Butte record. (Bidwell, Butte County, Cal.) 1853-1858, 1857-01-31
The State Printing.

do something with the state fflntih9 mat
ter What action will be taken in the mat
ter, or whether the Legislature will take
any action in the premises, is at present
somewhat difficult to Judge. We are of
the opninion that the Legislature will
not alter the present law regulating the
State Printing. The reasons for such opin-
ion are various. In the first place, the Of
fee should be elective, as it now is, the same
as other State offices. If it is Democratic to
elect other State officers, it is equally so to
elect a State Printer. 1t is anti Republican
and un-democratic to remove the power of
comforting office from the people, or to con-
fer official power for too long period
Whatever changes may be contemplated,
we doubt not the office will continue an
elective one.
Mr.. Burnett, who, we believe, claims some
connection with the legal fraternity, at
present a Know Nothing Senator from Yuba,
has introduced bill which is intended to
economic the expenses attending this des-
cription of work The bill reduces the pres
ent rates for composition, press work, fold
ing and stitching, and discarding all useless
blank paper, orders that the printing shall
be solid, sc. This is species of reform"
that strikes Immediately at the price paid
to those of the 'scraft" who daily toll at the
case, and is utterly beneath the attention
of Hon. Legislators. 1t belongs to the Pc
culiar species of ''reform" exhibited by
Horace Greedy, who had preached reform
for years, and when he found himself seated
in Congress carried out his principles by
attacking the mileage of Members He was
incapable of originating any system of econ
omy, which would be felt throughout the
different departments of the government,
and many of our ''reform" Legislators ap-
pear to be in a similar fix. They can cut
down salaries, and degrade labor, and es-
tablish a reputation of being in favor of re-
form, and all the while the State is being
swindled out of vast sums under the very
nose of these model reformers."
1t is well known that the rates now paid
by the State for Printing, in scrip, which
the State Printer has to force into the mar
ket, at sixty or seventy cents on the dollar,
is only sufficient to pay for the labor neces-
sary to do the work, and interest on the in
vestment for materials, &c Any member
of the Legislature can satisfy himself of this
fact if he will ascertain the price paid to
journeymen printers for composition and the
market value of State scrip. They will
readily see that reduction of prices under
present scrip arrangements must necessarily
affect those who perform the labor upon the
State Printing
Let those who would economic in this
branch Of expenditure, devise ways and
means to pay cash for State Printing, and
then the prices will bear reduction of two
ffths without affecting the price paid labor.
This should be the enceavor of those who
earnestly desire reform in the matter, and
any other mode of reform, will prove a fail
ure, and only give birth to relief bills, &c
Let the Legislature accomplish this, and
they will find all obstacles to reduction
removed 1t will matter not then whether
the present system is continued, or whether
the plan suggested in the Governors mes
sage be adopted. The work could be per-
formed at much less expense to the State =
The recent suit brought By Monson aud Val
entine against Gen. Allen, the present State
Printer. furnishes amplo proof that two dol
lars and half in State scrip is not equal to
Il dollar and a half in cash.
The plan proposed by the Governor is not
altogether devoid of merit, and might be
successfully adopted wos the State enabled
to pay cash. The suggestion of the Governor
was to the effect that,an office should be pro-
cured by the State, and all work executed
therein. A similar course has been recon-
mended to Congress by the National Print
er's Union, as the most economical, and
fairest for the Printers and the people at
large. This would still require State
Printer to superinteud the Printing, who
should be elected by the people, and receive
a salary, instead of profits arising from the
printing. He should be a practical printer,
and the style of printing should be left TO
his own taste, untrameled by absurd legis-
lative requirements that the printing be
''solid," and that the names be ''run in
This plan, however, is impracticable I'M
til the finances of the State are placed upon
a firm cash basis, and to this end the legis-
lature should bend all its energies.