Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-02-02
THE FRANKING PRIVILEGE.

abolishing the franking privilege, will if i
becomes law make important changes
1t requires more careful scrutiny than i
| appears to have had in the House, more
deliberation in regard to its effects. The
bill as it now stands provides that after
July LIST all matter which is carried by
mail must be paid for. There are to be
no exceptions whatever. This will effect
country newspapers by making them pay
postage ON exchanges, and abolishing the
exemption from postage on their circula-
ton in the county where they are pub.
lished. These privileges which newspa.
pers have had have not been abused and
probably would not be should they con-
tinue. Few papers maintain larger ex-
change list than is necessary or profitable.
The expense of exchange aside from post
age being considerable and much the
largest item, serves as check to extrava-
gance, so that the list is kept within
reasonable bounds. Should the expense
of exchange be increased, the lists would
probably be reduced, more to the public
disadvantage than to that of the publisher,
for the public reaps benefits in many ways
from the free interchange of papers among
publishers which it could ill afford to lose,
while the latter would be no poorer. The
dissemination of opinion and intelligence
which free exchange list promotes is an
important consideration, and whatever
curtaiIs it is not to be lightly regarded.
The exemption of newspapers from
postage in the counties where published,
is established to aid country newspapers
in withstanding the competition of city
newspapers with large circulation, pub
lished cheaply, and making their profits
from advertising. II this is abolished the
country newspapers will still be published,
and their local country subscribers must
pay the postage from which they are now
exempt There would be no complaint,
we imagine, on the part of publishers of
country newspapers, at the removal of this
privilege by Congress, if at the same time
Congress would adjust its rates Of news
paper postage according to the exact
weight and distance carried, obliging all
newspapers to pay in proportion to the
actual amount of transportation as near as
possible. This would bejusticc all around.
The Post Office Department would get
pay for what it did, and big and little
papers would be treated alike. But to
require as much postage of country news
papers for carrying fifteen or twenty miles,
as of city newspapers that circulate large
ly at long distances and weigh more per
copy is not Just, but tavors the strong and
makes the weak bear more than proper
tionate part of the burden. If Congress
will adjust the rates of postage to bear
equally on papers Of large and small cir
culaton in proportion to the actual eX-
pense of transportation and distribution
for each, we believe all country newspa-
per publishers will heartily acquiesce in
the abolition of postal exemption in coun-
ties, asking no favors of the Post Office
Department except what they pay for.
Without this exemption from postage local
papers would naturally widen their field
of circulation, and if franking were entire
ly abolished members of Congress could
not circulate their speeches among their
constituents except through the local pa
pers, and thus they would become an i'm
portant means of Intercourse between
Congress and the people. We trust Con-
gress will not be in hot haste to dispose
Of matter which has so many important
relations rs the ranking privilege, and
that in abolishing it. if that is to be the
result. those adjustments may be made
which the nature of the change may rem
der necessary.
Z. B. Washburn, Minister to France, writes