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to thoir good judgmont to dotormlno whother
thoy trespass beyond tho bounds of tho "lim
ited numbor" contemplated by tho ruling.
Porsonal "lntorost" In tho circulation of
"gift" or "complimentary" copies of second
class publicationseither in the udvertlse
monts or subject inattor vitiates their char
actor as such .and renders them unmailublo at
tho pound rato of postage. Yours respectfully,
EDWIN C. MADDEN,
Third Assistant Postmaster General.
Tho postofllco department gave out a state
ment to tho offect that a part of Tho Commoner's
circulation had been condemned. It will bo scon
from tho abovo letter that tho department not
only has failed to condemn any part of Tho Com
moner's circulation, but has given conclusive proof
of tho political bias of tho man who occupies the
important position of third assistant postmaster
genoral and acts as a censor over tho newspapers
of tho United Stales. Instead of laying down rules
for tho guidanco of tho proprietors of newspapers,
lie deals In generalities and innu'ondocs. If any
definite conclusion can bo drawn from tho first
paragraph of his letter, it is that when a sub
scription is mado by ono person for another it is
not incumbent upon tho proprietor of a paper to
Inquire WHY tho subscription Is made. This
makes It posslblo for a reador of Tho Commoner
to sond tho papor to a friend "because of tho
doctrinos advocated," but In sending in tho sub
scription ho must bo careful not to inform tho
oditor that this is his reason for subscribing. If
ho lilces tho nows columns of tho paper, or if ho is
interested in any department of tho paper except
tho editorial department or has any other motive
that is considered laudable by tho third assistant
postmaster general, ho need not fear to state it.
But if ho is interested in tho Declaration of Inde
pendence, or in tho ovorthrow of tho trusts or in
provonting Wall street domination of tho treas
ury, or if ho wants a third assistant postmaster
general who is moro interested in enforcing tho
law than ho is in advancing tho interests of the
republican party, ho must carofully conceal tho
fact from tho editor, so that tho editor will bo
ignorant of any Individual or combined effort to
extend tho circulation of tho paper. This pro
tection, however, may not bo completo, for if Mr.
Madden suspects that a subscriber is trying to fur
ther tho "personal ends of tho individual or com
bination, whether tho purpose of such circulation
be financial advantage or otherwise," there may bo
trouble yet.
Tho editor of Tho Commoner Is in .favor of
constitutional liberty. Ho feels that ho has a
personal interest In that subject. Ho also feels
that his children have a personal Interest in tho
nubject, and just now tho paper is devoting a good
deal of timo to opposing imperialism. If Tho
Commoner can aid oven to a small extent In tho
rescue of this nalion from tho greedy, mercenary
and destructive policy supported by Mr. Madden
and his employers, then the editor of tho paper
will feel that.ho has derived a personal advantages
of no small proportions. Tho fact that he be
liovos that thp advuutago would be shared by all
liborty-loving people everywhere, does not pre
vont its being a personal advantage to him. The
editor of Tho Commoner believes that ho will
derive a personal advantage from the overthrow
of tho trusts-not an advantage enjoyed by him
alone, but an advantage shared by tho great ma
jority of the people of tho country. Does Mr
Madden regard this as a personal end in the sense
in which he uses tho term? Likewise tho editor
of Tho Commoner is personally interested in tho
return of the government to its old foundations
and in greater simplicity and economy in its ad
ministration. Of course this advantage, whilo per
sonal to each citizen, will be shared by all citizens
Does Mr. Madden regard this as an un awfu Z
prohibited personal end? unlawful or
The postofllco department has been fully in
formed of the reasons whioh inn .! - " L .
rnt f Th 0n P-Pose harieen
The Commoner
clearly proclaimed and repeatedly reiterated. Tho
Commoner was established primarily for tho ad
vocacy of democratic principles, for tho discussion
of public questions end for tho advancement of
governmental, social and economic reforms. Tho
paper contains a homo department, a news depart
ment, a forum for tho reproduction of editorials
which appear in other weekly papers and a de
partment wherein current events are discussed in
a lighter voin; but all of these departments are
subordinate to the general purpose of tho paper.
Is there any law which discriminates against such
a paper, and if there is not, what right has Mr.
Madden to make rules which condemn What the
law permits? Has not such a paper as much right
to second-class mail privileges as a paper printed
solely for tho purpose of disseminating news?
Mr. Madden has virtually withdrawn his ob
jection to tho complimentary copies sent to cer
tain senators and members of congress, for he says
that "the practice" of sending complimentary
copies "has obtained for many years," adding that
"the department, believing tho publishers of legiti
mate publications could not afford nor be willing
to unduly exercise tho privilege, has left it en
tirely to their good judgment to determine whether
they trespass beyond tho bounds of tho 'limited
number' contemplated by the ruling."
There is the ruling, and the publisher of The
Commoner (unless Mr. Madden holds that Tho
Commoner is not a "legitimate publication") will
continue, in the exercise of his judgment, to send
complimentary copies to those fusion and demo
cratic members of the senate and house who are
not regular subscribers.
