Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1882-05-17
The A2O Accounted Fer.

Well, as our talented contemporary is
so busiiy engaged trying to run his
side of what, by courtesy, we may term
the daily Reporter, and is burdened by
the excessive duty Of collecting tele-
grams with a pair of shears (when the
mail boat gets in with the Detroit pa
pers) and is, consequently, unable, even
if he was willing, to unbend his Wash
ingtonian dignity sufficiently to become
acquainted with such small affairs as
the appropriations for a city like this
therefore, we will kindly try and fur
nish the required information.
Before doing SO. we would like to
remark that while these little appro-
priations have considerable significance
to us, who have never become accus-
toned to the large appropriations 80
common in Washington, still we won
der that our contemporary, who has
lived SO long in place where millions
are disposed of as easily as hundreds
are here, should condescend to notice
such q small amount as 500 must be to
him.
Now, the information the Reporter
man bankers after is, what is the Coun-
Gil going to do with that extra $40?
Does the Reporter smell corruption
Is it afraid that ring has been form
ed to defraud the city out of that 81
gantic s2Oi Our contemporary does not
appear to be certain. 1t may mean
corruption, or it might, it thinks, be a
printers mistake, but in order that the
perturbed spirit of the Reporter man
may rest in peace, we will say that
there was no mistake either in Council
appropriating $3.50 for printing, or in
the motion to give the ARGUS $3.50 for
doing certain kinds of printing as pre-
scribed in the bid. Then why should
the Council add $40 to the amount to
be paid the ARGUs2 This is the con-
umdrum that the talented conductor
of the Reporter can not solve, and why
this extra amount was added shall be
our task to explain.
If the Reporter man will look over
the Council proceedings of last year,
he will discover that the Council had
certain work done by the Reporter and
by the organ, and will also discover
that the ARGUS was the official paper
of the city for the time mentioned. He
will probably then discover that there
are certain kinds of advertising that
are given to other papers. For in
stance we refer the Reporter to its ac-
counts with the city, and if he will
look at the organ of March Oath and
31st, 1882, he will discover the annual
statement of finances published therein.
We believe that publishing such notices
in two papers, of different politics, is a
good idea, and we do not believe that
newspapers should print such notices
for nothing. AS in the past, so it, nc
doubt, will be the present year.
Now let us see how much was paid
last year for printing done by papers
! cct. Gu than the official one. The amounts
are as follows;
Jan. 8, 1881, Pioneer, ..............~.......
March z, 1881, Reporter, q
Oct. IL, 1881, Pioneer, =
Nov !, 1885, Reporter. q
fetal, >ls1 0
April Is, 1882, Reporter,
Our intelligent friend Of the Report
err can thus see that if the printing
given by the Council to the organ O.
Reporter is but one-sixth as much thi
year as it was last year, that the extr'
$40 appropriated by the Council vii
be used, and if any extra work, no
provided for by the contract, is desired
that it will have to come out of tn
contingent fund, and the fact must b
evident that the appropriation of $1S
will not pay all the printing desired b,
and necessary to the city.
These facts are Of course familiar t
all the readers Of the ARGUS, and if j
had not been for desire on our par
to post our neighbor little, we shout
not have mentioned it; and thus ou
contemporary can dismiss his suspicion
concerning corruption and jobbery, an
devote his time to collecting late di'
patches, via the scissors line, from tn
Detroit or Bay City papers.
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