NEWSPAPER POST IN GERMANY
From the time of their first publication in Germany, newspapers have been distributed through the post. Little is known of the precise arrangements under which they were at first transmitted, but there is no doubt that they were accorded privileged conditions as compared with ordinary letters. The postmasters were themselves largely interested in the publication of newspapers.[377] By 1712 the conduct of newspaper businesses by postmasters had become recognized as a common and long-established arrangement.[378]
The distribution of the newspapers was largely made through the post, and a rate of charge, built up of two elements, came into existence. The first element was the "discount" (der Rabatt). This was a payment made by the publisher to the postmaster as remuneration for the work of the latter in connection with the posting and despatch of the papers and the collection of subscriptions. This discount was arranged between the postmaster and the publisher, and generally took the form of a fixed percentage proportion of the published price (Erlasspreis). The second element was the "percentage" (die Provision). This was in addition to the published price. It was collected from the addressee, and belonged partly to the postmaster at the place of destination and partly to the postmaster at the place of publication.[379] The rates were fixed by the postmasters at their discretion, and gross irregularities and anomalies in the rates resulted.
Public complaint arose, and it was found necessary for the State to assume control of the traffic and fix definite rates of charge. This course was first adopted in Prussia in 1821, when the following rates were established[380]:—
| 4 | pf. | for each | whole | sheet of the | primary | publication | (Hauptblattes) |
| 2½ | pf. | " | half | " | " | " | " |
| 1½ | pf. | " | quarter | " | " | " | " |
| 1½ | pf. | " | whole | " | supplement | ||
| 1 | pf. | " | half | " | " |
This method of charge did not, however, prove altogether satisfactory, because the term "sheet" was not defined with any degree of precision. It was thought that a better basis for the rate might be found in the price at which the newspapers were sold to the public, because, it was argued, the price must stand in exact proportion to the number and size of the copies, and also to their real value. Accordingly, in 1848 the rate was fixed generally at 25 per cent. of the published price.[381] At a somewhat later date this rate was reduced to 12½ per cent. of the published price in the case of newspapers appearing less frequently than four times a month.[382] In 1871 the minimum yearly rate payable in respect of any newspaper was fixed at 4 sgr.[383]
The application of this tariff resulted in many cases in considerable discrepancies between the amount charged and the service rendered. The improvements in the manufacture of paper and in the methods of printing, particularly the introduction of the rotary press, had cheapened the processes of production, and led to a great expansion of the newspaper trade. With this expansion came a more than proportionate expansion of the business of advertising. The result was that, as in England and America, the newspapers increased in
bulk; but so far from there being a corresponding increase in price, there was in point of fact a very considerable decrease. Moreover, advertisements became a more important source of revenue than the subscriptions themselves. A rate of charge based on the selling price, which might have been reasonable when newspapers were produced under the old conditions, was totally inapplicable under the altered circumstances.[384]
The financial results proved extremely unsatisfactory. From the causes indicated, the average weight of the individual copies of newspapers continued to increase, while at the same time the price (and with the price, the postage) continued to decrease.
In 1897 the administration of the Imperial Post Office estimated that the total cost of the transmission of newspapers by post in Germany, for staff, post offices, transport, equipment, etc., was 6,178,362 M., or about 66/100 pf. per copy.[385] The number of newspapers transmitted by post in Germany was at that time about a thousand millions annually, and the total postage received in respect of them was less than 5 million M., or on the average about