Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-04-13
PUBLIC PRINTER ACCUSED
E1-Forsman Ulrioh Charges That $4,000
Worth Of Bad Type Was Bought
The Allegations Laid Before the
and an Investigation Asked.

]. Louis Ulrich, who was appointed. at
President Cleveland's request, foreman Of
the job room Of the government printing
Office in defense OF the position in which he
claims he was placed by Public Printer
Benedict and thereby forced to resign, has
prepared charges against the public printer,
which he filed today with Senator Hale,
chairman OF the Senate committee on print
ing, and Representative George d. Perkins,
chairman of the House printing committee.
Mr.. Ulrich includes In his statement cor
respondence he had with Mr.. Benedict and
the letter he filed with President Cleveland
when he resigned.
Mr.. Ulrich, in his charges says:
From an intimate personal knowledge
acquired while acting as foreman Of the
for nearly two years just past, I am able
to charge and do charge that large por-
ton OF the type material supplied by A. D.
Farmer Son to the printing Office and
far below in grade what the contract be-
tween Farmer & Son and the printing office,
made in 1885, calls for, and in consequence
the government is being defrauded.
Defective Type.
''In the job room about $4,000 worth Of
the Farmer & Son material Is being used.
and its defective character was observed by
q number Of us from the first moment that
we began to use 1t.
How much more OF this material used in
departments Of the printing Office, other
than the Job room. Is Of the same quality. I
am unable to state, but 1t is fair to presume
that when so much Of 1t is known to be
bad the rest is probably not much better"
Mr.. Ulrich recites at length how the type
was bought. the suggestion coming first.
he says. from the public printers brother,
Mr.. Gilbert H. Benedict, formerly chief
clerk of the Office. The proofs taken in the
government printing Office and by Farmer
& Co. differed widely in character, and the
type, when usel. and returned from the
press room. showed. 1t is said, after quite
ordinary use, very soft condition, being
badly worn and bottled as printers say
when type brushes together because the
proportion Of lead Is too great, and that Of
antimony, the more expensive metal, too
small. 1t was not, declares the statement
by Mr.. Ulrich. until he complained of the
the public printer complained of his
(Ulrich's) work as foreman Of the Job room
although he had been sixteen months in
that position.
Denies Incompetency.
Mr.. Ulrich most emphatically denies that
the work of his division was at any time
behind. All Jobs. he says were out on
time, usually on the same day they came
in. In his letter to President Cleveland
when he resigned Mr.. Uirich called atten-
ton to the fact that his force of COM
positors has been reduced since last No
vember from sixty to thirty-eight, and
yet this force was expected to do, and
was doing. the same amount of work re-
qIired formerly Of the larger number of
printers. Mr.. Ulrfch states in this con-
hection that he resigned because the pub
lie printer proposed not to transfer him
to a place of equal rank but to reduce
him. and for him Ulrich) to acquiesce
In this action would have been to acknowl-
edge incompetency. Mr.. Ulrich in his
letter to the President also states that
Mr.. Benedict had said that Ulrich had
made record with the job room force
which had never been eQualed. This MIR.
Ulrich says, the books of the office will
prove when Congress chooses to investi-
gate the matter.
Mr.. Ulrich has retained attorneys, and a
number of Senators and Representatives
who have Interested themselves in the
situation have assured him there shall he
an investigation.