The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-12-16
From the Charleston Courier.l

As we have recently had something
TO say concerning the report Of the
Printing Committee, it has seemed but
fair to give that committee an opportu-
nifty of presenting their side of the case
TO the readers of the Courier. We,
there ore, prin: the committees report
and recommendations, presumlng that
"a il has been read to the House OF
Delegates, and will be delivered in
pamphlet form to that body today, if
possible- certainly to morrow-lts pub
LEGATION in these columns will not be
considered premature.
1t is not our purpose at this time To-
extend the discussion of this document
What has already been said has pro-
duced results so satisfactory that there
does not now seem to be much demand
for the multiplication of words We
are. therefore, content to submit the
report to our readers with a simple
summary OF objections heretofore stated
at length.
1.-The report shows that the COM
mittee. have reviewed the action Of the
House Of Delegates which created II,
and decided adversely 10 Mr.. Walker
upon charges which bad been examined
by that body and upon which he had
been acquitted. This statement applies
10 that class OF printing known as job
work. upon which the committee claim
that Mr.. Walker had overcharged TO
the extent OF about four thousand dol
lars. The last House of Delegates de
cided that dpon this class OF work he
had kept within the law and the usages
OF the trade, and therefore exonerated
him.
2 The report shows that upon a
large class OF pamphlet work the COM
mittee have set aside the sworn meas
urements Of experienced printers, and
the official certificate Of the Governor
himself, substituting certain arbitrary
eetimates OF their own, and by this re-
narkable process they have determined
further overcharges against Mr.. Walker
10 the extent of thirteen hundred dol
lara.
3. The report shows that the remain
ing four thousand dollars OF overcharges
which Mr.. Walker is alleged to have
made, rest mainly upon average testl'
mony OF the most absurd, contradictory
and unworthy character; testimony
which allowed but trltle more for
twenty-five hundred copies OF the Acts
of 1871 than for two hundred and fifty
copies Of one Of the Journals Of 1868,
whereas the edition Of the Acts con-
tanned twice the amount OF composition
and ten times the amount OF press
work to be found in the edition Of the
Journal in question; testimony which
allowed but little more or documents
of tweuty-four pages than for doeu-
ments of eight; testimony whose utter
incompetency Mr.. Walker would have
shown had he been permitted to cross
examine the witnesses, and whose entire
worthlessness he is ready al any time
and before any fair tribunal to estab-
lish.
4. The report shows searching and
rigid examination OF the vouchers OF
one printer, and a very partial exami-
nation OF those OF two others, and that
the difficulties which prevented a
thorough and impartial investigation,
should, with all respect for the COM
mittee, have been allowed more wei ght
in determining their conclusions.
). The report does not show any Of
the "undercharges," amounting 10 sew
eral thousand dollars, in favor of Mr..
Walker, which the testimony disclcses;
it does show every ''undercharge'
made by either Of his predecessors.
6. The report and accompanying tes-
timony fail, through an unfortunate
but doubtless unintentiOnal omission, TO
record an important part OF the testi-
mony, of a leading witness, had this
testimouy-which a member of the
committee iNforms us was given-been
taken down by the Clerk, a difference
in favor OF Mr.. Walker, 10 the extent
ofseveral thousand dollars, would have
been made in the particular accounts
20 which it related.
7. The report shows that the Com
mittee have undertaken to establish
rules for the regulation OF printers,
without reference to law and usage,
and to disallow all accounts that did
not come within the regulations they
established; it shows that they have at.
tempted, upon the testimony Of printers
from other parts of the State, who pay
but eight or ten dollars week for
labor, to establish a fair price for JOB
printing in the city OF Charleston,
where printers, upon the very class OF
work under consideration, have re-
ceived within the past year, and even
within the past week, six dollars for
single days work.
s. The report does not show, what
it is important the House should
know, that Mr.. Walker was practi-
cally denied an opportunity to ex-
anime the testimony taken, to show its
iucoEpeteucy or to substantiate his
own account.
9. The report nowhere claims that
any law has been violated. The recon-
mendations of the committee for sim
pie modification Of the law-recom.
mendations that are not at all in
harmony with the committees other
conclusions-clearly indicate that the
alleged overcbarges depend rather upon
the committees idea OF what the law
should be, than upon the provisions of
the law as it stands.
10. The report shows that in Mr..
Walkers case the committee have set
aside the official certificates OF the OFF,
GERS selected by the State to examine,
pass upon and finally determine the
correctness OF printing accounts 1t
shnwa that they have objected to dis.