The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-02-07
The Franking Privilege.

. We trust that Congress will not back
down from the high ground which the
House Of Representatives has already
taken on this question. We have de-
nouneed the franking privilege as an out
rage; ard we are not to be deferred from
repeating the denunciation by any fear thai
Congress will, out Of mere spite, cut OH gu,
privilege of receiving our exchange papers
free Of postage, or our privilege of sending
our own papers out through the mails, leav'
ing the postage to be paid at the Office Of
delivery. Go ahead, we say. Better fhis
than the Thanking privilege, which HOODS
the country with worthless documents
weighs down the mails with trashy books,
franks the letters of all people who ere
mean enough to ask a congressman to give
them free envelopes, causes the printing
annually of millions of dollars worth o.
silly speeches and useless documents, ant
raises the price of conveying the mails
over nine-tenths of the routes in thu
country. We do not believe that 6
dozen people have ever complained o.
the privileges granted to editors; anc
we know that thousands and tens o.
thousands consider the franking privilege
q swindle. The whole postage received
from printed matter last year amounted
to less than million of dollars, we believe
whilst the cost of the ranking privilege
during the same period is estimated by the
Postmaster-General at FIVE millions of dol
lars. Suppose the question were submitted
to the voters of this country whether they
would have the franking privilege abo-
ished if thereby they could receive all
their papers free Of postage: Why, a
unanimous shout for it's abolition would 60
up from all parts of the country. Yet the
Government would actually save millions
of dollars by the substitution. In other
words, the frsnking privilege costs the TO-
vernment five times as much as it receives
in the shape of postage upon newspapers.
We repeat, there is not one man in thou
sand who would not rather have all papers
sent free through the mails than that con-
gressmen should enjoy the franking privi-
lege. And it is plain to be seen that the
people might enjoy the great privilege OF
receiving their papers free at less cost to
the Government than that of the franking
privilege. In fact, zoe pay postage upon
our newspapers that congressman may
receive their letters and papers free. Is
not that beautiful state Of things?
But never mind all that. Let Congress
require all matter that goes through the
mail to be prepaid, and We shall not com"
plain. The Washington Chronicle well says
that whilst the country editors may at first
object to this because of the tax it VIII i'm
pose upon them, yet that they will unques-
tionably find their account in it in the end ;
for if congressman have not the Thanking
privilege he cannot reach his constituents
except through the country papers, and the
advantages resulting from this fact will
more than compensate them for any loss
they may sustain in paying postage upon
their exchanges. The cash system, too,
will necessarily be adopted by our country
cousins and they will find much profit in
it.
How much trouble will not such Low
do away with. The simple feet that news
paper is in the mail will be sufficient evil
dence that the postage upon it has been
paid. There will be no monthly or quar-
terly payments at the ten thousand country
Offices, and no accounts to keep. The city
editor will take thousand or ten thousand
pounds of papers to the office, and, weigh
ing them, pay down the postage-say SAC
q ton, or cents pound, as the New York
Tribune proposes-and the whole lot will
at once be franked by the mere fact of put
ting them into the mail. When they reach
their destinations, the various postmasters
will have nothing in the world to do with
them but to deliver them. Papers not sent
from the offices of publication will of course
bear stamps as now. Then there can be no
such thing as swindling the Government by
sending out circulars as newspapers, and
by publishing newspapers only to secure
the privilege of sending out advertisements
without ying the postage upon them, at
certain patent-medicine men and other OK
tensive advertisers do. In fact, there seen
to be many good reasons why new laws 70.
the government of the post-ofice should b
passed, and scarcely one good reason VIII.
such swindle as the franking privileg
should be continued.