nguish
printed books for preservation from periodical publications.

_Fourth._--It must be originated and published for the
dissemination of information of a public character, or devoted to
literature, the sciences, arts, or some special industry, and
having a legitimate list of subscribers; _provided_, _however_,
that nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to admit to
the second-class rate regular publications designed primarily for
advertising purposes, or for free circulation, or for circulation
at nominal rates.

In 1894 the privilege was extended so as to include under certain
conditions the periodical publications of benevolent or fraternal
societies; and again in 1900, to include the periodical publications
issued by State departments of agriculture.

It was provided by the statute of 1879 that a supplement may be enclosed
with a second-class publication, without subjecting it to extra postage,
provided that it is germane to the publication which it supplements,
that is to say, is matter supplied in order to complete that to which it
is added or supplemented, but omitted from the regular issue for want of
space or time, or for greater convenience. It must, however, in every
case be issued with the publication.

Since the establishment of these conditions and rates, there has been a
steady and growing increase in the amount of second-class matter sent
through the mails. In 1879, under the old rates, the total weight sent
at the pound rate was 51,125,500 pounds. In the following year the total
weight was 61,822,629 pounds; and by 1910 the total had increased to
817,772,900 pounds, that figure representing an increase of no less than
94,539,718 pounds on the total for 1909.

During the whole of this period the accounts of the Post Office in the
United States had in two years only (in 1882 and 1883) shown a surplus
of revenue over expenditure. In view of the vast quantity of matter sent
in the mails at very low rates, the question naturally suggested itself
whether, seeing that it was necessary year by year to call on the
public treasury for funds to meet the deficiency in the Post Office
accounts, it would not be practicable, and equitable, to obtain an
increased revenue from this class of traffic. The fact that considerable
abuses of the second-class mail privilege had grown up made
consideration of the question the more necessary.

Periodicals obtained