New-York tribune., 1896-04-03
AN UNWISE POLICY.
GOVERNMENT MANUFACTURE OF POST
AGE AND REVENUE STAMPS.
GENERAL BINGHAM FAvoRs HAVING THE WORK
DONE BY PRIVATE ENTERPRIsE-H1s
ARGUMENTS BACKED Up By
AND FIGIrRES

DONE BY PRIVATE ENTERPRIsE-HIs
ARGUMENTS BACKED Up By
FACTS AND FIGURES.
Washington. April I'm opposing the appro-
priatioD In the Sundry Civil bill for the Bureau
of Engraving ard Printing in Committee OF the
Whole in the House to-day, Congressman Bing-
ham. of Pennsylvania, presented a long array
OF facts and figures showing. he declared. that II
is unwse for the Government to engage In the
manufacture Of internal revenue and postage
stamps The salient points in General bingham
speech which would occupy several columns OF
The Tribune, follow:
In October. 1895. when the then pending contract
about to expire. the Postmaster General IN com
pliance with law published an advertisement IN IN
bids represented Institutions in various parts OF the
country and ranged from sla0~N 10 s>Vw, -.
receipt and pubic opening OF the foregoing bids,
submitted in compliance with law the Chlei oil tne
lne iiS for nv e advertisement for the
stamps a casS s lof Thy bd Of The Bureau was only
q little below that OF the lowest outside bidder.
the acceptance OF the bid the ground that
il was in violation OF law; that II was unjust 70
private bidders who had already exposed th'r & ns-
iIres that IL was contrary the established policy
of the Government 10 DO work which could be- as
tbat We II Il woud Si be- found hat the stamps, il produce
bv Inc Government. would cost much more than II
These nrotests vere disregarded upon no higher
authority. upon the legal question involved. man man
master-Ceneral and the Secretary ot he Treasury
having refused the request OF the me
OF the United States for opinion. ana me contract
was awarded to the Bureau by the POSTMASTER
The claim OF tn. Bureau was that It's Offer woui
a ,o, would entail no ADDITIONAL expense upon
the Government for furnishing ne same NE ne
Bureau also claimed TO nave aouhuAi' ia0'e' 'o'
doing the work
THE nvREAU SHORT ~ ITS SUPPLY
This claim, OF ample IA cnites made in the
fac. Of an official report BY the Comm ssioner OF In
ternal Revenue dated few days earlier that Inc
Bureau was short in its legally required supply TO
~ The prices 70 be paid 10 the Bureau hy the Post
Office department for furnishing the stamps were
For ordinary postage stamps. hve cents per
? Newspaper and periodical stamps. 40 cents
g. POSTAGE due stamps. sos cents PEI 100 ooo
4 Specia delivery stamps. N.tD cents per I""
In his report Tor 1904 the chief % the Bureau sal
that $4,000 ~ his estimate Tor printing staiA9s wa
for machinery and a. this item would not Appear
again the annual saving 10 the Government "ou'd
be at least 500, per annnm ,,,l onnear In the
actual results for the hrst year Of The conttact
o, n. ' bureau was called upon to show he results
OF his work IN connection WIN ihe prn'tctlp' OF
postage stamps up 20 and inc.nsye o., Sf s"
lows.
Numt-r Of ,,smr7 originally prif''d to p-- ssc ooo
Su1l,,r of stamps originally printed ea:
UNIT fr- use... .'-----'--''- '"''''
Balance acceptable stamps produced - 27i M
rfcDf!ion oi .seep,atle Z, - 3. a,o -95 p
This amount IL equal TO about %. cents per thou
sand FOR the 75 2i l63 acceptable stamps produced
20 December q. 1891 The price PAID ny th' f,St-
orce Department for th- stamps was five cents
thousand for tn. Acceptable stamps ana lolNils
The so,calcd acceptable stamps were really not
NJ for use. and they used only under the spur
the bureau In December. 1894. insisted before the
Subcommittee on Appropriation 9f the Heaee iha' IA
the money TO be received from the fosioilcr i'"- De-
parimeni for the stamps 20 be furnished during me
year ending June - 1896 would fully cover the co.'
