The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-12-28

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AS we have said upon more than one oc-
casion, We feel that it is the imperative
duty of the City Council to exercise the
strictest economy in the administration Of
our Municipal affairs, and that it is their
duty to cut off all expenses which are un-
necessary, and to reduce the cost Of every
department of the city government, where
it can be done without injury to the city at
large. For this reason, we heartily ap-
proved Of the recommendations of Mayor
Clark, as far as they pointed to increased
receipts and decreased payments; but, in
one particular at least, Mayor Clark, in our
opinion, did not 60 far enough. In speak
ing Of the city printing now done by con-
tract by this paper and the Courier, Mayor
Clark says: "The printing of the city is
.'necessity, but large percentage Of that
"e1pense can be saved by con6ning our
sselves by contract to one paper" We
think that the city printing sis necessity"
but we do not think it right or just that the
tax payers of Charleston should be made
to pay for the publication in the daily pa
pers of column after column of reports of
subordinate officials, Of statements Of bills
approved, and of other matters of detail
which only concern few persons, whs can
obtain the same information, at no cost to
the treasury, by applying at the City Hall.
We say that it is not necessary to have
two city printers, at cost of $4,000, or one
city printer at $500 or less. Everything
of Importance which takes place at the
meetings of Council is published in the
daily papers, without pay or expectation of
pay. In the same way, all important doc
uments are seized upon by the reporters for
the press, the contest being, not who shall
bave the most money for printing the docu-
ments, but who shall publish them first
The public reads in the daily papers of the
morning following each meeting Of Council
q full report of what is done. This is all
that is wanted and all that is necessary;
and yet few days after each meeting, the
proceedings are rsh!ished over again in
official form, end the city pays the bill.
This, we soy, is wholly wrong.
weibelieve that the City Council is in
earnest in its endeavor to reduce our ex-
peuditure SO that taxation may be lessened
and the credit of the city improved, and
this is why We speak plainly on the subject
of the city printing. Atpresent, TEE NEWS
and the Courier are paid one thousand dol
lars each for publishing the proceedings of
Council and the city advertisements This
is equal to the yearly interest on more than
thirty thousand dollars of city stock at six
per cent, and Council should at once save
this handsome sum.
The city will, if there is no city printer,
publish it's advertisements and pay for them
as other advertisers would do. This is but
fair and proper; for it is necessary to give
notice to the taxpayers of new assessments,
of important ordinances, and Of other mat
ters of general consequence. But it is not
necessary to publish these notices, as is
now done, for week or mouth. One in-
sertion is enough for most of them, and
twice or thrice for The rest; and, our word
for it, the public will read them more par
ticularly when they are to be published
once or twice, than when they cumber the
columns of their morning paper for several
weeks together.
We believe that if the contract printing
system, with its two city printers, is abol-
ished, the city will save at least twelve or
fifteen hundred dollars yearly, and that the
public will still have all the information
that they need or desire. There is nothing
to be gained by putting off reform. We
must take care of the pennies as we'll as
the pounds and if the Council, at its meet
ing tomorrow, takes such action as will
save the. city one. half or three-fourths of
the present cost Of the city printing, it will
prove to he community that it is deter
mined to have no privileged class, but to
treat every interest with sole view TO con-
Quoting the city government in the cheap
est and most economical way.