The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1877-10-25
Public Printing.

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complimentary terms Of the manner'
in which public printing is exec AteG
for the Washington Territorial leg
islature, commencing it to the State
Printer of Oregon as an example
worthy of imitation. 1t says: ''lhe
bill printing at Olympia Is good hon
est, fair work. The object is to do
the printing in proper manner, for
which fair compensation is awarded"
1t gives us pleasure to endorse this
tribute to MIR. g. B. Bagley, our Pub
lie Printer, as just and well merited.
He has uniformly discharged the
duties of that Office in manner hon
orable to himself and creditable to the
craft, in striking contrast with the
Legislative printing of Oregon, every
sheet Of which is disgracetul to the
art and an evidence of fraud, with
matter which ought to be printed on
one page stretched out over two or
three, commencing near the bottom
Of the first and extended perhaps
line or two upon the last page, the
whole being charged by the page,
making two or three prices for COM
position, paper and press work.
This fraudulent system originated
from an almost universal practice OF
party demagogues IN subordinating
the newspaper press to their own sell
fish designs, by attaching conditions
to the public printing such as honor
able members of the craft will not ac-
cept, thus leaving it in the hands of
subservients and time-servers who can
be controlled to do their bidding, and
are at liberty to enhance their profits
by depredations upon the public
treasury. In Oregon, the rights OF
printers as class have never been
considered by politicians in the selec-
ton of candidates for the office of
Public Printer; it has almost uniform
ly been bargained off in convention
for support for other Offices, and fire.
quently fallen to disreputable poll
tIcians who werenot practical printers,
and who farmed it out to priutcrs who
depended upon the "stea.ings" for
their profits. Under that system the
newspaper press of Oregon obtained
its unenviable reputation for low
character of journalism which has
passed into proverb as the Oregon
style"
In this Territory Hon. Henry G.
Strive, was the first Secretary with
in our recollection to award the print
ing to a practical printer without
bribery, and to that fact may be at
tributed the present honest discharge
of the trust. During that time the
Territorial Printers have been George
A. Barnes, banker S. Coulter, dutch
err Rogers, nephew and clerk to the
Secretary McElroy, (speculator,) and
Chas. Prosch, (printer); only one prac-
teal printer and publisher.
There is no good reason why the
very responsible Office of Public Prin-
ter should not be regarded and treat
ed with the same consideration and
subjected 10 the same conditions in
regard TO remuneration for services as
other offices of like responsibility, ex-
cept that printers and publishers, in
a spirit of unmanly rivalry consent
and contribute to the degradation of
their craft. 1t is as much an insult
to craftsmen to confer the Office Of
Public Printer on a lawyer, as 1t
would be to lawyers to give the Office
of Attorney General to a printer; 1t
being as necessary in one case as the
other to farm the Office out in order
TO a competent discharge of the du-
ties of the same. There is no more
reason for submitting the Office of
public printer to the competition of
bidding than there is selecting any
other officer of the government in the
same manner. 1t is game in which
the most Incompetent and unscrupu-