H5 then l"snlae1uIf estinaiea at a6oa, si SSc6 ~
As the records wu show. the Bureau received from
the Postoficc Department for 2s0Z2s ~ stamp
delivered during the year ended Jgne e. 81 20 lS3 N Ny'
Ss = q !4 ne g5shI espenGe ssmp p o
81 ssi This let ba.ance % only ,5.0'so w.ih
VIA, an absurd claim TO make 10 the Committee
on Appropriations % the House OF Representatives III
the light OF such results
A DISCREPANCY IN THE FIGURES.
There IS a very serious discrepancy between the
number Of postage stamps issued during the year
ending June 30 1895. reported by the Chief Of the
Bureau Under proper system OF accountability
there should not be a difference Of a single stamp.
The utter absurdity OF the claim OF the Bureau as
very largely drawn upon to cover the cost OF
paid by the Postofiice Department will be readily
apparent from an examination OF the hguies oil the
undertook produce 523io 2s5 sheets OF stamps at
cost OF @2 81 thousand sheets. II actually was
able 10 produce only H7ll35l sheets, deficiency OF
4s per cent and that these cost SIS . per thousand
sheets. excess over the estimate OF - 20 per
prodaccd prodd Of S% sss.s15 AZ q '''"' '''
on February H. 1885, ne Chief OF ,t,s The Bureau Tc;I
mittee on Appropriations n chaTse OF tht Cen
e1ai DeeienGy 6 for @ 40 sSp4h ms sun
Client TO meet the amount OF the reduction OF ms
as M fSe a M 5y eg segvse s"o OF tn. .S Year 1855
He then stated that his original estimates were
made careu y5 and BE- d9 9 ne a%a Ea e se cost st
o; the work Is Just what the estimates are IN IN
he stated that "the number OF Impressions estl-
mated to be produced IN rs. s, Is substantially the
same as was produced ir IT,, s1 dr,eoa, estimates Of
October lG is93 for the year 1885. or at the time
he wrote the sub-commlttee on appropriations Oh
Now. It has already been stated tha; the mum
her of sheets produced out of annual appropr'a-
lions in 1895 was Is per cent less than the number
produced out OF annual appropriations IN ihsf, az
Vas the Chief OF the Bureau Intentionally de,
ceying the committee, or was ne T. ighoi oia'ee a oi
ns ,ne dss5 had gone b. that the years product
would show falling off OF 10 per cent or anSa5 sai1
one-qcVeuth rom tnr HuHlh'i l''-"'''
Ittber horn OF the dilemma Is bad enough,
The undenIabe fact that nc was obnSeu 70
skin his annual appropriations In every direction
~ meet the extra expenditure involved IN tne p.u
amount when he was paid for the same by the
o., "ar thc largest number OF sheets OF any
single class OF work done. very hear,y so ,nr"e
fourths of the whole. Is that OF '"'er"a' REVENUE
stamps. . o,. ,r,,, tho Commissioner OF
,i..rrmai Revenue had say In his report; ud'",
Ntnvamher 1895 for the fiscal year endihs June So'
iss, Concerning the failure OF the bureau o, , i,i,
,,ro,,,ng and Printing furnish an aheluh' huPp'S
~ ss.as1raI revenue stamps up 10 that ine VIZ
STOCK OF Stamps IN Vaul-The STOCK oi ,Innps s,,in
49, 80 ,n Inc yau.t October l. 1879. OF the naiI'us
Is ia ssas and denominations, Is 10 '@z@i im,s , =,
very much below the estimated three mon',s Oh n,I ,rI
hi.h ,he statute requires to be kept IN INC Fa,.
Sut The inability to maintain the SOCK a. ~ ny
,irernent ia due entirely to the failure OF nc
Iaa, ~ Ensrsvng and Printing to deliver the