The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1901-07-11
PUBLISHERS, WATCH THIS BILL,
Measure Which Efforts Should BE r
Forth to ClrcumVent 0@


Fourth Estate: All publishers of
weekly newspapers are interested IN
the bill prepared by the postoffice de-
partment, the title of which is given
below:
AN Act to Revise and Codify the Laws
Relating to the Postoffice Depart
ment and Postal Service, and for
Other PURPOSES"
The bill covers all the postal laws and
regulations from the appointment of
postmaster general down, and makes
but few changes from present laws.
1t was recommended by the postal
committee of the house of representa-
tives as making no changes of impor-
lance, and passed by the house with
that understanding. After reaching
the senate and being referred to the
committee on postoffices and postroads
of that body, it was discovered by sew
eral newspaper men that by the simple
omission of three words-"other than
weeklies''-all weekly periodicals pub
lished in cities and towns having the
carrier delivery system would be com
PEELED to stamp every copy sent to local
subscribers with / or 2-eent stamps, ac-
cOrding to weight.
On learning this. publishers in Bos-
ton, New York and Chicago and else
of the bill fully understood by the
postal committee of the senate. Let
tiers were sent to senators from Varl-
icus states, acquainting them with the
serious and unequal burden to be I'M
posed on weekly periodicals by the pro-
posed change. BY these efforts the Dill
was stopped in the senate committee,
and failed of passage in the Flfty-slXth
congress.
AS whole the bill is important, and
it will undoubtedly be presented to the
Fifty-seventh congress for adoption,
possibly with some changes. 1t will
be noted that the burden is placed not
only on weekly periodicals published IN
cities, but the rapid extension of rural
free delivery will also come upon coun-
try papers which now circulate Tree
in the counties where published. AS
the circulation of many Of these is al
most entirely local, the new rate pro-
posed would in many cases be abso-
lutely prohibitive, and oblige discon-
tinuance of publication.
This proposed change bears with spe-
cial severity on weel1lies, because the
circulation of the large majority Of
them is almost entirely a subscription
circulation, and chiefly local. The To-
cal circulation of most monthlies is
small as compared with the whole, and
is III al cases ny d large percentage d
news agency or news stand sale, and
not subscription or mail distribution;
but the contrary is true of weeklies.
An increase in local rates impairs their
chief source Of revenue. Nearly all
weekly periodicals are published on
very small margin, and could not en-
dure an increase Of expense.
Some weeklies, of which the sub
scription price is 81 year, weigh more
than two ounces, and would be obliged
to pay $1.O4 postage on each local sub
scription Others which weigh more
postage, would not have enough left
to Ray for printing. Z
The proposed change would make an
unjust discrimination between weeklies
published in places having letter car
rier delivery and others which circulate
free in the counties where published.