The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1878-01-23
w1HKrrY on rHr rnIHrrre QUESTIONS

1 W1HKIEY ON TIE PRINTING QUESTION
i This is a free country, and Mr.
i Charles Winkley has . perfect right Z
run for Public Printer if he wants the
Office, after his failure to induce the Leg
islature to abolish it, but he has nc
right to procrre it by misrepresentation
and humbuggery. In his circular an
nouncing his candidacy he says he be
lieves 'sthe prices paid for public print
ing are too high" We have shown from
the Auditors books that the retrench-
ment in printing has been two-fold greater
than any other department, and that
the prices have been brought down to
the hard-pan gold standard of 1857.
But if they are ttoo high" cut them
down. The matter has been RENTED to
Committees of able, intelligent and
practical members of the Legislature,
and they will investigate and report the
result of their labors. The CLARION
has consecrated itself for eight long
weary years to the cause of reform, and
its course shall be straightforward, with
out variableness or shadow of turning.
In 1872, this same Charles Winkley
addressed very fervid appeal on the
subject of public printing to the Legis-
lature in the form of a ''memo-
rial" He was the foreman of
the then public printing office
and having as he says, twenty odd
years experience in public printing
work, is presumed to know whereof
he spoke when he undertook to en-
Tighten that body. In this "memo-
rial'' he assured the Legislature as fol-
lows:
Having examined your recent regulations,
fixing the rate of compensation to your
Public Printer, for printing the Laws, Jour
nails and other public work, we kno1 that
the work cannot be done for those prices.
toithout runious sacrifice to the Public
Printer. Those rates, so far from being re-
munerative to the Public Printer, will, re-
ally, fall far short of paying his necessary
expenses for material, composition aud
press-work, as ID demonstrated by the care
full estimates which we have made and
which we now submit, as part of this Me-
mortal, marked "Exhibit a."
We are not advocates for an exorbitant
rate for printing, but we do say emphatical-
ly, that rate should be adopted, which
will pay necessary expenses, and leave a
small profit to our employers Reckless ex-
travagance certainly, ought in all cases to
be avoided; but in the work of reform and
economy, we submit, that the honorable
Legislature should not run into the opposite
extreme, by Withholding from the Public
Printer fair, moderate profit for his labor,
beyond his expenditures.
The memorial" proceeded to submit
to the Legislature schedule of prices
which Mr.. Winkley insisted, would be
just and fair, and which we will here
with append for comparison with the
rates that he now says are ''too high:"
wINKLEY's MEMORIAL
1000 Laws. ...... 1890. So q per page. |
1000 Journals .. 3 IS
500 Messages, Documents. so
Rule and figure work, double price. Adver-
Using, per square, LIST insertion, 81 90; each |
additional insertion, so cents.
PRESENT PRICE.
1000 Laws. So so per page. |
,O0 journals s..-'..-......-.- 2 20 20 ::
Rule and figure work. . price, Adveriis-
ng. per square, lst insertion. 60 cents; each !
additional insertion, 40 cents.
Now, the question naturally arises, if
'e thought that IS ~ cents per page for
avs; 50 rs for journals +; SO 80 for mes
'ages; double price for rule and figure
work, etc., etc.-were just and reasonable
n 1872, how does he reach the conclusion
hat SO so per page for laws, So 20 for
ournals, 81 % for messages, and for
ule and figure work one and-a-half price
instead of "douhle," are ''too high" now =?
So far as devoting per centum of the
ublic printing business to ''the educa-
ion of the poor of the State" is con
erned, we have to suggest that the
legislature has the disposition, and the
tate the ability, to provide for that very
'rge class of our people in more direct
nd certain way.
Further comment is unnecessary.