Postage on Printed Matter

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 1862. – Mr. Colfax introduced the following bill this afternoon, which substitutes several simple rates of postage on printed matter for the 320 rates under existing laws:

A BILL TO RENDER MORE UNIFORM THE POSTAGE ON PRINTED MATTER.

SECTION 1.  Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States in Congress assembled, That from and after April 1, 1852 [sic], the postage on all printed matter sent through the United States mails, and on which postage is now payable by law, shall be as follows:  For newspapers not exceeding two ounces in weight, and issued not oftener than once a week, and carried not exceeding 2,000 miles, 4 cents per quarter; when issued twice a week, 10 cents per quarter; three times a week, 15 cents per quarter; six times per week, 30 cents per quarter, payable quarterly or yearly in advance at the office were said newspaper is mailed or delivered, at the option of the subscriber.  And for newspapers exceeding two ounces in weight one additional rate of postage shall be collected for every additional two ounces or fraction thereof.

SEC. 2.  Be it further enacted, That from and after the same date the postage on magazines and periodicals sent through the mails shall be, for the same distance, half a cent per ounce or fraction thereof, to be paid quarterly in advance, and above prescribed, provided that small newspapers and periodicals published monthly or oftener, and pamphlets containing not more than sixteen octave pages each, when sent in single packages weighing at least eight ounces, shall be charged at the same rates, notwithstanding the postage calculated on each separate article of such packages would exceed that amount.

SEC. 3.  Be it further enacted, That from and after the same date, books, bound or unbound, unsealed circulars, pamphlets, except as allowed in the preceding section, maps, engravings, lithographs, blanks, envelopes, and all other matter now mailable and on which postage is chargeable by law, shall, when sent through the mails, pay postage at the rate of one cent per ounce for all distances under 2,000 miles, to be prepaid by stamps, and each circular shall be charged a single rate.

SEC. 4.  Be it further enacted, That for all distances over 2,000 miles, one additional rate of postage shall be charged and collected for such excess on all printed matter sent through the mails.

SEC. 5.  Repeals conflicting acts.

This bill is very objectionable to the county Press, inasmuch as it favors the large city papers by carrying them a distance of two thousand miles from the place of publication for the same rate of Postage as is proposed to be charged for any less distance beyond the county in which Newspapers are published.  The country Newspapers will not be able to exist when subjected to this discrimination, and to the proposed tax upon Newspapers.  They might as well prepare to wind up, or to oppose, as they ought, the carrying of Newspapers through the Mails a distance of two thousand miles for the same rate as the country papers are charged within gunshot of their place of publication.

– Published in The Dubuque Herald, Dubuque, Iowa, Friday Morning, February 7, 1862, p. 2