“SO-CALLED NEWSPAPER LAWS.”
THERE exists, in the minds of many, a mistaken idea in regard to their responsibility in taking from the Post Office copies of a paper which they may not have ordered. Unscrupulous publishers have in the past taken advantage of the ignorance of the public in regard to postal laws and regulations, and have stated that there existed certain laws by which a person became responsible for the price of the paper in the taking of it from the Post Office. In the United States Official Postal Guide for April, 1895, there was published an opinion from John L. Thomas, Assistant Attorney-General, on this very question, and inasmuch as many may not fully understand their rights in this matter, we publish herewith a portion of what he says. Under the heading of “So-called Newspaper Laws,” and after giving the “so-called laws,” Mr. Thomas says:— “There are no such laws as these enacted by Congress or established by the Postmaster-General. And I hold that when a publisher duns a party for the price of his paper, which is not due, accompanied by a threat to enforce such laws if his demand is not met, he is guilty of an attempt to obtain money under false pretenses, if he knows these so-called laws have no existence as laws. The only federal statute on this subject is section 3885, Revised Statutes, which reads as follows:— “Postmasters shall notify the publisher of any newspaper or other periodical, when any subscriber shall refuse to take the same from the office, or neglect to call for it for the period of one month.” “There is nothing in the postal laws or regulations concerning the liability of a subscriber for the subscription price of a newspaper or periodical. “The relation between the publisher of a newspaper and a subscriber is that of a contract, and the same rules of law apply in that case as apply in other business transactions between man and man.” After going into the subject quite thoroughly, and showing by quotations from the Postal Laws and Regulations what are the postmaster’s duties in this particular, Mr. Thomas concludes as follows:— “I have thus gone into details so that there may be no misunderstanding of my position, and I hope the agitation will go on until publishers and patrons of the newspapers and periodicals of the country know and understand their relative rights, obligations and liabilities. I desire, and I believe that the press, which is the greatest of educators, desires, that the truth shall be known and justice done even to the humblest and poorest citizen of the republic, as well as to the richest and most exalted. “Very respectfully, JOHN L. THOMAS,
“Assistant Attorney-General.”