Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1897-11-25


State, gentlemen whose character war
rants the people in feeling confident
that they did what they conscientious
ly believed to be for the best interests
of the state.
The Facts in order to make political
capital misrepresents what they did,
both by assertion and omission. We
have taken some time and trouble to
get at the truth in this connection. and
submit the following as the result of
the investigation:
l. Mr.. E. w. Stephens is as we'll
equipped to do printing as is any indi
vidual or corporation in the state.
2. Only one portion of Mr.. Stephens
bid is mentioned; an important and
material portion is ignored.
3. The law is not that the contract
shall be let to the ''lowest" bidder, but
wisely provides that it shall be let to
1.-The lowest and best bidder"
4. The estimate by the Facts of
difference between the lowest bid and
the one accepted is absurdly false. 1t
asserts that the award to Stephens will
entail an extra cost to the tax payers
of Missouri of SIS. 900 year, or $780,
900 for a term of six years. The truth
is that the 80 volumes of Supreme
Court Reports, 700 copies of which will
be taken. will cost S31 .416; and the
26 volumes of Appeals Reports, ESQ
copies of which will be taken, will cost
$22, 9S4 or total for six years of $54,-
400. How our esteemed contemporary
is going to save $50, 200 out of total
expenditure of $54, 400 we fail to see.
There is no conjecture about this, as
these figures cover exactly what was
spent during the last six years, with
the Court and the Reporters working
as hard as they could.
The bids submitted to the board were
as follows:
Bowen-Merrill Book Company, Kan
sas City, home Office, Indianapolis,
81 90 to the State, $1.36 to the profess
zion. or an average of $1.18.
j. S. Parks, Topeka, Kansas. 1922
Cor both.
Extraordinarily Publishing Co.,
Kansas City, $1.13 to state; no price
fixed for the profession.
Becktold Printing Co., St. Louis,
81 % to state, $1.75 to profession;
average, $3.50.
E. w. Stephens. Columbia, Mo-,
$1.36 to state, $1.36 to the profession,
and agreed to sell during life of con-
tract, to the State and the profession,
volumes 80 to 1877 Supreme Court Re-
ports, and volumes IL to Il Courts of
Appeals Reports at $1.S6 per volume.
instead of at $500 per volume as he
would have had the right to do If he
had lost the contract. and as is now be-
ing done by the law book selling hous-
es. As the sales to the profession
largely exceed the sales to the state it
will be seen that this proposition will
save thousands of dollars to the law
yers of Missouri-$414.6 90 as against
1920 for a set of Reports, and enable
the state to buy these volumes at less
than half of what it could otherwise do.
The bids appeared to the board in
this light:
Mr. Stephens when he first obtained
this contract reduced the cost of Mis-
souri, Reports to to less than half of the
sum at which they previously sold.
He is now printing them at half of the
average cost in all the states of the
Union. The quality of the book he
produces is first-class, satisfactory to
the Courts and the bar. He is couven-
iently situated as to the reporter and
the proofs. His printing office is or
ganized for this particular work with
all modern cOnveniences, and with
trained proof-readers, pressmen and
binders, and he has in consequence
the printing of reports for several 9th
err states beside Missouri. The differ
ence between his bid and the lowest
one, on the numbers taken. is 1888
per year, or 50, 200 for the six years to
the state. but the saving to the profess
sion, as has been stated, is much more
than this. Beside, detention of proofs,
or other delays incident to letting the
contract to houses which would make
of it but an Incident of their business.
would cost the state very much more
than the apparent saving on printing
Hence the Supreme Court Reporter and
most of the judges favored giving the
contract to Mr.. Stephens.
Boweu-Merrill Book Co., Kansas
City, home office Indianapolis, having
no printing plant, would sub-let without
regard to convenience of state; said
they desired the contract to benefit
their book sales to lawyers. They
have the Indiana Reports printed,
which are very much inferior to the
Missouri reports, in typography, paper
and binding.