The southern press. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-04-20
The Public Printing Question.


occasionally been discussed before, and has
always been attended with difficulty.
If private citizen anywhere wants work
done, he applies to those engaged in that sort Of
business and expects to employ the most faith.
full and responsible parties in the neighborhood
at customary rates. Why cannot government
do 80 likewise?
The reason is that government is governed
by party, and is party; and hence prefers its
interest as n party to its interest as govern.
ment. Hence it became for many years the
custom to confer the public printing as a favor
on party organs. But, although the government
is controlled by party, such party is itself
governed by predominant portion of itself
And hence governments governed by part OF
party And for this purpose party organ is
for obvious reasons convenient agent But
the tendency of all repositories of power, as
agents are, to extend and abuse it, resulted in
such abuses, that in 1916 Congress determined
10 reduce the power Of the organ by taking the
public printing away, and offering it for public
contract to the lowest bidder ..
The policy of public contract, and of free
composition, is and was favorite. Yet il can.
not be denied that, in bidding for contracts, the
most imprudent, irresponsible and incompetent
man is the one who will probably make the
lowest bid And in government contracts this is
peculiarly the case For there is vulgar notion
that government contract is somehow or
other certain fortune. This very idea is
fatal to itself 1t multiplies competitors and
reduces prices so much that, according to our
observation one of the most disastrous opera
tons man can make is a government contract.
we have seen too many weak men ruined BY
them, and seeking abortively here at Washing
ton for relief ..... ...... :.
But the contract system was tried. 1t has
been tried three times under the law of 1876,
and has been unsuccessful in every case In the
first instance, New York firm, Messrs. VAN
BESTHUYsEE g. Co., we believe, were the lowest
bidders for the Congress printing. The work
was badly done, it was long delayed, and the
contractors made little or nothing The next
time the lowest bidders were parties, who, as
afterwards appeared were nominal, the real
contractor being Mr.. RrrcHIE, editor and pro-
prietor OF the Union, the Democratic ORGAN. In
this case again the work was badly done, was
long delayed, and, as he alleged, was ruinous to
the contractor So he applied for an extra al.
lowance Of some one hundred, or one hundred
and fifty thousand dollars.
The cscumstances attending this case illus
trsle IN very striking manner, the disastrous
results OF the contract system. The ruin of a
public contractor, by his contract, makes case
of sympathy and relief for Congress II Ibis
instance, this case was co-incident with the de.
cision Of the most important controversy tha,
has ever occurred under the federal govern.
ment 1t was to determine whether the seve-
raj States had an equality of territorial rights.
There was majority in Congress against this
equality Of territorial rights, and this majority
controlled the question for relief, made by the
contractor and the Democratic organ. The result
was that the editor, who in his earlier days had
protested against the Missouri compromise line,
as an aggression on the South, advocated the
Compromise of 1850, which confscated all ter.
ritorial rights Of the South, and rejoiced ia her
degradation and spoliation! But the surrender
OF the South by the Compromise was not suffi.
GENTLY abject and unconditional, to propitiate
the Northern majority-so the contractor. organ
obtained no relief. And he was consequently
reduced TO dependence on the favor of lead.
ing banker Of this city, who had grown rich on
government contracts, and who advanced him
some forty or fifty thousand dollars, and this
very banker, Mr.. CoRooRAN, was at the very
time concfned in other operations with govern
ment 10 a large amount, which came before
Congress and were warmly contested. The
next contract was obtained by the present con.
tractor, Mr.. A. BoYD HAMILTON, at prices we
know, understood a; the time, to be ruinous
and his failure has been most signal.
Now, this is practical failure of the contrac,
system. And this failure has been a seriou.
detriment TO the public interest.
When il was ascertained that this failure had
occurred, or was inevitable, il was understood
that the Washington Union made an effort 70,
the system Of party Organship and to obtain the
whole printing Of Congress as the organ of the
majority in both bodies. We proposed public
ly, in this paper, that the printing should b.
distributed equitably between tbe papers in thi.
city. But this proposition met with little favo,
in or out Of Congress. The plan Of ORGANISING
seemed TO be preferred. We then said public
ly, alsa in this paper, that since the Union re
presented the opinions Of only portion Of tn
party, and the Southern Press was the onl
other paper here that had large number o
Democratic subscribers, the only course to b.
taken was TO give the printing to these two
The Democratic party had been divided on IN,
Compromise, and reunion had been proposed
We distrusted the proprety, the expediency
and the safety Of this re.unon-for we knew
that the friends and opponents Of the Compro
mise in that party, were embittered by the con