Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-02
PUBLISHERS TO FIGHT
Opposed to Proposed Changes
in Mail Regulations.
REGARD THEM AS ABSURD
Fault Found With Conduct of Post
Office Affairs.
AN APPEAL TO THE PUBLIC
Would Ruin the Good Magazines and
Handicap the Circulation
of Others.

NEW YORK, February 2-The Periodical
Publishers Association of America, repre-
senting the leading magazines and weeklies
IN this country, planned at meeting of it's
directors to make determined fight
against the changes in the second
class mail regulations proposed in the re-
port of the joint postal commission of Con-
gress, made public last Sunday. 1t was de-
cided to make clear to the public through
the editorial columns of the magazines and
weeklies the Inconsistencies in this report,
to have special committee wait upon Con-
gress In the interest of the publishers, and
to enlist in the fight the cooperation of the
publishers trade papers, of the daily news
papers and of others affected by the pro-
posed changes.
The special committee consists of George
w. Wilder, chairman, who is president of
the Butterick Publishing Company; DR.. AL
bert Shaw, editor of the Review of Reviews;
William B. Rowland, publisher of the Out
look; E. ]. R1dgway, publisher of Every
body's Magazine; Arthur w. Little, pub
Usher of Pearson's Magazine; s. A. Everett
of Doubleday, Page & Co., publishers of
the Worlds Work; Edward E. Higgins,
publisher of Success, with Frederick L. Col
yer of Success, who is president of the
Periodical Publishers Association, ex-otficio.
An Active Campaign
I'VE have been taking these proposals
quietly, but now we intend to be active
said President Colver, after the meeting.
1--WE will wage our fight with the weapons
we have at hand. We will make a direct
appeal to the people by exposing the incon-
sistencies of these proposed changes. We
will seek the cooperation OF other bodies
which will be affected by them, but if We
fail in this we will fight alone, for we are
determined to fight.
Not only can we expose the inconsistent
cies in the report, but we will show that
the Post Once Department is not run on
proper business basis. Postmaster General
Cortelyou himself has admitted this. In the
first place the department pays more 10 the
railroads for transporting Its mails than
we have to pay Then the system of book
keeping in the department is old and cum
bersome. and the department does not know
where it stands. In its report the commas
sion admits that it could hnd out nothills
about the accounting branch of the depart
ment and recommends that an lnVesusa-
ton Of this branch be made.
.It is repeatedly asserted that the de-
partment is losing money by handing sec
ond class mail matter. These statements are
made despite the fact that while in the last
ten years the aggregate OF second ciass
mail has increased from 3OO,OOO,OOO to 6oo,-
600 600 pounds, there has been decreasing
deficit in the department. If the other gov
eminent departments were denleo the
ranking privilege there would be no deficit
at all.
Not a Privileged Glass.
I'VE publishers are tired of being referred
to as privileged class. We are not priv
ileged class; we want only what Is right.
We are willing to pay the actual cost OF
transporting our publications, provided the
government can show US what that cost is.
But we do object to having the government
tell us, however, how we shall run our busl-
lor1xy hot hnr a
get circulation by premiums. Would the
government presume to interfere with a de-
partment store for having bargains?
eff the recommendations Of the commits
sion are adopted the position taken by the
government in the last hundred years will
be reversed and the publishing business will
be revolutioniZed.
Ever since the foundation of the govern
ment Congress has encouraged by legiSla-
ton the distribution of good literature If 1t
accepts the measures proposed 1t will undo
all its work in this line. 1t Is safe to say
that If the changes proposed by the commits
sion are ever put in operation three fourths
of tire magazines now published will be
forced out of business or will have to in
crease their prices. In either case the peo-
pie will be the sufferers.
1.-The report is full of absurdities, most of
them the hobbies of the members Of the
commission. One of these is that the adver-
tisements shall not constitute more than
80 per cent of the superficial area of any
issue of a publication. There is scarcely a
healthy magazine or trade paper in this
country which does not publish more than
80 per cent advertisements in any single
issue In the report it is also insinuated that
a magazine of an established standard by
publishing 10 per cent more advertisements
on one day than on another is in danger Of
degenerating into an advertising sheet
alone. This is ridiculous.
Some of the Objections.
"StiIl another absurd provision is that the
paper used in any one issue of a publica-
ton must be of uniform weight. Almost
every magazine of reputation today uses
three kinds of Observation-Disclosures for
advertisements which are chiefly half tones;
machine finished for advertisements which
are not half-tones and coated for the regu-
! lar text If. this provision is enforced. no
magazine could publish beautiful illustra-
| tons, nor could any have artistic covers as
| at present.
Another absurd provision in the report
| is that establishing a certain rate for a
publication weighing four ounces or less
| and another rate for those weighing from
twelve to sixteen ounces, but no graduated
rate for publications of all weights Sup
pose publisher wants to send subscriber
several back copies Of a magazine The
copies vary in weight, the Christmas num-
| Der being heavier than the July number
How will the postage on the package con.
| tanning these numbers be figured out? It
| will require special staff of clerks In the
post Office to do this work.
while there are these and other absurdi-
| ties in the report, there are some provisions
which we favor. One is that providing for
1 a postal appeals commission. When we ap-
peared before the joint postal commission
/ We proposed such a commission, and asked
that one of its members be an experienced
publisher. We want this commission to de-
| eide whether certain publications are entitIad