Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1897-09-11
A STRAIGHT STEAL.
Council Committee Awards the
Contract for Printing
Ordinances
TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER.
A Good Time to Again Reconsider.
Either That or Condone Theft.


Evening world. Saturday. sept.4.
Some time since the Clerk of the
City Council sent the following to the
various printing offices Of the city:
Bids for Printing Bylaws, etc, of
the Cooperation.
bids will ereceived by the special
committee appointed to receive same,
for printing and binding complete,
of 100 paper back books, and 2obooks
with leather backs and corners, paper
sides, of the ordinances of the
Corporation of Martinsburg, under the
following specifications;
The cover of the paper back to be
So-pound paper. Inside paper to be
90 pound book paper. Style of type
to be 10 point Qong primer loaded.
Size of pages to be 5hx8H inches.
To be 100 or more pages in the book.
Bids to be so much per page, includ-
ing binding and everything to COM
plete the Job. The title of the book
to be printed on covers.
"The contractor to complete same
within a reasonable length of time,
unavoidable accidents and delays ex-
copied.
"All bids to be in by and not later
than 7 O'Clock p. NJ. on Friday, Sept.
!, 1907. The Committee reserves the
right to reject any or all bids.
GEO. d. ROBERTS, Chairman.
The committee met in the council
chamber Friday night and opened the
following bids: Herald, .57z cents;
Statesman, 58K; Thompson Bros,
62H; Berkeley Democrat, rs cents
each per page, the Democrat asking
$40 90 extra for the bound books
After the bids were read Mr.. Roberts
moved that the bid of the Democrat
be accepted. Finally one of the COM
mittee Mr.. Lemen] agreed to second
the motion if the extra $1,000 was
taken off. This Mr.. Roberts said Mr..
Eichelberger would do and left the
turned and said that It would be salts
factory. Upon this the committee
gave the contract to the Democrat.
The book will make about 200 pages
and the difference between Mr.. Eichel-
berger's bid and the lowest bids Tx
cents. On the two hundred pages
this will make a difference of SIS 90
more in the cost to the city. At this
rate the city pays 81 so. 90 for Sis. 90
Job. A clear donation on the part of
the council to the Democrat of SIS. 90.
What is this $35 90 for2 Surely they
don't expect that the work will be
better than the others and is therefore
worth the $500 difference. If they
wanted Mr. Eichel berger to have the
work why not go to him, ask his price
and give him the work, Why put the
other printers to the unnecessary labor
of a tedious calculations Messrs.
Thompson Bros, who have without
doubt the best equipped job office in
this end of the State and do superior
work, only asked $I35 for the work.
The Evening World made no bill on
the work and is out of the fight, but
it does seem strange that the commit
tee should give the contract to the
highest bidder, when at the same time
they can get superior work for less
money. 1t is a case in which our
people should feel interested. SIS. 90
is not easily picked up these days, and
for the committee to spend that much
when there is no necessity for it,
seems aratherc careless way of handling
the peoples money.
The editor of the Herald has served
notice on the city attorney that he will
contest the right of the committee to
so award the contract.