a publication called the "Citizen Soldier," which opinion was immediately made a ruling by the Post-Office Department, defined the issue very clearly and showed what was in the mind of Congress. ** * ** A paper, the principal object or design of which is to advertise a particular trade or profession, edited and controlled by a person engaged in the particula: trade or profession advertised in its columns, falls within the class defined by the law to be " regular publications designed primarily for advertising purposes." But we must not confound the desire or wish of the publisher with his "design." His wish or desire is to make money. His design is to do so by publishing a paper. He may conclude to publish a paper having no advertisements at all-such, for instance, as the New York Ledger-or he may conclude to publish one having, like the New York Herald, a large amount of advertisements. In both cases, however, his business is the dissemination of newspaper matter. We buy, subscribe for, and read the Ledger on account of its essays, literature, and stories. We read the Herald on account of the worldwide information as to current events found in its columns, and also on account of the varied interests it advertises. * * * Whether we look to its advertising or editorial columns, we find it full of legitimate newspaper matter. We look in vain through its columns to ascertain who its editor is, or what his business is. * A careful examination of these papers fails to disclose that the editor of either has any other occupation than that of publishing a newspaper. The one advertises for nobody; the other for everybody. The paper under consideration pursues neither course; the burden of its editorials and general reading matter is directed in a single channel, viz, that of building up the private business of its editor. The paper is devoted to the interests of those having claims, present or prospective. against the Government, and the proprietor, and he alone, is advertised as engaged in the business of collecting these claims. When we * ascertain that * the paper advertises the proprietor and him alone as engaged in a business enterprise, in which the particular class of persons whose interests are apparently sought to be promoted are most deeply interested, I think we may well conclude the primary or principal object of the * ** paper is to advertise the business of the editor. A paper, the primary or principal object of which is to advertise the business of a gentleman engaged in the collection of pensions or other claims against the Government. is chargeable under the law with precisely the same rate of postage required to be paid on a paper, the primary purpose of which is to advertise any other business or occupation. In view of this very clear statement of the position taken by the Post-Office Department when second-class matter first began to be sent through the mails, we hold that any assumption that advertising is not an essential part of a periodical, or that a magazine which carries a large amount of advertising is de facto a " publication designed primarily for advertising purposes," is a violation of both the spirit and the letter of a well-established principle of nearly thirty years standing. We would, however, protest very strictly against any discrimination in the matter of postage rate on editorial and advertising matter. In the publishing business as it is to-day conducted the publisher depends upon the advertising not only for his profit, but also callupon it to make up the deficit that exists between the cost of produc ing a magazine and the revenue derived from the subscriber. In other words, the 10 cents or 15 cents that the reader pays for a periodical is not enough to pay for the art and editorial matter that goes into that publication. It is partly paid for out of the advertising revenue. Therefore on whom will the tax on the advertising or a limitation of the advertising fall? On the purchaser of the magazine! Such a tax must necessarily result in a deterioration in the quantity or quality of the editorial matter. Without the assistance of the advertiser it would be absolutely impossible to give the public any thing like the quantity or quality of reading matter that it now enjoys. This vast amount of education and entertainment will suffer exactly in proportion to the restriction put on advertising. We do not think that the reading public will stand for any deterioration in the quantity or quality of the art and editorial matter now offered them. by the great American periodicals. Moreover, may not the reading public itself be intrusted with the regulation of this matter of percentage of advertising? Any regulation made by the Post-Office Department would concern itself with quantity only. The regulation could not take into consideration the relation between the quantity of advertising and the quality of the reading matter. The reading public does take into consideration these two all-important elements, namely, quantity of reading and quality of reading. The publisher who offends in this matter soon hears from the reading public in the shape of diminished circulation, and this chastisement, above any other, will keep him in the straight and narrow path. While the tentative suggestions made by me in respect of sample copies, minimum price and weight, annual statement of circulation, and limitation of credit, premiums, clubbing offers, exchanges, and the right to inclose subscription blanks have not been passed upon by the association formally as a whole, and consequently are not presented in any definitive way, still, in reply to a letter of mine sent to every member of the association, to which I received eighteen or