The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1883-08-04
THE scHooL-BooK CONTRACT"


In our comments on the renewal of the contract
for furnishing books, stationery, &C., made by the
School Board with Messrs. Medairy Co., we al
luded as a singular circumstance, to the fact that
the prices at which the books, &c. were furnished
never got into public print, and we offered to pub
lish the contract made this year with Medairy &
Co., free of charge for the information of the pub
lie. Last week we published the resolution unan-
imously passed by the School Board, at its meet
ing held on July 3d. directing that copy of the
contract respectfully asked for by be furnished
by the secretary. 1t appears there never has been
any contract made with Medairy & Co., but sim
ply resolution adopted by the School Board ac=
cepting the proposition made by them from year
to year. We state this fact in order that justice
may be done to Mr.. Bruff with regard to the mat
ter he furnished US for publication last week.
There is no contract made for supplying the
schools with books, &C., and the proposition made
with Medairy & Co., as published in another
column, is rescinded just soon as a majority of
the School Board rescinds the resolution adopted
July 18th.
A glance at the prices charged for the supplies
is enough to satisfy any intelligent person that
the resolution should be rescinded at once and
proposals invited for supplying the schools with
books, stationery, &c. Wefeel assured from what
we know of the character of the president of the
School Board, that he never would consent to per-
NIT Medairy & Co. to continue supplying the
schools at their old figures without competition if
he knew that they offered to supply the same
books to Baltimore city at per cent. less than
they charge the Baltimore county School Board,
and that they have already bonded to supply the
city schools with stationery and other articles at
discount varying from 30 to go per cent. less than
Baltimore county has been paying that firm. The
only way in which this fact could be aseertaned
was by getting at the figures, and to-day is the
first time in more than ten years that they have
been published for the information of the public.
few of the items taken from this very i'm
portant list will suffice to illustrate our position.
Medairy & Co. have agreed to furnish Maynard
Noyes ink the Baltimore city schools at .335
per gallon; they have been charging Baltimore
county $3.50 per gallon. They are to furnish the
Baltimore city schools u ID. cap paper at $500
per ream they have been charging the county
School Board $500 per ream. They have agreed
to furnish the city schools Gilots steel pens No.
404, at 335 cents per gross; Baltimore county has
been paying them 60 cents per gross. These are
only few of the figures which show so badly by
comparison.
We repeat it that the president of the School
Board, if he had these figures before him, never
would consent to have voted for the resolution to
allow Medairy & Co. to continue to supply the
public schools of the county with books, station
cry, &C., at the old prices without having first in
vited proposals. There is ample time during this
month to convene the Board, rescind the resolu-
tion invite proposals and have the books, station
cry, &C., furnished to the schools at Il saving of
more than 81 900 on the present prices By all
lat he