The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-09-21
AN OLD s.RING" COMING TO
THE FRONT.

The last Board of Supervisors did one
thing which has served to keep its memory
green in the minds of property-owners
who had street Improvements to make.
1t broke up the printing ring, which,
without exaggeratioD. may be said to
have been the most ravenous vampire
known to the City Hall. The ring had
survived for many terms, without refer
ence to the political changes which had
taken place; it flOurlshed just as we'll uu-
der Republican as Democratic auspices
No one need travel far afeld to discover
the reason of its perEanenee under the
vicissitudes of party. One Supervisor
turned up with stock of the paper which
was the organ Of the ring In his pocket,
and from this the rest may. perhaps, be
inferred.
The method OF the ring was to get pos
session Of the public printing on the pre-
tense of doing part of it for nothing.
This sort of arrangement gave the ''organ"
chance to charge what it pleased for the
remainder Of the city printing proper, for
all the printing done for property-owners
who had treetimprovements to make, and
for advertisements Of special privileges of
various kinds. Investigations made at the
time demonstrated that the charge for
printing in case of street improvements
ran all the way from % to 90 per cent of
the total cost. It was so excessive that
public improvements were checked On
the whole this raid of the printing ring
was the most conscien celess that the public
had ever to endure.
The operation gave rise to one of the
most startling anomalies to be found in our
local history, namely, doing the city print
ing for nc thing and making $40, 900 or $50, 600
year out of the apparently proftless con-
tract. There was no means of breaking
up this system OF wholesale plumber ex-
cept by radical change of methods. 1t
could n OF be reached in the ordinary Way
because there could be no competition in
bids to do certain thing for pr0fessedy
nothing. especially when the silent part
ners OF the Report among the Supervisors
had the decision OF the matter in their
hands. The last Board OF Supervisors up
rooted the whole vicious system by pro-
Viding for real competition for the work.
1t called for bids to do the public printing
of all kinds at so much per thousand ems
in agate.
They brought the whole thing into the
domain of true business. There could be
under this rule no form of the unbalan ced
bid introduced. The absurd notion of de-
livering over the property-owners who
have street improvements to make to the
tender mercies of the ring "organ" in con-
sideration of a fanced advantage to the
city has been abandoned as false In
finance and wrong in morals The time
has come for the reletting of this print ting
contract by the present Supervisors. But
there seems TO be some backing and fill
Ing in relation to it that cannot be readily
explained. The present Board of Super
vlsors has in many cases been a marked
Improvement over many of its predeces-
s0rs. 1t is hardly possible that its Print
ing Committee is going to succumb to the
worst news ring" that has ever preyed
on the public.
Nothing more is asked than that the
Supervisors shall continue the business
methods under which the public printing
is now being done. No real competition
can be secured il variable bids are again
permitted. There are printers on the
Printing Committee, and they know this
as well as we can tell them. If there is
any departure from the sound PRINCIPLES
which now govern the matter it will not
be because of any newborn love for the
Report The public understands the mat
ter pretty thoroughly. and no DISCUSSES
will be possible.