The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-05-10


The Joint Committee on Printing. who were
instructed by the House OF Representatives "to
report what, il any, arrangement had been made
to execute the public printing, and if any other
than the public printer has been employed, to
report what prices they have agreed to pay; =
and who were also instructed to let out ouch
printing AS the present contractor could not exc
cute to the lowest bidder after ten days notice"
respectfully report:
That under the resolution of the two Houses
OF Congress- adopted August 3, 1916, the pro-
per officers of the Senate and House of Repre-
sentatives let out the public printing to the
lowest bidder agreeably to the terms of the
said resolution. That A. Boyd Hamilton, be-
ing the lowest bidder for each of the several
classes of the public printing designated by the
law, received the contract, and entered into
bonds for its faithful execution on the Sd of
March, 1851. The prices at which said Hamil-
ton undertook to do the work are rupously low,
and in the opinion of experienced practical
printers, are scarcely more than sufficient TO pay
for the paperupon which the printing is required
to be done by the terms of the contract. The
officers authorized by the said joint resolution
to let out the work and make the contract, in
their report to the House of the Sd of March,
1851, estimate the aggregate amount OF the con-
tractors bid ut the sum of 1877 63l, supposing
no greater amount of printing will be ordered
by the present Congress than was executed un
der the order of the previous one 1t il con-
ceded by all that the next lowest responsible
bidder who offered for the printing, and was
willing to take il at his bid. was John II. Tow
ers, an experienced practical printer of the city
Of Washington The differer CO between the
sum which, the contractor. Hamilton, will receive
by his contract and the bid of John T. Towers,
for the same amount Of printing, is $50 $50, or
difference Of nearly one hundred per cent. in
the two bids. If compared with the bid of
John G. Rives, another competitor for the same
printing, the disparity between the sum agreed
upon by the contractor and that for which Mr..
Rives was willing to execute the work is much
greater being the sum Of SSl08,74l, or more
than one hundred and twenty-five per cent.
Both Towers and Rives are practical men, en-
gagged extensively in the business of printing,
and no doubt offered to do the work at what
they deemed fair and reasonable prices
AS might have been expected under these
circumstances, the contractor, Mr. Hamilton,
has been unable at any time during the present
session Of Congress to execute the printing Of
the two Houses agreeably to the terms of his
contract In no single instance, to the know
with the acquisitions of his bond. Neither the
bills, reports, calendars, executive documents
nor any other specimen of work he has executed,
is printed on such paper, or done in such syle,
as his written obligation requires of him. That
description of the public printing intended for
preservation, as part of the legislative records
of the nation, is done upon paper greatly in
feror to the standard of the contract, and in
such an unskillful manner as to be absolutely
disgraceful to Congress. The paper is not
only below the standard in weight, but is of
coarser texture aud of smaller size than pro-
vided for by his contract When bound and
trimmed, the margin is necessarily so small rs
to dsfigure the work; and fplates of the usual
octave size are used, they are clipped and
seriously injured. The general appearance of
the work. arising from the inferior quality of
the material, and the unskillfu manner of its
execution. i. shamefully bad, and believed to be
worse than that done for any State legislature
in the Union.
It is not only in regard to the inferior quality
of the material, and the defective execution Of
the work. that the committee find the contractor
in default, but in point of time in the compile
ton of the work intrusted to his hands, he has
been and is now unreasonably behind The
Presidents message, which might have been
completed in three weeks by an energetic and
capable contractor, is not now, after a lapse of
five months, one half done. There is not the
slightest prospect, judging from the conduct of
the public printer far, that this document will
be fully completed and ready for delivery 10
the members until after the adjournment Of tina
present session of Congress. The two Houses
will thus be deprived for whole session of the
most important and useful document for legis.
tive purposes which will be ordered by them,
and the expense ofits publication only 80 much
money wasted Other important documents,
necessary for the use of the various committees,
have been delayed in the same unreas onable
manner.
Four months ago the contractor was called be-
fore the committee and notified in regard to the
inferior execution of the printing as well rs the
delay in furnishing it to Congress. He pro-
missed amendment in these respects; but, in
utter disregard of his promises, as well as the
obligation Of his contract, he has not shown the
slightest disposition to furnish better material or
better work, or to execute the public printing
with more despatch. The documents, such as
have been furnished, are printed upon the same
coarse and inferior paper, in the same unskillful
and, in some instances, iliegible manner, and with
like want of alacrity.
Your committee were required by the provi-
sons of the joint resolution directing the man
ner of procuring the printing Of the two Houses
of Congress, in the contingency presented to
them by the gross default of the contractor, "to
adopt such means to remedy his neglect and de-
lay" in the execution of the work ordered by
Congress as they might deem necessary 1t
was apparent to every member of the commit
tee not only from the state of the public print.
ing, but the admissions of the contractor himself,
that he could not comply with his undertaking,
80 as to insure to Congress work done upon the
proper material, and as rapidly as the terms of
his undertaking required. There was then left
to the committee no other alternative than to
permit Congress to submit to the imposition of
inferior work and unreasonable delay, or exercise
the power conferred upon them by law They
chose to perform what seemed to them to be
their obvious duty, and entered into contracts
with Donelson e. Armstrong to execute 80 much
Of the public printing as had been or might be
ordered by the House, and which the public
could not or would not, do; and with
Gideon q Co. to do that ordered by the Senate.
Each of these firms has entered into bond in the
penalty of $4,000, with good security, for the
faithful performance of the work. The prices