Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1885-12-07
Villas and the Subsidy Thieves.

1t is long time since subsidy grab
an out and out theft of the peoples money
in the interest of private corporations
has been so cleverly exposed as has been
the case with the mail-carrying job at
tempted by the last Congress. Men seek
ing enormous grants of public money al
ways have some plausible excuse. The
subsidy lobby at Washington is one of
the most accomplished and persistent or
CARNATIONS OF the kind in the world. If
1t could have its own way it would secure
enormous appropriations for nearly every
corporation in America, and it would
never lack words to demonstrate that this
waste OF public treasure was in the inter-
est OF the old flag and the glorious bird of
freedom. OF late years the grabs have
been lew, but last spring, on the eve of
the adjournment of Congress, the gang
persuaded complacent House committee
to insert q clause in the Postoffice appro-
priation bill giving the Postmaster author
ity to pay out $500, 900 to American steam
ship companies for the transportation of
foreign mails, and the job went through
and became law.
1t was an innocent looking affair. 1t
provided for advertisements for bids and
the letting OF contracts to the lowest bid
der. 1t did away with the established
method OF paying sea postage at the rate
OF four and one-half cents a pound and
gave the companies an opportunity to run
the charges up much higher, as on only
two OF the routes is there more than one
American company. In this way the
competition ostensibly sought by the Job
bers became impossible. The companies
intended to "size up" the money appro-
prlated and make their bids SO as to get
1t all. Mr.. Villas shows that if he had
taken advantage of the law he would
nave increased the cost of ocean mail car
rying by several hundreds of thousands
OF dollars, and the government would
have gained nothing thereby. The law
was not mandatory. Its authors never
mad mad any trouble in persuading ex-
ecutlve officers to disburse all the money
they could, and they did not imagine that
theyever would have. Finding the law
SIMPLY permitted him to use this money
II he saw fit, Mr.. Villas concluded not to
use IL, as he found that the mails could
DE carried at the old rates with equal ex-
pedltion. Even at these rates the steam
snip companies receive considerablymore
'io'Sy III mail transportation than thew
DO Tor ordinary freight or express carri-
age, and the fact that all these lines have
been in operation for years without sub
sidy is sufficient evidence that they do
not need government bounty to maintain
themselves.
With this statement from the Postmas.
tter-General the entire case of the grab.
bers and their hackers falls to tl.n ground
Their lmpudent assumption of a belliper-
ent attitude toward an honest official
who dared balk their designs ON tbe
treasury is shown to be the insolence of
thieves who are not yet fully aware If
the character Of the man with whom thew
have to deal. The country has been nd
ylsed OF the nature of this ATTEMPTED rob
berry, its uselessness, the falsity of the
claim that it was in the interest of com.
merce and the eagle, and the selfish ends
winch 1t was sought to serve. II parti.
sanship or plumber in the face Of This
can make further defense of The
ria.sscallty here exposed it will be an ex.
hibltlon OF cheeky scoundrelism not
often seen outside u criminal courtroom
Chicago Herald. '''"''