The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1873-02-15
The F..um1i,.g Pyivi1eoe Abolishc,1.

The National Republican Convention that
convened in Philadelphia on the 5th day of
last June and nominated Ulysses s. Grant for
President of the United States for a second
term, in obedience to the repeated recon-
mendations of Postmaster General Crcswell re.
commended the repeal of the Franking Privi-
lege in the following language: "The Frank
ing Privilege ought to be abolished and the
way prepared for a speedy reduction in the
rate of postage"
The Liberals declared that this was a piece
oil hypocracy on the part of the Republicans
They allowed no opportunity to pass without
making the charge that this was simply a
piece of political machinery manufactured for
the purpose of catching votes. We were told
on all sides that the Republican party had no
notion of living up to this portion of its politi-
cal creed But we have additional evidence of
the fact that the Republican party lives up to
its professions. Indeed the chief difference
between the Republican party and its decrepit
adversary is that it has always done more than
it promised and the once Democratic party has
always promised more than it did. No one
supposed that Congress would abolish the Frank
ing Privilege clear, entire and complete in all
of its details. Every one thought they would
abolish the privilege and then appropriate a
certain amount of stamps for the use of sena-
tors, Representatives and heads of Depart
ments. The bill went to the Senate from
the House of Representatives in this shape
The Senate cut off every provision for the
Government carrying any mail free. Itamended
the bill by striking from it everything that was
an exception to its complete abolition. The
following is the bill as passed by the Senate
and adopted by the House:
Be at enacted by the Senate and House of Representa
tives ofhe United States of America in Congress assem-
bed, That the ranking privilege be- and the same is
hereby, abolished, from and after the 1st day of July
A D. 1873, and that thenceforh all official correspond
of whatever NATURE and other maabe matter sent
from addressed to any officer of the Government or
persons now authorized to frank such matter shall be
chargeabe with the same rates of postage may be law
fully imposed upon like matter sent by addressed to
lowance shall now or hereafter be made to Senator's
Members and Delegates of the House of Representatives
on account of postage.
This sweeps away every vestige of abuse that
has been practiced upon the Government by
the use of this law.
The privilege was granted by a law of Con-
gress passed in 1872, for the purpose ofmaking
the Government defray such postal expenses
of Congressman and the heads of Departments
as were necessary for them to transact the bust
ness growing legitimately ont OF their official
positions. This was all we'll enough. Had it
been strictly confined to these we do not be-
lieve its repeal would ever have been demanded
by the public. But the abuse was so great that
it became serious burden to the national
treasury. The last two reports of Mr.. Creswell
showed that if the privilege were abolished it
would relieve the Republic from between four
and five millions of dollars annually. This is
Departments are obliged, under the new law,
to pay the same postage as other people. This
will relieve them from the trouble of mailing
documents and speeches to their constituents
1t will relieve the mail bags of tons of lumber
that people never read, and has opened the
way to the establishment of penny postage.
Who says that the Republican party is not
in favor of Civil Service Reform What is
this but long stride in the correction ofa great
imposition upon the nation, and one which
operated to the detriment of those who paid
postage, because postage has always been
higher than it otherwise would have been had
free matter been paid for. Newspapers circu-
late upon the same postal arrangements as
they did before the privilege was abolished.
The Republican party has thus remedied
one of the greatest governmental evils of the
age.