The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-11-25
POSTAL REGULATIONS.
AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE FINE
 DISTINCTIONS
Governing Rates of Postage on Prin
 ed Matter md Mcrchundise.

Apropos of the proposal to consoli
 date third and fourth-class mail mat.
 ter under one rate of postage, recently
 mentioned in this correspondence, it is
 related that stranger walked into the
 post-otfice department the other day
 and laid down an tdvertising plotting
 pad. It consisted of three or fou1
 sheets of plotting paper held together
 by a button in one corner, and faced
 with sheet of cel!uloid on which a
 handsome pictorial advertisement of a
 new patent air-cushion was printed in
 colors.
 some of these have been handed
 back to me by the postmaster as not
 being properly stamped, said he, and
 l wish to learn from the highest au-
 thority what rights they have in the
 mali. How much postage must I pay
 on such pad?'
 The functionary addressed threw the pad upon scale and then handed it
 back saying: Tt weighs a trifle over one ounce, That means a two-cent stamp"
 ''Is not printed matter carried at the rate Q: two ounces for q cent?"
 Yes, but this is not printed matter within the meaning of the law" The stranger pointed to the adver- tisemeDt on the celuloid' face.
 What do you call that?"
 Printed matter, and if you slip that 1 sheet of celluloid off the button and send it by itself, you need stamp 1t only as such. But when you send the blot l ters attached to it you mix merchan | disc with the printed matter, and the whole must pay one cent an ounceI the merchandise rate''
 And if I, wish to send it abroad?p
 You must pay full letter postage five cents a half ounce. That would make each blotter cost you fifteen cents, The rules of the postal union make this rate compulsory on all mer- l chandise which does not come legiti | mately under the head of samples If you were selling plotting paper in- stead of air-cushions, and were send ing these sheets out as specimens of I your wares, you might send them at one cent for tie two ounces"
 Very we'll" said the stranger, bllthely drawing another package from his pocket. "Well put the whole thing on the printed matter basis. Here is that identical plotting pad, only have printed my dvertisement on the blot ters as we'll as on the celluioid"
 I'm sorry" said the government of- ficer. but that does not help you out of your trouble. A blotter. in the eye of the department. is always a blotter, and blotter is always merchandise Ii can never be anything else, no mat ter what you do with 1t. Leave it blank, print it on one side, print it on both sides. cover it with calendar or a scripture text-it is all the same. We have one ruling on hlotters which stands by itself, and We never have de- viatcd from it."
 Then you mean to say that if l print line of reading, or a name, or a few figures, on a sheet of plain paper, 1t goes as printed matter at a charge of only one cent for two ounces, yet if I print the whole Lords prayer on a sheet of blottingpa paper you rule it out of the printed matter class and charge me double that postage?"
 That is 1t, precisely The theory underlying the rule is that, no matter how you disguise it, the essential char acter of paper made by the plotting pa per process is aGapted to one purpose that of absorption. The reason you send those pads out instead of sending merely the celluloid cover, is that you know the cover, if all alone, would promptly go into the waste basket, whereas the blotters will not be thrown ( the receiver to use on his writing tab | let. In other words, the most conspc uous as well as the most valuable qual ity of that pad is a merchandise qual- ity, and that is what governs"
 At any rate. by printing the picture | of any machine on the celluloid cover | and q verbal advertisement on the blot | ter in German or French or Italian tho language of the country I send 1t to | --I can get more for my fifteen cents | when send it abroad
 But you don't have to pay fifteen cents to send one of these abroad" No? You told me q few moments | ago that I did"
 That was for the blank pads. The printed ones are printed matter for pos thl uhipii ppl pp'Vf7' anu Spa Nt'it FchN them all over the world at the same rate s a newspaper"
 Then perhaps I had better use my printed blotters in Europe, and some on plain paper or card board in the United States, But I want to devise an advertisement which won't be promptly thrown away. How would it do if I got up neat little pad to keep on a business mans desk?'
 That would depend on how you printed your advertisement on it."
 "Oh, I could make tablet of blank slips, for instance, and tuck away at the top of each slip, in type so small that it would not be offen- sive, single line; Use Browns pa- tent air cushion
 Then you must pay merchandise pOstaee-one cent an ounce" "Is it possible that you would charge ne more for carrying . modest little like that than for one which was sprawled all over the page?" We should have to do so, under an- other ruling, which requires that the printing must come half way down the page to make it printed matter, and not merely piece of merchandise with , some incidental printing on it. Only a ,ew days ago Wp had to throw ont a | {