The Washington times., 1908-12-27
EITHER THIS CHANGE OR A
COURT REVIEW.

"The principle that the property
rights of che person affected shall not
be taken away without hearing is
recognized in the law by express
statute in respect OF newspapers and
periodicals and by Implication in re-
SpeCt To the issuance Of fraud orders.
Under the present organization ihc
hearing thus created by law loses
much of it's characteristic quality by
the fact that IJ must be held before
the same person who has IN iact IN
! stitutcd and prepared the case upon
which he must decide.
This is not the declaration os some
patent medicine journal disharred from
the mails as sccoud-class matter, OF Of
some et-rich-quicI company using the
mails for fraud. DC Is the calm de-
/ termination OF the Joint Commission
for Reform in TIE Methods of the Pos
tai Service created by Congress, and
is based upon a study OF the situation
with at least no bias in favor of pro
testants against the present method.
As such, it is only and tardily a recog-
milton Of a fact which those having
business at the PostofTice Department
have long known
The present system is about this:
4 Third Assistant Postmaster Gen
eraI passes upon an application for ad-
mission to the mails at the second
class rate of a cent a pound. At this
writing that office Is in the hands Of a
practical publisher, who is also a man
Of excellent judicial judgment and plain
common sense. A. L. Lawshe has mark
ed the Office as one that hoped to Oh
tain conformity with the law rather
than make a record Of adverse rulings
under the law. This IS good fortune.
however, not good management. For
/ If another we're Third Assistant and his
rulings were TO have different basis.
there would be no appeal from those
rulings. however unjust they might be
and however unfairly they might al
feet an honest business. It is a bad
law.
The other half of the situation has
to do with the office of the Assistant to
the Attorney General assigned TO the
Postofice Department. In that post
exists a situation without actual
parallel in the whole breadth of the
Government. On some testimony, or
any testimony which Is in that off
ciaPs Judgment sufficient, and which Is
often not divuIeed to the accused, a
publisher or any other user Of the
mails is summoned 10 show cause why
he should not be deprived Of a priv
lege Indispensable to his business-in
the one case the advantage of a mali
rate granted to all his competitors; in
the other case the comprehensive right
to use the mails in any way. The
publisher or the business man makes
hl5 showing. Then the official who
preferred the charges passes upon the
answer, recommends action According
to his own decision, and the Postmaster
General-practically helpless to do
otherwise almost invariably follows
the course recommended. In other
words, there is a single official Of the
Postoffice Department invested with
power of business life or death, who is
expected to be and IS prosecutor and
Judge at the same time.
The amount of good worked even
under this arrangement has been large.
The amount of harm done has been
comparatively small. But there has
been harm actual, preventable, I'M
iustifable, and to the sufferer, over
whelming harm. And one Congressman
after another, coming in contact with
a victim, has come to think that moth
ing but a court review of the actions of
this Assistant to the Attorney General
could save the system from itself
This report shows a path at least