The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1877-03-31
LOCAL MATTERS.



TEMPT TO ESTABLISH A COMBINATION
AGAINST THE STATE--A PETERsBuRG PARTY
Bid to- @'u6vE- BEEN BOUGHT -oFF--THE
+ AWARD TO RANDOLPH & ENGLISH TO Be SET
q, ASIDE AND NEW BIDS ADVERTISED FOR UNTIL
APRIL 3D. fzz,..-... .,...,
The Joint Printing Committee of the
General Assembly met again yesterday after
noon at4 O'Clock. Present: Messrs. Bland,
Campbell, Gilman, Lowell, and Coale. An
investigation OF the sbindery question was
resumed --
. Mr.. simons, being recalled, said that he
did not bid on the character of work Messrs.
Randolph & English bid on, nor did
they on what he bid on; and, in
reply to question. added, that there
being no other bidders there was in
reality but one bid for the State work.
Mr.. English knew exactly what bid he was
going to put in. because he told Mr.. English
that his bid would bcthe same as last year.
He had been in Mr.. Ege's bindery within
the past six months. He did not regard
the city work rs a criterion for bidding for
the State work. Messrs. Randolph &
English wanted Grattan because they are
law publishers. He and this firm selected
different work, not to make the State pay
higher, but because they wanted different
classes of work. ,'''..
THE MONEY CONSIDERATION.
j. w. Randolph sworn: He was sure
that Randolph & English and Simons Il
Brother are the only persons in Richmond
that can do the State work. Mr.. Gary's
bindery is small one; Mr.. Ege Is q bind
er, but for several years has paid but little
attention to it, being q successful newspa-
Der publisher. The work could not be
done satisfactorily in Petersburg. Witness
did not recollect Of paying Mr.. Ege any
money, and no one in his establishment
would have paid him. Mr. Ege came
to me some days before the bidding for the
express purpose, he believed, OF seeing
witness about bidding. He said, think
| ought to have some OF the State work. Wit
ness said unless he bid for printing also he
ought not. The reason was that the trans
portation Of sheets involves injury as we'll
as delay. If Mr.. Gary had gotten printing
this year he would bave gotten some OF the
binding, and would have been content.
Mr.. Clemmitt was mistaken when he said
that witness made an appointment with
Ege to meet him at the Capitol. Witness
thought his firm could do Grattan better
than anybody else, and so thought the Su-
perintendent of Public Printing. The bid
for the city printing was put in at rate
that allowed no profit, because he did not
want to be bulldozed by MIR. Gary, who
said they should not have it.
AS TO CoLLUSIoN.
Witness showed written proposal from
Mr.. Gary offering six months ago to sell his
bindery to him at $4,000. He estimated the
cost of it at 81, 100. There is not word OF
truth Of any collusion with Major Walker,
and he did not believe Mr.. Gary thought
so. Mr.. Gary is pettish, and hence this
charge. Neither my firm nor anybody in
it ever paid him cent.
Mr.. Henry, second clerk in the Second
Auditors Office, said since 1866 no other
binderies had done any work for that office
except Randolph Il English, Simons d
Keiningham, and Simons & Brother. II
left to his office he was sure Mr.. Simons
would be selected, because he does his work
well. He did not know how MIR. Gary did
his work.
Mr.. Smith, second clerk in the First Au-
ditor's office, made similar statement.
THE ADVERTISEMENT.
AIr. Gary recalled: Said Mr.. Norman
Randolph misunderstood the advertisement
in the papers, and thought he wanted his
bindery, and proposed to buy it. Witness
said he was willing, however, to sell any
thing he had, except his wife and children,
and hence the offer referred to. He had no
enmity against Randolph & English, and
never made the threat about the city print
ing alluded to.
MAJOR WALKER.
At the request of the committee, Major
r. F. Walker testified that he submitted
the advertisement to the committee and got
their advice about the closing paragraph.
Mr.. Gary asked him about bidding, and he
told him frankly that he didn't think his
establishment filled the bill. He knew no.
thing about any. meeting with Ege. Ege
on Saturday spoke Of putting in a
bid, and he told him it would be i'm
practicable TO have work done in Peters
burg. He would not accept bid outside
OF Richmond for public printing, because
he could not give it his personal superin-
tendcnce. The clerks have to read proofs,
and so does Mr.. Grattain the proofs OF /" the
Reports" IF there had only been one bid
der, and his bid had not been eXorbitant,
he would have accepted it. The binding
amounts annually to about $4,000. He re-
garded the bids this year as very fair.
THE MISSING WITNESS. ...t,- 3
Dir. Gary was recalled and asked by the
committee why he did not put in his bid
without asking Mr.. Walker. Witness ex-
planned, and said he did not mean to init
mate in so doing that he was not perfectly
able to do the work. He was willing for
the committee to visit his establishment. :
Mr.. Ege, for whom the committee wrote,
did not appear. -. Il, -.. %, a. .., r
THE AWARD TO- RANDOLPH & ENGLISH AN
.Ei-..ss ....'# NULLED. Fl, r'@ ,
After recess of an hour, at half-past 8
o'clock Major Stiles opened the argument,
and was followed by Colonel W. w: Cor
don, the debate lasting until half-past IL
O'Clock. ...-.. -. ,... ... ..--,.. e.. :
The committee then took the matter
under advisement, and, after consultation,
agreed that the award giving the binding to
Randolph & English be set aside, and that
proposals for new bids be adyertised.sG u
= The bids will be opened at II O'Clock N.
April Sd. .,...2 <,rlJ-ii-t-. -. :
F. It was also agreed that Mr.. George W..
Gary would have been responsible bid
der. .r. ... ;. -. =, et.. a.t;..1 ...e,:: .
The Superintendent of Public Printing
was exonerated from any wrong in the
matter. r.
The labors OF this committee have been
arduous, and they have discharged their
duty fearlessly: and promptly. Il. -
ACCIDENTAL. DEATH OF A FORMER CITI-
zEN.-Edward Pye Chamberlayne, son Of
the late DR.. Lewis W. Chamberlayne, OF this
city, and brother Of Captain John Hampden
Chamberlayne, was accidentally killed on
the Midland road, near Madison Run, on
Thursday. Deceased, though laboring un-
der the great disadvantage OF being a deaf
l. sr1xI iofn md xYnl in.