The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1873-05-31
City Printing-Again,

The Ottawa Republican flies to the defense OF
Its new masters, the city council with an alacrity
which would doubtless be gratifying to thatbody
were it less unfortunately verbose and menda-
cious defense based on sheer falsehood is us
bad as an accusation. The city printing, accord
ing to this veracous pleader, was taken from the
FREE TRADER not because the prices heretofore
fixed by ordinance were too high, but because
the FREE TRADER charged more than the ordn-
ance allowed. That is hitting the council rather
harder than the FREE TRADER. What right had
they to pay fees not allowed by law? And If the
council pays without regard to fixed prices, what
Is the use of fussing about lowest bids? The
council are greener than April leeks if they
imagine Cullen & Sapp can be beaten at making
out big bills by any body if that is to be the style
Of dealing with them. But the whole accusation
is based on wilful falsehood When, some twenty
years ago the FREE TRADER commenced pub
fishing the minutes and ordinances of the city
council the ordinances were printed in minion
type, 10 lines counting 4 square. Subsequently
they were printed in nonpareil type, and for the
lust four or five years in much wider columns
than formerly and in agate type. In minion type,
by our old measure, IL lines averaged l2S words /;
in agate type, by our subsequent measure, ~
lines averaged IA words. In consultation with
the finance committee of the council, 1t was
agreed that, with our new measure and smaller
type, it would not be fair to ask us to print six
teen lines, or about 16S words for square which,
when the prices were fixed, covered but 1913
words. So II lines or IA words, were agreed
upon a fair mean, and we were paid at that
rate.
Then, in 1868, 90, 20, &c, while the council
was conducting negotiations about the water
power and other similar enterprises, and con-
troversy with the school board, we were fire.
qucntly obliged to publish long reports, con
tracts, propositions and countcrpropositons
filing many columns, which were not "ordin-
mces" for which we could charge 81 per square,
and yet they were not minutes" which it was
our duty to publish gratuitously. To charge By
the square would have cost the city several hun
dred dollars to require us to publish them as
minutes" would clearly have been unjust So
the committee proposed compromise by lump
ing the matter at $50 year, which we accepted
These are the minutes for which the RepubE
can says We charged 81 a square, and which the
council so heedlessly paid.
As to the editor of the Republican circulating
back and forth between his office and the COM
mittcc with Il specimen book under his arm, we
cannot be lied out of what we saw with our own
eyes We might add that he begged piteously
for the job and changed his bid half dozen OF
times after it was opened but "we do not say
that these suspicious are well founded" yet they
are certainly as true as his statement that we
charged 81 Il square for publishing minutes"
or that our " 10 lines had been shortened 10 ten"
or almost any other statement the Repn1licon
makes on this subject.
In one immatcrial statement only were we in
crror-that the council had solicited bids before
repeating the ordinance for the election of city
printer. The fact of such a repeal had escaped
our notice, though the acceptance of the lowest
bid and entering into contract would in itself
doubtless have worked Il repeal of the ordinance.