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Show 'magazines Also on Newspapers, Recommended by the Postal Commission Washington, Feb. 22. President Taft today approved and forwarded to congress the report of tho commission commis-sion on second-class mail matter and recommending that the postal rates on magazines and newspapers be raised rais-ed from one cent to two cents a pound. Postmaster Genoral Hitchcock originally orig-inally recommended a four-cent rate, but later changed this to two. The commission tinds that the cost of handling second-class matter Is about 5 1-2 cents a pound. In approving the 2-cent late, however. President Taft declares that the business enterprises of the publjshors of periodicals hate been built up on the basis of the 1-cont 1-cont rate, and, therefore, It would bo manifestly unfair to put Into immediate immedi-ate effect a larger Increase In postage. As to the effect of the proposed Increase In-crease from 1 cent to 2 cents a pound President Taft quotes from the report of tho postal commission, the following follow-ing paragraphs: "Such an Increase will not, in tho opinion of the commission, bring distress dis-tress upon the publishers of newspapers newspa-pers and periodicals, or seriously Interfere In-terfere with the dissemination of useful use-ful news or information. A reasonable reason-able tlmo should be allowed after tne rate Is fixed before it is put into effect. ef-fect. While the news rate will 19 very far from compensating the government gov-ernment for the carriage and handling of second-class matter, it will to some extent relieve the existing burden and result in a more equitable adjustment oi rates.' t "That newspapers and magazines have been potent agencies for the dis. semination of public Intelligence and consequently have borne a worthy part in the development of. the country, Mr. Taft says, all must admit "But," he adds, "it is likewise true that the original purpose of congress in providing for them a subvention by war of nominal postal charges in consideration con-sideration of thoir value as mediums of public information, ought not to prevent nn Increase, because they are now not only educational, but highly profitable. There Is no warrant for the great disparity between existing postage rates on periodicals' and the cost of the service the government performs for them. The aggregate postal revenues for the fiscal year 1911 were $237,879,S23.G0. derived mainly from the postage collected on the four classes of mail matter. It is carefully estimated by the postofflce department that the revenue derived from mall matter of the first class is approximately ono and one-half times the cost of handling and carriage; carri-age; that the returns from third and fourth-class matter arc slightly In excess ex-cess of their cost of handling and carriage; car-riage; and that while second class matter embraces 65 per cent of the entire weight of all the mail carried, It, nevertheless, yields little more than 5 per cent of trie postal revenues." The postal commission on second-class second-class matter was appointed by President Presi-dent Taft, following the controversy caused by the postmaster general's original recommendations for the increase in-crease In rates. The matter was taken tak-en up by magazine publishers beforo committees of congress and a sharp issue is-sue was raised as to the correctness of the postofflce department's figures. Congress finally passed a joint reso. lution authorizing the appointment of the commission, which was made up of Justice Charles B. Hughes of the supreme court, President A Lawrence Lowell of Harvard university and Harry Har-ry A. Wheeler, president of tho Chir cago Association of Commerce. "The findings of the commission," says the president, "confirm the view-that view-that the cost of handling and transporting trans-porting second-class mall matter is greatly in cxccbs of the postage paid, and that an increase in the rate Is not only justified by the facts, but is desirable. de-sirable. "The postal service is now, for the first time in years, operated upon a self-sustaining basis, and, In my judgment, judg-ment, thlB is a wise policy; but It should not be carried put at the expense ex-pense of certain classes of mail matter mat-ter that pay revenue largely In excess of their cost It Is not juet that some classes of mall should bo exorbitantly taxed to meet a deficiency caused by other classes, the revenuo from which is much below their cost of handling rinrl oarrXarm Whom onoli SnnnnilL tles exist they should be removed as early as practicable. "The proposed Increase of 1 cent a pound In the second-class postage rates. I believe, to be most reason, able and, if sufficient time its allowed beforo the change goes into effect, it should work little serious injury to tho business of the porlodlcal publishers, pub-lishers, while equalising at least In a measure, the burdens of postal taxation taxa-tion ' Anothor suggestion of tho commission, commis-sion, which was given tho president's approval, would abolish the "cent-a-copy" rates for nowspapors, other thnn weeklies, when mallod at a city letter carrier office for local delivery. i |