The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1873-07-24
From the New National Era.
Penny Wise and Pound Foolish.

One of the great Reforms which has
been sung in The peoples ear until they
had come to consider its speedy adoption
not only necessary to save the nation
from moral as we'll as financial bank
ruptcy, but to preserve its very existence.
has been the repeal of the Franking
Privilege. This reform" has been the
chief capital in trade of ambitious politi-
clans, of members of Congress of .meagre
mental resources, and of a large portion
of the country press. =, ..s.-e.s "a
Led off and misled by the New York
Tribune, these s'reformers' have forAyears
waged relentless war upon the franking
privilege, its abuses, its terrible draft
upon the finances of the nation, its de-
m oralizing Influences, and all that sort of
thing till Congress, tired out by the
eternal clamor for its repeal, took them
at their word and has eradicated the
privilege, root and branch. Not vestige
of the system has been left. Even the
privilege" which the country papers"
have enjoyed of sending their publica-
-tions free in the county where printed,
and ofreceiEing exchanges free. has been
taken from them, whereat more furious
clamor is raised against Congress than
ever. That was more than they bargained
for They only meant that the privilege
themselves. E t iH iti
And now the franking privilege has
been abolished what has the Government
saved? how much will it save? and what
benefit are the people to derive from the
"reform ?" We have shown over and
over again by facts that nobody has dis
puted, that if postage had been paid on
all the franlzed matter sent through the
post office, it would have amounted to
not more than $300,Oo0 yearly at the
very outside. We have further shown
that in reality it has not cost the Govern,
ment dollar annually to transport this
matter, because it is carried by contrac-
tors under contracts made without any
reference to it. .- '"
But we will admit that the same amount
of letters and public documents as ever
will be sent and received by members of
Congress, and that legal postage will be
paid upon it amounting yearly to $780,
900. That will be the credit side of the
reform" But against it is to be charged
the cost of putting the new system into
operation. Let US see how the account
will then stand, and what balance in the
shape of increased.revenuet there will be
in favor of the government. go
1t is officially estimated that it will cost
the people one million of dollars to sup
ply officers of the Government with
scales on which to weigh their mail mat
ter, for printing circulars of instruction,
for engraving, printing, and forwarding
postage stamps, &C. to officers at distant
points. Other expenses rendered neces-
sary by the abolition of the franking
privilege, such as extra clerk hire and
numerous little items growing out of it,
will swell the outlay for the first year to
nearly or quite half million dollars
more. r--5-- $3.50 re1a st-s1I
The saving to the taxpayers for that
year will therefore be a dead loss of one
million two hundred thousand dollars.
If there should be an actual increase of
revenue of 100000 yearly, it will take
four years to make up the extra expense
of putting the franking privilege reform"
into operation. But this gain of one
quarter million of dollars cam t be count
ed upon, because the annual expense of
printing stamps, blanks, ETC., and send
ing them off, for clerk hire and other
contingent expenses will nearly or quite
equal this amount yearly. Under the
most favorable showing, therefore, not n
dollar will be actually saved by the re-
peal, while. the people will be deprived
the privilege of receiving the public docu-
ments printed by the Government, and
to a large extent of the privilege of petit
tlon.e ...-.......E s,-.-.sst.s5 .t.-z
Here. then, are the benefits the Gov
ernment and people are to derive from q
''reform" which has kept the small poll
ticians of the nation in a tumult of excite
ment for the last twenty years, and
which the people had been made to be-
lieve was to regenerate and purify our
politics, replenish our treasury, restore
the public morals, and bring about, that
political millennium of which Greeley,
Schurz Trumbull, and other great re-
formers have been the champions!
A stronger proof that the repeal of the
franking privilege will be, and is ex-
pected to be, no saving to the Govern
ment, is the fact that we have two or
three times before stated, that the appro
priations by Congress for the expense of
the Postoffice Department are 81, ,000, 600
larger this year than the last. If the
statement so often officially made that
the franking privilege cost the pepart-
ment from three to FIVE millions of dol
lars yearly, the appropriation should have
been less now that expense is Topped oil,
| instead of millions more. ,y. =
It's the little cuss in the cradle that
| I.r~s, 1,