The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1906-10-27
WEEKLY PAPERS ARE
BEING HIT VERY HARD
Proposal by the Post Office to In
crease Postal Rates of
WeekHes.
Warm Protests to Postal Commits
sion-Counter Proposition
From Publishers.

SlOn-COunter proposition
From Publishers.
A proposal which threatens the ex-
istence of the thousands of prosperous
weekly newspapers scattered all over
the United States, and intimately con-
Germs the publishers o. every kind Of
periodical, has been made to the post
al commission recently authorized by
congress to investigate the working
of the second-class hail regulations
under which all such literature is
handled by the post office. It is moth
ing les than a suggestion to increase
fourfold the charges for carrying
newspapers and magazines to the read
ing public. 1t is actually now under
consideration.
Testifying before the commission in
behalf Of the post office department at
it's hearing last week In New York,
Third Assistant Postmaster General
Madden recommended as means of
ending controversies as to what should
and what should not be entitled to ad-
mission to the mails at the second class
rate, increasing the rate from one cent
a pound to four, and including in the
second-class all printed matter without
distinction. Newspapers, magazines,
advertising circulars, catalogue Of
business houses, should all be put on
the same basis, said Mr.. Madden; then
the post office department would not
have to distinguish between them, and
the carriage of secOnA class mail would
be only less profitable than the carriage
of letters. These were Mr.. Madden's
words:
In the postal service it should not
be necessary to inquire, in order to
establish postal rates, whether that
Indicating a weekly newspaper is
public or private. The sole question
should be is it printed matter?-and
the rate OF postage should be so fixed
that it would take printed matter ir-
respective of whether there were sub
scr1bers, or it was Issued for adver-
Using purposes, or anything else. Let
that be handled by the publishers.
would place the rate on all printed
matter at about four cents a pound.
1 would ask no questions save as to
whether it is printed matter"
He went on to say that anyway if
newspapers and periodicals we're to
retain the "privilege' of being carried
in the mails at the present rate of a
cent pound limit should be set
on the amount OF matter to be put into
any single issue and on the amount Of
advertising it should contain. Then
any postmaster would be able to de-
termine with tape Tine when the
publication came into his office if it
met the departments conditions, and 1t
would not be necessary to submit the
matter to Washington.
Newspapers and periodicals, when
mailed by the publishing offices, are
now carried in bulk and distributed
to subscribers as second class mail at
a cent a pound. Circulars, catalogues
and such matter are third class mail
at eight cents pound. Fourth class
mail consists OF merchandise and costs
16 cents a pound.
The result of the adoption Of Mr..
Madden's suggestion would be that ad-
vertising matter sent out solely with
the idea Of increasing trade would be
carried at half it's present rate, while
the rate on newspaper and magazine
distribution would be quadrupled
This would mean that the publishers
of the best class o. periodical litera-
ture in the country would either have
to raise the prices to their subscribers
of go out of business. Hundreds Of
them would undoubtedly go under. be-
cause all possible margin of profit to
Ho hi cho
would be wiped out. On the other
hand. the flood of stock quotation lists,
advertising circulars and similar stuff
would be practically endless.
Fallacy of a Post Office Deficit.
The situation which has brought
forth this remarkable proposal arises
from two causes: owing partly to the
Increased size ana circulation of peri
odicals in the last few years and partly
to the tendency OIL some commercial
concerns to advertise their wares in
illustrated booklets and imitation
newspapers which wrongfully often
get into the second class mail; the
post office department is constantly
complaining that it's second-class mat
ter is handled at loss. The f1rst-class
AAAe1AA l1oAAC, III" ever, Is Immensely
profitable. In fact the loss in second
class hail is almost offset by the profit
on f1rst-class and If the post office
did not carry free all the mail for all
branches of the government, the de-
partment, aside from the recently es-
tablished rural free delivery service,
would be practically self sustaining.
AS it is the appropriation for the an
nua1 post office deficit is really an
Indirect payment of the governments
postage bill.
But the real reason for the desire
of the post office department to change
the present regulations Is the great
trouble 1t has to settle, what is and
what is not entitled to be carried as
second-class mail. The law provides
that newspapers and periodicals issued
from a known office of publication:
published for the dissemination of in