


cutting the var against the franking
swindle with an energy and perais-
seney which mean business. His
Recommendations for the abolition Of
franking, contained in his annual re-
port, we're made in earnest and have
been followed up by equally earnest
and positive action. Petitions for the
removal Of this fraud from the postal
service have been literally eirculated
among the people and are pouring in
like Hood upon astonished O congress-
men. The prospect for the eradioa-
ton Of the abuse grows better and
better, and really begins to give prom
ise of success.
The question Of abOlisAing The
franking privilege is, to bs sure, = grave
one-for ConRressmeD. Il presents its
elf to the congressional mind not
merely in its financial bat in its social
and political aspects. The privileged
dissFibutIoa Of garden sass through
the mails BY members of Congress is
one of the -honored institutions
of this country-one which hath
grown like an ivy over the entire sur
face of the constitution and inserted
its 6laments into every nook aud Gran
Dy Of our political structure. Not
only 80, but IL has been reduced to .
system and refined into an art, requir-
ing not only special training and skin
but particular quality Of genius. TO
illustrate, it is said (perhaps ingidiOus-
ly) that prominent member Of the
present Congress secured a contested
denomination by his superior tact in
the sowing of garden seeds Sa his p0-
litieal vineyard. Of an ex-member IT
is related that he can distribute sin
gle package of garden seeds among
his constituency with such marvellous
skill as to bring to naught the best
lplanned devices and most cunning
wiles Of any political rival.
Now it is plain that this requires
genius, or as Orpheus G. Kerr would
say, strategy, my boy. And the
question is, if the fFanking privilege
is abolished, in what field will this tai
ent be able to display itself ? In other
words, will not its occupation be gone?
These be grave questions and we do
not wonder that Congressman hesitate.
The vital Importance of the subject,
as well as the great antiquity of frank
ing, commands deliberation. No priv
eleged class likes to give up its pre-
|rogatives, and it is not to be expected
that a usage which has taken root, as
It were, in every garden patch in the
land and been ripened and saneti6ed
by age. should be stricken. down and
annihilated in an instant.
Nevertheless the proposition to
abolish tbo franking privilege, is not
new one. There is nothing startling
about it except in the earBestness with
which it is now being pressed upon
the attention of our beloved Congress.
As. early as 1882 the abolition
of the privilege was discuss
ed, and from that time to this has been
subject of spasmodie agitation. At
first the evil was iaeonsiderable, and
it was not until within the last thirty
years that IL began to assume a very
serious aspect. Within thar time,
however It's growth has been rapid
and there are now 81, 1893 persons who
are permitted to load the mails with
whatever quantity or quality of mat
ter they choose. As loBg ago as 1859
it is said that not garden sass and
documentary trash only. but even
chests Of tea. barrels of -four and the
congressional sOiled linen were trans
ported through the I,aiIs under frank
as public documents. In some Euro
pean countries the custom, prior to
its abolition, was carried to even graf
er exoess. and an instance is given of a
hunting horse and pack of hounds
being franked to their destination.
Iy male servants for high fune-
tiOnary were forwarded IA like man
ner, and it is recorded that four
fitches Of bacon were sent to one ed
dress free of postage.
The Postmaster General estimates
that the expenses Of his department.
areswelled at least i've millions a year
by this fraud. But this by no means
measures the entire loss ooeasioned BY
it to the public treasury. The prive-
sege leads 10 the distribution Of hun
dreds of tons Of worthless documents
which nobody reads and nine-tenths
of which are thrown aside as so much
rubbish or sold to the paper mills at
30 much per pound The printing Of
these documents, which costs the
country an immense sum, would no
doubt be vastly diminishedif the dis
tribution was regulated solely by the
demand, and Congressman were re.
quired to pay their postage like. other
people. Even if the supply Of such
documents was entirely cot of the
dear public would not suffer BY the
privation. There are no state papers
Of general interest which DO not find
their way into the newspapers and le-
ceive through that medium a far wider
and cheaper distribution than By
means OF fraBking. which at best is
simply q special privilege the benefits
OF which are derived by favoritism.
Abolish this swindle, and more than
enough will be saved to establish the
postal telegraph aud give the people a
cheap transmission Of intelligence.
with the advantages of which the Gar.
den seed aud public document system
cannot enter into comparison.
Tak Gon0reas iuunorfaI;zo sA.tP