Sacramento daily record-union., 1888-09-27
USDERpAID POSTAGE.
decision OF the Assistant Attorney Gen
eraI Upon the Case From This City.

necisfon OF the Assistant Attorney Gen
eral Upon the Case From This City.
Following is the decision of the Assistant
Attorney General of the United States for
the Postoffice Department upon the recent
case sgising from bundles of campaign
papers mailed in San Francisco and with
held from delivery by Postmaster Stephens
in this city or she ground that they were
not the " regular issue " of the paper of
which they formed a part; that they did
not contain the required data az to place OF
publication. frequency of issue, etc., re,
quire3 bT law TO entitle them 10 pound
rates, ard therefore were not entitled to
pass as eecond-class matter, at which rate
they had been prepaid. The decision is OF
special interest ana importance to publishers
of newspapers, as it clearly establishes the
fact that such publications, when separated
from the remainder OF the regular issue, as
in The Sacramento case, upon which the
decision is based, are rot mailable as sec
end class matter, or, in other words at
Z newspaper pound rates. Publishers must,
therefore, as was held by the Sacramento
Office in this case, pay third e5ass rates upon
such matter, but the tuil amount OF postsge
at such rate must be charged and collected
quently rated and collected.
Following is the full decision:
PosroFFIeE DEPARTMENT4
OFFICE OF ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL,
WASHINGTON %. C.l, September II, 1SSS
SIR: / have, al your direction, examined the
! case of the San Francisco Chronicle which you
| submit TO me this day:
The Clr0nicls issued September 4th an issue
| which it calls tariff edition.
! The first eight pages are given up to campaign
the rest in large packages to addresses, separate
| from the rest, in large numbers. 1t was held
up at a postofhce of address because, as stated;
| /. It was not complete,
2. 1t did not show the subscription price,
| s. II did not show the frequency Of issue,
| 4 1t did not show the exact Office of publlca'
! tiol.
The Chronicle has been regularly admitted te
the mails as a seeond-class publication.
There appears to have been technica
omission in the part sent tariff matter. Il
did not show on its face that its issue was daily
weekly, etc, s5 required by Section S29, Y. i
and K, nor did it indicate the subscription
| price as required by Section $50, p. l. and Il.
! these requirements are of long standing
| They were stated as follows in the January
| Guide of 1855:
Postmasters will be governed by the follow
| ing general regulations and rulings in relation
to mailing newspapers and periodical matter =:
| 81. Anewspaper cannot be mailed at pound
| rates unless the subscription price and name O
the publication be stated therein (p 553)
| "Unless publication announces in its columns
that it is published at regular stated intervals
as often as four times year, of which fact the
| Postmaster should take note-it cannot be ad
mitted TO the pound rate.
| These requirements are in substance re
enacted in the Revised Regulations
"a publisher of newspaper need notsend the
Iwhole of publication to each address, bu
| when he sends it in parts each part should con
tain all the indiciG required to show 1t to b(
Esecond-class matter.
/ Where the indicia are omitted in one detached
part of publication the mailing Postmaster, q!
directed by Postal Laws and Regulations, Sec
ton S44, should satisfy himself as TO the facts
II he is satisfied and mails the matter, notwith
standing the technical omission, other Post
masters should assume it to be properly mailed
and not withhold it for technical omissions o
the kind here indicated The statute specially
deyolves the duty of such examination on the
mailing Office, Postal Laws and Regulations
Section 3i3, and the revision of 1887 sUmewha
| liberalized the regulations in respect to sucf
| technical omissions, not in eontravention o
| positive statute. Very respectfully,
L. E. BRYANT,
| Assistant Attorney-General, p. o.. D.
! The Honorable Postmaster-General.