Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1897-04-01
DES MONIES LETTER.
INVESTIGATION OF STATE PRINTER
AND BINDER ENDED.


Houses Are Making Com m ndabIe Prog.
ress on tho Codo-BiIl to Protect Regu.
lar Physicians Passes.
Dies MONIES, March 3o.-[Special. +
The somewhat prolonged investigation
Of the Offices Of state printer and state
binder ended last week by the fling OF
two reports from the committee in the
house. One Of the reports was signed
by majority Of the committee consist.
ing of Chairman Lambert and Repre-.
sentative Jay, Democrats, and Repre-.
sentative Smith, Republican. The other
report was signed by Representatives
Temple and Brant, both Republicans.
Readers Of the daily papers are CONVEX.
SAINT with the particulars Of the two re.
ports and it is not necessary to 70 into
details at length.
The majority Of the committee claimed
that the investigation showed that there
had been gross and fragrant violations Of
law by both Of the officers in question.
The report said in relation to the state
printing ONCE: 1.-THE prices charged for
both composition and press work on vari.
Gus kinds Of blanks has been exorbitant
in the extreme, varying from two to
twenty times as much as expert printers
have testified that the work could be
done for in open competition, and in the
opinion Of your committee there are
more than q hundred instances where
these charges have been entirely unwar.
ranted under the law and the bills should
not have been paid" The blanks to
which especial reference is made by the
majority report are spoken Of in detail
and the amounts charged for compost
ton are stated. Padding of the reports
is also charged and many other matters
are referred to in which the majority
claim the law has not been adhered to-
The report recommended that the
| work be let by contract and closed with
a statement that the cost of the state
printing for the year 1895 was $59, 1913 SO
and that the cost Of the binding for the
same year was $32,977.70. 1t is also
claimed that the total cost of the print
ing and binding for the state for the
two years of 1895 and 1896 was $780,
35997. In regard to the work of the
state binder the report charges that the
books which the law directs to be bound
in half sheep were in fact bound in
"sliver," which the report says is split
sheep skin, an article which it says is
inferior and, in comparison to the
amount of space it will cover, is cheaper
than sheep.
Minority File Report.
The minority Of the committee con.
mittee consisting of Messrs Temple
and Brant, both Republicans, filed o
minority report Saturday. In it they
say that the report as made by the ma.
jOrity of the committee lis incomplete,
partial and limited in it's scope, both as
to matter investigated and as to the
witnesses called before the committee. "
In regard to the measurement of the
composition of some of the blanks, the
minority says that the law of 1883 failed
to provide strictly enough for the prices
to be paid and it was necessary for the
officers to consult experts in regard to
the measure, and i'll some cases they
may have been misled. The blanks,
which are criticised by the majority
compose, say the minority, only small
part of the work of the printer. In the
years 1895 and 1896, as shown by the
majority, the cost of the miscellaneous
job work and blanks was $2g, 1852 OF.
Of this amount the minority says the
blanks referred to cost only $500
They recommend, however, that tho
law be amended so that the measure.
ment for blanks should be fixed.
The minority refer to the figures given
at the end OF the majority report, and
say that the cost of printing and bind.
ing for 1895, us given i'll that report,
does in fact cover the cost for the two
years ending i'll 1895 and not the single
year. This makes an error in the mat
ter of the reported cost of printing and
binding in 1895 of SAG, 1916. SO in the ma
jority report. In regard to the binding
the minority say mat me praCLice Of
binding books III "skiver" has obtained
for the past 30 years in the state bindery
: They also say that only one witness was
asked anything i'll regard to the prices
for binding III cloth, and he said that a
fair price for binding volume similar
to the horticultural reports would be 45
cents, while for this work the state pays
only 33 cents per volume. In closing
the minority report says that, in their
opinion, fully nine.tenths of the work
done i'll any year by the printer and
binder has practically received no atten-
ton from the committee, and much of
the testimony that was used was given
only in part, and that experts which it
was requested the committee should call
have not been given opportunity to be
heard. They claim that only seven
meetings of the committee were held at
which testimony was taken, and of the
thirteen witnesses examined only seven
could i'll any way be claimed to be ex-
perts. The minority appeal to the house
to order that full investigation be held,
at which there shall be no partiality,
before the names of the two officers
shall be clouded by anything that is
stated in the report of the majority of
the committee. 1t is believed that the
report will be taken up some day this
week, and it is possible that there may
re some controversy over them on the
floor.
So!ons Making Good Progress.
Both houses have been making com.
mendable progress of late in the con-