NYE objected to the bill which some wretch had
introduced, to abridge the privileges of Senators under the Franking
laws. He knew that it would be a fearful tax upon Senators to send the
_harmless_ necessary editions of two or three hundred thousand copies of
the _Congressional Globe_ to their constituents at their own expense,
and of course the constituents could not be expected to pay. What would
be the result? The _Globes_ would accumulate in vast and useless numbers
over all the land, to such an extent as to impede traffic, and they
could, in that condition, kindle neither patriotic enthusiasm nor
private fires. Somebody had suggested that these copies need not be
sent. They all saw the folly of such a suggestion. True, constituents
never read their speeches, but it was natural for the constituents to be
gratified at having a representative thoughtful enough to tell his
secretary to make out a list of eminent idiots in his district, and send
them a _Globe_ apiece. This secured the idiotic element, which, he was
proud to say, was the chief support of his political life.
Mr. SUMNER said that a bookseller in Boston was getting out an edition
of his speeches in thirty-seven volumes. He was, accordingly, quite
indifferent upon the Franking privilege, since it was certain that no
constituent who read one of the speeches in the book would ever yearn to
read another in a newspaper, and since no constituent would ever survive
the reading of the entire series thus published.
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