Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-06-24
.ASHURST ATTACKS
PRESS MUzzLE BILL
Arizona Senator Says Section
7 of Post Office Bill Would
Establish Censorship.

Section of the post Office appropria-
ton bill. which would empower the
Postmaster General, at his discretion,
to order certain newspapers and pc
riodicals forwarded by freight instead
of by mail train. was denounced by
Senator Ashurst of Arizona yesterday as
"un- American in character and obnox-
ious to the principle of equal rights to
all and special privileges to none"
In reaching solution OF the ques-
ton the Postmaster General would be
called upon to decide what news and
articles were timely and what were
not timely" said Senator Ashurst.
and this would of necessity set up
censorship of the press"
No Relief at Law.
Senator Ashurst, in urging the adop-
ton of his amendment to strike out
section from the post office BILL
warned against clothing the Postmas-
ter General with power which he could
use arbitrarily to the disadvantage of
unfriendly publications by denying
them the use of the mail trains. while
granting this right to their rivals. Re-
=; viewing the whole blue tag" contro-
versy, Senator Ashurst emphasized his
point by citing federal court decisions
TO show that the publication so dis
criminated against, should the section
be enacted, could obtain no relief by
appealing to the courts.
The high character of Postmaster
General Burleson and his devotion to
the public service place him far above
and beyond the most remote intimation
or desire to accomplish the enactment
OF section for the purpose of punish
ing ing, penalizing or destroying any pub
LEGATION or magazine whatsoever"
senator Ashurst said. THE honorable
attempts of Postmaster Gen, al Burle-
son TO economiZe in his department and
save every dollar possible are credit
able to him to the last degree
But the question involved here is a
fundamental one running to and
searching the very vitals of our form
OF government. The power to blue tag
pubiication is practically unlimited,
magazines of one class and not to other
publications of the same class
Certain Papers May Be Favored.
1T may be directed to exempt GER
tain favored publications in gross dis
elimination against an unfavored pub
LEGATION, yet both the favored and the
unfavored pay the same rate of post
o5S' AoSh pAuC ldS6 iHS OTucTS WOulQ
mean that the publication or periodical
thus Disseminated against would suf-
fer serious handicap, great loss of pres
tige and circulation, and, perhaps
financial ruin. Its competitor shipping
by the regular mails would be given a
tremendous advantage and would be
required to pay no higher rate of post
age than the magazine Disseminated
against
Indeed, I doubt If any one whose
opinion is worth while believes that the
present Postmaster General would
wantonly seek to cripple and hamper
any daily newspaper by requiring it go
by freight instead of by mail. Yet we
must remember that If section be-
comes law the Postmaster Generals
of the future would have the power to
require daily newspapers as well as
monthly and weekly publications to
go by freight instead of the mails
The evolution of politics in the flu
ture may-we hope it will not-bring
to the presidency or to the Post Office
Department man SO impatient of
newspaper criticism that he would con-
descend to blue tag an opposition daily
paper in order to cause delay in its
reaching its subscribers, with result
tant loss of prestige and revenues to
such newspaper. 1t is not fair to any
Postmaster General to tempt him
with the power to crush. cripple or de-
stroy an unfriendly publication, or
through the method Of the blue tag to
dislocate its avenues of reaching it's
subscribers, especially when we re-