New-York tribune., 1912-02-23
THE SECOND CLASS MAIL REPORT

than state constitutions usually are.
THE SECOND GLASS MAIL REPORT.
The report of the commission on sec
Ond class mail matter, submitted 10
Congress yesterday, undoubtedly repre-
sents a great deal Of painstaking and
thorough study. The commissioners
have gone with great detail into the
problem of apportioning the cost Of the
second class mail service. They an
nounce that they cannot furnish Con-
gress with figures showing the approx
mate cost of various sorts Of second
class matter, but they seem to estab-
nsh satisfactorily enough that the av-
erage cost Of handling paid-at-the-
pound-rate matter is now slightly in
excess Of cents pound.
OF course, no one ever seriously main
tanned that the government could not
show a loss on the handling Of second
class matter Congress deliberately fixed
the second class rate below the cost
level as a matter of public policy. 1t
decided that it was worth while to
encourage the circulation Of newspapers
and periodicals on the ground that they
were an educational agency Of enormous
value to a people assuming the respon-
sibilities of self-government. If the edu-
cational results achieved through stimu-
lating the circulation Of newspapers and
periodicals have been satisfactory 1t can
be no Impeachment Of the governments
good judgment to prove that it lost
money on that branch Of the postal SER
vice and had to make up the deficit
through receipts from another branch In
which great deal Of new business was
created because second class matter was
circulated so freely.
The commission seems to be a little
divided In mind as to whether the
governments uniform policy in dealing
with newspapers and periodicals was
wise. 1t says in reference to 1.-The edu-
cational object Of low rates: This OBJ
ject has been only in part attained"
Yet under the same caption it adds: "On
encouraging by low postal rates the
dissemination Of current intelligence
land the extent to which 1t has proved
successful should not be overlooked" :"
Perhaps as a compromise between these
two views 2-cent rate instead of a
1-cent rate on the great bulk Of second
class matter is recommended, yet only
with the highly confusing stipulation
that mo charge should be made which
Twill hamper the circulation Of useful
information"
The specific recommendations of the
committee are open to criticism because
they do not sufficiently recognize the
spirit Of the governments historic
policy" toward second class matter. In
stead of seeking to secure a little
larger revenue for the postoffice at the
cost Of such matter as least fits the
description Of educational" the commits
sioners want to ignore the natural dis
tinctions between different classes Of
publications and have uniform rates of
carriage imposed on all. If the estab-
lished policy Of Congress had been fol-
lowed to a logical conclusion, an at
tempt would have been made to dis
criminate against publications intended
primarily for advertising purposes and
in favor of publications doing a more
obviously educational service. The COM
mission turned down as "impracticable"
the suggestion that advertising matter
be subjected to higher rate 1t also
gave no thought to eliminating other
abuses which have crept into the ad-
ministration Of the second class service,
condoning those abuses, rather, by treat
ing all publications as of one character
and class.
Such classification from the point
of view OF service given Is grave IN
justice. Newspapers have nowadays
circulations strictly limited In area.
Few copies carried in the mails go over
two hundred or three hundred miles.
But magazines are spread broadcast.
over the whole country and are carried
two thousand and three thousand miles,
where newspapers are carried two hun
dred or three hundred. 1t is manifestly
unfair to make these two classes share
equally In an increase of rates. AS the
commissions own figures prove, the
daily newspaper costs much less to han
die than the magazine does, and the
latter should pay It's larger proportion
ate share in any readjustment Of
charges. Moreover, If the commission
were even consistent with itself 1t would
not allow country newspapers to retain
the present free-in;county delivery privi-
lege. If all publications are to be treated
alike, why shouldn't the country news
papers pay their share along with other
newspapers? The concession made TO
them is part OF the historic policy Of
the country toward the press. But If