The herald., 1898-01-25

| the express companies Tor the same k.nu
of matter. GEO. Il. BhUCE.
Los Angeles, January II, 1898.
However indifferent the masses regard
ing changes or upheavals in other branches
of the government service, the conduct of
the postal department is watched with
jealous care for with 1t are intermixed the
direct personal and business concerns of
all classes of the people. The manage
ment of the currency, the treatment of the
Indians the disposition of the pubic DO
main, the collection of the revenue and
the dispensation of justice in the federal
courts. directly or indirectly interest many
but the collection and distribution Oh the
mails come Immediately home to all. Ex-
tensions and improvements are hailed with
satisfaction, but every effort to make the
department self-sustaining. by an Increase
In carving charges or limitation OF aru-
cles receivable is combated as an unwar-
ranted interference in the sacred rights Of
the individual. AS a result the rates of
postage have been steadily decreased
while the classification of mailable matter
has in like ratio been extended and lid
eralized until now the list of articles ex-
cluded from the mails embraces only such
as might be destructive in their nature
We venture to assert that the postal laws
of no country on earth are nearly so lib
eral as are our own in this regard. And
in sof ar as this paternalism may be in
dulged in without exceeding the postal rev.
enues. The Herald approves and rejoices
with the people. But it has been carried
to such an extent, both as to the carrying
of third and second class matter, as to
produce an enormous annual deficit, that
for the last fiscal year aggregated twelve
million dollars-a shortage approxlmating
| one dollar for every voter in the country.
| To what extent this will be reduced by
| the passage of Representative Loud's bill
may not be accurately estimated, but its
| author and supporters in congress hope
| it will practically wipe it out. At all events
| the bill that has been favorably reported
| In the house, and which our correspondent
| so energetically opposes, has appealed to
| us as a step in the right direction, and in
| a general way The Herald has approved it..
1t may not be perfect measure. for all
legislation is the result of compromise,
but we maintain that it is in the main wise,
| anu tlldt Oul correspondent Ciidi hOlci iHd
tion of 1t is unjust as may be shown by a
reference to its provisions. 1t discrimi-
mates against no legitimate publication is
| sued as frequety as four times year,
and this privilege is even extended to oc-
casional publications under the auspices
| of lodges, fraternal or benevolent associa-
tions or orders, when issued in further
| ance of their objects and aims. 1t justly
provides that publications taking advan-
tage of the cent-a-pound rate must be
| originated and published for the dssem-
ination of information of public charac-
ter, or devoted to litera ture, the sciences,
arts, or some special interest. with a legiti-
mate list of subscribers. 1t excludes from
the privileges of the cent-a-pound rate
! and we submit that the exclusions are
based upon reason and business sense
publications purporting to be issued peri
odcally and to subscribers, but which are
merely books or reprints of books, some
times incomplete, not always bound, sold
by subscription and otherwise, and no,
infrequetly labeled supplements, though
often premiums. 1t prohibits publishers
from loading the mails with Sample cop
les" too common resort to dispose of un-
sold papers, and a large percentage of
which never reach the person addressed
and it bars news agents from the privilege
here tofore enjoyed of returning papers and
magazines undisposed of. This latter priv
lege is an indefensible abuse. The re-
turned publications are never used to dis
seminate information" but are always sold
as waste paper, and the government should
not be taxed with the expense of cartlng
the stuff back to the publishers at a figure
demonstrably below cost of carriage. II
should be noted that no publications are
wholly excluded from the mails The bill
simply aims to reclassify them. withdraw
ing no privilege from any regular, leglti-
mate paper or periodical, and compelling
others to pay higher rate, one cent fol
four ounces. 1t will place a timely check
upon the indiscriminate circulation of vel.
low-back literature, which is having q
baneful influence upon the youth of the