The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1873-11-26

ing being the same in all OF them.
But it can be demonstrated that hi
charges for printing House and Senate
bills were improper and excessive. Hi
charges in IS72..ior bills of one psg
was Sc and the same for bills oil twt
pages, and for all other bills at the rat
Of IS per page. The Committee afte
an examination OF the testimony. camt
| to the conclusion that IS 30 was tht
proper charge for bills of one page
81 25 per page for bills OF more thar
one page and less than four, and for al
bills OF more than four pages, the worl
should be estimated as pamphlet work
which would give about 81 so per page
Mr.. Walker and all the other bidders
offered to do for 81 IS what he hat
charged Sc for, and for which the com.
mittee allowed him So so. For bill
Of four pages, he charged aud received
Sl2, and the committee allowed him 50
while it would have amounted 10 but
81, If calculated by his recent bid.
The printing Of the daily Journals o.
the Constitutional Convention is q
marked example, not only OF over
charges on the part OF Mr.. Walker
but OF utter disregard Of the public in.
terest. The House ordered one humid
red copies OF this journal, and the Sen
ate one hundred copies besides these
ne printed the copies required for the
use Of the Convention. He charged s.
per page for the copies furnished the
House, s. per page for the copies iurn.
ished the Senate, and So per page for
the copies furnished the Convention
Az they were all printed at the same
time, this was equivalent to charging 50
per page. For instance, the Journal OF
the first days proceedings OF the Con-
ycution, little pamphlet OF eight pages
cost S24 90 for the House, S24 % for
the Senate, and S24 90 for the Conven-
ton, making its total cost TO the State
ST.. The Journal OF February !, cost
each body SIS 90. or in all 1924 90,
The Convention contained seventy.elght
members and their compensation was
three dollars per day, making a total OF
1924 O0. Mr.. Walker, therefore,
charged for printing the Journal OF that
one day (in The bound volume it makes
twelve pagcs) az much as all OF the
members Of the Convention received
for their compensation for that day.
These copies were furnished TO the
House for fifteen days, and to the Sem
ate during its whole session. Under
an order of the Convention, $50 copies
of its Journal were printed and bound,
and for this also Mr.. Walker charged
and received payment. Consequently
he was paid twice for the whole Journ-
al, three time for bali OF it, and four
times for the fret fifteen days proceed
ings. The committee Of investigation,
in this case, as in all other things, Civ
ing Mr.. Walker the benefit of any
doubt, did not refuse TO allow his seps-
rate charges for this work, but simply
reduced each account to reasonable
rates. This simple reduction made the
oyercharges Tor copies OF the Journal
the House and Senate, and
the copies Of the Journal and Docu-
ments furnished the Convention amount
to g., 305 so.
Some examination OF Mr.. Walkers
accounts was made by committee OF
the Convention, either OF its own mo-
ton, or by order OF the convention, but
the result was not made public.
The total overcharges made by Mr..
Walker. as reported by the lnvesti-
eating Committee, amount to $9,59S AZ.
Their examination, however, was con-
fined almost exclusively to work done
before the appointment OF the commit
tee, March %, 1872, the only exception
being, believe, that portion Of the
Convention journal printed after that
date.
Oithe above oyercbarges ofS9,5 ,59S AZ
the following were made in accounts
which had been approved by me: