The Delta independent., 1902-06-20

printing scandal brought to light by the
report Of special investigating
committee appointed by the judge
Of the Arapahoe county court. The
as the Smith Brooks Printing Com
pany, who do the county printing are
also printers for the state Of Colorado
The report indicates great negligence,
to say the least, on the part Of the
county commissioners.
Harvey Riddell, attorney; w. H.
Kistler, statiOner and printer, and
Thomas L. BOnfils, clerk of the county
court, reported on Monday to Judge
Ben B. Lindsey the result of an in
vestigation made at his request into
the moneys paid by Arapahoe county
to the Smith-Brooks Printing Company
for printing and stationery, between
January Z, 1901, and April 30 last.
The report was transmitted to the
board of county commissioners by
Judge Lindsey, with request that I'm
mediate action be taken thereon and
that suit be brought to recover the
overcharges from the Smith Brooks
Company.
The committee finds that more than
$4,000 was paid for printing and sta
tionery to the Smith Brooks Company
during the period named, and that at
least half of the amount was an over
charge.
The report occupies about two col
umns and Is accompanied by tables
showing the alleged overcharges upon
which its findings are based. 1t Is, in
part, as follows: F...
Denver, June 8. 19O2.-Hon. Ben B.
Lindsey, Judge County Court, City
Dear Sir: In compliance with your COM
munication of the 24th ultimo, we here
with submit to you the result of our In
vestigations. AS you were particularly
concerned regarding charges against
your own court, we first devoted our
attention to the bills rendered by the
Smith-Brooks Printing Company to the
county commissioners for printing,
supplies and stationery, ordered by
them for your court under the present
contract and specifications for 1902.
Back of the present year we have
been unable with any degree of abso-
lutte certainty to pursue our investiga-
tions a sto all charges made against
your court. The reasons for this are,
first because you have been unable, un-
til the evening of this day. to furnish
us with the contract and specifications
for 1901, and second. because up to the
first of the present year the bills for
supplies furnished by this company for
the different branches of the county
government seem not to have been sep |
arated or satisfactorily itemized.
by the specifications each item
therein bid upon is designated by what
Is known as form number consisting
OF a letter and number following, as
for instance, item G 112, refers us to
the specifications which points out such
item, the nature therOf and the price
bid therefor.
I'VE have, however, taken at random
several bills and different items Of ac
! count for both years 1901 and 1902,
and these demonstrate beyond any
doubt that not only your own court.
but in our opinion, every other branch
OF the county government has been
charged outrageous and indefensible
prices for printing and stationery.
"In the first place the contract prices
in the great majority of cases for work
required by the county have been ex-
orbtant and beyond all reason, and in
the second place that there has appar-
emily been no pretense to limit the
charge to even the contract price.
1.-The plain terms and letter Of the
contract in nearly every particular
have been violated with apparent i'm
punity For, as to the contract itself,
it seems to be sham on mere casual
inspection.
For instance, take the item Of envel-
opes, the specifications on page one, de-
tail a great variety of such envelopes;
form Az calls for Quantity wanted
1000, size (No. 1O, quality CXX white).
bid, $1.5O per thousand, while further
down the column there Is form CT
Quantity wanted 1000, size (No. 1O),
quality (XX white), price per thousand,
s.. This system is carried out through
out the bids for envelopes. The only |
earthly difference in the specifications
Is that the same envelope Is to be had
at $1.5O In quantities of 1900 and 50
in quantities Of 1000, 50 that 1000
++++++<<A<<+++<+<<<<<<<<<<<
Moving Picture Of a Storm.
Denver, June ia telegram from
the summit of Pixies Peak last night
says: .'Thomas Nash OF Chicago late
this afternoon succeeded In getting a
wonderful moving picture of storm
just below the western crest Of Pixies
peak. For nearly two minutes his
camera was swapping on wonderfui
exhibition OF natures struggle. The
storm was purely local affair. and
was confined to two heavy, black
clouds, which came together with bril-
liant flashes of lightning. The struggle
apparently, was about 500 feet below
the summit, so the pictures were made
from above. The brilliant flashes Of
lightning showed each seam and crew
ice in the united clouds. During the
brief periods Of rest all was inky black
ness below, but surmomted by seeth-
ing billows that caught the rays of the
sun like surf at the seaside. The dis
play lasted about five minutes, but only
the most brilliant portion WIS photo
graphed on the moving picture hlm.
II. II. Buckwalter of Denver made sew
eral regular negatives of the display.
which was said by those OIL the peak