The Washington herald., 1911-02-14
HITCHCOCK REPLIES
TO MAGAZINE MEN
Denies Higher Rate Will
Prove So Disastrous.
DEFENDS PROPOSED INCREASE
Postmaster General Quotes Figures
to Show that Hardship Will Not
Result from Change in Rates.
Publishers PatrOnize Express Lines
for Short HauIs, Says Hitchcock.

Postmaster General Hitchcock last
night replied to the statements of pub
fishers that the proposed increase of from
] to cents per pound postage on adver-
Using sections of magazines would drive
many of them out of business. The Post
master General denies this, and says that
at present the government is losing $62,
100000 a year in carrying second-class
matter He adds that it now costs the
government cents a pound to handle
magazines, and the increase from l to 4
cents proposed by the Senate amendment
TO the Post-offic appropriation bill is
moderate.
TIE publishers and their representatives
are. here in force to oppose the amend
ment, and the Postmaster General and
President Taft are strongly urging the
adoption of the Senate amendment. The
statement OF the Postmaster General is
the most emphatic he has ever made on
the subject. He cites figures to show
that the magazine business is a highly
profitable one
Other Sources of Revenue.
1T remains to be determined" says
the Postmaster General. whether the
public who mail letters of general cor
respondence. the publishers of books and
pamphlets and the senders Of small mer-
chandise shall be taxed to meet the
deficit caused by the extension Of the
subsidy rate to the publishers of the large
magazines of the country. The burden
is devolved on the opponents of the in
crease OF rate to show the justice and
consistency OF carrying the profit making
business Of one class of people at the eX-
pense of the general public"
1t has been found on investigation
that one of the great periodical publica-
tions signing this protest contained in
twenty-one of its successive issues from
January l. 1910, TO and including May q,
1910. exclusive of cover pages. an aver
age Of 1854 agate lines of advertising
make a total of 1,CO6, 40S lines for the
year.
Remarkably High Rate.
THE publisher has announced that on
and after October l.. 1910, the rate for
ordinary advertising in this publicat ation
will be S6 an agate line; the charge for
the outside cover page, $3.50: for the
inside cover page. $4,000. an increase, re-
spectively. from s., $3.50. and $780, the
former rates. At those rates the gross
value of the ordinary advertising space
for one year would amount to S6,GSS, AS;
OF the outside cover pages S2;}4, 600; of the
inside cover pages, s416,OO0 making a
total gross value of S66SS, 4SS
Allowing a discount of Is per cent,
equal to 81 ,OG3 367. 90 there would yet re-
main as a total net value of all advertis-
ing for one year in this publication the
tremendous sum of s5.6S5. .lSO.SO. The
profits resulting from the increase of
advertising rates, to wit, 1861. 81, would
be approximately sufficient to pay the
entire postage on both reading matter
and advertising at 4 cents per pound on
the total maiIings of this publication.
a. ssh pounds, during the fiscal year
1870
The Postmaster General complains that
for short hauls, as from New York
to Washington or Baltimore, magazine
publishers invariah'y patronize the ex-
press companies, giving them the fun
benefit of the carriage of their pUblica-
tiens on the only hauls on which the
government could receive anything like
the proper return for the cost of car
riage. while the long hauls across the
continent are refused by the express
companies and left to the overburdened
public mails because the express COM
panies will not carry them for sum
approaching the small price charged by
the government"