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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. >