Los Angeles herald., 1892-08-11

For downright arctic audaclty, COM
mend us to the way in which the county
officials of Los Angeles conduct business
transactions, involving the expenditure
of money. The latest thing in this line
was called to our attention yesterday, in
the shape of an alleged contract" for
printing the great register for the ensu-
ing election, which contract was let on
the 10th day of June laet, nearly two
months ago; and by the terms of which
the party to whom the contract is let is
to furnish 5000 copies.
This contract was let by the county
clerk of this county, Trowbridge H. Ward,
to the Express Publishing company, of
which III. q. Osborne, collector of
the port, is the president and prin-
cipal owner. There were no ten
ders invited by publication of
official notice to that effect, or pri-
vately, and the whole affair carries on
its face the appearance of cut-and-
dried job to compel the already over
burdened taxpayers of this county to
contribute towards defraying the county
clerks personal expenses OF reelection.
Some people will feel inclined to in.
criminate the board of supervisors in
this wholesale steal, but, in justiceto
them, it should be said they merely
fixed the maximum rate of compensa-
tion at % cents per name, as the matter
lay in the hands of the county clerk.
AS there are somewhere in the neigh
borhood of 25, 900 names to go upon the
great register, it will be seen that this
amounts to about $4,000, of which at
least s25OO is clear steal by somebody.
A few days ago, before the thing got
fairly bruited about the streets, Mr.. @.
w. Palm. publisher of the Daily Journal,
not being aware that any such contract
had been awarded, wrote to Mr.. Ward,
Offering g do the work for eighteen (lS)
cents per name, and to give bonds in any
amount demanded. No answer to Mr..
PALMS letter was received.
Mr.. Wards only defense in the mat
ter is, that he had the right to award
the contract, and had given it to whom
he pleased. But his excuse that he
thought Mr.. Palm could not afford to do
t for Is cents per name lie puerile and
eyasive. When man takes contract
and gives bond, it makes no difference
whether he is financially able to COM
piete that contract or not, so long as the
sureties on his bond are responsible
and no one is better aware OF that fact
than the countv clerk himself, whose
official bond is $4,000.
To show that there is direct steal in
this matter, we will state that in San
Bernardino the great register is printed
for thirteen (13) cents per name; in
Ventura at fourteen t14) cents per name !;
and in this county it was done in 1890 at
eighteen t18) cents per name by the Ex-
press people, under competition. We
would further state the HERALD will
give bond of $4,000 to do the work for
fourteen l14) cents per name, or in any
larger recognizance that may be deemed
necessary. And, while Mr.. Ward may
opine to the contrary, we can assure
him that we have ample facilities for
doing the work in frst-claas style.
The bondsmen of the Express in this
matter are D. 0. Miltimore, vice presi-
dent OF the University bank, in the
penal sam OF $4,000; G.. L. Arnold,
cashier of the same bank, for $4,000,
and freeman G. Teed. city clerk and
professional Republican politician, for
5000, making the total bond 500 900.
That these three sureties incur no risk
whatever. .is sufficiently evidenced by the
contract price of the work.
Republican papers in the past have
had great deal to say about ssBoss''
Tweed, who worked through an enor-
nous lot of steals from the city of New
York, while acting as the chairman of
the board of public works in that city.
But to Tweed's credit it should
be said that he always "went
through the motions" of some recop-
nized official formula. No such regu-
larity characterizes this transaction. It
is simply high handed outrage, having
no pslliation either in precedent or in
equity; and if the intelligent voters of
this county do not make 'the punish
ment ft the crime" on next election
day, we have lived twenty years in Los
Angeles and studied the character of her
people in vain.