Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-10-12
Charles Aldric1

entirely within the evidence and exist.
ing facts, and endeavors to report sim
ply the condition as it is found, The
committee has labored at a little disad-
vantage by being unable to find many
blanks and other jobs of printing. as
the supply seems to have been ex-
hausted and the samples presented
with the bills We're not kept on file.
They have, however, found and exam
med hundreds of forms of blanks and
other miscellaneous work, and, so far
as possible, have compared said work
with the bills on file in the auditors
ONCE. In many instances, however,
there is absolutely nothing to connect
any particular job with the charge
made for the same, so that an accurate
checking cannot be made; and it is the
opinion of your committee that sys-
tenn of numbering forms and blanks
similar to that in vogue with express,
railway and telegraph companies,
should be adopted for all state print
ing, and the items designated in the
bills by both the name and number Of
the blank.
The prices charged for both compo-
sltion and press work on various kinds
Of blanks have been exhorbitant in the
extreme, varying from two to twenty
times as much as expert printers have
testified that the work could be done
Tor in. open competition; and in the
opinion of your committee there are
| more than hundred instances more
these charges have been entirely un.
warranted under the law, and the bills
should not have been paid. The audi
tor paid them, however, as he did the
extra ianitors, whom he had been adj
v,sed to discharge.
| The law provides that for press work
I, in printing blanks on smaller paper
than folio post (17x22 inches) the price
shall be $500 for the first one hun
dred impressions, and so cents for each
additional one hundred up to five hun.
dred, and each additional 100, 80 cents.
In order to get the benefit of these
prices, everything has been construed
blank upon which there is a single
or small part of line which is to be
Tiled with pen or pencil. There are
hundreds of small jobs upon which
i fair and remunerative price for press
work would have been SLIPS per thou
sand, yet by the above construction of
the law the state printer has charged
and been paid $500 for the first 100,
$500 If there was five hundred, and
$500 per thousand. For printed pos
tai and other small cards, with blank
line on them, the charge has been SIS. so
per thousand for the press work on
one side, and $11.0O for both sides. and
IN the opinion of experts these Jobs
cannot be called blanks under the pro
visions of the law.
| The prices paid for the composition
or typesetting on blanks have also
been outrageous in the extreme, and
on nearly all of the legitimate work.
unJustified under the law, which pro-
vldes that when blank contains over
1000 ems, the regular price for compo-
sition may be charged, but the print
er shall be allowed only for type act
ually set up and composed" Notwith-
standing the latter provision, the man
ner of measuring blanks has been as
follows: Where there is number Of
words or sub-heading across the top Of
the blank and column of figures
numbering the line down the left hand
margin, with the word total" at the
bottom, the paper sometimes being
more than 1926 inches, the entire sur
face of the blank has been measured,
as solid composition, and 30 per cent
/ added to the price for adjustment to
ruled lines. Or if there is a line or
two of type across the top of the blank
r and the same at the bottom, the entire
surface of the blank is computed as
solid composition as above. In the ev-
idence of thoroughly competent print
ers, it is shown that a reasonable
price for the composition on said
: blanks would vary from one to five dol
lars each, allowing the full union scale
: for wages, and legitimate business
: margin in addition; yet the
state has paid prices varying from $40
! to $50 each for many of them, the lat
. ter price having been made on blank
where $3.50 would have been a reas-
. enable compensation"
That the reader may fully under
: stand, he will assume the following:
: Exhibit No. ''1' to be 17x1s inches in
J size. This is an exact fac-simile OF
e the blank referred to by the commit
; tee, with the committees figures,
; just as the. same appears in the
h files of the testimony.
(On the face of the foregoing blank
!, exhibit No. are the committees fig
ures showing the prices charged as
follows:)
, 311 81
+ 2799
2799 Comp. SO. 4O1Gl7O. Al IA