Gilpin observer., 1907-01-31
CHANGE IN POSTAL LAW.
Recommended by Joint Postal Com
mission of CONGRESS.


Washington.-The report of tha
Joint postal commission authorized
with the last session of Congress to
investigate and report to that body its
conclusions on the operation and ef-
feet OF the existing laws relative to
second-class mail matter, and what
changes, if any, should be made, has
been made public. The commission
makes a number of sweeping recon-.
mendations looking to reform in the
postal service, and has drafted meas
ure embodying such changes as it
thinks ought to be made.
Among the most important additions
to existing law as regards second
class mail matter embodied in this
measure, are the following:
"a newspaper or other periodical
may be in part composed of advertise
ments which are permanently in
serted in, or attached to, but such ad-
vertisements shall not constitute more
than fifty per centum of the superficial
area of any issue of the publication;
nor shall any advertisement be printed
than paper, nor upon paper of any
greater weight than the text of such
publication.
An issue of newspaper or other
periodical may be composed of parts
or sections, but all such parts or Sec
tions shall be made of the same size,
form and weight of paper, and shall,
when taken together, form one COM
plete and identifiable whole. All pro-
visions of law applicable to a newspa-
per or periodical shall apply equally to
each and every section thereof.
with regular issue of a Eewspa-
per or other periodical, the supple
ment may be enclosed or folded. The
supplements shall not be printed on
other substance than paper, except in
the case of maps and plans illus-
trative of the text, which may be of
different form from the main body of
the publication. No supplement shall
be composed of or contain advertise
ments, but the same shall be confined
to matter germane to the regular is
sue and supplied in order to complete
matter left incomplete in the main is
sue of the publication"
The proposed law refuses the second
class rate to periodical publications
consisting wholly or substantially Of
fiction.
With each issue of a newspaper or
other periodical the publisher may
mail at the second-class rate OF post
age samples of such issue, but not to
exceed ten per centum of the total
number of the copies Of each issue
mailed by him to actual subscribers,
as the same appears by sworn state
ment Of such issue required to be sub
mitted to the postmaster at the ONCE
o. mailing.
The appointment of postal appeals
commission in the Postofice Depart
ment is provided for to consist of three
members, at least one of whom shall
be a person who has had actual expert.
ence in the conduct of the publishing
business, and at least one of whom
shall be learned in the law and mem
ber of ten years standing of the bar
of the highest court Of some state or
territory of the United States or the
District of Columbia. The commission
is to enter upon it's duties July 1st
next.
The object of this commission is to
allow the proprietor or publisher OF
any newspaper or periodical publica-
ton, the application for the admission
of which to the second-class of mail
matter has been denied by the post
master general, to appeal to 1t, and
which commission shall hear, consider
and determine such appeal with re-
spect as we'll to matters of fact as to
matters of law.