Watson's weekly Jeffersonian., 1907-11-21
The Nail Subsidy Steal.

In 1899, The Jeffersonian heard the Hon.
Jas II. Blount, of Macon, Georgia, deliver
passionate protest against that form of public
robbery known as the "Mal Subsidy" Mr..
Blount was then, and had been for many years,
Chairman of the Committee on Post Offices
and Post Roads, He was familiar with every
detail of the service He was master of the
Subject upon which he addressed the House
The Jefersonian was within ten feet of this
honest congressman when he made the most
strenuous efforts to defeat the railroads who
were proposing to pillage the Treasury.
Mr.. Blount assured the House, in the most
positive manner, that there was no Justice
in the Subsidy. He said the people got nothing
in return for it. He declared that the Subsidy
was simply extra pay for doing that which
the railroads were already under contract to
do.
In spite of the earnest opposition and the
positive statements of Chairman Blount, the
railroads, aided by venal congressman, got
what they were after.
The Southern railroad has been able, through
Chambers of Commerce and other similar bod
les, to make the impression that the South
could not secure the benefit of fast mails, unless
the Southern railroad was allowed to get that
Subsidy. The impression has been made that
it was because of this Subsidy that the South
got fast mail from the North and East This
is the excuse put forward by such railroad COM
gressmen as Livingston and Jim Griggs, and
scores of others. YET the literal fact is, that
the Southern railroad did not make any change
in its schedules on account of the Subsidy, and
did not put on an extra train
The correspondent, whose letter was pub
lished in the November number of the Jeffer-
sonian Magazine, explained why it was that
the mail for Atlanta, and points South, did not
arrive nine hours earlier.
He stated that the reason was that the
Southern railroad threw off this mail at
Greensboro, N. c., where it had to wait nine
hours for another train on the Southern sys-
tenn The correspondent explained how it was
that the mail could have been transferred to
the train of another railroad company (The s.
A. L., which made close connection at Ches-
ter, and thus the nine hours saved.
The Teffersonian does not ask its readers to
take its own word for the statement that the
Southern railroad made no change of its sched-
ules and put on no extra train because of the
Subsidy. Elsewhere in this issue will be
found official evidence on that very question:
furnished by the Post Office Department, ITSELF
to Congressman A. c. Shuford, of North Caro-
lima, when that gentleman sought information
upon the subject.
1t will be seen that the Post Office Depart
ment states, positively that the Southern rail-
road had not changed it's schedules nor put on
an extra train because of the Subsidy.
In this connection, it should be borne in
mind that the Post Office Department never
has recommended the appropriation known as
the Mail Subsidy. On the other hand the
government has, all along, endeavored to let
the people understand that they got nothing in
return for the Subsidy and that it was a mere
gift to the railroads. In other words, the gov