twenty replies, the general sense was in favor of my suggestions. If you so desire, I can give you a synopsis showing the divergence of individual views, but I have said enough to indicate in a general way the association's attitude toward these abuses and the direction in which they would suggest that Mr. Madden look for relief. I have here a list of the questions propounded in that letter of which I am speaking and a record of the answers-that is, in the affirmative, the negative, or doubtful. Do you want me to read that, Mr. Chairman? The CHAIRMAN. What is the pleasure of the Commission? Senator CARTER. I suggest that it be filed and made a part of the record. The matter referred to is as follows: In October I addressed to every member of our association a letter in which the subjoined questions were propounded. To this letter I received 18 replies from the following publishers: The Ladies' World, Suburban Life, Judge Company, Harper & Brothers, The Christian Endeavor World, The Ridgway Company (Everybody's Magazine, Ridgway's Weekly), Doubleday. Page & Company (World's Work, Country Life in America, Garden Magazine), The Housekeeper, The Etude, Pearson's, System, American Monthly Review of Reviews, The Religious Press Association, D. Appleton & Co., Success Magazine, Little Folks, Fulk & Wagnalls Company (The Literary Digest), Robert Grier Cooke (The Burlington Magazine). The first question was: Sample copies.-Would the association oppose a law permitting a publisher to mail sample copies equal to 100 per cent of his paid circulation at any time during the first year of a publication, providing its circulation does not exceed 100,000, and 50 per cent the second year with the same proviso, and limiting him to 25 per cent for all succeeding years? To this I received 1 reply in the affirmative, 14 replies in the negative, and 3 replies doubtful. The second question was: Would the association oppose placing a minimum price of 50 cents a year on weeklies and 25 cents a year on monthlies? To this I received 3 replies in the affimative and 15 replies in the negative. The third question was: Would the association oppose a regulation providing for a minimum weight of 5 copies to the pound? To this I received 1 reply in the affirmative, 13 replies in the negative, and 4 replies doubtful. The fourth question was: Would they be willing to admit an arbitrary limit to advertising of 50 per cent? To this I received 8 replies in the affirmative, 6 replies in the negative, and 4 replies doubtful. The fifth question was: Would three months' free continuance of a subscription after expiration be sufficient? To this I received 13 replies in the affirmative, 3 replies in the negative, and 2 replies doubtful. The sixth question was: Would the publishers in the association be willing, if the present rate be maintained, to file each year a sworn statement of circulation paid, free, sample, exchange, etc., with the Post-Office Department? To this I received 15 replies in the affirmative and 3 replies in the negative. Mr. COLLIER. Now, gentlemen, I submit that with the encouragement of finding the Department's rulings sustained almost without exception by the courts; with the satisfaction of seeing evils at least as great as those which now confront him, such as the book abuse, entirely extirpated; with the cooperation of the publishers of legiti mate newspapers and legitimate periodicals toward the correction of abuses, Mr. Madden should hesitate to recommend to this Commission any programme based on incorrect assumption or inconclusive figures. From him we should expect a series of definite suggestions, based on experience and supported by statistics, for the gradual improvement of the second-class service, and proceeding, step by step, with the cold logic of a mathematical demonstration. We are the more encouraged to expect a fair statement from Mr. Madden for the reason that, at the beginning of his brief, he expressly disclaims any intention of urging upon this Commission a change of the policy enacted into law by Congress. His statement--I read from the minutes, page 7-is as follows: It is not my intention to argue as to policy, or to discuss any of the numerous theories concerning the subject. I shall make a plain, unvarnished statement of the present situation, and nothing more. It will be to the point, and as brief as may be consistent with the importance of the matter to be presented. The Department will content itself with showing that the laws are defective. and wherein they are so, and their effect upon the service. This Commission and Congress can determine the questions of policy. Should it be your judgment, or that of Congress, that notwithstanding the conditions the Depart ment should proceed to execute the laws as best it can, that of course will be followed. But a solution of this great postal problem, which now so vexes the publishers, the service, and the Administration, and is the cause of such tremendous wrongs, is hoped for. But Mr. Madden, after awakening our sympathy by his evident impartiality and by his eloquent portrayal of the difficulties wherewith his Department is encompassed, when we look to him for a scientific analysis of the factors in this problem, falls back on foggy generaliza. tions such as these. I read from the record, page 195: Mr. GLASGOW. I understand that perfectly well, and I am trying to get information. I understand you think there should be no difficulties of classification. What I want to understand is why you fix 4 cents as the rate, instead of 2 or 1 or 3 or 6 or 7 or 10. What is the reason that induces you to put it at 4? Mr. MADDEN. Because I believe that would fairly compensate the Govern ment for the