The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1862-01-24


Chance Offered to the State to Save
Five Thousand Dollars q Year ON
the Single Item OF Public Printing,
No part of the late message of Governor
RAMSEY commended itself 80 fully to our
appreciation, as that in which His Excel
lency enforced the necessity of an economi-
cal administration of the State Government.
As the Governor very truthfully remarked,
cit is clearly our policy to persevere in
an economical administration of our finan-
ces, cutting off evsry useless expenditure
sohen exposed, and only entering on such
new enterprises as are Indispensable; and"-
adds the Governor, by way of showing the
desirable fruits of such policy of retrench.
ment and economy--"and, in short time,
with the rapid Increase of population and
wealth, and the consequent expansion of the
basis of taxation, we shall float into the
condition of State free from all debt, and
the burthens of the people will be so re-
duced as to be scarcely perceptible."
We need not say that this is consum-
nation devoutly to be wished. Almost
destitute of circulating medium with
which to transact the most limited bust
ness; with trade paraIlzed without market
for produce or manufactures with heavy
taxes to pay to sustain our municipal and
State governments; and with an onerous
additional tax for the support of the Fed
eral Government in its struggle with rebel
lion "it u.s." as Governor RAMSEY asserts,
"clearly our policy to persevere in an eco.
nomical administration of our finances" and
to ''cut off every useless expenditure, when
exposed"
Now, to aid the Governor in his laudable
economical efforts, we will "expose" to his
view, and to the view of the Legislature
where his friends have majority, and are
burthened with its responsibilities,
item Of" useless expenditure" which ought
to, and can, be II" cut off"
The public printing for this year will
largely exceed that for 1861, although the
Governor, in his estimate, makes it less.
The printing already done, in the way of
reports, &C., must foot up double that of
last year, to corresponding date. Instead
OF ten thousand dollars, the printing bills
will amount to fifteen thousand, at the least.
For this printing the State is now paying
at the following rates:
For composition, per 1000 ems, sixty.three
cents
For press.work, per token, sixty cents
For book paper, per ream, ten dollars, &c.
From forty to fifty per cent. of this is
"useless expenditure" 1t therefore ought
to be "cut off," The proprietor of the
PIONEER Printing Establishment, in order
to assist in cutting of" this useless ex.
penditure," proposes to do the printing at
rates which will save this forty or fifty per
cent. to the State Treasury; which saving
alone, will amount on the years printing,
outside of the incidental printing, to at least
FSve Thousand Dollars.
And Five Thousand Dollars, it need not
be said, is an item worth saving in these
hard times. That amount would come
within seven hundred dollars of paying the
salaries of all the Executive officers of the
State, Governor, Secretary of State, Au
ditor, Treasurer, and Attorney General
pretty nearly run the entire Supreme Court;
and almost subsist the Commissioner of
Statistics. And any sum Of money, which
does all, or any, of these things, is, as we
have already said, worth saving, in these
hard times.
A proposition which will accomplish this
saving of Five Thousand Dollars to the
State Treasury, this year, was made yester-
day to the Legislature, by Mr.. AUG. j.
Goodrich, of this paper. Instead ofsixty.
three cents, per thousand, for composition,
be proposes thlrty>eight cents instead of
sixty cents per tokea of press work, he pro.
poses thirty cents instead of ten dollars per
ream for paper, he proposes seven dollars
and forty cents; and on all unspecifed
items of printing and binding he proposes
reduction OF twenty-five per cent from the
prices now paid by the State. His propo~
sition, which We print below, is accompa.
MED by an exhibit of the difference in detail
between the rates now paid and the rates
he tenders; by which, it will be seen,
saving Of over Fifteen Hundred Dollars can
be effected on the edition of single book,
like that of the Laws of 1861.
This subject is one in which all tax
payers are interested, and we therefore di.
rect their attention, as well as the attention
of the Legislature and Governor, to the pro-
position referred to- It reads:
To the Honorable the legislature the State of Minnesota
The undersigned, Proprietor of the Pioneer
Printing Estab lishment, of St. Paul, hereby
proposes to do the State Printing (other than