Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1880-11-19

fishes card in which is embr ced the follow
ing letter from W. W. Hobart, one of tn
Board
EUREkA, November IL, 1880.
Friend Putnam your favor of the 13tl
instant is at hand. The facts in regard tt
the Mighels bid for the State Printing two
years ago are as follows:
When the bids were opened by the Com
mlssioners the Mighels bid was found to b
so worded that, in reference to some work
neither the Commissioners nor yourself could
understand what was meant. Mr. Mighels
was sent for and asked IN relation to these
matters. All the bids had been opened He
took his bid and made some alterations in 1t
with pen and ink, without asking permission
of the Board, and desired the Board TO con
slider the bid so altered as his original bid In
doing this, do not think Mr.. Mighels intend
ed to do anything wrong. In canvassing the
matter the Board did not think MIR. Nighels'
bid, as altered, after all the bids were opened,
should be considered, in justice to the other
bidders. 1t was considered, in connection
with the other bids, as it was originally pre-.
| sented, and the contract was awarded to MIR
Marshall Robinson as the lowest bidder. You
passed upon the bids as State Printing Elk
| pert and gave it as your official opinion that
| Mr.. Robinson's bid was the lowest before the
| Board, legitimately. In this have no doubt
| that you were correct. Your course and that
Of the Board, in the matter Of the Mighels
and Robinson bids, was discussed at the time
Il with printers from California, who were bid
ding fer the work to be done in California,
and l know that they were unanimous in the
opinion that your decision on the bids was
right, and that the Board could not do other
t,,seo xknv, h. -:
bid. These men had no interest, direct or
indirect, in the matter, and were strangers to
both bidders. I have no boubt that the
Mighels bid, published in the APPEAL, is the
one altered by him after being opened, can
not tell from recollection what the alterations
were, but think l could on seeing the original
bid. | left it among the papers relating to
the business Of the Board of State Printing
Commissioners, in the Controllers office at
the close of my term. have No doubt ex.
Treasurer Schooling will csrroborate the above.
To my knowledge. Mr.. Mighels never
claimed that he was entitled to the contract,
either in his original or altered bid, and he
was not o man who, if he believed himself
wronsed, would have silently submitted, with
paper at his command to ventilate his
wrongs. Yours, truly, w. w. HOBART
The bid which Mr.. Mighels changed was
worded as follows: "For blanks So per
Thousand, plain composition" The words
"plain composition were inserted to indicate
the sort of composition to be used in the
blanks in contra distinction to "rule and
figure work" Mr.. Putnam, seeing an opening
to make squibble, pounced upon it immedi-
atey and intimated to the Beard that
Mr.. Mighels intended to charge 50 per thou
sand ems for plain composition" when he |
knew perfectly we'll that the g per thousand |
related to the blanks which printers always |
rate by the thousand. This proposition on |
the part of Putnam that there was a job in the |
bid was rendered still more absurd from the
fact that a few lines above, in the same bid,
plain composition was bid at 20 cents
thousand. Mr.. Mighels was Justly indignant
that man he had discharged from his Office
fer not attending to his business should at.
tempt to convey such an idea to the Board, |
md impulsivey Selling pen he crossed the
words ''plain composition" out to show that
ne meant blanks and not composition. This
vas precisely what Putnam was playing for,
md he then argued to the Board that it was
IN altered bid. The elimination of these two
words is all that ever took place, and the AP-
ZEAL pointed cut this fact week ago. Mr..
outnam's defense all along has been that the
lids printed were not the same bids and we
re now enabled to show exactly what change
vas made and why. We opine that had Mr.
Putnam acted honestly in the matter and
een actuated by desire to serve the State,
instead Of Robinson and his private piques,
e would not have hunted for so small hole
, crawl through. His eulogy of Mr.. Mighels
a the Enterprise card is very gratifying, con-
dering that few years ago he applied every
lie name to him that his imagination could
lggest and threatened vengeance openly. As
'r Mr.. Hobart's letter, he says that he be-
ewes Putnam's opinion was right, but the
fair happened SO long ago that his memory
not clear. We will simply call his atten- =
on to something which he appears to have =
,rgotten. The bid was sent to the Beard by
[rs. Fl. R. Aighels, all the business Of the
lice being transacted through her. H. r. =,
[ighels' name was signed to the bid. After !,
10 award had been made Mr.. Hobart met r,
,e lady on tho Capitol steps and remarked: !,
did not know until afterwards that bid was
,urs am poor man, but I would give