The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1917-08-16
"JEFF' 'WELCOME-BEC IT'S
DIFFERENT.

come III again TINS week with It's
message" to the people. The other
papers are so full of threats and in
Limitations that it would seem each
week that Mr.. Watson would surely
be Jailed (if not court martialed ana
shot), and our little paper be denied
a place in the peoples mail service.
Knowing as l do that you are re-
ceiying hundreds of letters Of cheer
and encouragement each day from
admirers and followers all over the
Union it seems almost useless for
me to burden you with an additional
letter, but my heart is very full
these days.
One Of my boys, q have five from
16 to 81 years Of age has been
selected" in the first allotment to
serve in this diabolical war. Now
this boy is ambitious and is trying
TO work his way through Emory
University. This summer he had
splendid position with q Chautauqua
Company that employed him for
every day of his vacation. At the
time Of the lottery" (God save the
word) in Washington he was travel
ing at from 500 to a 1000 miles a
week with no settled address, only
the company's Office address, the no
tice sent out by our local Troup
Board was first mailed to LAGRANGE,
remaiied to Chipley (his home ad-
dress,) remailed by me after one
days necessary delay to the company
address on the last day off grace al
lowed him by our liberal (???) gov
ernment. This notice had never
even reached him and he then a
thousand miles from home. Have
been solemnly warned by our Sheriff
that "the consequences will be some
thing serious" No doubt they VIII,
for as the boy IS physically 0. k. and
uneDcumbered he will eventually be
drafted into q slavery worse than
death, and that sorely against his
will, for he has conscientious o.
jectiOns to the U. S. having anything
whatever to do with this war. His
career will be ruined, his chance for
an education forever lost, and even
should he live to come home, as he
is now past %, he can never, never
be the man, the loyal citizen he
planned to be.
Now Mr.. Watson, were he the onIy
one it would not be so terrible, but
there are million more whose lives
are ruined and whose parents hearts
are being broken. I will here say in
passing, that he has taken the Jeff
for some time, while teaching a
country school to make something to
help educate himself, and since his
naturalization at the New University
his copy of the JEFF was almost the
only one received in those sacred pre-
Cincts, and he said it was IaUghabIe
the way the boys ran over each other
to get to read it, that sometimes he
actually failed to ever get hold of
it to read it himelf Now I don t
want to tire you, but I do want you
to know how we mothers are pray
ing for you and how the welI-nigh
dispairing eyes of a vast people are
turned towards you as their last
apostle of political and personal
liberty. A recent editorial in the
Constitution was positively devilish
in the suggestions thrown out that
German money was being freely used
to propagate and support the anti
draft movement and was responsible
for those anti-draft meetings being
held throughout the country. I was
at one and saw men throw in their
generous contributions, (aIthough
they were smalD for they repre-
sented hard hours of work and the
denial of some much needed little
article to spare the donation of even
SO cents. One good mother is even
now saving her little amount of EGG
money! to send To Mr. Watson