New-York tribune., 1910-01-30
THE DAWN WASHINGTON

Dill was so seriously AMENDED tnAt the
President has some doubt II lla can con-
sclentiously approve II.
The indications point to serious considera-
ton being given by Congress to a PROPOSE
ton to establish q zone system OF mail
rates for second class matter. 1t will be
recalled that the President pointed out in
his annual message that. whereas the aver
age distance that newspapers are carried is
@1 miles. the average haul of magazines Is
1,049 and of miscellaneous periodicals LIPS
miles. Testimony before the House Com
mittee on Postoffices and Post Roads to-
DAY brought out the fact that some of the
largest concerns mailing magazines give
their short haul business to the express
companies and their long haul mail to the
government, which probably accounts for
the discrepancy set forth by the President.
Representative Stafford, of Wisconsin, be-
lieves that the deficit on second class mail
could be largely wiped out without infict-
ing any undue hardship on either news
papers or magazines by establishing zone
system OF charges. Under such system
the one cent pound rate could be con-
tinued for distances of, say. three hundred
miles one and half cents charged for
double that distance, and so on up to the
Ol dbout lIItS tIlOuSdnU IiillcS.
In the realms of romance and poesy there
are no franks so that child of the muses.,
Senator Gordon. of Mississippi.
astounded on coming to Washington to
have book of those conveniences present
ed to him by his secretary. After he
learned how to use them he Immediately
started an avalanche of kilograms to his
friends and acquaintances in Mississippi.
Dear john" went one, the weather is
wonderful here. Give my love to every
body"
II went to a banquet at the Mississippi
Society last night" another read. Il made
a speech. The boys all thought it was
fine" This sent to all sections of the
state. Others of like importance kept the
wires hot until yesterday the Senator dis
covered that his franks were gone. This
morning his secretary found fifteen freshly
written kilograms on Mr.. Gordon's desk.
In the corner usually covered by franks he
found 2-cent stamps.
Colonel J. II. White, of Pittsburg. ap-
peared before the Pension Committee of the
House this week and urged that Congress
make statutory provision for pensions to
Civil War prisoners of 81 day for every
day they were deprived of their liberty.
Colonel White told the committee that he
was a member Of the Pennsylvania Legis-
]ature during the war, we'll as an ell
listed man In the Union army. He was
taken prisoner, and a deadlock occurred in
the Legislature. After making several in
effectual attempts to obtain an exchange,
he managed to smuggle his resignation
through the lines, thus permitting the cleo
ton of another Republican and the break
ing of the deadlock. BY this act, however,
he lost the 81 a day to which he was en-
titled as a member of the Legislature.
Colonel White believes there are many
instances where Union prisoners suffered
pecuniary hardships as the result of i'm
prisonment. and that, having exhausted al
most every other device for pensions. Con-
gress will be glad to adopt his suggestion
for creating a new form of pension roll.
G. G. H.