The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-01-28
WHY JOB WENT TO
GAZETTE COMPANY
Henry Smith, Clerk of the
Supreme Coust, Writes
to Advertiser.

Editor Advertiser: The Bulletin and
Republican newspapers having taken the
trouble of publishing editorial statements
concerning the recent awarding of The
contract to print and bind volume 49, Hl-
waiian Reports, will you be SO KIND as to
publish the following statement OF facts
concerning the matter:
In May, 1S99 tenders We're advertised
for printing and binding volume u, Ha-
waiian Reports. Only one bid was then
received which came from the Hawaiian
Gazette Company, to whom the contract
was awarded. 1t was awarded or the
basis of an S0o-page book.
The two previous contracts for printing
and binding volumes 10 and IL were also
awarded to the same company after the
usual advertisement for tenders, and the
work was then, as now, satisfactorily ex-
ecuted.
With the expiration of the Republic of
Hawaii in June, 1900, came also the neces-
sity of closing volume IL (sooner than
was ever thought of in order to begin
the new series with decisions rendered by
the Territorial Supreme Court. Volume
II was therefore closed with only half the
material required to fill a book of 500
pages. whereas the bid was made by the
contractor on the basis of an S00page
book.
! When it came to settling the account
for printing and binding volume Il, the
contractor claimed that We should have
lived up to our part of the contract by
furnishing it with 500 pages of material
for the reason, it stated by letter, that
it costs no more to bind a book of 500
pages than if it We're only 400 pages. In
other words, had thee extractor been told
that Gnstead of 500 pages, as the adver-
tisement called for) the book would only
be 400 pages, it would not nave MADE the
bid it did make.
We saw the justice of the contractor S
claim and subsequently succeeded in eff
fecting compromise, which was after
wards approved by the Auditor, to whom
it was submitted for payment.
At the time of the taking effect of the
Organic Act the principal job offices in
Honolulu were engaged to do the work
(Which had to be rushed of changing all
our forms from Republic to Territory.
Both the Bulletin and Grieve companies
received their fair share of the blanks. 1t
was necessary to SO divide our work ow-
ing to the demand for blanks coming
from all parts of the Territory and the
orders had to be filled with dispatch.
Concurrently with the pressing demand
for blanks there was also the necessity
of promptly promulgating the decisions OF
the Territorial Supreme Court, and there
was really no time to waste over adver-
Using for bids on account of the increase
of printing caused by the change of our
form of government. Included among
the decisions which had then to be pro-
mulgated may be mentioned the Peacock
and Lovejoy & Co. cases Questions OF
customs duties) and the Edwards and
Marshall cases Question of jury trials in
Of a
the application or non-application of the
Constitution of the United States
While the printing offices were then
rushing out our blanks it struck us as
unnecessary to advertise for any tenders
to print and bind volume 13, especially as
we remembered that only one bid was
sent in for the preceding volume T.
The foregoing will serve as a reason
why we did not sooner advertise for ten
ders to print volume 10; neither did W.
think it was necessary until, quite re
: Gently when the Auditor called attention
to the fact that tenders should be public
, ~ advertised for, which has been done
and we have received three bids, the low
est of which was by no means from TIN
Bulletin Publishing Company. The con
tract for printing volume II was S1.S1 pc
page and the contract for volume IL
$177, a shave of four cents off. The diff
ference between the bids of the Bulletin
Publishing Company and the HaWailal
Gazette Company is just about 800 10
I. the whole job and if the contract wer
now awarded to any one else but the Ha
2 waian Gazette Company we would Still
' be liable for the work already done 10
promulgating the decisions already re1
dered, which liability would be NOR
than 500, which we save by giving tn
contract as we have done.
/ Whether or not We have been wiser Il
4 accepting the highest bid-beheving, how
ever, that in selecting the goods, tn
n cheapest is not always the best-we leav
] it to the public to Judge, the judgmen
;. already given being from interested quar-
:, tiers.
L am sending you this statement fror
= my house; it has not been seen by Chic
Justice Frear.
HENRY SMITH,
a Clerk Supreme Court.