The National tribune., 1898-01-20

ON EuuCottOn the interest OF raise
Economy-Is Would Stop the EmpIoyment
of Thousands of Skilled Laborers.
There Is no measure more widespread in
| ITS application, more sweeping in its
effect, than the so called Loud bill now
pending in Congress. The same measure
was up in the last Congress- and although
| II bore, as it row does, the name OF the
Chairman of the House Committee on
Postotfices and Post Roads, it was in
point OF fact prepared and fathered by the
Cleveland Administration. 1t passed the
House OF Representatives i'm the last Com
gress, but failed in the Senate
On its face the bill proposes 10 prohibit
the sending of newspapers through the
mails under the pound rates, except to
prepaid subscribers, unless at a ruinOus
charge Tor postage. Ii proposes To greatly
restrict the nature and form Of supplements
ana other matter sent by publishers fire.
quently as adjunctS to increase the at
trdctIVenesS OF their publications. With
out going INTO detail with reference To the
measure, which is somewhat lengthy. it
Is enough TO say that it should be desig-
mated "A Bill to Restrict Other Peoples
Business. a"
There are many reasons why the public
Is, or should be, awake To- the danger To the
general welfare which turks in this pet bill of
MI LOUD 5. 1t Is not only blow at edIca-
ton, and at general business interests nut
also strikes at labor, and thus reaches
every home in the country however hum
Bile.
The fuil scope of the measure has NOT
Deen appreciated by the public large
Its effect would be greatly 10 decrease the
amount of printed matter issued from the
press ana circulated through the mails
should 1T become a law it would decrease
the demand for white paper by thousands
Oh TONS every year, 1t would throw thou-
sands OF printers, machinists and press
men out OF work Ii would curtail perhans
ID per cent the demand for presses. and
It's effect upon the great shops where
printing machinery is constructed would
be ruinous, not only to the proprietors
but the artisans employed The bUn-
dreds OF articles that are advertised i'm the
newspaper press in all sections of the
country would suffer decrease because q;
the restrictions on cheap avenues of pI1b-
iicity. and the thousands of people en-
gagged IN the preparation of all kinds of
goods would suffer accordingly.
More than all this, the rising generation
mat IS today being furnished with stand
ard literature at tri&ine cost wouId he
deprived of the privilege now enioved FOR
tne benefit OF a comparatively few pub
fishers OF high priced books. The bill is !,
the interests OF tax on knowledge
with all these reasons, and many others
n flnG
measure, it follows that the only wav the
bill VIII pass Congress will be through the
neglect OF the people. If the constituents
of the members of Congress would arouse
themselves to the danger which threatens
them through this proposed IeqisIafion nd
write vigorous protests the evil WouTd he
averted. "
The danger is always in Congress that n
| measure may be railroaded through VIZ,
vigorously pushed by Chairman of a
committee, unless the people speak up.
The reason is that all the other nerobars
OF the House have their own sneciaI con-,
mitteeS with Its measures to look after.and
tney accept any proposition brought for
| ward and vouched for, as being all right
Perhaps they have heard nothing from
IhelI people ABOUT the matter They can
not have time to look into every one of fhs
thousands OF measures pending
They must accept something lJpon tho
representations of brother members and
thus IT happens that pushing and ener-
getic Congressman, fired with a naternar
pride in any measure that bears his name
may get it passed without reference To its
merit.
The country publishers of County nanars
are concerned Although the present
measure does not strike directly at their
interests, 1T is understood that the fostor
father of the bill proposes when this Jeo;S
lation is out of the way to have another
bill passed which shall prevent i'm f,It1Ire
the free mailing of local papers within the
County where published
I'm this connection the following To-,
guage from Mr.. LIQUIDS report is significant.
They do not assume that the bill thew
recommend To you rs perfect-far from if.
neither does it wholly remedy the existina
evil 1t is, however, step in the right
direction, ana goes as far as they thought
prudent at TINS Tune Country publishers
no doubt will, when their attention has
been called to the subject see that their
respective congressman are acquainted
with their views with reference 10 this
business.
Although the former Postmaster Con
eral Wilson was a warm advocate of the
present measure, there is equally good
authority at the present time against II
Mr.. Perry S. Heath, the First Assistant
Postmaster General, has been himself a
publisher and journalist for many years.
In letter of recent date addressed To- Mr.
Loud concerning this legislation he saws.
81 have been publisher myself for more
than twenty years. | have an extensive
acquaintance with the publishers of conn
try newspapers throughout the United
States Nearly every paper pub
lished or circulated in a small city or town
in this country would, i'm my opinion he
greatly injured. and | believe a modifica-
ton of your bill would obviate severe CEN
sure from country newspapers"
Gen. Heath then proposes various
not yet known he will accept In fact.
Mr. Loud has manifested a DISPOSITION to
crowd his bill through as he has it framed
He has gone so far as to refuse in the most
positive manner to hear any arguments
before his committee. Although the in
terests are as vast as cited above. he has
denied an opportunity to any manufac-
turer or publisher to appear either in
person or by an attorney to make an arg,I-
ment or present testimony bearing upon
the subject.
With this spirit actuating the chief pro-
moter of the measure i'm the House of
Representatives, whatever is done to
arouse Congress to true appreciation OF
the vicious character of this bill must be
done at once.
Veterans of the 9th n. Y. $. VI. (ssd y. W
The Association of Veterans of the 9th
\. Y. 5. NJ. n. Y. n. G. tS3d n. " has
chosen the following officers for 1898:
Commandment, Geo A. Hussey; Vice Com
nd