The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-05-31
WHAT MAKES THE DEFICIT.

There has been in the recent past q
good deal of outcry about the Post
Office Department not being able to pay
expenses, and furore was raised
against second-class postage matter af
being the cause, accompanied by prop
osition TO immensely increase the rate
on it, Investigation, however, showed
that this matter is already paying its
way and is in no wise the cause of the
deficit in the postal revenues The
| figures named as tho cost of trans
porting that class of matter-9c pound
by President Taft in his message TO
Congress last December proved on in
vestigation to be the widest kind of a
guess.
The real cause of the deficit in the
Postoifice Department is to be found in
the immense circulation under the
frsnklng privilege of speeches made by
members Of Congress. and OF political
documents of various kinds. For in
| stance, Speaker Cannon made "A can
| tankerous speech at Kansas City awhile
ago, and Congress ordered million cor.
les of it, all to be franked in the mails.
This and other orders at the same time.
were estimated TO cost the Postal De-
partment close upon $4,000, without
any recompense whatever.
Another instance has been brought
to light by Golfers Weekly, where
tho American Protective League is
sending a circular letter throughout the
United States which in one paragraph
says: At our request, United States
Senator Gallinger of New Hampshire
viii cause TO be mailed a remarkable
document which has Just been issued,
entitled Story of Tariff. Col
her S Weekly says this document is a
book containing ASP pages, and weigh
ing pound. Any unofficial person
sending this book through the mails
would be required to pay eight cents
postage on each copy. The book is a
defense of the Payne Aldrich tariff bill,
and its purpose is to influence voters
by it in the Congressional elections this
year. It is not a candid book, either;
Senator Bacon of Georgia has denounced
that book on the floor of the Senate in
these words: $50 far as that pamphlet
processes to quote me, it is gross mis-
representation IN which there
is studious effort to produce only just
SO many words spoken by me as may
entirely mIsrepresent what L really
said.' Exemplifying, evidently the
saying that GA lie that is half a truth
is ever the blacklist Of lies. - 1T is not
likely that less than a million copies
of this book will be sent over the coun-
try, so that in this one transaction, pro
vided Senator Gallinger has undertaken
to do the work that the League claims
he has undertaken, and to the extent
that it must be If it can be supposed
TO have wide influence, the Postofficc
Department would lose in this one
transaction $S0,000 1t is sensational
incident in connection with this, that
Senator Gallinger objected TO the print
ing of the speech Of Senator Bourne of
Oregon, on the benefits of Oregon IS
primary law. While enjoying this
franking privilege for political pur-
poses, he objected to the enjoyment
of usual privileges by the Oregon Sen
ator.
II would appear to be clear case
that those who are looking to the rates
on secondclass mail matter as
the cause of the postal de-
felt, were looking in the wrong
directions; they will have to train
their eyes upon Congress and the poIit
ical .jokers therein; the moves made
at the instance of the monopoIies,
trusts, and controlling commercial and
industrial s'interests' of the country
Those who want special favors have no
scruples about imposing burdens that
should be borne by themselves, upon
the community at large; and this postal
deficit Is conspicuous illustration of
that fact, coupled with dishonest ef-
fort to point out another cause as blame
worthy for the deficit in the postal