New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1851-03-13
the contract as principals with Ritchie's as

cuteo, en0 Wltn ruln0uSi lneXcusdOle uo-
lays. One gear after Mr.. Ewbank's first
Patent Office Report was transmitted to
Congress, the copies ordered by either
House had not been printed and delivered.
The paper used on that and most of the
work is not worth two. thirds as much as
the specimens provided by Congress, and
which their contract binds Trenholm, Belt
and Richie to equal. No copy of Mr..
Ewbank's second Patent Office Report has
been delivered, and very few if an of
them can reach the People until they are
at least one year old. Most of the work
has in like manner been miserably, tardily
executed, and with the manifest purpose
of making Congress sick of the contract
system
7. The late Congress, when it assem-
bled, was found less favorable to Richie
& Co. than had been anticipated. They
were not able to mold it to their purpose
Forthwith they began to make overtures
to Gales & Seeton of the National Intel
ligencer for a union of their forces for a
foray on the Treasury. Richie q Co. Of
fened to throw up their contract if Gales
& Seaton's friends (the Whigs) would unite
with theirs TO break up the contract sys-
TEN and divide the printing between the
two concerns at liberal prices. This was
passively assented to by The Intelligencer'
but never ratified by Congress.
8. Mr.. Richie sold out the Binding
part of his job at handsome profit. He
obtained $4,000, in gross violation of the
terms of his contract, for one small job
which he ought to have done for less than
$500, and which no fair computation sould
have made worth 1000. Considering the
poor paper he has used and the cheapness
of power press work on long numbers, he
must have made money by the Presidents
Message and Documents, Patent Report
and other long numbers. On some portions
of the work he has doubtless lost; but on
the whole we think he has paid his way;
and, at all events, he cannot have lost so
much on the printing of the XXXlst Con-
gress as he made on that of the XXIXth.
9. But suppose he had lost-can Con-
gress rightfully reimburse him! The Gov
eminent is contracting right and left, to the
amount of millions of dollars per annum-
the bids open to every one, and the under
standing distinct and unequivocal-' Bid no
lower than you can perform; for if you
obtain the contract and lose by it, you
. must abide the consequences.'-Th first
case of extra compensation to a contractor
who says he has lost by his job will prove
death blow to the contract system and a
bottomless abyss for the public money.
Men will thereafter bid any way to secure
contracts and call on Congress for extra al
lowances to save them from loss. Old con-
tractors who have lost by their jobs, or
pretend they have, will pour in their
claims, all greedy and backed by good
precedent. IF this claim is paid, we see
not how any can consistently be refused
hereafter.
10. In the face of all this, majority of
the House has voted, and majority of the
Senate evinced readiness to vote, for a
Joint Resolve abrogating the Contract and
giving Mr. Richie at least I'oo Hundred
Thousand Dollars more than he offered TO
do the work for, Pass this resolve, which
was carried by LOG to 1O3 in the House,
and was taken up by 28 to % in the SEN
ate, and Mr.. Ritchie's clear profit ON the
printing of the late Congress could not be
less than $4,000. How has he deserved
that money!
IL. For the Presidents Message and
Documents, Part L. of which 16, 400 copies
were printed by order of Congress, the price
according to Mr.. Ritchie's contract is S4,-
e62, while at the rates awarded to Mr..
Richie by the Joint Resolution for his re-
lief, the same works would cost S15,6O6 or
more than three times as much. In fact,
the talk of the prices of 1919 }" at this
day is a gross deception. No orders of
$4,000 and 100000 copies nor any such
amount, were given by Congress in 1919,
nor for many years afterward. Press
work on such long numbers can be execut-
ed at this time for less than half its cost in
1919. The honest way to aid Mr.. Richie
would be to vote him so much in addition
to his contract prices, or ascertain the pre-
else amount of his loss by his job, and pay
that loss, slough even that would be wrong.
But the Joint Resolve which so nearly