Great Falls tribune., 1921-07-09
The HQski11 Letter % eszsss.ss : Rssss
INCREASE IN POSTAL RATES.

Washington, D. c., July 4.-The
newspapers and periodicals of the
United States lost long drawn out
and important fight of many years
standing during the latter part Of June,
when the house committee on post
offices and post roads tabled the Long
worth bill which would have nullified
the second class postal increases which
went into effect on July /.
Albert S. Burleson, postmaster gen.
eral throughout both Wilson admins
trations, fought long and ardently to
put this measure on the statute books,
and won out with the help of the then
Democratic majorities in both houses
of congress.
The increase in second class postal
rates, which affects all newspapers
and periodicals., is the fourth of sue
cession Of annual increases. The first
occurred ON July 1, 1918.
Prior to that date, the postal rates
for second class matter was uniform
for newspapers and periodicals, no mat
ter what distance it was sent to the
subscriber. The recent postmaster
general and those who sided with him
attacked this system as subsidy
granted by the government, and con.
tended that in the transportation OF
his second class mail the postofflce
department actually lost considerable
sum of money.
The answer made to this argument
was that an increase Of postal rates on
this kind of mail matter was putting
a heavy tax on the dissemination OF
information. The magazines OF ma
tional circulation were particularly Bit
system went into effect at the time
which made it necessary to put much
more postage on a periodical sent, let
us say, from a New York office OF
publication to a subscriber on the IA
cific coast. than on a similar perlodlcal
sent to a subscriber in Newark, N. J'
The Zoning System.
The system now in effect provides
eight zones. The first zone includes
territory for fifty miles in all dlrec-
tions. The second embraces an addl-
tionaI hundred miles, the third zone q
hundred and fifty miles more, the
fourth zone an additional three hundred
miles. Zone five takes interritory four
hundred miles beyond the limits OF
zone four; zone six adds another tour
hundred miles, as does zone seven, and
zone eight includes territory beyond
the limits Of the seventh zone.
A difference was made between pure
reading matter and advertising mat
| ter. but this is of little benefit, as
practically every newspaper and period
| ical today is made up of mixture OF
both. When the first increase went
into effect the rates per pound OF mai
became IL cents for the first and
second zones, II: cents for the thiro
zone. 2 cents for the fourth zone, "a
, for the fifth zone, 212 for the sixth
zone, cents for the seventh zone, ano
| s cents for the eighth zone.
The following year these rates were
increased again, varying from
cents a pound in the first and second
zones to 512 cents pound IN the
eighth zone.
The increase on July 1. 1920 car
| ried these rates up to ~ cents a
| mound in the first and second zones
with proportionate increases along the
line up to ia cents pound IN the
eighth zone.
The rates which have just gone into
effect are, for each pound of second
class mail, as follows:
First and second zones. = cents;
third zone. 3 cents: fourth zone, 5
cents: fifth zone. 6 cents; sixth zone,
Z cents: seventh zone, cents; eighth
zone, 10 cents.
The newspapers and periodicals
lave been making last ditch fight &c
prevent the last increase gong INTO ef.
| feet until the new postmaster genera