Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1874-03-06
FROM WASHINGTON.
correspondence of the Bulletin.

ASlllNGTON, Marcn ~, 1914.
For more than week an ANNA
ted debate ran on in the House up
on bill to partially restore the
ranking privilege, and to allow
newspapers to go free in the coun-
ties where published, and to OK
changes. Many able aud witty
speeches have been made, and more
statistical knowledge was given out
than any country newspaper could
find room for in year. The diyis-
ion line on the question could not
be traced all the time, but there
were strong indications that it lay
chiefly between the owners of city
newspapers and the country press,
and between city and country pop
ulations. Mr.. Garfield made the
statement thst the act repeating the
tranking privilege had beeu disas-
trous to the country newspapers, as
the postage on the great city news
papers, or on many Of them, was no
more than on the small local papers,
and the discrimination was directly
against the latter. He held this
discrimination to be unjust, tor the
reason that city readers of papers
are better able to pay postage ac-
cording to the quantity of matter,
and the city papers have advanta-
ges which the country papers can
not have, and he thought it impoli-
tic to discourage the country press,
on the ground that it more nedrly
reflects the public opinion than the
city press. OF course such an opin-
ion could not be advanced without
being challenged, and when chal-
lenged, the merits Of the press Of
both city and country were placed
on the Congressional anvil for Wig
orous hammering. 1t came out
that city editorials are mostly writ
ten late at night, up five or six
flights of stairs, by people with vag
abond tendencies, in q frame of
mind one remove from despair in
relation to their next meal, which
is always a matter Of considerable
uncertainty; while the country edit
or meets and converses with intelIi-
gent mechanics and farmers, whose
blood flows pure and strong from
healthy hearts, and courses through
their veins with lite-giving energy,
rendering the brain vigorous, the
head clear, and the soul true to the
highest sense Of duty and RESPONSE
bility.
In the country the people know
the editor, and know when and how
much to trust his veracity, and
what confidence to place in his state
ments; but the city scribbler may
be Il clandestine individual, who APP
proaches the office through a back
alley after dark, never seen of men,
and who comes in contact with hui
mainly only in its low estates, and
most unhealthy moral conditions.
lie prepares his mind tor writing
the flash editorials by reading the
sickening details of brawls, reports
OF cases i'll the police courts, and by
picking up such unhealthy garbage
as floats through the social Sums Of
artificial society in cities. The city
people get free delivery of letters
st great expense to the-government
and if that can be done for them, it
would seem that once q week the
farmer and mechanic might have
his newspaper free.
Mr.. Phelps, Of New Jersy, rich
New Yorker, in fact, and said to be
a large owner Of stock in the Trib-
me, made quite a humorous speech
against doing anything lor the coun-
try press.
MIR. Cobb, new member from
Kansas, advocated the sending out
of the Agricultural and other i'm
portant Reports, free, and General
Butler thought Congressional
speeches were great educators of the
masses, and should so free. AS the
news papers have no room
to print Congressional speech
es in full, and the postage is too Sc
rious an item to permit the members
supplying their constituents, it is
manifest that without the ranking
privilege, a Congressman might as
well not make a speech, and when
it comes to that, he might as well
not be a Congressman, so far as the
cclot of reputation is concerned; SO
between the needs of the farmer, the
country editor, the granger and the
member, the ranking privilege is
not so desperate as was thought at
first.
The bill was ardently and ably
supported by Danford, of Ohio;
Hereford Of West Virginia; Dun
neil Of Minnesota, and Conger of
Michigan. Some Of these gentle
men dwelt strongly on the point
that vast sums OF money are spent
by the government in collecting ag-