The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-06-28
MAIL THEIR LETTERS FREE,
There Are hut Two Ladies Who En-.
Joy This PRIVILEGE.

Aoere Are nut Two Ladies who En-
Joy This Privilege.
at is commonly supposed that only
senators and representatives have the
privilege OF writing or stamping a fac
simile OF their signatures upon envelopes
and that. under the law. all such mail
matter goes through the mails withou,
payment OF postage" said q represents.
tive to a Star reporter.
This is true, and Uncle Sans postal
employees honor our signatures when q
bank teller might not. There are two Ia.
dies. however. who share with US this
privilege. though this Is q fact no, gener.
ally known. and they are the widows of
former Presidents Grant and Garfield.
"An mail matter sent by Mrs. Lucretia
X. Garfield and Mrs. Julia d. Grant,
undo their respective written autograph.
&c signatures. and all mail matter sent to
these two ladies, will be carried free dur.
ing their lives. No signature or marks
are necessary to the free carriage of mall
matter to either OF these ladies, the ad.
dress being sufficient. Mrs. Garfield has
enjoyed the privilege since 1881 and Mrs.
Grant since 1856.
And in the connection Of the free
transportation Of mail I will give you a
line or two which Is of both local and
general interest. The delegates to con-
gress from the territories, the secretary OF
the senate and the clerk Of the house of
representatives also have the privilege,
and there it ends, except for official cor
r~espondence Of the government.
THE right Of a senator and a repre-
sentative to use his frank holds good un.
til the first Monday in December follow
ing the expiration of his term Of Office,
the single exception being in the case Of
seeds and agricultural reports, which may
be sent by or to any member Of congress
or delegate free for a period Of nine
months after the expiration of his term.
Members Of the last congress may con.
tinue to use their Thanking privilege until
Monday. the I'd of next December, the
day when the Fifty-seventh congress will
convene. The envelopes must have the
word free and the initials Of the official,
as N. c. for representative and u. s.
s. for senator, written or printed thereon.
Being an old representative l have
been often asked by new members how
they could get a lot Of reports or govern.
ment documents into their districts with.
out going to the trouble Of addressing
them In Washington and saving the an
noyance of handling the volumes as we'll
as deciding to whom they are to be sent.
II men who are elected to congress have
this to learn, it is not supposed that the
outside public would know. They dis
tribute this mail in this manner:
"The law allows a package of franked
articles to be sent to one addressee, who
on receiving and opening the package
may place addresses upon the franked ar
ticles and RENAL them for delivery to
their respective addresses.
And we work it this way: We will
send one or a dozen big mail bags filed
with agricultural or other reports to a
friend in our districts with carte blanche
to distribute them where he thinks they
will do the most good. People living in
the rural districts consider it a compli-
ment and special mark of favor to be
thus remembered. and as the agricultural
reports are valuable to them we dissent
nate the information the government has
gone to great expense to compile and
come in for a good work ourselves at the
same time. BY this method IN" represent.
ative and his clerk are relieved Of q
tremendous lot OF hard work and loss Of
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. Star.