Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-12-28
OFFER
NEW POSTAL RATES
Scale They Ask Right to
Present Designed to Be
Equitable to All.

Protesting against increases in sec
ond-claSs mail rates provided in the
administration measure designed to
meet salary raises of postal employees,
representatives of the American News
paper Publishers Association proposed
to joint congressional post Office
committee yesterday that they be per-
mitted to draft. rate scale to cover
the cost of their use of. the postal
service. >" 80 - !. 49,
The publishers entered vigorous OBJ
lection TO the haste with which they
contended Congress was treating "a
problem Important alike to the nsws-
pa ers and the public. They said in
sufficient time had been given for the
study of the cost ascertainment report
of the Post Office Department on which
the proposed rate increases are based
and that if given time they would
draft a schedule which In their judg-
ment would more nearly meet the
equities.
Hearings to Be Pressed.
While individual members expressed
interest in the publishers offer, the
committee took no formal action
Chairman Moses announced THAI the
hearings would be pressed early this
week with view to presentation of
a report to the Senate committee in
time for the reporting of the admins
tration bill to the Senate before Presi-
dent Coolidge's veto of the postal pay
bill is taken up January under a
unanimous consent agreement.
Denouncing the proposed increase in
second-class rates, spokesman for the
publishers association insisted that
the administration bill would curtail
rural circulation of newspapers and
at the same time fail 10 bring in adj
ditional revenue to the Government.
S. +. Thomson of Chicago, presi-
dent of the association, declared the
increase would hit ono class-"the
rural readers of metropolitan and
other city publications" Only about
10 papers, he estimated, would be
able to absorb the proposed increase.
while other newspapers would be
forced to pass it onto the sub
scribers.
Urges Preferential Rate.
1--WE have an off-peak load, reg
ular and continuous, for the Post
Office Department" Mr.. Thomson
said, land we feel we should re-
ceiye a preferential rate, as other
concerns give similar business"
Mr.. Thomson approved the theory
OF a suggestion by Representative
a graduated scale Of rates on sec
ond- class mail, fixed so that larger
papers with greater circulation
would be taxed heavier
Elisha Lanson, Washington repre-
sentative of the association, and
Jerome d. Barnum of Syracuse, n.
Y, chairman of its postal committee,
presented data showing that the
previous increases in second class
rates had curtailed the mail circula-
tion of daily newspapers from Is
to 40 per cent.
RcvisfOns Arc Predicted.
Pointing out that since 1912 sec
ond-class mail was the only class
on which Congress had raised the
rates, they contended that these adj
vances had increased the revenues
les per cent, but had been accom-
| panied by large withdrawal of
volume from the malls, due to the
rate increases.
The argument was presented that
should Congress vote the increases
recommended by the Post Office De-
partment 1t would find 1t necessary
to revise them downward within two
years because the revenues of the
department are. increasing sufficient
ly on the present rate structure to
| provide for the salary increases
within that time.