Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-12-01
THE POSTAL SERVICE
x.-Government Mail.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

One Of the problems that has con-
fronted the Post Office Department for
many years has been that OF keeping
the free mail carried in the postal
service down to a reasonable amount.
There are, generally speaking, two
kinds of mail carried free in the United
States mails-that which is franked by
members of Congress and that which
is sent out under penalty envelopes by
the various departments Of the gov
eminent. The main criterion in de-
termining whether mail matter has the
right to go free is whether or not 1t is
Official"
Certain personal mail matters are al
lowed to be carried free in the postal
service. Newspapers circulating within
the county of publication, when not adj
dressed to letter carrier Offices, are
carried free; state agricultural expert
ment station reports and bulletins en-
JOY free transit in the mails. as do
matter and printed in raised characters
for the blind, and books for the blind in
transit between Libraries or between Ii
ss and mng sS ~he
wishes exchanged for new money may
have it registered free Of charge when
returning 1T to the United States
Treasury. although he must pay the
corresponding with the census bureau
or with any Of it's officials on census
business may forward such mail free.
and the replies Of all persons to official
to go forward free. The widows of
former Presidents Of the United States
are also entitled to- frank their mail
with their autograph signatures.
the Post Office Department annually rem
ders free service to the extent of about
$20.0O0,O00. That amounts to over 20
cents for every man, woman and child in
the United States. If Uncle Sam had
paid the same postage last year for his
there would have been left no room for
argument about postal deficits. The
amount OF free matter handled outside OF
the official business Of the government is
not SO important All told. including all
free-in-county postage. 1t would not
amount to more than 100000 year.
*
Ever since the post office Investigation
of about half dozen years ago there
has been a ten
Too Free Use OF dency to tight
Frank Discouraged. m m m ap ; en-, M =,
Congress- who are too free in the use OF
their Thanking privilege. In days gone by
they could send their typewriters and Of
flee supplies by mail. under frank, and
1t is asserted that some of them went
even, farther than this. Then the Post
Office Department began to look into
these matters, and when a senator or a
representative sent typewriter or big
I.<.- -, Ii.
vited to come down and pay for it at the
rate OF cents an ounce. Paying for
a hundred-pound package at cents an
ounce is not very enjoyable, even to a
memoer of the Senate or Of the House,
and SO the practice soon was broken off
The principal difficulty in holding down
official mail is encountered more with
reference to legislative franked mail than
with reference to departmental penalty
mail. This Is not the result OF any SUI
periority of moral fibre in the depart
ments over that in the Capitol, but due
rather to the fact that the limitations
are more tightly drawn with reference
to departmental mail than with reference
to legislative mail. Much is left to the
discretion of legislators, and they some
times err SO much on the side of hber-
ality in determining what is official
and what is personal mail that the Post
Office Department has to intervene and
tell them where to draw the line. This is
rather unusual, however, since no member
Of the Senate or house wants to be
charged with misuse of the mails. They
might, IL they were willing to make a
fight, have the law construed according
to their views, but the advantages they
would reap would be insignificant In COM
parison to the scorn to which they would
be exposed IL the people thought they
were trying to beat the government
out Of little postage Most senators
and representatives scupulously observe
the regulations of the department, what
ever their individual views on the SUBJ
ject.
Not very long ago a certain senator was
candidate for reelection and he pro-
ceeded to have a speech delivered by him
in the Senate reprinted and sent through
the mails under his frank. to the extent
of many thousands of copies. Thus far he
was within the law. But he thought his
friends back home would like to have a
picture Of him, SO he had a fine photo
gravure made of himself and a copy in
closed with each speech. The post Office
authorities held that while he himself was
an official parsonage. that did not render
a picture of him an official likeness. and
he received notice to come forward and
pay postage on all this thanked matter. He
did SO with alacrity, not desiring to be ex-
posed to the criticism that publicity con-
corning his course would have involved.
=
The law makes whatever goes into the