Carson City daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1907-1930, 1911-01-28
Protest against Govern
ment Printing Envelopes

PROTESTING against the United States Government awarding a
four years contract to the Mercantile Corporation. OF Dayton. Ohio, for
the printing of the many thousands OF envelopes that will be sold during
that period OF time. a letter has been en- to Postmaster-General Hitch
cock by the National Joint Committee, representing the National Paper
Trade Association, the American Envelope Manufacturers Association,
the Printers League OF America, the international Association of Sta
TONERS. and other organizations allied with the printing industry which
object to the free printing of envelopes by the Government.
Attention is called to the fact that the Ton VeneNelson Bill, which
prohibits the printing of special requests in stamped envelopes under
the auspices Of the Postomce Department after June sc. 1911, a pass
ed by the House of Representatives on June 20. 1910, by a vote of 1872
to H. The Senate, however, failed to act o n the measur
The letter % Mr.. Hitchcock says in part:
For nearly forty years a number of lines OF commendable private
industry have felt themselves injured and aggreved by the increasing
use, through the instrumentahty of the PostoAice Department. of free
printed individual return request o stamped envelopes.
among the industries thus injuriously affected are the employing
printers, the journeymen printers, the publishers of country papers and
tade periodicals, stationers and stationery manufacturers paper dealers
and manufacturers. photographers. photo engravers. envelope mamfac-
turers, and re- the magazines and daily newspapers which derive a
revenue from general advertising. Their antagonsm has been manifest
ed at various times, but v resulted in effective action until the Or
ganizaton OF this joint committee some months since. Upon this com
mittee are represented several great national associations. composed of
business men and heir employees engaged in most OF the industries
above enumerated, to the number of may thousands. all OF whom re in
tensey concerned in the success OF II efforts.
1--WE, therefore, feel att liberty respectfully to request that the award
OF this contract be held in allegiance until o or after March 4, 1911. A
compliance with this request can work no possible hardship or injustice
to the contractor, and cannot in any way jeopardze the interests of the
Postofhce Department or the United States Government. 1t will how
ever. give entire freedom to the members of the United States Senate
to act the Tou vene-Nelson Bill according to their view OF its mer-
it's unnhuenced by n o tenion that to past the bill would interefer
In connection with the above The Appeal is just in receipt OF a per
sonal letter which says:
ITO date, Senators Newlands and Nixon of your State have
not given out a statement of their position in reference to the
Nelson-Tou Vene Bill, which would do away with the free
printing, free distribution, free sales promotion, and free sell
ing of stamped envelopes by the Posofce Department, all of
which have so ourageously interfered with the business of SC
many legitimate and honorable industries-seven of them at
least
We ire o safe on counting o n the passage Of the Bill
unless Senator'S Newlands and Nixon vote for it, In other
words, W ire liable to come to close quarters with the enemy
in this fight and lose unless we car count upon every individual
vote in this Committee. Therefore, we appeal to you more earn
euy n~- .ve before to exert every atom of argument and
appear win enator at~'andsand Nixon to cause them to SCI
that our position is absolutely right anu tM. & thew do not
support the Nelson-Tou Vene Bill they will undoubtedly be in
danger of fastening on the country for another four years this
monopoistc Government contract by which a single contract
or makes a quarter OF a million dollars a year, and a million.
net in four years, and besides would be able in another four
year contract period to absorb-as he himself boasts that he
would do-the entire envelope printing business of the whole
country"