The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-06-26

expensive for subscribers law which becomes ef-
fechve July provides for an increase Of postage on
amounts to twenty-five per cent and grows according
to the distance the subscriber lives from the place
cent for the hrst year. It will be more later
Congress has imagined that the newspaper bust
ness is SO profitable that this increase of postage
can be paid by the newspapers without increasing
the price to the subscribers. But the thing cannot
The law also divides the contents Of 4 nswspaper
into reading matter and advertisements. The in
crease of postage on the reading matter the first
cent The year following that the increase will be
another twenty-five per cent Of present rates, or
hfy per cent higher than now That is on the read
But for the advertising part Of the Newspaper or
charges. similar to zone systems Of charging for
express In the first and second zones the increase
OF rate Of postage will be IS per cent; In the third
125 Per cent: in the sixth. $50 per cent in the
enth. 200 per cent and in the eighth Sone 225 Per
cent
II we pat it another vay the plan is to charge the
hrst year from one and one<ourth to three and
one-fourth as much As now for postage on the ad'
vertising section Of newspapers.
The second year the newspapers VIII have to pay
one and onehalf to five and onehalf times as much
The year after that the postage ON the ad-
versing section will be and three1ourths to
en- and three-fourths as much a. now. and In tho
paper devoted to advertisements viii be from dou-
bic the present rate TO ten times the present rate
Now let US see what this sort of thing means.
Newspapers Of today, as they are. have bssn built
up the basis Of the established rate Of postage
Prices for subscriptions and for advertising have
been fixed with the expectation that the postal rate
would be unchanged Prices Of print paper and Of
labor and Of ali materials used by newspapers have
increased. and whatever Increases in subscription
prices and in advertising have been made SO far
have been forced by these increased expenses. The
additional costs In most cases have been passed on
to subscribers and advertisers Any other course
would mean newspaper bankruptcy. But all the
time 1t has been assumed newspaper postage would
remain constant factor.
On account Of increased expenses many newspa-
pers have lost money and have been unable to con-
tinue. This Is occurring all over the country. Some
suspending publication and others are consoli.
dating. A recent instance is the consolidation Of
the Chicago Herald with the Examiner leaving city
the size of Chicago with its millions population
with only two morning newspapers. The Herald bad
to out Of business because it losing money at
where are operating = close margin and many OF
them cannot survive continued increased expenses.
The additional costs have to be passed
Now, with congress assuming the newspapers are
rich and can stand large additional expense, they
asked to pay exravagantly higher postage rates
Congress has assumed the second class rates for
periodicals sort Of subsidy for private bust
ness. It seems to have occurred to congress
that both subscription and advertising rates
were fixed with reference to hostage expense It is
inevitable that postage rates to be increased.
the subscriber and advertiser must pay the addi-
tional cost. The newspapers cannot absorb the ad-
dtional expense.
Newspapers. like other business. have to pay cor
poration taxes and socaled excess profits taxes
that is penalzed for business increase over
that of few years ago. They cannot pay those
taxes and also pay tax disguised in the form Of
higher postage The people for whose benefit
newspaper is printed will have to the increased
postage rates. Therefore. newspaper subscriptions
and advertising rates must be increased
Keeping of the additional record required OF the
newspapers by the postofe department, in order to
separate the subscription lists into zones according
to distance and to make reports what proportion
Of the paper is reading matter and what is adver
tising. will necessitate much more bookkeeping and