St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-10-08
THE PEN Is MIGHTY.
But After the Globe Expose 45
Cents Don't Go for q ascent
Article

BUT After the Globe Expose 10
Cents Don't Go for O ascent
Article.
The committee consisting of Mayor
Wright. City Treasurer Miller and As
semblyman Wolterstorff, constituting
the purchasing committee of the school
board, have decided to readvertse for
bids for furnishing the schools with 900
gross of pens. At the time the commit
tee attempted 10 award the contract for
furnishing the pens to certain firm at
As cents per gross. although bid had
been received for identically the same
pen at % cents per gross, the GLOBE
called attention to the plan, and the
scheme fell through. Instead of taking
the contract for the pens which ID.
S. Sperry agreed to furnish at
% cents per gross, the contract was
awarded to F. a. Bristol, his figures
being s. cents per gross. The pen
which Sperry agreed to furnish was the
same which had been used in the
schools for the past two years, and last
year was furnished by Wright, Barrett t
IL Stilwell, of which firm the mayor is
member, at As cents per gross. The
committee, instead of awarding the con-
tract to Sperry, who made the bid on
the pen which was given as sample at
the office of the board of educatio n,
turned the matter over to the supervisor
OF penmanship in order, as 1t was
claimed, to get an opinion as to which
of the bidders had the best pen. This
in face of the fact that the same pen
that Sperry had agreed to furnigh at %
cents had been furnished by Wright.
Barrett Il Stilwell the year previous at
As cents per gross.
The supervisor of penmanship re-
ported to the purchasing committee that
the pen offered by +. a. Bristol was the
best one. and the committee awarded
the contract to that gentleman, his bid
being thirty-five cents per gross. MIR.
Sperrv, who was out of the city, re-
turned Oct. l, and Immediately notified
the purchasing committee that he
should insist on the contract being
awarded to him, as he had put in the
lowest bid, according to the sample and
specifications on file with the secretary
of the school board, and the committee
had not the authority to delegate the
power of deciding which pen should be
purchased TO the supervisor of pen
manshlp or any one else. The
city attorney was appealed to
both by Sperry and the committee
TO decide the legal point raised. The
committee was informed, as was also
Mr.. Sperrv, that the purchasing COM
mittee, even though the mayor was the
chairman, had no authority to let the
contract for the pens to any firm or per-
Sun except the Lowest bidder, which in
this case was d. S. Sperry. This was
dampner OH the mayor, but the city at
torney stood fast to his opinion, ana ex-
planned that the only way out of the
muddle was to let the contract to Sper-
~ or reject all bids and readvertise
again. The may or, rather than have the
contract awarded to Sperry, and the
same pen which he sold to the board at
- cents last year. used this year at %
cents per gross, had his private secre-
tary notify the printing firm OF Rich Il
Clymer, T. A. Bristol and ID. s. Sperry
yesterday that all bids would be reject
eG and new proposals advertised for.
Mr.. Sperry, seen yesterday afternoon,
said he thought the action OF the pur-
CHASING committee was rather strange,
all circumstances considered, but sup
pose they had the right to reject all bids
If they desired.
- OAlolO4s WIZ was uhhAuSO lAiO
contract by the purchasing committee
and then shut out by tho city attorneys
decision. said the pen which he agreed
to furnish was by far the best pen. 1t
was a standard article and made by a
well-known firm, and the pen which
Rich q Clymer and Sperry were to fur
nish, while both made by the same
firm, we're inferior articles. There
had been, he said, a deal of objection by
teachers and pupils to the pen fur
nished at 40 cents per gross. which was
the same pen practically as the one
offered by Sperry this year.