White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1871-07-06
The County PRINTING,

The County Printing.
The Board of County Commissioners met on
Monday; and as usual, the printing question had
to he niSbled at. The merchant sells his goods at
what experience teaches him is.s figure for faiI
profit. The laboring man receives an amount Of
wages per day that will give him living. Ths
fees printers for legal printing, We're fixed by the
Legislature. at a time of low prices, at figure.
which all men having a knowledge of the busines.
decided was fair remuneration for their work
The prices of goods, farm produce and labor
change with the times, sometimes being high, and
sometimes low, but generally rcmunerative Th,
printers prices remain fixed at low-water mark
even in times Of the highest prices. Yet IaeJi IL
public position seem to think they have call t.
fight the printers, and to cut their wages down t.
nothing, MIR. SYMNs, of the County Board, from
some inexplicablc cause, seems to have taken a
grulge against the printers, and has made it his
especial hobby, ever since he has been OH tn.
Board, to cut their prices down to nothing. W.
presume when he employees laborcr to work fol
him, be pays him the customary price per day;
and we have no doubt no would think it great
outrage, If men in authority would undertake to
force him to sell his goods below decent profit,
to say nothing of below living rates. Yet he new
: q Smits nm opportunity to strike a blow at the
wages of printers, who are much laboring men
as the farmer or the day laborer.
The printers Of this County agreed among them
selves, that they would not do County printing
hollow the rates fixed by law. When private in
dividual got printing done, he was charged reg,l-
lar rates; and they could not see the justice Of
printing for the County at less than half price
and then, until within a short time past, take
their pay in scrip, on which they were shaved
still further The printers were all citizens of the
County, doing their utmost to build up its inter-
ests, and paying their taxes resularly therefore,
they considered themselves entitled to tho same
rights of labor that other citizens enjoyed. This
worried Mr.. SYNNs dreadfully. He could give
away four hundred thousand dollars of the peo-
ple's money to Railroad Corporations without a
grunt; but to pay the printers of the County their
regular price for their work, was a burden upon
the Taxpayers that he could not sleep for think
Of In short, Mr.. SyMNs must do something to
show that he was a champion of economy, and the
printers must stand the expense
An opening has lately presented itself. The le-
gitimate papers of the County would not consent
to bear the brunt: but bastard concern has late
ly been started at Doniphan. The outside is
printed in Atchison, with matter that has already
passed through the Daily aud the Weekly Patriot
and been read there by n large majority of the
Democrats of this County. The inside pages are
about half-printed at Doniphan, containing few
local items and advertisements; but the paper is
owned in Atchson, and if it makes any profit, that
H~,x IL .exl.
publishers received donation from citizens of
Doniphan for publishing it in that town. They
say they are under obligations to remain there for
a certain length of time; but as soon as that time
expires, they mean to pull up stakes at Doniphan,
and locate at Troy-or perhaps at some other
town, if they can get donation. Notwithstand-
ing the assertions of this paper, that one or more
of the Republican papers of the County are kept
mp by Democratic support, one of the publishers
voluntarily assured us, before starting, that he
did not mean to interfere with or run in opposi-
lf0NS6 the business of the other 'papers-from
which we understood that he meant to do legit-
innate business, at honorable rates. But we had
heard, for some time, that this was the concern
with which Mr.. SYMNs proposed to break up this
I" combination" fprinters in this County, whereby
they were actually forcing the County top pay them
living wages for their work.
Accordingly, when the Board met, one of the
publishers of the Ddniphan Democrat quietly slid
in with "rat" proposition to do the County
printing at but little more than half price; and
Mr.. SYMNs urged that the proposition be accept
ed. Messrs MOVES and RANDOLPH couldn't see
it in that ght-if the question was to he r. open
ed, all should have a chance to bid Mr. SYMNs
urged that, as the offer was much lower than
the other papers would heretofore agree to do it
for, the man ought to have the work But
we, having had an intimation of what would be
attempted, had authorized Mr. MOVES, in case any
propositions were put in, to put in still lower
for us, even down to one cent per square, We
want to do a fair and honorable business; but
when any one undertakes to run us out, we are in
for run. The result was, that after running it
down lower and lower, Mr.. Donphan man gave
up the chase, and the printing was ordered to be
given to the Chief at Is cents per square, until
the September meeting of the Board, when pro-
posals will again be considered.
Now, Is cents per square does not near pay for
the ype-setting-at least, not on our paper, al-
though it may on paper that matter that
has been used on half a dozen editions Of other
papers, and been read by half the people of the
County before it is printed in our Democratic
Z County" paper. But if Democratic paper Gets
at on the patronage of this Republican County,
t will have to fatten on slim rations. If MIR.
RICKKTTs means bssiscss, and comes down to fair
md open competition, we are with him; but if he
proposes to sneak around the corners and rat, and
freak down his own business in or,ler to enable
In. SYNNs to earn cheap reputation for econo-
ny in his crusade against the printers, then we
eel somewhat rdfty
SpQH falAR nn0pyU0Ns Yyitek- sepds us a IA |
etious letter, intimxting that we published sto-
=. to be concluded next week," in order to draw
nhscribars. While not pleading guilty to the in
entiou. we confess that we have no objection to
rawing subscribers We are one Of those who
elieve that good story or poem in paper is