Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1880-10-09
THE STATE PRINTING FRAUDS.

State Expert has furnished any explanation
of the charges made by the APPEAL. The
Board of Capitol Commissioners, however,
refused to pay the price asked in Robinson's
bill, on the ground that the rates a. charged
were not in accordance with his contract. The
question now arises why did Putnam, the
State Expert, sign these bills - correct when
he could have seen at a glance that the
charges were so much above the bidl There
are two explanations of Putman's conduct
He is either in collision with Robinson to de-
fraud the State, or he is paying no attention
to his business, and has been allowing Robin
son to impose upon the Board. The Office of
State Expert was created for the purpose Of
preventing the State Printer from imposing
on the Board of Auditing Commissioners.
These gentlemen are not considered compe.
tent to pass upon these bills. as they under
stand nothing of the terms which apply to ty-
pography, and must depend solely upon the
honor of the Expert to enlighten them. For
the past two years the bills of the State
Printer against the State have been some.
thing enormous, and the Expert, Putnam has
signed these bills with mechanical regularity.
Messers. Babcock, Crockett and Hallock COM
pose the Board which examines these bills.
Mr.. Babcock, informed the editor of the AP.
PEAL yesterday, that he had, time and time
again. protested against what he considered
a swindle upon the State. He simply consid-
cred the bills exorbitant on general principles,
but not being acquainted with the art of
printing, was powerless to contradict the Ex-
pert. Mr.. Babcock called attention to the
fac: that Robinson's bill for the printing of
two pamphlets, the Registration law and the
Election law, of Nevada, was over $780,
Robinson was first ordered to print thous-
and of them and afterwards an order was
given for five hundred more. He charged as
much for the second lot as the first. This
job abounds in typographical errors. In the
first line Of the title page is a typographical
error, and the book is full of inaccuracies
which although small in themselves, show
that the work was done BY an inexperienced
and incompetent printer: Topographic sx
perts to whom the work was submitted, state
that $130 would be fair price for the job.
At the last session of the Legislature the bills
against the State from the State Printer were
many thousands of dollars, and hardly day
passed that some of the members did not rise
to explain that bills introduced by them had
been so mangled by the Printer that the sense
was utterly destroyed, and in order to make
the meaning of the bills plain they read from
the original manuscript. The simple print
ing of the tally lists for the Republican State
also done by the State Printer,
was so badly botched that the Chairman of
the Committee on Platform and Resolutions,
called attention the fact and suggested that in
calling the roll the original manuscript should |
be used. His suggestion was acted upon. |
Robinson also put in bid for the advertising |
:equired by the State, knowing at the time
hat should he receive the contract he had no |
means for fulfilling it as he had no newspa-
Der. His work all bears the impression "In-
lex Print" thereby leading many to believe
hat he runs newspaper called. the I,sde:c.
There is ne such paper in existence in Ne
ada and never was. In consequence of this,
he State advertising has been given to regu-
ar newspapers, and their being no contract
nth any one paper, the State has been obliged
o serve all alike, and thus an additional ex-
'ense has been entailed for work which the
tate Printer is under contract to do. Some
f the work given to Robinson and for which
70 has made his own charges, is book and
amphlet work for which the firm of Bancroft
, Co., of San Francisco, have the contract at
ates 80 per cent. lower than the State Printer
as been charging, and yet this work has been
iven him because he has wheedled the Com
,issioners into believing that it was portion
his contract. Should Bancroft & Co. sue
he State for an enforcement of this portion
their contract, the State would be obliged
, settle, and then have no recourse. At the
me of awarding the contract, several other :
ids for the State printing were submitted to
he Board--consisting of Hobart, Schooling
nd Minor-and although several were lower
ian Robinson's, he got the contract As the !
GARD knew nothing of printing, Putnam, the
xpert, was called upon to enlighten them
I'd succeeded in so binding them that Rob-
sons bid was accepted, in spite of the fact
Ia. other bids were lower on nine-tenths of
lie specifications submitted. Between the
49, Al Ga