Mr. Madden suggests by way of qualification
that "personal interest" in the circulation of "gift"
or "complimentary" copies of second-class publi
cations "either In the advertisements or subject
matter vitiates their character as such and ren
ders Jhem unmailable at the pound rate of post
age." If Mr. Madden means to say that the editor of
Tho Commoner has any such interest in the send
ing of these complimentary copies as would "vi
tiate their character and render them unmailable
at. tho pound rato of postage," he will have to come
out into the open and say so. And while he is
ruling on tho subject of "personal interest," might
it not bo well for him to define the personal in
terest which ho, as a republican politician, has in
preventing the circulation of a democratic paper?
If there is any law which justifies him in using his
position to advance his own personal interests or
the interests of tho party through whose aid he
draws his salary, let him quote the law and the
editor of The Commoner will undertake to se
cure its repeal.
Mr. Madden mistakes his location as well as
his vocation. He imagines that he is in tho Phil
ippine islands enforcing arbitrary laws for the
protection of the military situation, whereas he
is simply a federal official, appointed for a lim
ited term, to administer a subordinate department
of the postofllco department and to enforce the
laws according to their tenure and purport. His
endeavor to inject a stump speech Into official com
munications shows that ho does not fully apnre-
official110 dienHy f hIS PSiti0n r th dUty of au
JJJ
Who Saved Us?
There is a touch of humor in tho very serious
controversy now going on as to who saved tho
United States from European interference during
the Spanish-American war. It was insisted hat
we ought to send envoys to the crowning of Ed
ward VII. as a token of our appreciation of
influence which England exerted in our behalf
while the Spanish-American war was 1
ln2 PrinC6 H6nry Planned hIs vis' "o T'
iS!i W? bGgan t0 hGar 0f Gr great
friendliness in 1898. Tho controversy has waxed
Volume aNo. a?.
hot between English papers and German papers,
and between English statesmen and German
statesmen. Each nation has endeavored to show
not only that its own attitude was exceedingly
friendly, but that the other nations would have
been glad to give us trouble.
Among the documents brought out by the con
troversy is a communication addressed by Count
7on Buelow, then secretary of state, to the Ger
man emperor, transmitting a telegram from Dr.
von Hollenben at Washington. It was dated April
16 and reads:
The British ambassador today took tho
initiative in a very remarkable manner in a
new collective step of the representatives of
the powers here. We suppose the queen re
. gent made representations to the queen of
England. In this sense the six representa
tives, at tho request of the British ambassador,
are telegraphing to their governments in tho
sense which follows:
"In view of the attitude of congress no
hope of peace can any longer be sustained
and the general opinion is that the powers also
would have no objection to war. A good
basis for fresh negotiations appears to be af
forded by the note of the Spanish minister,
April 10. If this view is shared by the gov
ernments it seems advisable to dispel the er
roneous notion here that armed intervention
In Cuba meets with tho support the of civilized
world. (The president, in his message of De
cember, said it was only in that case that ho
desired Intervention.) The representatives of
tho powers here think in these circumstances
that the great powers might direct the atten
tion of the American government to the Span
ish note of April 10 and might declare that
Intervention did not appear to them to be
justified. This declaration might take the form
of a collective n6te from the powers to tho
representative of the United States. Such a
document would produce a greater impression
and tho representatives of the powers hero '
would not then incur the risk of appearing
only to repeat their first step which the presi-
dent, in his latest message, has not even .
deigned to mention. In the event of an iden
tical note being decided upon it would be ad
visable to publish it at once in order that the
civilized world, to whose authority the appeal
is made, may be absolved from reproach In
approving of this attack."
Dr. von Hollenben added for himself: "Per
sonally I regard this demonstration somewhat
coldly." The emperor upon reading it made tho
following marginal note: "I regard it as com
pletely purposeless, futile and therefore preju
dicial. I am against this step." Dr. Hollenben
subsequently forwarded the text of tho collective
telegram as originally submitted by Lord Paunce
fote to the other foreign representatives for com
munication to their governments.
These documents certainly make out a pretty
strong case against the English ambassador and
in favor of the German ambassador and the Ger
man emperor, but Lord Cranbome rushes to tho
rescue and in reply to a question in parliament
aeclares that what Lord Pauncefote did he VZ as
dean of the ambassadors at the verbal sugges
tion of some of his colleagues," and that what-
Trm0 henii , eXPreSSed by'L0rd Po1e
during the discussion were "personal to him and
not pursuant to the instruction from h ? ma
jesty's government." It ia also asserted that her
majesty's government on receipt o til .
cation at once objected to Tbl communi
on judicious AnVcA! Prosed action aa
iujuuicious. And so the matter stands t
it, after all, very material which n n!
friendly, or whether either na ion 7? mSt
If other nations had oined in a .? Unf,rlend1
Have been purely a diploma ic onet IT
evidence that any of them I , eie Is no
interfere or that all ofCoSI
Had any disposition to attemnT n . haV0
United States. Nations alwayT do Ll f" Ul
think will in the long run 11 ? WMch they
and it is folly to expect tLf VV thenlves,
is going to tl -tion
United States, and if EuronI befrnd tho
is host for them, tVy ZZtZl ' "
amount of gratitude, even f
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