The record-union., 1896-02-07
Eastern business Omces.
THE TRUSTEES AND THE NEWS
PAPERS.

Our evening contemporary is some
times right, but it never was more nearly
dead level right than when it declared
that the papers published in Sacramento
have done more for the city than all
the Boards of Trustees that have ever
existed. There is nothing more important
lin fact, more Indispensable to the
commercial growth of a town-than the
character of its newspapers The Rec
ord-Union" and the Bee have labored
industriously day and night to promote
the highest interests of this city. There
have been published here q first-class
morning and evening paper-papers far
beyond the grade which the field they
occupy would justify. The people of
Sacramento will never be SO fully con-
soious of this as when the papers are
run simply for the money they can get
out of the community; when they black
list everybody who are not advertisers;
when they blackmail the banks and
the business houses as the metropolitan
journals have done for years. A town
simply disappears from sight when
there is no longer published in its inter-
est a journal of the first class.
The Board of Trustees of the city of
Sacramento have undertaken in the in
terest of a sham economy to reduce
the price of the city advertising in the
daily papers of the city. This is mere
pretense of economy. There is nothing
more valuable to the public than pub
licity concerning certain matters. If
contracts for the city's supplies, for its
hospitals and its jails. were let without
publicity, the most enormous frauds
could at once grow up. If certain court
proceedings, sale of property in pursu-
ance of judgments, tax lists and other
matters relating to the property rights
OF people were not published, the great
est possible harm would ensue to every
citizen of the community. The cheapest
thing in fact which the city or county
does is to publish its affairs. The pub
licity of the proceedings of the Board
of Supervisors and the Board of City
Trustees is a perpetual safeguard
against extravaganza. The little money
which the city or county expends in the
publication of these matters is scarcely
q 1.-THE of their value, and yet this Board
Of City Trustees is putting on the lofty
pretense OF holding the newspapers Of
the city to account in the way of forcing
them to publish city matter for less than
the merchants of the city are charged
for their advertising. If the daily
papers here were asking more than
their regular rates. they would be prac-
ticing a species of contemplate pecula-
ton upon the public. But what they
ask and what they viii continue to de-
mand, and also what they have the
power to enforce, is to charge the same
rate for city purposes that they charge
for commercial advertising. This is
simply fair The community is not en-
titled to better rate.
Our sensible Woodland contemporary,
the Mail" has noticed the fight which
our evening contemporary is making
against the Board of Trustees in this
behalf, and has declared the sympathy
which all the journalists of the State
feel In the success of the right in this
matter. The Board of City Trustees
will simply make itself ridiculous and
absurd by its demagogic attempt to
produce an appearance OF economy. The
city is not entitled to purchase anything
at less than the market rate A blatant
demagogue thinks he has done a smart
thing if in representing the public he
has obtained from a producer or a deal
er something for the commonwealth for
less than it is worth The common
wealth has no better right to be a scoun-
drel than the individual, and whoever
obtains something for nothing or OBJ
tains an actual value for less than its
actual value is a confessed fraud. we
believe the people of Sacramento duly
appreciate the efforts of the daily press
Of this city to keep the city abreast of
the times. hut we do not believe the
City Trustees voice the sentiments of
the people of Sacramento in attempting
to obtain city advertising at less than
a fair rate of compensation.
THE BOARD HAS THE POWER.
We beg leave to differ with the Dis
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