Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1938-01-26
BY DIR. JAMES e. POPE.

I Washington, Jan. 26. = President
Roosevelt, discussing the deficit III
the Post Office Department, decried
the Departments time-honored Gus
tom of carrying newspapers at less
than cost, and making free deliveries
of county papers within their respec-
tive trade areas,sas being partly re-
sponsible for this shortage in postal
cash. While he did not outrightly de-
clare that. as one stopgap for heavy
leakage in postal revenues he woul.l
seek to force farmers to pay more for
their Hometown weekly or daily news
papers, his allusion to the matter
clicked with a0rninous bodement.
Whether or not Mr.. Roosevelt is truly
cogniZant of the full measure of devil
try concealed in a proposition to force
newspapers to pay postage at regular
rates. it remains the indisputable
fact that these Woodworking publish
ers are already sorely beset with hay
ing to pay piratical and predatory
prices for newsprint, and the imposi-
ton of this additional unjust burden
would render almost impossible the
profitable existence of many worthy
publications.
We art tod that commerce follows
the flag. We also know that civilized
society and the fundaments of de-
cency and wnolesomeness in home life
followt the one-horse printing-press
! across America. This commentator
has made a critical study of news
papers in their relation to communi-
ties, ard has always found the COM
| munity without a li',e local paper to
be one wherein CON munity life fails
to function up to the normal or ac-
ceptad level in ideals and intelligence
and it is never rs prosperous pro
pOrtiOnate'y as ott...er communities al
which good home newspapers are
| firmly Established.
| Votes Were Too Costly.
Official mail is carried free under
| the privilege known as franking. Just
why and how i comes under such an
innocent label is difficult to under
stand, for there is nothing Candid
about this system under present day
lbuses-ili''ess graft and corruptio..
nay II called carFi7 Perhaps the
,ar7e c"---~ '~--n e~o11 hat obsolete
-,oun "f~aro'-" -an2n'n~ pigsty, or pen
~'oe~e o":.'2'- 80 fattnned. It doe.
oo"~y that fa-,oil:a~ odor. Anyhow
dIlrinc thr c-,r~e-t fo',~ ,nn~ period
which inclu' I'd a r-o~' ial CON-
align, postage-free mali was carried
" the Post Office Department, at the
-0ynave~s' EXPENSE, to. the total of
, - billion pieces
IT, bulk of this propaganda dis
.';sod rs official mail was raw poll
cal hogwash sent out under bureau
cratic sponsorship, and by menu ers
{ Hgress-composed largely of
Democrats. The Republicans rated
over heads, but their "offic-al" cor
c5ron' ance per capita suffered moth
ing by volume However, the New
Deal held all the trun1ps and control
evers -v1rnn It came to departments
nd bureaus.
Approx. natcly As million votes were
last for 10th presidential candidates
>, 1885. During these four years every
voter received k5s, pieces OF ranked,
7oetagc-frce mail, or an average OF
,'oht pounds each With the expenses
incurred in print 'rr rig money
loss to the Post Office, II IS estlmat-
ed that the cost to taxpayers was ap-
proximately $3.50 for each ana every
ote cast for both Roosevelt ana Ian
Ion. r
Here we have the ugly spectacle OF
taxpayers, already overpuiueneu' "
ing gougad and exploited ny ne
- narties for the applcatlon OF
nc AE6flnn .l1orge-lininef1t. here -ws ara