Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-02-12
/ CONGRESSIONAL
The Postal Bib Passes the House.
Prepayment Required on Newspapers.
g Patent Outsfdes . Allowed Usual
PrifilegesJ


r
| -7a1s
SENATE. s5
WASHINGTON, Feb, 11--Mr. Chandler
in troduced q bill to continue the Southern
Ciaims Commission. xW sgA&-sses szlEF.
The Senate then took up the calendar,
| and passed the following bills: e-w < S
Authorizing the Secretary of War to have
monument erected at Salisbury, N. c.,
to the Union soldiers who died there in
| prison. -
Granting the right of way over the public
| lands to the Denver, Georgetown and Utah
Railroad Company, Colorado.
Granting the right of way to the Denver,
South Park and Pacific Railroad Company,
Colorado.
Mr.. Stewart entered motion to recon-
slider the votes by which these two railroad
bills were passed. aam
To provide for obtaining information of
the condition Of banks organized under
State laws.
An act to enforce the stipulations of the
convention Of 1866 with Venezuela.
Adjourned.
HOUSE.
04Is OaW1SI bi1U OOt414lbeCO " II
Commerce, reported the river and harbor
appropriation bill which was made the spe-
cia order for Monday next. The bill ap-
propriates S., 400. -. ...-
The TIce Meter. k..
Majority and minority reports on the sub
iect of refunding distillers the money paid
for the Tice meter were made from the
Committee on Ways and Means by Messrs.
Kerr and Beck, and ordered printed.
A bill passed TO pay the heirs of George
G. Bester, of Peoria, Ills., one hundred and
TIVE nty-five thousand dollars for losses in
constructing an iron clad steamer.
PostaI-.Patent 0utsides'' Permitted
to Live. w va
A bill further amending the postal laws,
making letter postage after July !, two
csnts was reported. An amendment was
adopted striking out the words "actually
and whollyn from the section relating TO
weekly papers having portion OF their
editions printed in large cities.
Interesting Figures. -.
Mr.. Farnsworth explained the bill at
length. As to the prepayment Of newspa-
per postage, he made the following state
ment: The postage revenue last year was,
on letters, SIS, ,354 .0J0; on newspapers and
periodicals, $685., $40. So the revenue for
letters was twenty times as great as that
for newspapers, while the newspaper mails
were twenty times the weight and bulk of
the letters. In 1870 there were In round
numbers printed of daily papers in the year
eight hundred million copies, or an average
of two and half millions day; weekly
papers six hundred million copies, or an
average of over eleven and half mil
lions Q week; Of monthly periodicals,
one hundred million copies, or an av-
erage of over eight and third millions
a month. The lowest rate of postage on
these publications was at present on dailies,
one dollar and twenty cents q year; on
weeklies, 20 cents; on monthlies, II cents.
He thought it not too much to say that 10
per cent. of the dailies, and so per cent. of
the weeklies and monthlies passed through
the mails. If that were Sc, and the postage
had been collected on it, it should have
yielded a revenue from daily papers Of
$50, 1922; from weekly papers is S1,846, ,153,
and from monthlies of SS00,000, making a
total of S2,953, ,S45, while the actual
receipts from these sources were only
$685., $40. Itwas therefore manifest that
but small part of the postage on that
which constitutes the gr ,st bulk and weight
of the mails was ever received by the de-
partment. He thought that eventually
Congress would require every man who
uses the mails to pay for their use, but he
admitted that there was now feeling of
Difference to the country weekly press to
the extent of allowing their circulation free
of postage in the equity uf publication.
As to the effect ofthe proposed bill, it was
bis opinion that while next year might
show slight deficiency in the postage re-
ceived from the letter mail, within two
years the present revenue would be caught
up with and passed. As to the prepayment
of newspaper postage, that was not to go
into operation until the 1st of January next.
Daily Paper Postage Reduced. -
E. b. Roberts, Of New York, moved to
to amend by making the postage on
daily newspapers not exceeding four ounces
in weight 15 cents per quarter. After dis
cussion the amendment was agreed to.
Amendments offered by Garfield and
Hibbard in respect to magazine and news
paper manuscripts we're agreed to and the
bill was then passed.
The RiII as Passed.
The bill as amended reads as follows:
Be it enacted, ETC., that on and after the
1st day Of July next, on all mail matter
which is wholly or partly in writing, except
book, magazine and newspaper manu-
scripts and corrected proofs, passing be-
tween authors and publishers, and except
ing also correspondence or postal cards; on
all printed matter which is SO marked as to
convey any other or further information
than is conveyed by the original print, ex-
cept the correction of mere typographical
errors; on all matter which is sent in viola
ton of law or of the regulations of the de-
partment respecting inclosure; on all mat
ter to which no specific rate of postsge is
assigned-the postage shall be charged at a
rate of not over two cents for each half
ounce or fraction thereof, and this provis-
ion shall include all letters commonly
known as drop, or local, letters delivered
through the post Offices or their carriers,
and magazine, manuscripts and neWspa-
per manuscripts are hereby declared to be-
long co the third class of mailable matter.
sec. 2. That from and after the first
DAY of January next, under such regula-
tions and in such manner as the Postmaster
General shall prescribe, the postage provid-
ed by law to be paid upon printed matter
VI udu4ulo u1albcE Ol SIl0 5tCOuU CLASS Stall
in all cases be prepaid and collected at the
offices respectively where such matter shall
be mailed; and the postage on daily news
papers not exceeding four ounces each copy
in weight, shall be charged and collected at
the rate of fifteen cents per quarter; pro-
vided that weekly newspapers within their
respective counties where the same are
printed and published, and none other, may
pass through the mails free of postage as
provided in the Sth clause of section lS4 of
the act to revise, consolidate and amend
statutes relating to Postoffice Department.
Section provides penalties for embez-
zling, secreting or destroying mail matter.
g. M.-The Dumb Witness.
The Speaker presented a petition from
Jas. b. Stewart, the recusant witness ask
ing that his case be referred to the Judicia-
ry Committee inasmuch as there was a
hostile feeling against him on the part of
the Select Committee on the Union Pacific
Railroad and Credit Mohiler. The petition
was, however, referred to the last named
committee.
House then went into Committee of the
Whole on the Army Appropriation bill of
$3l, 81 ,953. A proposition to make an ap-
preparation for soldiers head stones was