Smyrna times., 1895-06-19
The Town Printing.

The action of the Town Council on
Wednesday night in giving the print
ing to the Office of the Clayton Call
very naturally calls for expressions of
surprise, and in personal interviews
we are asked why the Commissioners
should desert the Office in the town
that is the exponent of the varied in
terests of the community. There are
some things which cannot be explained,
and this is one of them (if solid and
legitimate grounds are looked, toy, for
there is no charge now any more than
in the past decades that the TIMES has
not at all times conserved the best in
terests of the community. The reason
must be looked to from another source.
AS briefly stated as can be done Ito
crafty the inquiries), they are as fol-
lows There was for some time before
the municipal election considerable
talk in regard to Town Commissioners
furnishing supplies, which, on the eve
of the election caused dissatisfaction eX-
pressed as to the advantage such position
could be made to afford. The election
in March made it possible to somewhat
change this, and it was voted by ma
iority of one to exclude all Commission
ers from being bidders. On the heel of
this vote one of the defeated party
moved that all supplies be awarded on
bids, to give it the semblance of uni
formity of action. The mover after
wards designated the TIMES and Call
(the latter printed in another town. as
bidders on the printing, and another
member, who had been a large fur
nisher of supplies, moved to extend it
to other papers, as if the offices of Mid
dletowu, Dover, &C., would meddle
with the little printing of other muni-
cipalities.
The rule, however, in the minor sup
plies facilities in labor has been made
to apply only to the printing. This is
in small lots mostly in bills of two or
three dollars, aggregating on an aver
age of $25 annually, used in the clerical
work of the employees, and we declined
to be bothered with bid on these little
items, especially as the incidental arti-
cles otherwise are furnished without
regard to price or bids. These articles
from what we can understand, will ag
gregate in the year considerable more
than the printing. All the minor item:
are furnished in the town, while thC
printing is forced to competition out
side with the design to get it done a
cost or below
We have done the printing for thC
Town at honest rates. and referred
. them to these rates as the only ones
, we had to ofier. Several weeks hav'
been wasted in reaching the result. A
the last meeting in May (overlookeC
: by an oversight the first of the month
thev had the bids of the Call, ant
where compared with similar item
printed at the TIMES office last year
when ours were found, though printe,
without any idea of competition ,cheape
, in price. Here was the opportunit
| for them to have done the fair thing b
I their own office, but no, knowing W
. had no other bid to make, and, th
f representative of the Call known
. how the figures stood, came on Wee
? nesday night with lower figures, au
/ was given the work on the claim ths
r it was the only bidder.
9 Our Commissioners may feel iustiie
in making the printing at the TIME
e Office the only exception to the inc
;. dentals, but the Commissioners
d Clayton would not think of giving tn
IS town their printing should we offer
is do it at halt price, nor can simili
It record to ours be found in any 9th,
v town on the Peninsula.