The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-04-30
Cost Of the Coalition.

present the prices respectively that were aske
by Mr. TOWERS in his bid for the printing O
Conaress when public proposals were invited
and those which the Joint Committee on Print
ing has agreed to give the proprietors of tn
Union and Republic. They cannot fail to as
tonish both Congress and the people. Mr.
TOWERS was a responsible bidder and is so Ger
titled. He is also prudent and practical man
He expected, Of course, to make money by Tho
acceptance of his bid Yet now it appears thai
the Committee on Printing has gone and con
tracted with l,Oo other parties, at a much higher
rate If we exclude from this catalogue the
press-work, paper, folding, and stitching of eacl
table larger than octave, in four Of the classes
an item of trivial consequence in the aggre gate
it will be seen that the prices which the com
mittee have agreed to give the coalition, exceed
those Mr. TOWERS offered to take, more than
.ffy per cent! Of course, the different kinds
of jobs differ in quantity, but whether this diff
ference would increase the average per centum
or diminish it, we have not now the time or
knowledge to ascertain. 1t may be more, il
may be less; but from the manner in which the
whole thing has been done, we should suspect
it to be more. Now, the printing of Congress
amounts to about 5000 900 the session. Fifty
per cent. more than Mr.. TowERs's offer would,
therefore, probably give the coalition nett
bonus of one hundred thousand dollars, over
what we are to presume the work would cost
at a reasonable profit to the printer.
Now, when we consider that this enormous
sum is to be thus taken ont of the public purse,
and put into the pockets Of Wing and Demo
cratic editor, by a committee of Congress, in
contempt of resolution of the House of Re-
representatives. to appoint special committee to
enquire into the law and to report any amend
ments they might find necessary, we think it
will be regarded as the most decidedly cool and
intrepid operation that has lately been attempted
in this age of public plumber
If Congress, nay, if little committee of
Congress can put its hands into the treasury,
and take out hundred thousand dollars extra,
and hand it over to a couple Of presses to sus-
tain them, why then, we are progressing more
than considerably.
The public must have been struck of late
years with the peculiar emphasis of party pa
pers in insisting on the vast benefits of party
on the immense value of two parties to watch
sind check each other-and on the monstrous
enormity of third parties. The argument be-
gins now to reveal itself Whilst the organs
of these two parties keep up pretence of an.
tagonism to divert the attention of the people,
as the Union and Republic do, they quietly slip
into joint committee room, Joint committee
of both parties, as we'll AS both Houses, and
arrange jointgrab of hundred thousand dol
lars, and come out, and then denounce respec-
lively the awful dishonesty, rascality, and exIa
travagance of their opponent. And thereupon
the people Of each party at home are indignant,
think their next door neghbors are little better
than rascals to uphold such doings, rally to
stump speeches, and rush to the polls, to save
the country from the ruin and robbery of Wing
or Democratic ascendancy. whilst their organs
here are feeding on canvass backs, drinking the
costliest wines, and laughing in the ir sleeves at
the gullibility of their friends respectively.
No wonder we have such pathetic declama-
ton from these organs in favor of this glorious
Union. small State or republic could not
stand the abstraction of enough spos by
couple of organs at single operation to sup
port an economical State government for year
Several Of our State governments are actually
supported on less
We shall give our readers complete imforma.
ton of the process, of the functional or organic
arrangement of our system by which this thing
was done. For our government now presents
the finest study of political pathology the world
has ever known.
The Speaker of the House, the Hon. LINN
BOYD, ID Compromise Democrat, but was
elected to the chair by the united vote of Com
promise and Anti Compromise Democrats of
all sections. 1t was expected last year, when
the prices were published, that the contract
bidder, Mr.. BOYD HAMILTON, would fail, and that
the printing, the most importan. patronage of
the House, would fall again under its control.
The Speaker appoints the committees and thus
exercises power of great responsibility and
delicacy. There were several practical printers
In the House-but the Speaker appointed the
|, three members Of that committee from tho
House. who were not practical printers But
they were all Compromise men-two of them
democrats, and one Wing. Neither the Wing
nor the Democratic party, therefore, was fairly
represented in the committee. But the Com.
promise coalition Of both parties, monopolized
all of the House members. This prepared the
way for the coalition that has been made.
Now, it is one of the defects of our Congress-
and of this glorious Union, that we have 233
members of the House of Representatives Of
whom about 231 are speakers-how many think.
ers there are, we have not ascertaned-the
classification has not been made. The conse
quence is, that on almost all questions and all
occasions, there are ut4Y speakers DESTROYS of
being heard, and by tho rules, but one can sneak