The morning call., 1890-11-26
TIE CITY TRIMMING.

There is at last a prospect that the infa-
nous abuse known as the city printing con-
tract will be ventilated in a court of law
ana light let in on that dark job. On tbs
application Of Frederick B. Perkins, Judge
Hunt has enjoined the Supervisors from
granting a renewal of the printing contract
until the further order of the court.
There are but few people in this city who
are unfamiliar with this printing business;
Dat for such as may never have locked into
it, we may say that the law requires the
Board of Supervisors to award the city
printing to the lowest bidder. For several
years an evening newspaper of small cireu-
lati5n, named the Report, has obtained the
contra / by Offering to print the orders and
resolutions OF the Board OF Supervisors for
nothing, ON the condition that it should be
BE- permitted to charge its usual rates" for
franchises, proposals, notices Of changes of
street grades. notices of opening and closing
streets, notices of street work., etc. The
thing vas a fraud on its face; but different
Boards OF Supervisors under the Buckley
regime sanctioned it. This year. on No
Ytmber 10TH, the board. whose term expires
. on: January 1t. called for proposals for the
city printing for the two years beginning
January /. 1891, and ending January 1, 1898.
I lG Cdll Nto GuullluSi1 hul0Ou' IL oohCo
for bids ior The printing of the orders, res0-
. buttons and authorizations Of the Board of
Supervisors only, it being expressly
stated in the specifications that the
:: successful bidder should have the right
of charging his usual rates for all the
rest Of the city printing. There were four
: bids, all from newspapers more or less
known All four were precisely alike. All
Offered to print the reports of the Superyi
: sUrs Tor nothing-the board refuses to ac-
:.cept bonus. All specified that they
expected to charge their usual rates for
other printing. The difference between the
bids was that the usual rates" of one of
the bidders, the Journal Of Commerce. were
.:'25 per cent less than the usual rates" of
the Report. Nevertheless, in pursuance of
: the purpose of the Solid Nine to KEEP Buck
'ley's organ alive during the coming two
!: years, the contract was awarded to the Re
port
This job will now go into court, and proof
will be offered of the above allegations. 1t
will rest with the Superior Court to deter
mine whether the trick by which city tax
payers are compelled. whether they will or
:. not to contribute to the support of an OBJ
seure newspaper whose only object in life
is to excuse Buckley's wrongdoingS, is war
: ranted by Law. 1t will have to decide
=: whether the provisions of the Consolidation
!: Act and of the act of 1873, requiring the
city printing to be awarded to the lowest
bidder, are fulfilled by an arrangement
which awards the bulk of that printing to
the highest bidder, on condition that he do
the rest of the printing at figure which no
rival can underbid. 1t will devolve upon the
judge who tries the case to say whether
juggle of this kind is not an evasion of law
which requires immediate remedy.
:, This case seems SO clear that no person Of
ordinary Intelligence ought TO hesitate for
moment in determining which side is right.
1t cannot be seriously claimed that it was
the purpose of the trainers of our municipal
laws to suffer cheat of this kind to be
.practiced year after year, or to hand over
property owners to the tender merces of a
sheet which, but for the Illegal exactions it
is in the habit of extorting would long ago
lraYe given up the ghost.