The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-01-12
MORE RAIDS ON THE MAILS.

| 1t VIII be remembered that IN MS
animal message TO Congress, President
Taft bewailcd at some length the loss
to the postal revenues of the difference
between the charge for transporting
ceipts from such transport. The deficit
was large, and the President condemned
the practice which resulted in that de.
| felt, claiming that It amounted to an
enormous subsidy to the newspapers, OF
course, as The Tribune pointed out at
the time, the loss was more apparent
| than real, because the facilities for
transportation would have TO be prac-
| tically the same with this class Of mail
matter large or small IN amount, and the
cost would be much greatcr proportion
ately on n small amount OF matter car
ried than on full weights.
II is strange. however. TO sec that the
President is quite ready to Join in an
even more indefensible addition to the
postal deficit. He made speech at
Winona, Mimi, in support of Represen-
tative Tawncy, the only administration
member In the Minnesota delegation.
And now that speech is TO be printed,
a million copies of it, and circulated
all through the United States as pub
lie document. According to the Pres-
dent s reasoning, this is an enormous
subsidy 10 him. At the same time a
million copies of Speaker Cannon S
speech at ST. Louis wherein he branded
the insurgent Republicans as Demo
Gratis, are also TO be printed as public
document
The New York Commercial has
taken the pains to figure up the cost of
circulating these two speeches free
through The mails to the people of the
United States, Postmaster General
Hitchcock says that it costs the depart
ment about nine cents pound to trans
port this class of matter. The combined
weight Of these two million speeches
will be half a million pounds The to-
tal cost, therefore, will be $4,000 in
round numbers. TO send. these speeches
broadcast to the people Of the United
States. IT is lamcntable that the Pres
dent should consent to such a base use
Of the mails, to such subsidies in favor
Of mere partisan harangues,
For il is 10 be remembered that these
speeches have no quality of public in
formation in them. They do not deal
with any matter of benefit TO the peo-
pie; they have nothing to do with point
ing out better social or economic condi-
tions; they warn against no evils; they
are not in the least helpful to the mass
Of the people in any way. They are
mere partisan documents. They are not
even Republican documents. but they
simply present the case Of the Republi-
can majority faction, extreme partisan
ship without the least public advantage
in it,. and so far as known a large sec
tion of the country being directly op-
posed TO the political partisanship car
ried in those harangucs.
To such base uses are the mails pros
ttuted; and thus is the deficit increased.
The inconsistency Of this sort Of thing
when sized up against President Taft IS
condemnation of it so far as newspapers
are concerned, is so glariug that it is
marvel to see the Cannon and Aldrich
partisans in Congress blind themselves
to the fact, and ignore the bad effect
that such partisan invasion Of the mails,
postage free, will have upon the minds
of the people at large.