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Show CONGRESSMEN'S FRANKING. Almost everything that comes from tho Postoffice Department those days, or that has come from it for a long time, in the matter of expenditure, has been a severe reflection upon the abuse of the franking privilege enjoyed by members of Congress. That' privilege is- unlimited. Members of Congress mav send under their franks through the United States to any part of the country coun-try as many tons of mail matter as they see fit. The recent investigation which showed that Senator Lodge had caused in ono transaction the loss of $2S,000 in postage by circulating through the mails what was, in fact, a private publication, which had 'been so changed from the matter that the Senate Sen-ate had authorized as an official document, docu-ment, that Senator Gallinger of Vermont Ver-mont declared the change made to have been "absolutely indefensible, if not criminal." Bepeatod efforts have been made to limit the franking privilege of members mem-bers of Congress, but, of course, no one can take that privilege away from them, and no one can limit it but the members themselves. A good many of Lh cse, however, recognize tho injustice of tho present situation, and tho abuses that grow out of it. A proposition was mado some timo last year to allow the members of Congress $2000 on postage account, and do away with the franking frank-ing privilege altogether. This, however, how-ever, was not acceptable to the members. Wo think that in the .end some such change may come 'to bo acceptable, since public opinion opin-ion is getting very strong against the abuse of tho unlimited franking privilege. Wo judge that if the mem bors wcro given a stated sum of money in lieu of the franking privilege, they would pocket the money and send very littlo stuff through the mails. This would work a double relief. It would cost the government far less to give each member $2000 for poslago than to carry tho enormous mails that have to be carried under tho franking of documents of various kinds. It would also very materially lighten the labors, for wo do not imagine that tho aver-ago aver-ago Congressman would send matter through the mails, oven to the amount of .$500. if he were paid the $2000 in mone.y and were limited in his free postage facilities to that amount. Later on, Congress could devise a system of accounting, whereby no member would be allowed more postage than he actually ac-tually used, but to begin with, a lump sum paid to the Congressmen, in lieu of the franking privilege, would probably prob-ably be the most acceptable way to ! start the reform. Senator Kenyon has introduced a bill abolishing the franking privilege, and substituting for it a series of official stamps, with strict accounting for their use. This undoubtedly would be unacceptable un-acceptable to the Congressmen, and their reason for opposing it might be perfectly consistent, because they could fairly urge that the clerical labor of keeping the postal accounts of the different dif-ferent members would impose an enormous enor-mous expense upon the Senate and the House. We judge, therefore, that a j mony grant of $2000 or $2500 (which 1 would make the salary of each member , of Congress $10,000 per year), would be the only way to get any real reform of tho franking privilege. Members of Congress might be induced to vote for that, because it would mean that much money in their pockets; but when it comes to the question of the relief of the mails of the United States and putting the Postoffice Department on a paying basis, that is something that they would not for one moment consider. |