Omaha daily bee., 1896-02-09
ABUSE OF CHEAP POSTAL RATES.

The postal system of no other country
is so liberal as that of the United States
and the extent to which this liberalty
is abused has been set forth in the re-
ports of the heads of the Postoticc de-
partinent for II number of years. These
reports have shown that were it not
for the abuses the postal service would
| be self-sustaining. The present con
gress will be called upon to consider
how this can be remedied, bill for
| this purpose having been introduced in
the house by Representative Loud of
California, and which is understood to
have the unanimous approval of the
committee on postotfices and post roads
This measure provides for a radical
change in the postal laws relating to
secondclass matter, so as to exclude
from this class a large volume of matter
now mailed under it which it is con-
tended has no proper claim to be thus
classified. Postmaster General Bissell's
last report showed that in six years the
department had accepted for entry
243O4 new publications. although as a
matter of fact the net increase of news
paper and periodical publications within
that period had been but 3.T47, only 10
per cent of the official entries. The
volume of sqcond-class matter exclusive
of the county free deliveries increased
from 143.O0O,0O0 pounds in 1883 to 2G5,-
100000 pounds in 1894, thus nearly
doubling in six years, all of 1T mailed
1f fhn uniform Pc fo nf I
Postmaster General Wanamaker esti-
mated that III 1850 there were probably
10000 tons of so-called serials mailed
every year, "and since that time the
business has enormously Increased. A
vast amount, of trashy literature goes
through the mills as second-class mat
ter which the Loud bill would exclude
and? which there can be no doubt ought
to be excluded That measure pro
vdes that mailable matter of the second
class shall embrace all newspapers and |
other periodical publications which are
issued at stated intervals, and as fire. |
quently as four times year, but pub |
licatiOns purpOrting to be issued period |
ically and to subscribers. but are merely |
books or reprints of books, shall not be
admitted to the second-class rate.
they be issued complete or in
parts, whether they be bound or I'M
bound, whether they be sold by sub
scriptiOn or otherwise, or whether they
purport to be premiums or supplements
or parts of regular newspapers or
periodicals. A law passed in 1894 adj
mits to second-class privileges all papers
OF pamphlets published under the aus
DiceS of benevolent or fraternal orders,
Incorporated institutions of learning.
trade unions, state boards of health
and professional literary, historical, or
scientific associa tions, and this regard.
ess of their periodicity of issue. The
Loud bill repeals that law and substi-
,utes n clause admitting periodicals
issued under the auspices of
or fraternal societies organ
zed under the lodge system, with
BONA fide membership of not less than
900 persons, and trade unions will be
included among the societies. If en-
lcted this will cut off more than half
he publications which have been en-
cred under the act of 1894, the aggre-
,ate number Of copies of such publica-
ions circulated through the mails dur
ng the last fiscal year having been
bout 100000.
There is unquestionably need of re-
orm in this matter, and, while it is to
Ne expected that the proposed change
will be vigorously opposed by the
lasses of publishers whose business it
1ould affect. twill recommend itself to
he general jHdginent