The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-02-03

The following from the Alliance Tri
bune shows cOnciuSively that its editor
did not know what he was writing about.
1T is strange that the secretary of state
| never felt it lncumben upon him TO boast
of the great saving in the state printing
! department, until an Alliance printer was
in charge. If Sl7 600 have been saved to
the state-as asserted by the secretary of
| state, in the first six months of Ed. Snow s
term with the departments all loaded
up, and Ed kept out all the work il was
possible to keep away from him, how
much could have been saved to the state
il these economic spasms had begun years
ago?"
The fact is that under the old law and
! system of handling the public printing.
! the secretary of state had 10 power to pre-
vent extravaganza. Save those for work
! for his own office, be never saw an order
! for public printing until the work was
/ completed and voucher in payment there
I Tor sent TO him for measurement and an
/ proval. And in this he had no discretion
/ whatever.
As soon as Secretary Higgins TOOK
charge of the office in January, 1889. and
had tamiliarized himself with the lax
methods governing the public printing,
he at once called the attention of the
! legislature, then in session. to the matter
and suggested changes which would nut
better and additional safe guards around
the matter of state printing but the ses-
sion WAS so far advanced towards its close
that there was no time TO get bill passed
and the senate instructed its codifvino
committee to draft bill which was done
long before there was a suspicion that
Kansas was to be cursed with a legisla
ture like that of 1891. The DILL drawn and
presented by this committee passed the
senate during the first week of the session.
but was never called up in the house, as
our Alliance friends were determined not
to compel their new state printer to
sacraice any of the enormous profits of
the office to the interests of the taxpayers
This bill would have saved the state SIS
00 per year in the single item of requir-
ing certain reports now printed annually
TO be published Dienniaily
The present law was framed with the
IDEA OF allowing Mr.. Snow as much as his
predecessors had made ont of the puhlic
printing. but Mr.. Elder and Mr.. Rice bor
rowed the senate plan of a printing board
with absolute control over all acquisitions
for printing, and this system has checked
a great deal OF extravaganza, which other
wise W0uid nave been posi- BILE, and was in
tended TO be carried on for the benefit of
the alliance printer and his party. This
board has performed its duty in conform
Itywlth the demands of sound business
economy and strictly within the spirit and
letter of the law
Tne present law is far superior to the
old, but the legislature. in the face Of r..
peated warnings and estimates. failed To (
appropriate SuIIicieut money 10 carry or, I
the pubic printing for the present fiscal I,
year, ana By the first OF April next the
various state departments aud institutions /
VIII have TO commence doing witpout
printing OF al kinds until the beginning of 4
the new nScaI year. July !, 1892 This 4
condition OF things viii also exist
during the latter part of the fiscal wear
ending June 80 lS9S unless the lepiSIa
ture takes the Necessary steps To make (
good the deficiency Ihis stonpace of !
work can in no way effect Mr. Shows .
profits. as the work REQUIRED between
April /. and July I, 1891 viii be done
after the latter date. but FOR three months /
the state departments and iustitutioD,
VIII be seriously crippled aud a number Of /
employees ci the state printing house will (;
be without work for this ion. time Print
erS ana book6inoers who are husbands
ana fathers and young women, depeud-
ent on the'r own eNrrtiOns for a livpli-
hood viii hardly appreciate the reform In
augurated IN this Particular bv an Ali
Hnce house " representatives The late
house was told by those in a position 10
know that ibe printing for esch fiscal yesr
would cost SS0.V1o or more. instead of I
~, ,0si, the amount appropriated.
i ise secretary OF state Who made this
u the hoase committee
was MT certain that the cost OF th,. ,,,.ir,.
Hg would run up to tire amount ,,.r,,s1
bar attempted 10 impress ugsou that {.,ri,-
he fact that ii wcu.t Re better Ga tnHk,.
IN appropriation t0o large than To r-1nDl,.
he state by making 81 toe >ual. R-ptt;.
lcan testimony uEtea tEF fsoint syt> s,-
seed by the legislative b:SuJs ui lSgl
4 no aIe alone responsible ior the thues