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pound to one address the postage is only 8 cents. The difference in revenue in favor of the Government is due to the average number of separate pieces contained in a pound. The following table shows the estimated loss of revenue on that basis of calculation:

Statement showing the loss in postage sustained by the Government in handling third-class matter in the mails during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1905, at the pound and free rate of postage, assuming, first, that one-third of matter carried at those rates, second, that one-half of matter carried at those rates, and third, that three-fourths of matter carried at those rates should have yielded the average third-class revenue, which is estimated to be 14 cents a pound.

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It is sometimes alleged that if a portion of the matter now carried at a cent a pound and free were excluded from the second-class privilege it would not then be carried at all, the third-class rate being prohibitive. The following table shows what the saving to the Government would be if one-third, one-half, and three-fourths were not carried at all, the cost of handling a pound of mail being estimated at 7 cents:

Statement showing the saving to the Government from a lessening of the quantity of second-class matter handled during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1905, estimating the cost of handling at 7 cents per pound, assuming, first, that one-third of such matter; second, that one-half of such matter, and, third, that three-fourths of such matter would not but for the second-class privilege come into the mails at all.

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The following table shows the average revenue per pound from each of the separate classes of mail matter and their subdivisions. Statement showing the estimated amount of revenue per pound derived from the various kinds of mail matter during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1905.

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Second class mailed by publishers and news agents with stamps affixed_
Second class at pound rate..

10.3

Second class free

.98

Second class mailed by publishers and news agents with stamps affixed..

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For the maintenance of the postal service for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1905 (the figures for the year 1906 are not yet available), $167,181,959.79 was paid. During the same year the revenue from all sources was $152,826,585.10. Of this latter amount second-class matter paid only $6,186,647.54, or about one twenty-fourth. To put it differently, out of every dollar collected the second class paid only 4 cents, while in bulk it is upward of 67 per cent of all the mail matter carried for the public.

CONCLUSION.

In closing, permit me to say that to a great extent, contrary to the intent and purpose of the law, the average publishing house is substantially a distributing agency for advertising matter, so wonderful has been the advancement in the science of advertising. To advertise is neither illegal nor immoral. Advertising is said to be the basis of the great commercial prosperity of the country. No point is made against advertising. What is contended is that, as the situation has developed, this special privilege, designed for the benefit of the people through the distribution of general news and beneficial information among them, has become in its essence the very thing specially prohibited by the law itself. It is safely within the truth to state that one-half or three-fourths of all the newspapers and periodicals now published fairly fall within the prohibition of the statute against those "designed primarily for advertising purposes, or for free circulation, or for circulation at nominal rates." Many thousands of publications for one reason or another not within the intent and spirit of the law enjoy the privilege wrongfully.

The granting of the second-class privilege amounts to a grant of public money. It is the same thing." It is a rule of law that in all cases of making a grant of public money the benefit of any doubt is to be given the Government. The Post-Office Department has always given, and is now giving, the benefit of the doubt to the publisher.

The paramount need of the postal establishment is the modernizing of the laws in relation to the second class of mail matter. The tests of classification should be simplified. The postal service should be open to all upon equal terms. There should be no special privilege. The use of the mails should be a right and not a privilege. The rates of postage should be based upon the nature of the physical thing itself, irrespective of collateral matters. If a special privilege for newspapers and periodicals is to be maintained, then the laws should define and fix the limits of the privilege in no uncertain

terms.

While the present laws may have met the situation at the period when they were enacted, and for sometime after, they are to-day substantially nullified. If they are to remain there should be a uniform enforcement of them to the limit of administrative authority. That would require an additional force of 500 or 600 men, most of whom should travel about the country constantly, visit every publishing house, inquire into the details of every publisher's business, ascertain and report whether each publication complies with all the requirement at each mailing, whether or not lists of subscribers are legitimate, and see to it that if publications contain matter not a legal part thereof nor entitled to second-class rates the lawful rate is charged and paid. Of course, such an administration would harass, annoy, and humiliate publishers, but that fact should not be allowed to weigh against the interests of the Government.

If the present laws are to remain, provision should be made for their administration at the Department by a permanent commission of three or five persons. from which there should be no appeal save to the courts. That would make for stability and uniformity of the service, and the publishers would then be free from the distress and disturbing effect of frequent changes of the executive.

The following exhibits (19 to 114), in addition to those specifically referred to by Mr. Madden in his remarks, were submitted as illustrative of the questions arising upon the existing statutes. For convenience of reference, they are arranged under the statutory provisions to which they relate.

I.

NEWSPAPERS AND OTHER PERIODICAL PUBLICATIONS."-(Exhibits 19 to 46 inclusive.)

EXHIBIT 19.

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19a. Family Library (weekly edition, October 29, 1904). 19b. "Family Library" (monthly part, December, 1904). 19c. “Family Library" (quarterly volume. October, 1904). 19d. Family Journal" (monthly, June, 1905).

