The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-07-28
POSTAL RULES IRON CLAD.
Newspaper Publisher Relates His Elk
perience With the Department.

AiS =" oPaPOi oubSSiibSio w liz
feel aggrieveG because newspaper
publishers are urging subscribers to
renew theis- subscriptions promptly
to comply with the ruling of the pos
tai department may be interested in
the experience of an Iowa editor who
tried to make 1t easy for the sub
scribers. Here 1t is:
One of the papers read before the
meeting of the Upper Des Moines
Editorial Association in Iowa City
last week was that on Effect of the
New Postal Regulation on the Coun
try Newspaper Business How to
Meet It. by G. S. Caswell, publisher
of The Bulletin, Denison, Iowa.
The excuse the members of the
programme committee gave for as
signing this subject to me was that I
had been one of the first newspaper
men in the state to feel the hand of
the post office department in the en-
forcement of the recent ruling of the
department that the weekly newspa-
per subscriptions must be paid up to
within one year
Briefly / will state that about Oct.
1909, a special agent of the postoffice
department found some excuse to
keep dropping into Denison for the
purpose of checking up the newspa-
per lists there. He personally told
me long afterward that he was order
ed there because of some complaint
from somewhere about Denison pa
pers. We gave him every facility fol
checking up the Bulletins list, turn
ing the printed list with the dates Of
all expiratiens, over to him and an
assistant from the postoffice.
Is Given Respite.
/ will admit little surprise in the
finding made that we had $50 sub
lscriptfons which were behind. 1t hae
been our custom for long time tt
stop foreign subscriptions soon aftel
| their time expired unless renewed
and had a collector out in the coun
try rounding UP other delinquent
4 regularly. Still this showing of NOR.
than $50 in arrears, and the depart
ment soon notified us that our lis
was not In harmony with the posta
regulations and asked what we wer
doing about it. A statement of tn
month, when another statement wa
demanded. The list still showe
some $50 delinquent, and anothe
month lapsed. when a third state
ment was demanded, and we aske
for more time in which to get tn
list up. This brought a reply fror
the department that we had had suff
cient time and asking for anothe
statement in February Our absenc
at Panama during that month cause
a neglect of the notice and some off
; cious clerk at Washington evidentl
thought that we We're from Missouri
instead of Iowa, and that we shout
be shown.
"A notice came, in which section
of the law were cited that had n
more to do with the Bulletins legit
mate list than it had with a toy ba
loon. and we were cited to appear a
Washington, D. c., April 6, 1910. t
show cause why our second elias
mailing privilege should not be car
celled.
Dumping up against the postal d.
partment of our government Is N
real thing as everybody know.
There is no appeal. The postmaste
general is Judge and jury and onl
tie President himself could pardo
anybody once condemned. Therefore
the only way to meet a summons G
that kind is to meet It. And we did.
Our showing to the department a
Washington was made in writing an
sworn to and was duly accepted, s
: that the local postmaster was inform
ed that the Bulletins right to the sc,
iond class privilege would not be di
turbed for the present.
I'VE have heard no more from tn
department, but every month no.
we have our list carefully checke
/ over, and SO far as we can the lis
will be maintained pure and virtuou
as Caesars wife"
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One EDITORS View Of Dancing.
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