The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1891-01-30
THE POINT NOT WELL TAKEN.

+ The Lake Crystal Mirror. usually
j very fair minded. works itself I'D into
! a needless state of excitement over
i the recent action Of the County Com
nissioners in awarding the publica-
/ tion Of the tax list TO the FREE Press
and RerielD That the public may
know the whole situation we anpend
herewith brother Halls ref-s.4 as
The Mirror offered to print the de-
inQuent tax list for &c. Der deScriJ1-
ton and give bonds TO furnish a copy
OF the paper containing the same to
every taxpayer in the county. The
work was awarded to the Rerle1g and
FREE Press at &C. each. or a total Of
12c. per description. This is economy
with vengeance. This is the kind
OF management of county affairs that
the county Alliance should inyesti-
gate in behalf Of the taxpayers. HaY-
ing advertised for bids to do that
work the board is morally bound &c.
award it 10 the lowest responsible bid
der. II the pet papers OF the commits
sl0ners have got TO be maintained at
the expense of the taxpayers in the
form OF Doodle dispensed by the COM
mlssloners We propose TO find it out
and let the people know it. Every
cent paid out for publishing the tax
over and above the figure offered bY
the lowest bidder. is a steal from the
taxpayers. In this instance. SEVEN
CENTS on each description is purloined
from the county for the benefit of the
Rer5e1U and FREE PRESS. As long as
the Alliance exists for the avowed
purpose of warning against mOnoDoIies
we call their attention to the little
close corporation at the county seat.
Its good thing for those in the deal.
| those who are not in it can easily de-
1ect its objectionable features.
The Mirrors position is untenable
and misleading. In the first place the
Commissioners reserved the right to
reject any or al bids. That it re-
jected the Mirrors bid is to their cred
it, for this reason: The law esta blishes
a legal rate for publishing the tax list
at i cents per description. The Com
missioners have kept within the
limit. and by giving the FREE PRESS
and ReUieac. two papers having a great
er circulation than all the other pap
ers in the county combined. the Bubli-
cation thereof. at a rate provided by
law for one paper, it viii be upheld and
endorsed by the Farmers Alliance or
any other class Of intelligent men. If
the Board had awarded it to only one
Of these two papers at scents. it would
have reached a reading public at least
three times greater than that Of the
Mirror at 4 nominal Increase Of cost.
FEsIff me fstsara County Co4anis=
sioners believed it their duty. as il
was. to afford the widest possible pub
Lefty Of the tax sale. and they are
doubtless perfect willing to bear the
responsibility for their act.
/ Bro. Han is entirely mistaken in
his conclusions that seven cents on
each description Is pnrloined from the
/ county for the benenGof the ReU,eBand
FREE PREss. The county does not
lose or make a cent by the operation.
Tax and costs arr charged mp against
the delinquent, and the channels
selected by the Board to inform the
nco le Of the sale are the very best.
# that could have been afforded The
Board no doubt thought that it was.
cheaper, better and would prove more
satisfactory to reach 3. 900 bona fde sub
scribers at L cents per description
than it would to reach 800 at ) cents.
If a business man advertising his
wares would not grab at such an op-
portunitY he would not be considered
j very shrewd or far-sighted. Because
the Commissioners went at the BUSH
ness of the county in business way
is no reason why Bro. Hall should
show his teeth so plainly, and spread
his threats 50 vigorously.
4 Bro. Han will take no offense at
what the FREE Press has said for his
4 reasoning powers are too we'll devel-
oped to fail to see, even if he refuses
to acknowledge, the business Of the
course adopted by the Commissioners
in awarding the publication Of the
tax list