The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1873-02-27


And now it is that good old soul, the
N Y Evening Post which waileth about
newspaper postage. just bear the old
lady:
THE POSTAL BILL AND THE COUNTRY NEWS
PAPERS.
The postal bill which passed the House
of Representatives Tuesday, like almost
everything else in this naughty world,
has it's good points and its bad points
Its reduction of letter postage from three
cents to two cents on each half-ounce or
fraction thereof is just and polite. So,
also, is its provision that from and after
the first of January the postage on news
papers shall be prepaid by the publishers
at the time of mailing. The receipts of
the Postoffice Department. from newspa-
per postage during the year just closed
were less than a million of dollars, where
as a careful estimate shows that nearly
three million of dollars worth of news
paper postal matter was moved. The
provision just cited will, therefore, in
crease the Postofhce revenues by some
two millions of dollars. which is suffi-
cient argument in favor of this section of
the bill.
Unfortunately, however, our represen-
tatiyes in Congress appear to stand in
awe Of the country newspapers. At any
rate, for this or some other reason the
bill in terms. declares that weekly news
papers shall circulate free within the
respective counties where the same are
printed and published This, it seems
to US, is an unfair discrimination in their
favor.
A general attempt has been made this
winter to relieve The postal service from
the burden of carrying any mail matter
for nothing. The franking privilege has
been abolished, and this bill aims to re-
move kindred evil in respect to news,
literary and other publications. The
popular feeling is that no one except the
postal officers themselves ought to be en-
titled to free use of the mails. Why
then make an exception of the weekly
country newspaper
But in addition to this, there is spe-
ciic objection to this clause. 1t, in fact,
institutes a discriminating duty against
every newspaper published in city for
country circulation. There are. scores of
these in this city, the body of whose sub
scribers live in the country. Most of
them are far better in every way than the
average country newspaper. But IN so
far as the exception applies, the proposed
law levies a duty on the circulation OF
this class of city journals. Moreover,
very many of these ocalled country
newspapers are printed in part in the
city, so that the exception in their favor
really goes to the support of those large
prin ting houses in the city whose work is
largely of this kind.
Now we believe in fair play. We be-
lieve in people paying for what they have
But we believe that every one ought to
pay for what he has, and therefore op-
pose this exception. The average coun-
try newspaper is by no means a model
journal; and, perhaps, if it were put on
equal grounds with it's competitors, it
would be made better, which would be a
positive advantage to everybody who
reads it. In reforms of this kind Thor
oughp is the word.
There is much that is true in the above.
We admit that there is much room for
improvement in the country papers.
But how about the city papers No
wonder that members of Congress have
more fear of the country papers than of
the city papers How did the two clas-
ses of papers compare for honesty and
integrity in the last campaign Among
all the little, nasty country papers, could
any two be found, as false, as unscrupu-
lous and unreliable as the New York
Tribune and the New York S,tn? Even
the good old Evening Post itself changed
front very suddenly and very strangely.
In the beginning il declared President
Grant utterly unfit for President, and
unfit for reelection; but on the home
stretch" it was doing its level best in his
favor, and some of the ablest articles in
his support which we selected for publi-
cation last fall, were taken from this
same Evening Pest. But of course, there
was no Credit Mobilier in all this. 1t
only goes TO show that city papers are
not very influential or reliable, and are
so regarded by members of Congress.
We notice il the proceedings of the
Ohio TaO;alat,,pa ~, Wadpasday Of Lost