The Washington herald., 1916-06-04
SENATE MAY KILL
BLUE tag PLAN
Opposition Growing in Upper
House to Section 7 of Post
office Appropriation Bill.
BY JOSEPH p. AMIN.

! One of the bitterest legislative fights
OF the present session will commence In
the Senate the last of this month when
Section OF the Postoffice appropriation
bill, as passed by the House and re-
ported out by the Senate Committee. is
taken up.
Section seeks to extend without limi-
tation. the authority Of the Postoffice
Department to ship magazines and peri
odicals by freight. Under existing law.
enacted in 1912, the department is pro-
hibited from extending this system be-
yond certain restricted limits.
The tremendous personal and political
power which would thus be placed in the
Office of the Postmaster General. through
his ability to discriminate for and against
magazines and periodicals, shipping
friendly publications by fast mail, and
blue tagging" or sending by freight,
publications OF unfriendy views, is tho
basis of the opposition.
Would Encourage Discrimination.
While It is admitted that the depart
might might effect saving through the
unrestricted extension Of the blue tag
system, it is pointed out that the Post
( master General would have life and death
power over hundreds of publications to
which the country looks for its views on
public questions.
The fight on section will come up on
an amendment offered by Senator Ash
urst, Of Arizona, striking out the section.
II expect to get to my amendment
about June q" Senator Ashurst said yes
terdav II find that a great deal of work
has been done on the other side. but
that still the presentation of the argu-
ment against Section Is making many
converts
In my motion to strike out Section
intend no reflection upon the Postmas
ter General for whom 7 have the highest
regard but 7 do not believe any man.
however wise. just. fair and virtuous,
should be clothed with this immense
power of "blue tagging" any particular
publication. thereby possibly annihiatng
the publication. or at least reducing its
/ prestige and revenues"
Could Be Used In Campaign.
! II may readily be comrrehended that
! II permitted in the present bill thus he
! coming operative early in the forthcoming
campaign. this power might very easily
be made to operate against various can
didates This will be pointed out in de
I bate and instances will be quoted where
certain publications for political reasons
have been given preference in the mat
! ter of blue tagging"
! The following resolutions. adopted by
the Periodical Publishers Association
were placed In the Record Yesterday in
the Senate. Copies have been sent to all
| Senators:
! Resolved. That the members of the
| Periodical Publishers Association Of
America hereby protest against the pas
/ sage Of Section :. OF the Postoffice APP
preparation Bill. in view Of the fact that
the serious difficulties and delays now
suffered under the sO-Called blue tag sys-
TEN. which at the present time is opera
/ tive in only limited section of the
| country. and only applies to certain pub
I licati0ns would be vastly increa sed bv the
{ extension OF the territory covered by it
and by the inclusion Of additional classes
| Of publications; and.
| Furthermore. That no public official
| Of the department should be given such
discriminating power over private bust
| ness as will enable him. or it, to place
one publication at such disadvantage with
another as will be of inCalcu1able injury
! to the publication against which such
I discrimination Is made
{ The following is an eXcertp from the re-
! port OF the Senate Postofice Committee.
| in July. 1912, when the existing lirnita =
tion was placed on the use Of the blue
, tag" system:
! We are OF the opinion that the freight
| service involves difficulties which the de-
! Dartment did not foresee, and We are con