The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-03-07


with Spain. The general deficiency bill,
which is intended to take care of the odds
and ends of appropriations, will probably
come last as usual.
The defeat of the Loud bill was some
what of a surprise to many besides its
author Three causes combined to defeat
it, In the first place the publishers who
are interested to retain the advantages
which they have in the present methods
of the post office department combined
against it, and by the most skilful work
exerted widel influence. They brought
to their aid the paper makers, and these
in turn brought all persons interested
in supplying the wants of the paper bust
esq. The labor unions, like that Of the
type settlers, were also enlisted to some
extent through the compositors employed
by the publishing houses. 1t is said that
even those who write the stories for the
story papers were brought into the move
ment and in many cases exerted an in
1uence on congressman. This OF itself
was strong influence. But in addition
to this the influence of the country papers
was neutralizsd. In the first of the con-
test the country press was lined up
strongly against the bill, and western
congressman who favored the bill said
that had the vote been taken at thu first
of. this session hardly bakers dozen OF
congressman would have supported 1t.
But as the country papers became better
informed they changed their positions.
In Iowa the whole body of them wheeled
around and adopted resolutions favoring
the bill. So 1t was generally in the mid
die western states, where it began to be
recognized that the publications circulat-
ing by means of sample copies were strong
competitors with weekly papers estab-
lished on the basis Of paid subscriptions.
But this change of sentiment had not yet
operated in the far West and the South,
and some of the strongest pleas against
the bill.were made in behalf of the al
legged but mistaken interests of country
papers, In addition there was another
influence which lined up nearly the whole
of the Populist and Democratic congress-
men "a yainst the bill. The free silver
propaganda depends largely on the smaller
weekly papers and has very few sup
porters among the large dailies There
fore the silver men feared that if they
should take away the privilege of sending
papers ad libitum through the mails at
cheap rate, they would interfere with
their own interests. There are one CT two
silver papers that are published weekly in
Washington and other central points.
A Populist or Democratic congressman.
who finds The large dailies of his region
against his free silver views or luke
warm, goes to one OF these weekly papers
has his speech and large:portrait of him
self printed, buys up several thousand
copies Of the paper and mails it by the
sample COPY privilege to his district. Thus
he is able to get his views before his con-
stituents effectively. and Uncle Sam pays
the greater portion of the expense of car
| rying them.
All these considerations had sufficient
weight to defeat the bill signally. The
Repub licans gentr slly supported the bill
as it promised to reduced the deficit in
the post o flee department., and also be
cause the regularly established publica-
tions in the cities and country towns of
their states generally favored the bill.
Or. Sleeper, of Sabattus, and Mr.. Clay
ton Harrington, of Portland, have been
| in Washington on their way to Pittsburg,
where they are to make arrangements for
participation of Maine Masons in a
great convention. They called on Speak
er Reed and other Maine Representatives.
A LIVING WITNESS.