Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-01-02

lkuS depriving all publications Of one
of the most valuable means not only
of extending their Calculations. but Of
securing new subscribers to take the
places Of those who die or drop out
for various causes. 1t therefore will
cause the general depletion of news
paper circulation by subscription.
s. 1t increases the rate of postage
supon returns to news agents from
one cent to four cents per pound, thus
seriously Gripping the circulation of
that large class of periodicals that are
sent out ION SALE"
4. Itspermits the mailing Of period
icals at the spogAa RAG subscribers
only. and dedA nat has one
who "voluntaftt Bays for
the same" Under -thisa ition a
person whose subscriptfen: iapsed
and has not been renewed:Ys not a
subscriber, and copies of a periodical
sent to other than advance-paying
subscribers could be excluded. This is
a direct blow at the local country
newspaper.
S. 1t requires publishers who are
permitted to mail matter of the second
class to separate the same. before
mailing, into United States mail sacks
or bundles, by states, cities, towns and
counties, as the postmaster general
may direct, thus forcing every pub
Usher to establish in his Office minia-
ture post Office, and entailing great
extra expense.
6. 1t will out of employment
hundreds Of Thousands of working men
and women engaged in the printing.
paper making. electrotyping and allied
trades, entailing distress and calamity
the extent of which can hardly be
estimated
Z. The advocates of the bill MAIN
tain that it's purpose is to reduce the
deficiency in the postal revenues. They
claim that there is heavy loss to the
government in the carriage of second
class matter. This claim is untenable,
because whatever loss there may be
upon the carriage of second-class mat
ter is fully offset by the gain upon the
carriage of the two profitable classes,
the first and fourth, which are direct
outgrowth of the mailing of second
class matter. Every publisher re-
ceives large numbers of letters. and
mails large quantities of premiums
ers and club raisers. and almost every
advertisement is bid for correspond
ence by mail and the consequent mail
ing of merchandise in filling orders.
There are other causes than the car-
riage of second-class mail matter~to
account for the annual deficiency in
the postal revenues, which would still
be operative should the bill become a
law. How, then, could the enactment
OI tIIS measure reduce the QeIclcncy !.
s. Lastly, it creates a virtual CEN
sorship of the press by giving to post
Office officials the absolute right to
determine what newspapers and
periodicals shall have the advantage
of the rates of second-class mail mat
ter! 1t confers on the post Office the
power to determine what is, and what
is not a periodical; and since there is
not single newspaper or magazine
published in the United States which,
in some issue, is not amenable to this
authoritative discrimination against
advertising, supplements, premiums,
extra editions and extra free matter.
and which, therefore, may be relegated
to mail matter of the third-class, it
literally places them at the mercy of
any postmaster's mandate.