The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1874-07-30
PERSONAL CORRESPONDENTS.
The following correspondence will be

interesting to our readers:
Posi- OFFICE,
ST. PAUL, MINI, July 2sth, 1874. :
Hon Tgnatius Donnelly, Publisher Anti
MonopoIst, St. Paul, MINI:
SIR Il am officially informed by Post
masters in different sections of the State that
you are sending your paper, to other than
bona .tSde and regular subscribers, without
prepayment of postage by. postage stamps.
Under the regulations of the Postoffice De-
partlnent it is made my duty to require you
to take the enclosed oath and return it to
this office after it has been duly acknowl-
edged before Notary Public or Justice of
the Peace.
1t is proper to state here that the postal
law (Sec. 1862 imposes fine of fifty dollars
for refusing to make the affidavit referred to,
in each case
Awaiting affidavit properly signed and &C
knowledged, remain respectfully,
J. A. WHEELOCK, P. NJ.
Per F. DRISCOLL, A. P. NJ.
To this We have replied as follows:
OrrrcR or THE ANr1-MoNoPo11sr,
ST.. PAUL, July %. 1874.
Joseph A. Wheelock, Esq, P. NJ, St. Paul,
Mimi
SIR: In reply to your communica-
ton of the 28th inst, l desire to say,
that in no case have copies of the-ANrI-
MoNoPoL1sr been sent to parties not be-
ieyed to be bona .fds subscribers, with
out postage stamps. There have been
a few cases where individuals have told
my agents that they would subscribe,
and afterwards, when Post Masters de-
manded the prepayment of a quarters,
postage before they would deliver the
first number, they, not under
standing what such course
meant, have declined to take the paper.
In two cases, in Hastings, the sub
scribers thought they would have to
pay five cents each week, beside the
regular subscription price of the paper !;
and hence declined it. am aware that
the law requires such prepayment of
quarterly postage by subscribers, but
l believe it has not been customary to
refuse to put new papers into the boxes
Of we'll known and wealthy men, until
five cents were first handed in through
the window. Such course implies a
shocking want of faith in human nature,
and a strictness of devotion to duty
that is alarming.
| have already spent about $4,000
in the purchase of one cent stamps,
with which to send out specimen copies
Of the paper; and am therefore under
no necessity to try to cheat the general
government out of few cents revenue.
send with this the required affida-
Wit.
Very truly and respectfully yours,
lGNATIUs DoNNEIL.Y,
Editor and Proprietor.
Now we do not propose to violate
any law or regulation of the postal de-
partment. We are grateful that, in this
age, we are still allowed the privilege of
free speech and that we are not sup
pressed by an edict from Washington,
or logged off to that city to be tried be-
fore a packed jury for libelling our
emperor. But we understand that some
of the post-masters of the State arc,
naturally enough, hostile to our paper !;
and there are many ways in which that
hostility can be shown, without STEP
ping outside the law.
We have sent out over 1900 copies
of our paper. OF these nine copies,
sent to subscribers, have been re-
turned to us; and of these, eight were
returned from Hastings, viz: Messrs.
Claggett, Searles, A. McPhail. and NJ.
0. Truax, all Of whom, our
agent informs us, subscribed
for the paper; and Messrs.
Rathbun, j. IL. Heath, Tozer and Coun-
tryman, who ''thought they would sub
scribe after they saw the first number"
and who were entered, inadvertently.
by our agent on the list of regular sub
scribers.
The ninth copy, that Of John Bal
ley, was returned from Cottage Grove.
MIR. Bailey's name was given us by one
Of our agents there as subscriber.
But the postmaster at Cottage Grove,
5. w. Furber. is distinguished repre-
sent ative of all the virtues of the Re-
publican party, and no doubt smacked
his lips over an ANTI oNopoIIsr ssrc.
fused"
Well, gentlemen, keep your tempers.
You can't suppress us. While you
were returning us those nine refused
copies, we have gained one thousand
Lew subscribers.
P. S. Just as we go to press the
Minneapolis postmaster, our old friend,
Geo. H. Keith, who once fought and
bled and nearly died for us, returns us
as refused" the paper of the firm of
N'lreson and Erickson" of that city.
Now somebody has paid our agent, F.
A. Lusk, 81 for six months subscrip-
ton for those gentlemen Mistake
somewhere, Mr.. Keith, but we have cot
the money. That's certain.
The Hastings Gazette quotes an