The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1872-03-04

committee, Of such magnitude and slRnln'
canoe that the majority dared not ignore
them 30 that while they refused TO extend
their own researches, they could do no
less than recommend general inyestiga-
ton, proposing for this purpose com.
mission consisting ofthe Governor and two
members ofthe House. This was agreed
to, but next morning the committee was
enlarged to four and the following gentle.
men, appointed by the SPEAKER: Messrs
WEST, Of Harrison; LEWIS, Of Kanawha
GRANTHAM, Of Jefferson, and BARCLAY,
ofBrooke, Thesc gentlemen, with the Gov.
ernor, Constitute the commission.
Mr. sTuRoISs, 1t appears, was not con.
tent with the policy adopted by the rest
ofthe committee, and he moved to enlarge
the scope OF their investigation. When
the prosecution found that the question
whether legislative bills were "book work"
or job work was at least doubtful one,
they undertook TO examine Dir. WALK.
Ems bills for such kinds OF printing as
were without any question "book and
pamphlet work." viz: the acts and jour.
mails of tho Legislature. They were met
by the REFUSAL of the Auditor TO allow
them access to Mr.. WALKRR's bills for
this WORK, and this refusal was continued,
as we arc informed, until the committee,
at Mr., STURGIss' instance, ordered their
production. Even then the Auditor dc.
layed from tlmo to time, under one pre-.
text or another, but finally produced them
at the very end of the session, when It
seemed too late 10 use them for the dc.
sired purpose. The rest Of thccommittec
being unwilling TO enter upon the ex.
animation Of these papers, Mr.. sTURGIss
proceeded to the work himself. At his re-
quest a measurement and calculation ofthe
work to which the bills related were made
by four experts, whose names he gave to
the House, and who he says expressed a
willingness TO make oath to the correctness
ofthe result furnished him. Mr.. STURuIss
had official copies Of tho vouchers made
and presented them to the House with
the minority report, elsewhere printed.
The information thus obtained, Mr.. STuR.
dIss presented to the House, and from II
appear these astonishing facts: That the
sum drawn by Mr. WALKER for the ses.
sion acts 1871, was $5229 70, (not in.
Guiding paper, when the lawful charges
for the same were but $2,572.7G; and
that the sum drawn for the House Jour-
nal of 1871 was $9,773.73, mot including
paper, when the lawful charges for the
same were but $1,OS295! The over.
charge in the first instance being &c..
GiO.O7 and in the latter 81, GOl.55-or total
overcharge on these two publications Of
$4,S4l.59i This is $GSG.4l more than
double, and is simply astounding
To these discoveries made by Mr.. STUR.
GIss, we desire now to add statement
upon our own information. In,November.
1871, Mr.. WALKER presented to the Clerk
OF the Senate his bill for printing the Sen.
ate Journal Of 1871. 1t was SO large that
the Clerk did not feel willing to certify
it without better assurances than he had
of its correctness. He wrote 10 Mr.. FREw,
the former Printer, inclOsing a copy Of
the bill and asking for an estimate of the
work. The bill did not cover the coE-
plete journal, the index and binding not
being included. The charges we've so
extraordinary that we here copy them:
Composition on Senate Journal and Manual, .
,I ioSSSs G Irs, SSS n a., y
Reading and supervision o 2Oct.......... 2G8 %
Making up forms. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 20i %
si,sga 10
"A sort OF appendix, containing list OF LegIs-
latiye, State officers, legislative rules, &C.
tPer thousand ems composition.
A measurement and calculation from
sample pages enclosed by the Clerk show
cd that the lawful charges instead of the
foregoing were:
For competition GA 100 ems @ G5e......$ iS2 O5
For II tokens press work................. 30 %
SlG2 60
The charges for reading and supervis.
ion" and for making up forms" were ut.
terly unauthorized by law, and were
never charged or claimed by any other
Printer, Here it is seen was an over.
chargo,ef $500 55-the bill being more
than three times rs great as the law
allowed We submit this as q proper
subject uf Inquiry Iur inc tTInrng CON-
mission. We learned aIterward that
the Clerk Of the Senate declined
to certify this bill. Whether it
has ever been paid without his certificate
ought, perhaps, to be inquired into. lift
has been, it ought TO be on file in the
Auditors office. Il it shall prove that
the Printer has never been able to get the
money on it, that cannot diminish the le.
gal and moral turpitude of making such q
bill and presentingit 1.-THE State has
not paid near thousand dollars too much
for the Senate journal Of 1871, it has been
for no lack of effort on the part Of the
Printer. We regret the necessity Of allud.
ing to this matter, inasmuch as the COM
munication by the Clerk of the Senate
was made in confidence; but the time has
come, itscems 10 us, when the facts dis.
closed by it belong to the public, and we
have no right longer to conceal them,
there being reason to fear from other dis.
closures that this enormous bill for the
Senate journal NAV also have been pre.