The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-12-16
HISTORY OF THE CASE.

A Big Scandal Coaoerning tho LottinE Of
Contracts for rprintinG-6onernls 81. Clair
aud tho Wheeling "RoEistOr" People.
worlIngmen Make Direct Changes Of
Jobbory-Mr. TanOy Connected With
tho Rat Printing Conoorn-Union Labor-
ties Protest.
The fight on the oonkey Company
concessions from the Worlds Fair comt
mittee, out of which has grown the
story involving General st. Clair, West
ylrginia's commissioner, and the
Wheeling Register proprietors, repre-
sented by Mr.. Charles H. Taney, in the
deal, is growing worry warm In Chicago,
and has assumed the proportions of q
gigantic scandal. The public has al
ready read in a Chicago special to yes
terday's INTELLIdENcER General St
Clair's statement of his connection with
the matter, in which he says he merely
placed Mr.. Taney in the way of secur-
ing tho concession in order to stop the
RsJister in its personal war on him. aud
that he succeeded in that object. For
the benefit Of the readers of the LNTELII-
GENcER who are not familiar with the
events leading up the present crisis, it
ia proper to detail them briefly.
The fight, Of which the st. Clair -Taney
affair is only an incident, and which Is
attracting the attention of the entire
country, labor circles in particular, was
caused by the discovery that the
Worlds Fair board Of control had
awarded, trithoIa tIe usual preliminary Of q.
public compstiti0n, to the W. B. Conkey
Company of Chicago, the concession
giving them the right to print the
Columbian Exposition catalogue and
directory, and that the contract had
been closed. The contract, It is said,
will Weld the publishers fully halt o
million dollars profit.
IADoR's PROTEST.
Mr.. Charles H. Taney, representing
the Wheeling Register publishers, is ono
of the incorporators Of the "Colum-
>bian Exposition Catalogue and Direc2
tory Company" into which the Nc
Conkey company was organized. The
fact that the concession had been
awarded in secret manner was enough
to raise storm OF indignation among
publishers who desired to compete for
the contract, but there was another
reason why the discovery should and
did create a big storm about the ears Of
tho board OF control. This was the
fact that the Conkey printing house is
one Of the largest non-unlon establish-
ments in Chicago. Organized labor
was at once up in arms against the ac-
tion OF the board OF control, alleging
that the body had violated the pledge
OF the Worlds Fair directors to give
union labor fair treatment. The labor
unions Of Chicago Immediately made
protest against the contamination Of the
contract. and In this effort have enlisted
the sympathies Of organized labor OF
the entire country. The Chicago typo
graphical union took the matter In
hand and has succeeded In arousing q
suspicion. at least, Of state OF affairs
which reflects seriously on some Of the
gentlemen Of the Worlds Fair manage
ment and their methods Of granting
concessions. In the meantime, the
union has called on organized labor OF
the entire country to unite in demand
ing q revocation Of the contract with
tho Conkey-Taney combine. Tho strug.
gle Is very bitter, and the typographical
union alleges that, aside from tho insult
which has been offered to union work.
ingmen, and the peculiar fact that the
concession was secretly granted, there
is grave reason to believe that some'
body on tho Worlds Fair board has
been teathering his nest, In this con-
nection they charge collusion between
General St. Clair and Mr.. Taney, Of tho
Wheeling Register, In which politics aud
the concession arc strangely mingled.
ST. CLAIR AND TANEY.
How much truth there is In this
charge the public does not know. Gen.
eraI st. Clair has made his statement
branding the story that he secured the
concession for Mr.. Taney to get the
ReTae's support for senator, as false,
and has asked for an investigation Of
the entiro matter. Mr.. Taney hasmede
no public statement up to the present
time. Tho story circulated In Chicago,
and Of which General st. Clair has
asked an official investigation, Is given
in the Chicago Posi, as follows:
"Out Of the bitter feelings engendeFed
by the bitter struggle has grown o