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Description.-Four different publications. The weekly edition (19a) contains a complete novel, which comprises the major portion of the text; the monthly part (19b) is an accumulation of the four preceding weekly issues, accomplished by merely stapling the copies together and putting a cover around the whole; the quarterly volume (19c) is made by taking the previous three "monthly parts, stapling them together, and putting a cover around the whole. These publications were not regarded as "periodical publications." The publishers then changed the publication in title, as shown by the June, 1905, issue of the Family Journal (198). The matter in the Family Journal is the same matter that formerly appeared in the Family Library, monthly part, with the indicia of the several independent publications eliminated from certain of the page headings.

EXHIBIT 20.

20a. Old Broad Brim Weekly, On the Stage.

20b. Old Broad Brim Weekly, The Crimson Knot.
20c. Old Broad Brim Weekly, On a Perilous Quest.
Description. Each issue of this publication is a complete story.

EXHIBIT 21. Ten Story Book (October, 1906).

Description.-Consists, as its title indicates, of ten short stories. Periodicity does not appear to be an element of its character, and it would seem to "regularly be issued at stated intervals" for the purpose of obtaining the rates applicable to "periodicals" for publications largely, if not primarily, having the character of a book.

EXHIBIT 22.-The Nautical Magazine (January, 1905).

Description. The publisher's announcement is as follows: "A monthly periodical, devoted in part to the study of lake and coast navigation by self-istruction, and every interest connected or associated therewith." The publication contains a very considerable number of lessons" for use of students of the subject of navigation, etc.-a "book" rather than a periodical" characteristic.

EXHIBIT 23.-Student's Series of Four Penny Classics.

23a. October, 1905.

23b. September 1, 1905.

23c. September 15, 1905.

Description.-This publication consists very largely of reprints of well-known poems and other literary matter, and appears to be intended for use as a school text-book.

EXHIBIT 24.-Studies in Socialism.

24a. July, 1904. 24b. October, 1904.

24c. January, 1905.

24d. April, 1905.

Description. Each of these copies contains practically nothing but a treatise or essay on a single subject.

EXHIBIT 25.-Publishers' Weekly.

25a. April 2, 1904.
25b. January 30, 1904.

25c. November 28, 1903.

Description. The April 2, 1904, issue (25a) shows the publication as it is usually published; the January 30, 1904, issue (25b) shows it in the form of an annual accumulation (a catalogue or directory of the literary productivity of the previous year), and the November 28, 1903, issue (25c) consists mainly of "write ups" of books advertised in the publication. (See the marked pages of 25c.)

EXHIBIT 26.-Library Index to Periodicals and Current Events.

26a. January, 1905. 26b. February, 1905. 26c. March, 1905.

26d. January, 1906.

26e. February, 1906.

26f. March, 1906.

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Description. The title of the publication properly denotes its character. "accumulated" number (26f). This number consists of a reprint of matter which appeared in the two previous issues (26d and 26e), with such new matter as was necessary to bring it up to date.

EXHIBIT 27.-The Monthly Cumulative Book Index.

27a. April, 1903.

27b. June, 1903.

27c. July, 1903.

27d. August, 1903. Description. This publication, as the title denotes, is a book index. See the "Annual Accumulation (27d), a reprint of matter which has appeared in previous issues of the year.

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EXHIBIT 28.-Reports of the National Banks of the Principal Banking Centers of the United States (March 28, 1904).

Description. This publication is a compilation of the reports of the national banks of the principal banking centers of the United States to the Comptroller of Currency at the close of business March 28, 1904.

EXHIBIT 29.-The Monthly Official Railway List (August, 1906).

Description.

The publisher describes this publication as follows:

A complete directory of the steam railways of North America and their officials and subofficials. Also a list of the fast freight and private-car lines and their officials, and much other information useful to railroad men, manufacturers, etc.

Practically all of this matter is reprinted from issue to issue. EXHIBIT 30.-Railway Line Clearances and Car Dimensions (October, 1905). The following resolution of the American Railway Association explains the character of this publication:

"That railway companies and other car owners be, and are hereby, requested to publish official information respecting their car equipment and line clearance in "The Railway Equipment Register," in order that a ready reference of authentic information on these subjects may be within the reach of all railroad officials."

Practically all of this matter is reprinted from issue to issue.

EXHIBIT 31.-The Official Railway Equipment Register.

The following resolution of the American Railway Association explains the character of this publication:

"That railway companies and other car owners be, and are hereby, requested to publish official information respecting their car equipment and line clearance in The Railway Equipment Register," in order that a ready reference of authentic information on these subjects may be within the reach of all railroad officials."

Practically all of this matter is reprinted from issue to issue.

EXHIBIT 32.

32a. The A. B. C. Pathfinder and Dial, Shipper's Guide. 32b. The A. B. C. Pathfinder and Dial, Postal Guide. 32c. The A. B. C. Pathfinder and Dial, Express List.

The titles of the above publications are descriptive of their character, i. e., Shipping Guide, Postal Guide, Express List. Practically all of the matter in these publications is reprinted from issue to issue.

EXHIBIT 33.

33a. The West Coast Hotel and Railway Guide (June, 1906).

33b. The ABC Pathfinder and Dial.-Once a week.

33c. The A B C Pathfinder Railway Guide (June, 1905).

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