handling of the matter, and asking no questions as to whether it is primarily designed for advertising, or whether it has subscribers, or whether it is educational, or whatever it is. Mr. GLASGOW. Is that a guess? Mr. MADDEN. Yes; a good deal of a guess. Mr. GLASGOW. Is that based on any calculations you have, or any figures? I want to get some definite information that will enable us to know where we stand. Mr. MADDEN. That is based on calculations, yes; but the basis for the caleulation I can not give you now, because it was made some time ago and I do not have it in mind. Mr. GREEN. Was it not your basis at that time that increasing the rate to 4 cents a pound would cover the deficit at the time you made that estimate, which was about a year ago, was it not? Mr. MADDEN. No, sir; it was a long time ago. Mr. GREEN. I think the statement was that if the rate had been 4 cents it would have quadrupled the income on second class, and it would have about covered the deficit. Mr. MADDEN. I think it was something of that kind. Mr. GLASGOw. Is it your idea that the 4 cents will cover the deficit or that the 4 cents is the cost of the Government? Mr. MADDEN. It is pretty nearly approximately the cost. Our figures are probably high because we can not get exactly at the true cost. That is the difficulty. That is the difficulty. And Mr. Hubbard, called from Chicago to corroborate his chief, testifies luminously his method of arriving at the cost. I read from the record, page 257: Representative Moon. What was your data on the loss on second class? Mr. HUBBARD. The figure that I put, the cost of carrying second class, handling and delivering, is 4 cents a pound-that is, I assume it to be that. Representative MOON. That is just an assumption? Mr. HUBBARD. An assumption. Representative Moon. Do you know whether that is a correct figure or not? Mr. HUBBARD. I do not know whether it is 4, 6, or 7. Yet, after professing unwillingness to advise this Commission on the broad question of policy and confessing his inability to substantiate his statements by figures, what does this zealous and soft-spoken representative of the Post-Office Department, who has so consistently left out the question of policy, recommend? Not the fearless continuation of a programme of rigid enforcement, to which he has pointed with just pride and in which the courts have almost without exception sustained the Department's view. Not the increase of the executive staff and an additional appropriation of as many hundred thousand dollars as may be necessary for the prosecution of offenders, who, by his own account, are secur ing unmerited privileges at a loss of millions annually to the Gov ernment. Not the appointment of a permanent postal commission to relieve the Postmaster-General of the embarrassment of making adverse decisions, which are attended, in Mr. Madden's own words, "by personal hazard to the executive." Not even the strengthening of the present statute in the places where a series of test cases would show it to be weak, so that the abuses now complained of might be explicitly legislated out of being. No; Mr. Madden will have none of these. What he wants is a statute that will deal with newspapers, periodicals, catalogues, advertising pamphlets, write-ups, mail-order journals, stock quotation sheets, illuminated Biblical texts, all the exhibits he has shown us and a thousand yet to come, as the railroads deal with coal, bulk them all as printed matter," and charge a flat rate-a self-sustaining rate, according to what he admits to be a guess, of 4 or 5 cents a pound. Mr. Madden, the man who has been fighting these abuses all his official life, the champion of the legitimate as against those spurious periodicals of the second class, the enemy of those who masquerade under pretense of being newspapers, now proposes to abandon the fight, to lower the colors, to legitimatize the very abuses he has denounced, to surrender to the authors of these subterfuges the rights given by Congress to honorable publishers, who have kept faith with the public. That this is no exaggeration of the interesting and radical suggestions made by Mr. Madden is evidenced by his reply to a question by Mr. Glasgow. I read from the record, page 154: Mr. GLASGOW. Can you tell us how you would get to that? Mr. MADDEN. No classification except letters, printed matter, and merchandise. Mr. GLASGOW. Then you would eliminate the policy upon which the second class was established? Mr. MADDEN. You can not carry out the policy. I have made it plain that you can not. It seems incredible to me, gentlemen of this Commission, that Mr. Madden should not see the lack of logic and the lack of courage involved in his position. Because one Postmaster-General after another has lacked courage to enforce the law, because thousands of unworthy periodicals have usurped our rights and flooded the country with cheap competition under cloak of the second-class privilege, are we, honest publishers, who have dealt fairly with the people and with the Department to be made to pay the penalty? The periodical literature of America is something of which we may well be proud. Its growth has been a part of our national history; its influence may be felt behind some of the most significant movements in our national life. It has reached its present high prestige among the periodical producing nations of the world by virtue of three favoring conditions: 1. The foresight and public spirit of Congress in creating the second-class rate for newspapers and periodicals. 2. The loyalty of publishers of legitimate newspapers and periodicals in executing what they conceived to be a trust imposed on them by Congress for the benefit of the reading public. |