The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-01-29
POSTAL RATES ARE
CAUSE OF TROUBLE
Warm Session of Congressional
Committee in Relation to
SecOnd-Class Postage.
SMITH OF CALIFORNIA
AND WITNESS IN CLASH
Charges Made and Denied That
Government Engages in
Schemes and Graft.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2s.-E'Tht
American republic can Z stand forever
with this sort Of thing ringing IN tde
people IS ears-those annrchistlc state
ments," angrily declared Representa-
tive Smith OF California today, address
ing Herbert Myrick, representative OF
the Agricultural Press league. Myrick
was witness before the house commit
fec OH DostolIices and postroads ut its
hearing on the proposed increased rates
on postal rates on second class mail mat
o. for Representative Smith was refer.
ring to an editorial which Mr.; Myrlck
Acknowledged came from publication
which he represented,
Farmers Not Anarchists.
.'I protest that the farmers Of tins
country are not anarchists, and ! pro-
test that [ am not n traitor. hotly re"
forted Mr.. Myrick, who shortly before
bnd been further alluded to as being re-
sponsble for rraitorous utterances.
Mr.. Myrick was the principal witness
before the committee. After Mr.. smith
had made several reflections upon Mr.
Mvrick's views, the latter said he was
n farmer himself, and owned a farm
in Mr. Smith S district in California.
Members of the committee are re-
coivinp great Quantities of letters from
various parts of the country rejecting
the tone of the editorials, they say. Rep,
rescntative Fassett of New York SAID
he received 500 daily as result of the
editorial and others of the same Kind,
which, he declared, were the most plll-
full limitations of argument that ne
ever had heard of and the "most Vlo'
lent reading he had ever seen
Retraction Demanded.
Chairman Weeks of the committee,
after Mr.. Myrick had said that he IN
tee and that the statements OF rob
berry, and "graft" in his editorials
did not refer to government officials,
demanded that Mr. Myrick IS publica:
tions print a statement to that effect
REPRESENTATIVE Murdock of Kansas,
another member of the committee. called
attention to the fact that the govern
carving the mails across an old bridge
at St. Louis, Mo-. when IT might be car
ried for much smaller sum across n
new bridge, receiving only part of the
business.
~ think this is what you mean by
your charges of graft, ism t it!'' he said,
addressing Mr.. Myrlck;. =,
.'That IS it exactly said Mr.. My"
rick.
Chairman Weeks then said that sub
committee engaged in drafting the post,
Office appropriation bill had discovered
this evil and would correct 1t. IT was
the only one of the kind they found,
he said.
Cause of the Outbreak.
Editorials which caused the outbreak
were entitled ga Fresh Attack Upon
Liberty ''Still Another Tax, and
"New Taxes and Fresh Robbery
''Are these your conclusionsY Do
You think there is any robbery" asked
Representative Smith Of California.
'FI saw that the postmaster general
had reported that 1t cost cents a
pound to carry second-class matter,
while the government receives only /
cent pound. If the government in
tended TO raise it TO 9 cents it would
constitute robbery. in my opinion" re-
piled Mr., Myrick.
Chairman Weeks replied by saying
that there was no intention of raising
the postal rate to 9 cents. One OF the
editorials referred TO scheming' and
"graft' in congress in connection with
the proposed increase, and Messrs
Weeks, Smith and Fassett. members of
the committee, became angry over these
charges.
The hearing probably will be con-
tinued