The anti-monopolist., 1874-12-24
THE FRANKTNG PRIVILEGE.
The St. Paul Pioneer says Of the re-

The st. Faul FIOtCEJ says " VIC -
peal Of the franking privilege:
The saving realized to the postofice de-
nartment ia inconsiderable in amount-the
expense of the service has largely increased
the cost to the various government de-
partments which are now compelled 70 pay
their postage with COVER nment funds Is ma
terially enhanced, and altogether the econo-
my is of imperceptible account, as virtually
acknowledged by the chairman OF apDroprl-
ations. Meanwhile, the people have been
deprived of q convenient method OF commu-
nicating and receiving information from
their Representatives in Congress, the news
papers have been saddled with the obnox-
ious and picayune business OF administering
that part of the postal business pertainlngt to
the collection from their subscribers ol the
postage on their papers, and on the wnoie,
the repeal of the privilege and the otaer
small beer reforms set on foot BY PosImas1er .sa
General Creswell, may be set down to the
account of humbug and cheap demagoguism,
resulting in the petty persecution OF the peo-
pie and the public having dealings with the
postofice.
Very true, brother David; but why
shower all the honors Of that ''humbug
and cheap demagoguism' upon that
poor village attorney. blow-gun Cres-
we'll! Your own Ramsey is entitled to
the glory of that great reform. He it
was who proposed it in the Senate; he
it was who carried it through. Let the
great honor be his. We are glad to say
that ,ce were never carried away by the
popular clamor raised by the 10000
petitions circulated by the postmasters
under the direction of Creswell. We
denounced the scheme as one that
would result in little decrease Of ex.
penditure, while it would widen the
distance between the people and their
representatives, and tend to make the
former irresponsible, and thus central
ize all power at Washington and de-re
publicanize our institutions. The re
suits have justified our views. Whel
the bill for the re-establishment of tn
franking privilege came up the othe
day in the House of Representatives
we read:
Mr.. KELLEY
hoped the paragraph would be struck on,
T and the franking privilege restored. He ha
r it not on his conscience that he had eve
voted TO its repeal, and he had the satisfac
ton of knowing that wherever his vote i'm
S piled favor to its restoration he had gwen
], He believed that the free circulation Of agri
= cultural reports in one year more than pal
: all the frauds that might have been practit
O ed under it. The repeal had been obtaine
by fraud, in the getting up OF memorials
= order of the Postmaster General to 4O,Ol
q subordinates, and there was further frau
on the Postmaster Generals official stat
meat that the repeal would save 5,OOO, ,O
/. year 1t had not saved 81 900 600. III
Sl6O, 600 He asked a restoration of the Pc
= ple's right-the free intercourse between Il
r people and their representatives.
o Mr.. MAYNARD
condemned the repeal of the franking pri
! ilege as tending to remove the Governme
still further from the people. So far fro
Q being reform in the true sense OF the wor
e it had operated solely to cut off tree comm
nication between the people and their repr
y sentatives.
After further discussion, the motion
> strike out the items for official pOstag
:, stamps was rejected-7l to II.
. We fully agree with Messrs. Kcl
IS and Maynard. Instead of repeali'
y the franking privilege. Congress shou
,, permit all printed matter to pa
q through the mails free. The instit
, tions Of the nation rest on the intel
o gence Of the people, and the Cover
Il ment can afford to pay something
q promote that intelligence. But Gre
'e we'll and Ramsey thought they we
E statesmen, when they were simply t
= shallowest kind Of quacks.