The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-11-04
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troll came out with q soothing statement
that though the Chicago names were
| many, yet the amounts were compare
lively small, and that in reality the bulk
of the trade had remained in Minneso-
TIA. This statement might have beer
as oil to the troubled waters, but some
unawed and incredulous newspapers be-
gan to clamor vociferously for the fig
ures in detail.
AT what prices had these successful
bidders carried everything before them?
Books Closed to Public.
To these very natural and legitimate
demands the board of control made a re-
markable statement. 1t boldly asserted
that the books and accounts are closed
to the publici In other words, under the
board of control regime the taxpayer
is allowed the privilege of paying the
bills, but refused the right of knowing
how his money is spent
The board does not assert that this is
the law, as was mistakenly said by one
paper recently, but that it is rule
the board itself has passed owing to the
assertions made by some of the dealers
that they could not bid as low il
prices were published This assertion
and the desire to keep the bids secret
is so old that it is rather stale. Some
of the dealers made the same objection
when the Faribault schools first called
for bids, and did everything in their pow
err to suppress the prices, nevertheless
the figures were published, nor did the
state board there find that it received
any fewer or less advantageous bids as
consequence of publication.
The justification for keeping the ac-
counts closed the board finds by the rath-
er strained method of reading together
three or four sections of the bill Great
ing the board of control and making
section tWenty-siX refer as far back as
section twenty-four, thus enabling its
members, to their own satisfaction, to
force an Interpretation that permits the
closing of public accounts.
The laws, rules and regulations of the
board of control are something peculiar
to itself At present it appears that the
governor, or a special legislative COM
mittee appointed for that purpose, are lie
only persons privileged to inspect the
state accounts.
Now a legislative investigation COM
mittee is all right and very proper, but
it is far from all that is necessary. Any
taxpayer has an inherent right to know
how. and where his money is spent and
he should be able to ascertain
this at any time for himself with
legislative committees included. The
members of the board of control, some of
the critics affirm, should be like Cesar S
wife, above suspicion, and they should
also be ready, and even anxious, to fur
nish any and all proof possible that they
are doing the business of the state in
the best way known to them, since it is
not their private business, but the busi-
ness of the great state of Minnesota.
In the matter of buying Minnesota
products for Minnesota institutions, the
bill as it was originally drawn said IN
section thirty-one that local dealers
shall have the preference when such can
be given without loss to the state" mean
ing thereby that if the bid of dealer
in any of the towns where the institu-
lions were situated was as advantage
Gus as that of an outsider, the local firm
was TO receive the contract. This was
amended in the senate to read simply,
Minnesota dealer instead of local deal
err but the meaning and intent of the
section remained the same, being broad
ened only in scope.
This being the case, the dissatisfied
faction declare, the board should have
been the more willing to publish the
prices of the supplies contracted for with
the Chicago firms, and thus clearly prove
of Minnesota dealers.
bidders Refused Schedules.
Many and varied have been the com
plants in regard to the buying of sup
plies, and in Faribault, the home of what
is generally known as the state institute
for detectives, and specifically as the
state school for the feeble minded, the
state school for the blind, and the state
school for the deaf, there is serious dis
satisfaction, and the weeping and wallins
is accompanied by curses both loud and
deep.
One year ago, the 18th of last August,
the late director, H. D. Stocker, who was
appointed a member of the local state
board by Gov. Lind, and who was one OF
the most conscientious and able mo M
bers who ever sat on state board, IN
troduced a system of buying supplies for
the three state schools by bids and con-
tracts. But when recently the board OF
control called for bids for the state in
stitutions, two of the local Faribault nler-
chants when they applied for blank
schedules, were unable to get them. In
the case of one of these, Lyman futile,
meat merchant, this was the more
strange as he had on previous occasions
succeeded in undertaking such powerful
competitors as Armour, Cudahy and Swift.
futile wrote to the board of control ask
ing for the meat schedules on July "a,
and received a letter signed by Mr.. Lea
witt on the 2Sth saying that the printed
schedules had run out. If the supply OF
/ printed blanks ran short there seems no
reason why typewriter copy should
not have been sent, and if all the en-
ployes of the board of control were too
busy with more important matters than
the purchase of thousands of dollars
worth of meat then the board might ever
have sent outside and paid some type
writer so cents or dollar to make a copy
Neither could there be offered the ex-
cuse that he had not sent in his name
some time before as a prospective bid
der, as schedules were sent to others
who never applied Mr. them at all.
AS the fact CT a local merchant getting
the state contract means the expenditure
of from $4,000 to $4,000 among the farm
erS it mas naturally caused much grImb-
ling in Rice county that the principal
meat dealer should be cut out of bidding
and the contract go outside the state
entirely to a Chicago firm.
The papers at Faribau1t commented Up
| these facts and there were those who
! even insinuated-though doubtless with
| out cause-that it was owing to the yeI.'
| fact that futile had hitherto been sue
cessful against such rivals IS Armour,