Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1898-10-25
Met with Success

The state board of control has met
with great success in securing low bids
from reliable houses for all kinds Of
supplies Tor the state institutions. Adj
vertisements were inserted In the
newspapers for bids and Lists OF the
articles required were sent to the lead
ing wholesale houses of this state and
Chicago and elsewhere. The bids re-
ceived indicate that the state will save
from ten to fifty per cent. and on some
things even more. Probably the aver
age saving will be 20 per cent, and pos
sibly more. The dealers, selling in i'm
mense quantities for cash, with abso-
| lutely no risk of loss in collection, can
afford to make better prices to the
state than to retail dealers, even, ard
the state has therefore been buying
| largely from retail dealers and of
course paying them profit. In some
| instances the local dealers, who have
heretofore had the business of the In
stitutions in their towns, have asked
the privilege Of bidding, and would
| then submit the list of the board to the
wholesale dealer, who had the same
list with request for bid direct to
the board. This conflict of interest
kept the wholesale houses from bid
ding on dry goods In some instances.
SO the board will probably be obliged
to ignore the local dealers in the fu-
ture. The institutions, the board says,
| are not local, but state property, and
the patronage of the institutions does
| not belong to the towns in which they
happen to be located, but to the firm
that will furnish the desired article.
cheapest, no matter where the drn
may be located.
Died in Omaha.
| L. 8. Gates, state dairy commission
er, fell dead while delivering an ad
dress in the National Dairymen's con
ventlon in Omaha last Tuesday. Mr.
Gates was a practical dairyman. who
knew what the needs of the dairy In
tereets were and proceeded to do some
thoroughly practical work. One thing
he did was to bring about better feel
Ing between the creamery men and
their customers by insisting upon thu
observance Of the law requiring tn
use ofaccurate testing apparatus. The
every person who sold milk or cream
to creamery knew he was being pal,
for all he took there. Mr.. Gates live
in Manchester and was the prime NOV
er in the establishment of the frs
creamery in Delaware county man
wears ago. His successor has not bee
named and may not be for severa
weeks.
Likes Her Trade.
A Des Moines girl, Miss Nellie Chi
ders, who lisa printer,w the only Won
an delegate to the International Typo
, graphical union convention in sessio
in Syracuse, N. Y. last week. She wa
we'll received and on her account
rule was adopted by vote of "a to 3
prohibiting smoking during the SCI
: sions of the convention. She says sh
likes her trade and believes in wome
becoming printers because they al
better paid than in clerking, dres
making or other distinctively femal
pursuits, and IL is not as hard on the
: health. She says she has never me
with unfair or ungentlemanly trea
ment from men in her trade. The COZ
stitution of the typographical unio
. forbids paying women less than me
J, for the So me work.
|, An Important Question.
!. One of the most important question
: to be decided at this falls election
!. of a nonpartisan character. That
:, the constitutional amendment propo
i, ing to change the basis of represent
ton in the lower house of the legisl
!, ture, so that each county shall ha
+ member. Every county havil
I; three-ffths in excess of the ratio is
a. have one additional member, and ]
= more. This would make the next hou
10 consist of 100 members. The small
.; counties are very much interested
=. the adoption of this amendment, b
/. cause it would strengthen them in t
P. legislature and would do. away wi
.. the contests, often very bitter, as
= which county shall have the memb
i; where two or more counties are in t
.; district. Little has been said abo
this question in the newspapers sin
:. last spring, when the legislature vot
', to submit the amendment to the Pr
y: pile. The previous legislature had do
~ n. so, and SO It In to be submitted u
'. fall.
y; E.w. B1cKNELI
y. Holly Denied by Sagasta.