The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1873-02-04
TUESDAY EvEN'G, FERRY A. 1873.
The Franking Privilege.

The Frankins Privilege.
The President having signed the bill
abolishing the franking privilege. it has
on the first day of July, the House of Rep
resentatives still reserving the privilege for
themselves, but denying it to the next
House. Many Of the journals of the
country are pronouncing upon the measure
as a grand reform. But a reform in favor
of whom and of what ? Certainly not one
in favor of the people. or of an in%depend-
ent and well-conducted journalism in the
country. This "grand REFORM" so
heralded by the leading metropolitan jour
mails of the United States, together with
that which requires the prepayment by
newspapers of all mail matter sent by
them outside the counties in which they
are published, has only one object
among those who have most %strenuously
advocated these two popular re-
FORMS" as they are called and
that is, to kill off all the provincial
newspapers Of the country. or at least
all that have not capital enough living be-
hind their enterprises to insure their sue
cess, ia spite of the death-bfow aimed at
them in these "~retormatory measures"
so-called.
We have always regarded the franking
privilege as one not only meritorious in
itself, but especially designed to be ofprac-
teal benefit to the people. That it has
been grossly abused there is no doubt, but
its abuses might have been corrected with
out striking down the system altogether.
The salaries of members of Congress
are none too large as they are, and there is
gross injustice in requiring that, besides
other expenses, they and the departments
shall carry on their necessary correspond
ence on public business at their own cost.
To say that the members of Congress may
be voted a fair allowance for the purpose
of carrying on their correspondence and
sending valuable public documents to their
constituents and the five thousand provincial
newspapers in the United States, is not
meeting the meritorious ends Of the law
as originally framed, nor is it meeting the
many objections urged against its repeal.
Suppose the members are voted a thous.
and dollars each for the purposes named,
how many of them will use the APP
preparation for the objects intended ?
We answer, not one in ten, unless some
ambitious ends were to be gained by it,
such as securing a reelection to Congress,
or furthering some scheme of personal az.
grandizement without reference to the
public good or the extension of privileges
to the people. 1t is absurd to say that
the object of the repeal is to
prevent the loading down of the
mails with useless publications. The
documents sent are generally those printed
at the expense of Congress, and the better
way to prevent the numbering of the mails
with this sort Of trash, in to stop theil
publication at the expense Of the govern
ment. There is no economy is saving a
the spiggot when everybody is having a pull
at a big straw in the bunghole.
We regard tn repeal of the frankine
privilege as a mistake. The hue and or,
against the system may have been NOR
general from the abuses that grew III
under 1t, but neither of the two great pc
litical parties cared hall as much to rectif,
the abuses as to get rid of the system unde
which the abuses had, at the instance ant
approval in part of the two political parties
Of the country, sprung up. This hue AM
cry against the Thanking privilege was frs
raised by the few great overshad
owing newspapers of the country
which were not satisfied with tn
enormous calculations to which they ha,
reached, but sought a grand monopoly il
circulation, by cutting off, as far as posi-
BILE, all mail privileges to the five thousan
provincial journals standing in the way {
their overshadowing supremacy.
Hence, some Of these metropolitan joul
nails. declaring forty, fifty, and one hundre
per cent. profit a year, have for year
clamored for the repeal of the franklin
privilege, and the ''reform'' sought in II
gard to prepayment on all mail matter
newspapers included, outside Of the cour
ties in which provincial journals wei
published. We hope the next Congre:
will open its eyes wide enough to see Il
real charter Of the reform" clamored 70
and reinstate the franking privilege wit
the few crumbs Of privilege extended to Il
true opponents of popular feeling and pull
lie sentiment-the provincial journals
the country.
Miss LOUISA KING is mentioned
the female Bergh Of Augusta. Georgi