The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-04-27

iaf the system mas worked we'll ut least II old
not fail. You received the work and paid for
it; and il it wss not we'll done, it was because
you did not require j to be we'll done. During
tho last Congress, the then venerable editor OF
the Union (Mr. Ritclie) had the contract Did
he execute it, | understand he did II is my
understanding hat he executed Il to the satis-
faction Of the Committee on Printing and tbs
satisfaction Of Congress. l 20 mn be.
cause no suit has been instituted al ead
for Il failure to execute the contract min
received the work and paid for il, and N
presently sec that certain gentlemen PlOp00e6
to do g 'eat deal more. Surely there could
have been no failure, when you not only re-
ceved the work and paid for it, but wanted to
give large extra compensation Then DIR. A.
Boyd Hamilton has the contract for this session.
The only specification, according to my present
recollection, which the honorable chairman
makes against him is, that portion Of the paper
is some tW elve pounds in the ream lighter than
the contract requires This find Mr. Hamilton
accounts for in the printed paper lying upon our
tables. lie says, that for brief season during
the past winter, on the account of the closing OF
navigation, he was unable to get a better article
of paper The cold weather having suspended
steamboat and railroad operations, he could not
procure transportation.
Mr.. STANTON, of Kentucky. | wish to
make statement and it is this ! understand
from the chairman of the Senate committee, or
rather the late chairman of the Senate commit
tee, that he has rejected nearly all the work sent
to the Senate by the printer, and rejected it not
solely for the reason that the paper was not an
inferior article, but because the whole commit.
tee concurred in the idea that great fraud had
been practised upon the government II this pa
per should be received as the quality OF paper
which he has now furnished, II being one.hfth
less in value than what he was required to furn-
sh.
But there is another defect in the paper to
which the chairman of the House committee,
and of the Senate committee, understand, OBJ
ected and it is this that the sheets of paper
upon which the printing is done are too small /;
that they have too little margin; that when the
pages are folded together, and the edges clipped
or cut, it leaves too little margin, and that in
the books in which plates are to be placed. the
plates are frequently disiigured and destroyed
in consequence Of the suiallness of the sheets.
Nor is this all The printing which has been
sent to Us is SO imperfect, in consequence OF
defects in the manner in which the press-Work
is done, and defects m The quality Of The INK
that is used, that there are not halt dozen
sheets in any one book that we have examined
that are perfect. They are tull from the top
line to the bottom OF The page, with what print
ers call, technically "monks" ard 'friars"-tbat
is, here white place, and here black blotch
so that the work, in every view in which il can
be regarded, is Inferior to what WAS agreed for
under the conf act.
Mr.. FLORENCE. Did the genteman sub
NIT any Of this work to the House under
stood the chairman of the Committee on Print
ing Mr.. GoRMAN to say that there had been
no documents, except the Presidents message
and accompanying documents, givento the pub
lie printer His complaint was, that there had
been 70 work done but row the gentleman
from Kentucky, member of the Committee on
Printing, rises in his place and says that these
have been condemned. Where are they !!
Mr.. POLK. | will ask the gentleman from
Pennsylvania if there are not thirty or forty ex
ecutive documents that have been furnished to
the printer during the last three months, and
that have not been printed YET!
Mr.. FLORENCE do not know anything
at all about that; for am not member of
the Committee on Printing. ] attend to the
business of the committee to which belong,
aud cannot answer the gentleman's question.
MIR. POLK. Then say to the gentleman
from Pennsylvania that he ought not to talk
about things he knows nothing about.
MIR. FLORENCE. 1 rose for the purpose OF
being informed; and if the gentleman had had
his ears open, he would have heard my question,
and would not have made the remark he did.
Mr.. POLK. am sorry did not hear the
gentleman; but it is my misfortune if my ears
are not as long as his. Laug htcr
Mr.. GORMAN. The gentleman from Penn
slyvania misunderstood me, if he understood me
as saying that no document but the Presidents
message had gone into the hands OF the printer.
"A great many documents have gone into his
hands; but we have never seen anything of
them since; when they get there it is the last of
them. A part of the Presidents message has,
however, come to us; and it is to that that the
gentleman from Kentucky alludes. If you look
over the pages, you will find the "monks" and
"friars," or, as should call them, blotches of
white and then blotches of black. They are
really 30 insuilerable bad that we could not re-
cevc them hope the gentleman from Penn
sylvania is satisfied. | will produce copy and
hand it to him.
Mr.. BROWN, (resuming) | was proceed
ing to inquire, when was interrupted, whether
it was true that the contract system had been
fairly tried, and had proved a failure? ! had
shown that there was no evidence of its failure
up to the commencement of this session of Con.
been combinations to break it down. If it has
failed, or shall hereafter fail, in the hands of
Mr.. Hamilton, is that conclusive that the system
is wrong, and ought to be abandoned! That
it nust fail in his hands, under the policy that
the committee propose to pursue towards him,
is to my mind the most evident proposition on
EARTH If the committee suspends Job when
it is half completed, takes other jobs from him
entirely, and makes large deductions from time
20 time on the work which he has executed,
who does not see that the mans credit must be
broken down? If he was worth quarter of n
million of dollars, he could not execute the con-
tract under such policy as this.
But do not mean to dwell upon this branch
of the subject. have said that, in my judy
ment, the system has not proved failure If
it has failed at all at any time, or in any mans
hands, it is because you have not given it Il fair
trial.
Mr.. FREEMAN, (;nterrupting.) ! did not
understand the chairman of the committee to
say that the contract had been abrogated, but
only that they should employ others to carry
out such parts of the contract as the contractor
l. e., Id 4 a ,,l