The daily Alaskan., 1917-01-13
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EDITORIAL
,IG,s {. 'l~s'il < k:
HIGHER COST OF READING

The fiIty-two numbers of Power which make up a years subserip- tiou weigh about fifty pounds. At the current rate of a cent a pound We pay the government a half-dolla a yeag to get Power to the subSerib- CT.
 On December g, the House Com mittce cu Post Offices voted to in cluds as a rider to the Post Office bill all amendment, fathered by ReUl eseutatiYe Randall, of Cali foruia, applying the zone system, as used for the parcels post, to sec oCd-class mail matter. The propose rates Of charge are lc per pound up to 3Ov miles, 2c up to 600 miles, Sc up 10 1000 miles 4c up 10 l+OO miles. 5c up to 1900 miles and 6c above that distance. This would make the cost merely Of getting Power to the distant subscriber three dollars per year, or D dollar mere than the subscription price.
 A nation can be no better or greater than its citizenTy. h self preservation and selt-goyenment a nation must foster the literacy and iutegl:gence Of it's people. In a republic compulsory education is hett to be necessary that the Peo- p!s may be qualified for self-goyern Ineut. But schOOIing-the learning to rad and write and cipher-does no, furnish the requisite knowledge or develop the necessary jnt-l igeace' It supplies simply the means, the tools by which one may acquire knew ledge and wisdom and keep himself in touch with affairs. De prive even 8 college graduate of his newsuarer, Of his technical maga- zine, the record of steps in the worlds development and the utter ap,e of experts and leaders of thought regarding them contained in current literature, and his value as a citizen would be seriously i'm paired.
 It was in recognition of this fact that the fathers, when the needs of the postal service were much more limited than now, decreed the flat rate of one cent per pound for ,pcriodiculs. The result has been q diffusion Of printed thought and Information that has brought to tho dweue- in the most remote hamlet the means Of entectainent, culture and increased efficiency. There is no d~uLt that because of this abund ant supply of inexpensive leading matsria! the American people are he.ter informed, better qualified to exgress an opinion upon the ques- tions of the day, better equipped and more efficient each in his own line of eudeayor than they would have been without It.
 It was a far-sighted. 4ong-he2"ed p,cvc. It did what it was expected to 6o 70 an unexpected degree, and is usefulness and potency are e1- tending as the organization of in, dusrrv and society becomes more comrlex and the need of universal understanding and general discus sion of important issues becomes more urgent, as the desirability of the higher efficiency arising from the wider diffusion of technical knowledge increases.
 What Is the reason for changing jt? '.
 The Post Officie Department is in no financial straits. It made mopey last year according to the racrrt Of the Postmaster General.
 Is there not as much reason for zoning the letter mail?
 The cost of the service rendered bv De Post Office Department in getting a magazine to it's reader IS not proportional to the distance