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THE JEFFERSONIAN
Vol. 111. No. 6.
Looks Like Graft in High Place
Washington, Jan. 31. —Representative Lan
dis, chairman of a sub-committee of the joint
congressional committee on printing, which is
engaged in making an investigation concern
ing the conduct of the Government Printing
Office, today made a statement relative to a
development of what members of the commit
tee believe to be an irregularity in office. The
statement in part follows:.
“Under provision of the sundry civil ap
propriation act for the fiscal year 1908, the
public printer was authorized to expend money
in installing in the Government Printing Of
fice a system of accounts. By reason of this
the public printer continued a contract origi
nally entered into in September, 1906, with the
Audit System of New York City, said contract
providing that for work as above contemplat
ed Audit System should receive $1,650 a
week. Attention was called to the charge that
Ihe Audit System, in addition to this work
of installing an accountant system in the
Government Printing Office was furnishing
supplies to the Government Printing Office in
competition with other bidders and also was
furnishing supplies on which there was no
competition.
“I took the matter up with the public print
er, and he admitted this to be true, but stated
that the matter had not impressed him as be
ing in any way improper.
“Under the statute, the joint committee on
printing every year receives bids and awards
contracts for paper to be used at the Govern
ment Printing Office. These bids were opened
on
mittee met to award the contract. A short
time before the committee met it was in
formed that the Suffolk Distributing Coom
pany, which had put in its bid several times,
aggregating about $150,000, was officered by
the same gentlemen who composed the Audit
System. It called a meeting of the sub-com
mittee of the printing investigating commit
tee, and summoned Mr. Willett Raynor, who
has charge of Audit System work in the
Government Printing Office and took his tes
timony under oath.
“This testimony was taken in executive ses
sion and lam not at liberty to stae what it
was, further than to say that it was
of such character as to justify the
sub-committee in holding up the award of all
items in which the Suffolk Distributing Com
pany was a bidder. The sub-committee will
investigate this matter thoroughly. A meet
ing has been called for tomorrow and the
president of the Suffolk Distributing Com
pany has been asked to appear. I will say
further that in view of the charges that have
been made relative to the purchase of supplies
A Weekly Paper Edited by THOS. E. WATSON and J. D. WATSON.
Atlanta, Ga., Thursday, February 6, 1908.
in the Government P? u ng Office, the sub
committee shall go io thorough
ly, deeming this fair 9 Govern-
ment, but also to Mi. p n Kn
printer.”—Age-Herald. °‘V
•
NO EFFORT AT IMPROVEMENT,
Judging from the reports which come from
all sections of the state, the railroads are mak
ing little, if any, effort toward improvement in
the mail service.
They are fully aware of the inconvenience
which the public suffers as the result of con
tinued delay of mail trains, and their failure
even to try to improve the service can be at
tributed only to indifference.
They are indifferent because they know, un
der the present policy of the postoffice depart
ment, they will get their money whether the
service is rendered or not; or if they should
happen to be fined, the amount would be so
small, as shown by the report of the postoffice
department to congress in response to Senator
Clay’s resolution, as not materially to affect
their income.
Here are two of the many complaints about
bad service, coming from widely separated
sections of the state, selected as examples of
what the people all over Georgia have to suf
fer.
The North Georgia Citizen, of Dalton, says:
“The northbound Southern train, due in
Dalton about 9 o’clock, bringing in the east
ern mail and the morning papers, is causing a
great deal of inconvenience to our citizens.
This train runs from two to five hours late
every day —one day not long since it was nine
hours late. It is the exception if this train
arrives on time. The proper authorities
should be notified, so that the government
would look into this matter of delayed mails.
The people are entitled to better service.”
This comes from The Moultrie Observer,
way down near the Florida line:
“The mails have been reaching Moultrie
from a half hour to two hours late for a num
ber of days. There is the usual complaint in
Moultrie by people who feel that even an
hour’s delay in the arrival of the morning
mail is a matter deserving a kick and some
investigation. The railroads have in times
past claimed that it was a rush of business
that delayed them, but it seems that in these
lean days of traffic the trains might be able
to make their schedules.”
Complaints of this sort might be multiplied
almost indefinitely, and yet the railroads con
tinue to turn a deaf ear.
There is only one effective remedy, as The
Constitution pointed out yesterday, and that
is to withhold from them their entire compen
sation for that train’s mail which is deliv
ered late.
A few fines of this sort will do the business,
and the people will get better service.
If the postoffice department hasn’t gum
enough to apply the remedy, it is to be hoped
as the result of Senator Clay’s resolution
congress will get back of it and inject enough
stimulus to produce the desired effect. —At-
lanta Constitution.
TEXT OF THE ALDRICH BILL.
Washington, Jan. 27. —The completed text
of the Aldrich financial bill, which will be sub
mitted to the full committee after a meeting
has been held, to go over the data from the
treasury department, will contain the
amendments that have been tentatively agreed
to at the various meetings of the committee
on finance. There will also be a series of
small provisions added to the bill which have
been devised to make it work smoothly as an
emergency measure. It will be made manda
tory upon the secretary of the treasury to
make and keep on hand a supply of notes
which can be quickly issued upon call. The
secretary of the treasury will be required to
proceed immediately upon the law taking ef
fect to gather data concerning the new class
of securities provided in the measure. The
bonds of every city in the country will be in
spected and their worth stated in treasury de
partment reports, as will be done with any
securities that are at any time liable to come
within the working of any emergency currency
law. It has been settled that the distribution
of the currency will be by states instead of
districts, as formerly proposed.
The financial data requested of the treasury
department is expected to arrive at the senate
on Wednesday, according to a statement of
Senator Aldrich. He is confident that his
measure will be reported before the end of the
week. —Chattanooga Times.
PEOPLE’S PARTY CONVENTION.
The People’s Party of Indiana is hereby
called to meet in the city of Indianapolis, at
Hotel English at 11 o’clock a. m., on Satur
day, February 29, to select thirty-two (32)
delegates to the People’s Party National Con
vention that will convene in the city of St.
Louis on the 2nd day of April, and to transact
any other necessary business.
All v T ho will affiliate with the People’s
Paty are invited to participate in choosing
delegates.
By order of Committee.
FRED J. S. ROBINSON, Chairman.
Cloverland, Indiana, Feb. 1, 1908.
Price five Cents. >