New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-03-09
GoyERNMBNr PaINTING.

Mr. Gurley of Cincinnati yesterday reported u
the House bill to provide for the Printing OF thu
Governmental Congressional and Exe,utve-bj
means of a Gorernmen, Printing Office, or Printery
as our friend Windt mere accurately calls it. The
details of this measure are not before US, but they
cannot be such as to commend it 10 our acceptance.
For
/. Our Government now does but two kinds OF
work after the manner here proposed. Those two
are the construction ard repair Of Vessels and the
manufacture Of Arms Now we hold it absolutely
demonsirable that the Government could buy better
Arms and Ships by contracting for them with the
lowest responsible bidder at far less cost than itnOw
incurs.
ii. We have now thirty-three States with
another quite ready to be admitted-alI of them
doing liberal amounts Of Printing yet not one
them, to the best of our knowledge, having anything
like the proposed Government Printing. Office. Ii
this were reals the economical and advisable way,
ia il not probable that at least State would have
stumbled into it ere this'
ILL., If we are to have National Printery why
not Paper-Mills ALSO Why not Government farms
wbereon to produce the food of our Army ana
Navy Ofcourse, we must have National Powder
Mills, &c. If we enter upon the course indicated
by Mr. Gurley's Il, where shall We stop
w. Mr. Gurley is reported by telegraph as as
sorting that
The giving out Of the work 70 the lowest bidder IA, been
Congress Government has been thoroughly heeced by
the contract system"
All which we most emphatcslly deny. A
scrutiny will show that the Government obtained
more printing for less pay under the contract sys
tenn than under any other that ever was tried.
We dare Mr. G. to initiate that scrutiny.
But so far as there was failure in the premises,
it was Congress that failed, not the contract sys-
TEN. Thomas Richie was the lowest bidder (Or
assignee of the lowest bdder for the printing of the
XXXIst Congress, and obtained the work. Con-
gress paid him all his contract called for, and
$50, 600 over OF course, he put in bogus BID
next t'me through an irresponsible subordinate,
and took the work at half price purpose to break
down the contract system. Had Congress procured
proper specifications, exacted adequate security,
and then held the contractor nexiby to his bargain,
the contract system would never have even seemed
to break down. But Congress never even formed
Joint Committee of the practical printers in either
House, and instructed that Committee to draft
proper terms of contract or appointed such Com
mittee to inspect the work and see that the con-
tractor fulfilled his engagements. And now the
wiful OF needless negligence of Congress is oh ,rged
to the demert of the contract system. This is most
unjust.
V. A Government Printing Office would inevita-
ably become a National Infrmary for broken-dowD,
rum-soddtn, rheumatic, equity, dilapidated, or in-
yeteratey lazy editors and printers from every part
of the country. Every Member would have his
quota of partisan invads to provide for, and would
shut his eyes to the general abuse 80 that his par
tcular protegfs should be provided for. Such
hospital of incurables-a refuge for the lame, the
halt, and the lazy-as that Government Printing
Office would soon become, the world has hardly
seen. We trust Mr.. Gurleys bill will be knocked
very stiff before it reaches third reading.