Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1858-07-23


The City Council having refused to allow the
last bill presented by E. Cowles Co for sun
dry items Of city printing, and certain persons
having interested themselves in making and
publishing false statements concerning the mat
ter, and affecting the reputation of Z. Cowles
/ Co., justice to themselves and all others in
terestsd, require that We lay before the public
the facts in the case. The Herald on Wednes-
day last gave a very unfair report Of the debate
on Tuesday night, in the City COuneil-a report
c Leulatei TO give the public an erroneous i'm
preston. anj suppressing very carefully many
expressions of opinion by those who disputed
our bill but diselaimed all suspicion of fraud on
the part of the late City Printers-ani we
are therefore induced to devote more space to
the subject than We would otherwise have
done
We will commence by introducing the state
ment of f. Cowles d Co, which was intended
to have been read befJre the Council but the
matter in dispute having been subsequently re-
ferred to Committees, it was laid before the
4 latter.
To The Honorable the ComuOa Council Of the
City Of ClscelaRd:-
The undersigned beg leave to submit Il state
ment in reply TO certain charges made against
them at former meeting Of your body.
In the month of April 1857, in accordance
with the teIms of a resolution passed by the
| Council, letting the City Printing TO the lowest
bidder, we submitted our proposal, copy OF
1 4 L 2. l.
examination of the different proposals presen-
ted, our bid was deelsred the lowest, and we
were consequently elected CITY Printers At
that time we had the credit given US by the
members Of the Committee of giving more de-
tailed specifications in our bid than were given
in any other.
We offered IN our proposition TO print blanks
for the City as follows For quires and un-
der at IS cents per quire; over 2 quires and
under quires, at 50 cents per quire over 5
quiies at 40 ,ents per quire For pamphlets
and book work, our bid was 35 cents per 1000
ems, and thirty cents per token for press work
the customary price for the same being 80
cents per LOCO ems and 50 cents per token for
press work. Handbills we offered to do at pTi-
ces which just about paid cost. For advertis-
ing for the City our price was IL cents pei
square for the first insertion and two cents per
square for every additional insertion. The e
veItising was done at Just about one-fifth of Il
rate VIC are in the habit of charging our othel
customers.
In our proposal we stated that we would
} charge so much per quire for blanks but moth
ing was said on either side as to what sholiC
constitute quire There was no regular con
tract drawn and signed-all the contract We
had was simply a memorandum of the list o
= prices We were to charge There were nC
specifications whatever in this memorandum
excepting what we furnished ourselves. w
= considered at that time and do now, that qnir,
= Of blanks means "a blanks. Quire does no
mean any particular size-it means "a sheet
and that is all. We very often take 20 quire
Folio Pest paper and cut it up and make ~
quires letter paper-20 quires letter paper ant
5 cut it up and make 40 quires note paper. 1t il
Z not uncommon to take ream of folio ~
quires) and cut it up into reams il6O quires
, note paper-and Just the same with fiat cap anS
!, foolscap. There are many sizes of paper-rang
irS from the size Of an envelope to that OF
bem door The different sizes are so numerou
that they are in most instances measured b.
, inches, as, for instance "a Z &c, - < 30, &c.
: How it could be construed that bg the term
: of our bid, We must furnish sc blanks to tn
: quire, it is difficult for US to say. 1t might o.
Il the same principle, be construed that we ough
to furnish l44 blanks to the quire, because tina
: number would be equal to one quire folio pos
printed all over; OF furnish 1872 TO the quir
because that number would be equal to on
quire double fat cap paper, and so on Gd hafH
itlfIa. According to that principle when
, quire Of blank Mortgage, Leases, Deeds an
= other blanks is bought, the purchaser is emit
. tied TO As blanks instead Of "a, as IS now coun
b, ted TO quire, for the reason that those blank
a are printed only on 4 half sheet Of paper foil
> post size.
., The orders for the blanks We printed for th
!; City specified the lumber Of each blank by th
7 hundred and not by tne quire. For instance
We received an order from the Police Clerk {
print some 20 different kinds of blanks, wit
7 directions to print one hundred Of one kind, Is
= of another, and so on as high up as 400. W
\ divided the number ordered for each kind b
n "a and in that way obtained the number {
Is guires. We never received an order to prir
SO many quires the orders were invariabl
for so many hundred The sizes ranged froI
4 quarter to a whole sheet fat cap, and We 5
: calculated in our estimate.
The prices We have charged the City tor il
blanks are about the same as We charge ou
other customers for the same style Of work.
Ii we had been required By the Committee o
> Printing at the time We were elected City PM
d teIs to furnish 4s or SO blanks to the quire "
,.ss would have declined, for the reason that "
would have lost money.
We have endeavored TO fulfil our contTai
faithfally and honestly and to the letter W
have been Informed by different City ottic'a
that the work we did for the City was full
i, equal if not SUPERIOR to any that had been pr
ID Tiously done for the City.
With the exception Of some four OF five iteE
Z where Jobs Of less than quarter sneet ast a
:, and which unkDowingly toUs were charged /
a the cuire, the bill is Just and correct The.
errors we viii rectify and give the City cred
for the difference between the amount tn
be should be and that which Is charged
in In conclusion We would respectfully call Il
attention of your Honorable Body 10 the a
a. companying letters we have received bearir
" upon the sheet at issue from different pubiis
o ers and printers both abroad and at home, nuI
S. bered from to "a. We would say that two
lis the letters we have received were accidental
misplaced CT lcst-one from the Toledo Bia
L which presented an opinion 70. IN aeeordan
with our own, and ole from Messrs. FOlle
Foster d Co, Columbus, sustaining our vie
Of tie matter in controversy.
a. The above is respectfully submitted
E. C0WLES, 4 co.
We have examined the statement Of Messl
a. E Cowles & Co, and their explanation Of WI
BE constitutes quire of blanks We regard as CT
rect. J, B. COss d Co.
> Below we give the affidavit of NJ W. Vie
e Foreman of the Leader Job Room, which W
as also submitted to the Committee
: Statement Of NJ. W. Vets, Foreman Of the Le'
n sT JOB Room
~ have been Foreman Of the Leader Job Ro
g" ever since Nessrs. z. COwles & Co. were cleo
City Printers. / have made nearly all the char
= against the city for printing on the order boz
tn agreeably to strict Instructions received IA
I in Mr. Covles which were 10 charge according
sso the bid made by him, copy Of which be gave
. and which pasted in my order book 10 refer 70