Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-10-28
SOME EXPERT TESTIMONY.

Ira 81. Clarke, in the Hoislngton
Dispatch of last.week. relates his eX-
periences with republican commits.
sioners and the various printing deals
of the last few years by which the tax
payers of Barton county have beeI
robbed. Ira makes the mistake of in
timating that the kind of jobbery he
objects to will be continued in the
future, and he also fails to state that
all HIS dealings have been with REPUB-
LICAN boards. We hope the people OF
the county will see that such a state
of affairs will not be possible hereafter.
But, here is Mr.. Clarks testimony;
read it carefully, Mr.. Townsley, and
see how we'll it corroborates our
charges against you:
The Great Bend papers are mixed
DIP IN a controversy over the letting OF
the printing of the county ballots.
The printing was let to Townsley OF
the Tribune for 81 thousand. The
Dispatch has had some little experience
along that line which did not result In
enlarging our cash box to any great
exeent but gave US little insight into
the way things are worked over at the
Great and only Bend. The first year
we did the work it was given us be-
cause we kicked for something and the
republican board by and with the con-
sent of the two republican papers over
there gave it to Clark to satisfy him
while they whacked up on the county
printing. The work was done without
a stated price but in order to make us
do the work for little money Joe
Borders handed in low bid on the
work-this was after we had been
given the work and when Borders
knew he would not get the job. OF
course the commissioners insisted we
should do the work as cheap as this
bid, even though it was made by one
who knew he would not get it and
made the offer simply to throttle us
and we had to accept less sum per
thousand than was paid in any other
county in the west half of Kansas that
year. The next year we were given
the work and given to understand that
at this time we would receive fair
compensation. This time Judge
Townsley handed in a statement as to
what he would do the work for, naming
an extremely low price. So our name
was mud, in box car letters, once more,
and we had better been working on
the section at $1.l0 day than to have
been printing the ballots that year, as
Judge Townships statement was
thrown at US when our bill was pre-
sented. The next year the Dispatch
was froZe out of the deal and Judge
Townsley was given the work and
allowed $4,000 or over $50 thousand
which was more than THREE TIMES as
much per thousand as we received
when we printed the state ticket in
1894. 1t is true that the ballots were
larger last year but $25 would pay the
entire paper bill and the changes were
no harder than in either year the Dis.
patch printed them. The idea IS this
that the county commissioners have
been in time past. and we doubt not
will be in the future, determined that
no county work shall go outside the
county seat, and should an outsider
clamor for something and be given
some work to quiet him. he is made to
do the work so low that he will soon
become discouraged and then the party
papers at the county seat can demand
aud receive enormous prices for what
they do. All the evil we wish them
over there is that they keep up their
fight and the county will get its work
done for nothing"