Letter - Why charge for political letters?

To the editor:

Per your notice of political letters and charging a fee for same, I find this to be an attempt to stifle/inhibit letters from people who may not have the income of some of your subscribers.

If you are dedicated to serving the public, it would seem that you’re trying to duplicate the attempt to curtail voting by requiring a fee to publish letters that are not promoting a commercial interest. I can understand your policy of not publishing letters every 30 days from an individual, but charging a fee to publish a letter, deemed political or not, appears to be an attempt to limit free speech.

Now that we no longer have a local TV news service, it appears you’re in the singular position of covering news of a local nature.

With advertising and subscriber revenue, it would appear that this charge for political letters flies in the face of your responsibility to promote/encourage views of the people of this area.

Of course, maybe this is an attempt to pander to the wealthy individuals who can afford, any amount, to make their views known.

I wonder if the image you will certainly foster is the one you really want? Do you have the courage to print this letter?

Arthur J. Le Suer

Alexandria, MN

Tags: opinion, letters