The Glenwood post., 1906-10-06
POSTAL CHANGES
ADVOCATED BY ASSISTANT POST
MASTER OF CHICAGO.
PUBLISHERS STATEMENTS
Papers Read Bore the Postal Com
mission at New York--DaiIy Pa
pers and NasSonaI Editorial Asso-
citation Present Their Views.

'SoSIil IHSlT NlC"6.
New York.-Important changes in
the laws governing the handling of
secohd'class mail matt were rec1n-
mended IN a statement BY John NJ
Hubbard, assistant postmaster of Chi
cago, which was read Tuesday by the
Postal Commission, which is investi-
eating that subject in this city Mr..
Hubbard recommended:
That jecond-class mail matter be
made self-sustaining
THAT a law obliging bulk matter to
be carried outside of the malls would
go long way toward solving the prob
lem.
That If these two propositions are
rejected, the charges on bulk pack
ages be increased to cents a pound
to news agents and dealers and to 3
cents pound to subscribers, adver-
tisers and exchanges
The abolition of the sample copy
privilege, the transient rate of postage
and the compulsory routing of second
class matter by publishers
The passage of a stringent law to
punish violators of the law"
Mr.. Hubbards statement argued
that seif-sustaining rate would re-
move the deficit in the Postoffice De-
partment, enable Congress to increase
the pay of deserving employees,
cheaper the cost of administering the
department and make the press indie
pendent of the department
John Norris, business manager of
the New York Times, appeared before
the committee in behalf of the Ameri-
can Newspaper Publishers Associa-
tion and read brief in defense of the
daily newspaper. The brief is designed
to show that the legitimate daily news,
papers are not the cause of the deficit
and consequently are entitled to con-
tinuance of the prevailing rate. 1t is
asserted that while the government it.
self has to pay more than 10 cents to
carry the 10-cent magazine from the
publishing office to the newsstand and
subscriber it derives a profit from
the carrying of the daily newspapers.
The brief states the second class
rate should be restricted to the dis
semination of public information and
that its employment primarily for mer-
camille purposes should be stopped
A protest against any revolutionary
changes in the present postal laws was
embodied in the brief presented to the
commission on behalf of the National
Editorial Association of the United
States. The brief declares that if there
are abuses legitimate publishers are
not responsible for them. While these
abuses should be corrected existing
business and property rights should be
conserved.
Publishers have fixed the price of
their publications and arranged their
business under the existing system, -
says the brief, "and any change would
disturb present satisfactory conditions,
and any radical change would be ruin
Gus and result in the destruction of eX-
listing business and properties that
have been legitimately built up under
existing laws"
The brief contends that the average
distance newspapers and periodicals
are carried from the place of publica-
tion is fewer than 800 miles, and sug-
gests that it would be easy and reas-
enable to charge extra for carrying
publications circulated beyond that ra-
dius
The claim is made that the govern
ment reaps large returns on first class
matter as direct outgrowth of the
circulation of second class matter. Ad-
vertisements published in newspapers
and periodicals are declared to bring
millions of replies by mail each year
and to add very greatly and very prof
itably to the governments postage re-
cclpts.