The Louisiana populist., 1897-03-26

real purposes, or at least its effects
if it should become a law, are far
reaching and dangerous. The gold
ring, the monopolies, and trusts
already control the avenues and
agencies of rapid communication
and intelligence. They filter and
control the news that appear in
the daily press each morning.
They now seek through this bill to
close up as far as possible the only
other avenue left free and open.
This bill is seeking to run the
gauntlet of Congress under false
prctenses.
The friends Of this bill, known
as the Loud postal bill, come to
Congress under the guise of re-
form and economy and ask you to
pass a bill. A bill that will do
what 7 A bill that will cut out of
the mails a large part of the litera-
ture that the people to-day receive,
desire to receive, through the mails
at second-class rates. A bill to do
what! A bill to deprive the peo-
pie who live along the star routes
of one-half of the privileges which
they to-day receive from the pos
tai system of this country; a bill
intended-if not intended, that
would be the result-to cut out
from the mails al standard works
now published in cheap form with
paper covers that is, the works
Of Dickens, Scott, Hawthorn,
Washington Irving, and hundreds
of others which are now being
published in cheap form and are
going through the mails at second
class rates. Even Webster's una
bridged Dictionary to-day goes to
people out in the country in cheap
form with paper cover.
Coins Financial School and
books of that kind have gone
through the mails to possibly every
post Office in America, and more
arc going. The bill cuts all these
books out of the mails. Is that
the purpose of those who favor
this bill! The man who lives in a
city can buy them at q news stand.
The man who lives in tho country
and who relics on the postal sys-
tenn to bring him in touch with
civilization is dependent upon the
mails to give him the benefits that
the man who lives in city or who
rides frequently upon a train is
not so dependent upon. The pro-
fessed reason for this bill is reform
and economy, but those who come
and ask you to pass it in the inter-
est of economy are those who vote
for more subsidies, those who vote
to take more millions out of the
Treasury of the Government than
any other class Of men in the Sem
ate and in the House. And yet,
in the name Of reform and in the
name OF economy, they come here
and ask you to pass a bill that robs
the people of half the benefits they
to-day get from the postal system.
Mr.. President, tho bill would be
infamous in its results if it should
pass. If the people of this coun-
try knew what is in the bill, there
would be such indignation from
ocean to ocean rs has not been seen
for twenty years. The American
people will never tolerate such a
measure when they know what is
in it and what will be its results.
/ will present q minority report
tomorrow, and If those who pro-
fess to want reform mean reform
in the interests Of the general pub
lie, if those who profess to want to
stop tho deficit in the Post-O Office
Department mean that in good
faith, / can point them to u way to
accomplish that result. lean show
how the Post-office Department can
save from SlO,00O,ON to Sl2, ,OOO,.
900 a year, and the deficit now is
but SS,O0O,000, You can save
$4,000, 900 a year by simply pay
ing the railroads for the mail &C
tually hauled and at the contract
price, and 10 more. The Govern
ment pays the railroads for great
deal more weight than the roads
really haul. It is the fault of the
Government that this is done. Be-
sides, the contract price is entirely
too high. During the last twenty
years freight rates have been re-
duced about 40 per cent, yet the
Government is now paying about
the same rates that it did twenty
years apO. Why do nnf. those