Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1897-08-25
THE INDEX dlslikes verv much TO

open up the county printing contro-
versy when we are just about to enter
into county campaign but it seems
that few gentlemen are determined
to force us to it. Last week a small pa
per at Hazelton was induced to take
the matter up. The paper, among 9TH
er things, says:
I'VE have recently learned there is
another side to the county printing mat
ter so much talked about last spring
through the county seat papers, and
the other side is, that under the pres
emit rate as let to the INDEX, there will
be a nice little sum at the final round
up to be divided among the stOckhold-
ers OF the INDEX, after paying the
present managers of the paper an extra
amount over and above their regular
salaries, and we are also creditably in
formed that the present deal is and al
ways has beeh perfectly satisfactory
with the stockholders of the INDEX.
Had the contract been let at legal rates
instead of at 40 per cent of legal rates
1t would have cost the taxpayers of the
county nearly $4,000, whereas at the
present rate it will only be $500 or $780, -
We know exactly where the recent
ly learned" comes from, and it is Just
rs false as it IS unreasonable. The rate
paid the INDEX for county printing
will do no more than pay the running
expenses of The Office and it requires
the strictest economy to do that. There
will not be single copper to 90 to
the stockholders at the end of the year.
The present managers of the INDEX do
not only not receive an "extra
AMOUNT but at the present time are
receiving less for their services than
they have received since taking charge
of the office. Our part of the county
printing would not have amounted to
$1,000, per year at legal rates. 1t might
have reached $500 and it might not.
That cannot be determined until the
end of the year. Under the present
contract it will barely Overreach 5000
unless the next years final tax notice
is unusually large. The present uear'
Is not satisfactory to the stockholders
but decidedly unsatisfactory. If those
who are pushing this matter into print
do not believe it, let them pursue their
tactics little longer and the owners
of this concern will be heard from. 1t
is very easy matter for men who
know absolutely nothing about the cost
attached to conducting paper to point
to $500 per annum and say "look what
they make!' but if they would attempt
to manage the business just one year
at that price they would find themselves
bankru pit at the end of year and
BIT subjects for the poor house. There
is an enormous expense to running a
Populist paper and especially when
that paper has the county printing.
We say again that Commissioner
Wyer did wrong when he combined
with the republican paper here to force
this office out of business. He did
wrong when he allowed the Klowa Re-
view IS per cent of current rates and
forced the INDEX down to 40 per cent.
He did wrong when he said he did not
care whether the INDEX survived or
not. He did wrong when he refused to
accept Chairman Walker proposition
in allowing us 80 per cent OF legal rates
which would have been only fair, living
wages. Even now he does wrong in
choosing the Hazeiton Express to square
himself with the people. Tue INDEX
columns are open to him when he has
anything to say. 1t may be that the
Express has the promise of future re-
ward; we cannot say as to the probable
ity of private understanding, but we
are quite sure that the INDEX has been
made the victim of a most shameful
and uncalled for fight.
We charge that the Express article is
false in every material statement. We
challenge the attention of its author to
the records and the Individual stock
holders. We assert that Commissioner
Wyer's action in cutting us down be-
low living wages was not in the interest
of economy but in the interest of par
ties inlmical to this paper. Two years
ago he allowed the paper legal rates
without whimper, and economy"
never suggested itself. But the follow
ing year he suddenly discovered that
economy" must be enforced even if
the only Populist paper in the county
had to be sacrificed. We never asked
the commissioners to give us the
printing at legal rates, but asked only
fair, living prices for hard and respon-
sible work