The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1896-05-01
THAT MANDAMUs.
Tho Case Decided In Favor Of Jos. b.
GOeSago,


B. Gossage against the Board OF County
Commissioners, to compel them to
award him tho contract for furnishing
the county with blank books, stationary
and supplies mentioned in last weeks
UNION was decided by Judge Gardner IN
favor Of iossage and preemptory man
damus issued compelling them to con-
tract with tho old warrior and states
nan and also to award him the print
ing OF the delinquent tax list and name
his paper as one OF the official organs OF
tho county. The two last provisions
are az seperate and apart from letting
the contract for blank books, stationary
and supplies as is the building Of the
bridges or keeping the county poor. It
has been decided by the attorney general
and two circuit judges OF this state that
the county treasurer has the letting OF
the delinquent tax list and was no part
OF the comm,ssionsr's duties ae we are
informed. So We see what a flexible
undefinable and mysterious thing the
law is. The old notion that law is only
common sense, is altogether too anti
quated for modern use. Hereafter all
that will be necessary for Ground Hog
Joe to monopollze all the county con-
tracts is to put IN his bid for furnishing
stationary and blank books or some
other contract on which bids are
called for and attach this clause at the
bottom, 'provided am given all other
contracts to be let by the board for
county work"
The contract for furnishing the blank
books and supplies which gave the
Journal man 80 much pain and misery
had been awarded to the Perkins Bros.
Co.. OF Sioux City, Ia., by the board. As
this company was the lowest bidder in
their judgment for the supplies which
the county would have to buy during
the coming year and as to who was the
better judge OF this fact, Judge Gardner
or the board, we leave our readers to
pass upon. The commissioners had Mr..
Gossage and Ed. Towns, Perkins Bros.
agent, with them for two days and they
visited tho different Offices and took a
list Of the necessary supplies and figured
from the price lists OF the bidders and
from these figures found Perkins Bros.
tho lowest bid. While this evidence was
not brought out before the court as 1T
would be almost impossible to do so.
70 take the Gossags bid, one article
with another and compare it with the
Perkins Bres. bid it may be tho lowest,
but that is not the test. Gossage was
shrewd enongh to bid low on articles
which hs knew the county would not
need this year and high on those it
would need.
The board and Perkins Bros. will
appeal the case, for it is thought proper
to test the question as to whether the
commissioners have authority of their
own or not, if not, large expense can
DO saved the county by doing away with
the board entirely and leaving the whole
matter to the circuit Judge.
The disgusting twaddle OF the journal
about Mccain haying tried to beat him
out OF the county printing every year
since he has been mamber OF the board
is too silly to como from any other
source than the Journal and is un-
worthy of notice. That NcCaln has
beat the Journal man out oi q large
number OF his padded and fraudulent
bills We will admit. This is what he had
in mind when he wrote his last article
on that subject no doubt.
MARKET REPORT.