The representative., 1901-11-28
Freedom Of the Press is Being AbOl.
ished by q Servile Tool Of PlutOc.
racy at Washington.
A Czar at Our National Capital.
international Socialist Review.

Recent actions of the postmaster general
in regard to the second class mail have
aroused a suspicion, that is rapidly becom-
ing Certainty, that the periodical press of
the United States is now subject to one of
the most arbitrary and irresponsible press
! censorships in the world. A short time ago
the postofice officials announced their in
'ention of abolishing the deficit which has
lways existed in the postal finances. There
lave always been two notorious leaks in
these finances and it would naturally be
supposed that any move toward economy
would give these first attention. But up
to the present time nothing has been said
!, about the fact that the railroads are receiv
ing from five to ten times as much for
carrying the mails as they are receiving for
similar service from tlae- sxFrcss eenaRanies1
Neither has there been any suggestion of
limiting the franking privilege by which
tons of campaign documents are annually
sent out at the expense of the postal reve-
nues, and for the benefit of the capitalist
parties. 1t was announced that the pro-
posed economy would be- effected by re-
stricting the amount of mail which would
be carried as second class at the rate of one
cent per pound. One of the special objects
against which it was stated the postoffice
would proceed was the great mail order
monthlies." These papers have immense
circulations. reaching into the hundreds of
thousands and even millions of copies of
each issue. Their main source of income
is their advertising, and hence they send
out large numbers of sample copies to lists
of probable buyers of goods such as are
advertised. This was declared to be ter
rible ''abuse of the second class privilege y
and it was claimed that these papers would
be the first point of attack. But if economy
is to be the motive this method looks a little
suspicious for the main source of profitable
postofice income is the revenue derived
from the mail order business" which it is
the special work of these publications to de-
velop Notorious wastes are thus over
looked and the economies proposed are apt
10 pIONC iOSIllS liFOStulSLtS loliiSi lAn AAA~o
of retrenchment.
This suspicion grows still stronger when
it is rumored that there are good reasons
to believe that with the increase of business
in the mail together with the settling up of
the West, which abolishes the most ex-
pensive 'long hauls' of MAIL it is probable
that it will take but few years for normal
development to wipe out the deficit, and the
main excuse for economy disappears.
The first impression gained on an ex-
animation of the rulings and regulations
which have been promulgated concerning
the second class matter is one of wonder
! at their intricacy and contradictory char
acter. The popular and universal idea of a
periodical is fairly we'll summed up in the
general definition of the original law on the
subject, which reads as follows: "Mailable
matter of the second class shall embrace all
newspapers and other periodical publica-
tions which are issued at stated intervals,
and as frequently as four times year."
Soon the postofice began to explain and
define the terms used in this definition.
First, limit was placed upon the number