The Placer herald., 1874-03-21
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER.

ard hear witness in order to make good
case for himself tell what you positively
know to be untrue? If you have you can
form some conception of the sickening dis
gust that we feel on reading some of the ar
ticles that appear in tie Placer argus. For
instance: only last week one column and a
half of that paper was wasted in slobber-
ing article underth head Of estate Print
er's claims, nearly every part of which, and
particularly the impressions it sought to con-
vey, were as far from the &C ual truth as is
possible for an ordinary mind to conceive.
In the first place, there is no consistency in
the article,-but that is not to be expected
from the source. The idea sought to be
impressed is that the Legislature have COM
mitted gross extravaganza, and have sac
rifced their claim to public confidence by
passing the bill allowing the State Printer
$50 900 for services rendered the State.
We were little suspicious ourself that all
was not exactly right in this bill after know
ing the Controller had cut it down to less
figure, and we stood as ready as the Argus
to condemn, should our first suspicious have
proven true. But we took particular pains
to find out on what grounds certain good
men had supported the bill before censuring
them. And these are the facts:
1t would be we'll to state first that Con-
troller j. J. Green aspires to succeed Booth
to the Gubernatorial chair, and economy be-
ing the most popular theme with the masses
at present, he is playing upon that string to
an unmercifu degree Claims on the State
have to pass the scrutiny of the State Board
of Examiners-composed entirely of men
whose characters are unimpeachable ble-and
then submitted to the Controller before be-
ing allowed. Green has, on several occa-
sions, cut down bills after passing the State
Board beyond all reason, with view. doubt
less, of showing the people what keen eye
he has to their interests. He refused to
audit this same State Pr nter claims some
months ago after they had been allowed by
the State Board of Examiners; and all re-
member the trouble that arose therefrom
This claim of the State Printer was careful
ly scrutinized by the State Board and cut
down to $39, 900, as low as their honest
consciences would allow. 1t passed then to
Green, who, with his expert, Moses not
more honest than he might be-proceeded
to chop it down numerically. This was
more than the Printer could stand, and he
appealed to the Legislature. Now, the
Legislators were not supposed to know
what was rigl Or what was wrong for the
amount of work done, and would perhaps
never have passed the bill had it not been
for two things. One, and the least, was,
they had great confidence in the judgment
and integrity of the Board Of Examiners,
and were assured by each of them that the
bill was reasonable for the work DONE The
second and most important circumstance that
influenced the Legislature was the fact that
on one occasion the expert for the State
Board, Jefreys, man Of unquestioned
honesty, becoming suspicious of the motive
that prompted Moses, the Controllers expert
had tested him tn small matter in this
way: Some bills were plac d in Jeffrey's
hands for him to pass upon. Half of the
bills he allowed for what he thought was
just; the other half he cut down 80 per
cent. lower than he knew was fair, Just to
see whether the Controller and his expert
would cut them down any lower. Now,
mind you, both experts have samples an /
the amount of each job before them, but
these seem not to have been considered by
the Controller and his expert. They only
seemed to want to cut under the State
Board, so, when they came to these ac
counts that had already been cut down 80
per cent, they did not stop to consider, but
hacked off about one third of the remainder;
and they only reduced those that had moi
been cut down at all in the same proportion
The above are just the facts that were
placed before the Legislature. And though
the Argus promises "to continue in its
next" its waste of ink OH this subject, we
think it will have to write a great many
continued stories before it will be able to
convince the people that the Legislature did
anything that any honest body would no'
have done in passing this bill. To be sure,
it is large sum of money, but there was
large amount of work done, and had the
Legislature refused to pass the bill under
the circumstances, they would have shown
more niggardly hand than old Jim. Green
himself in his Gubernatorial aspirations.
WE DIssENr.-tVe see some of tie In