The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-01-09
CONTEST OYER CITY PRINTING.
CITY WILL NOT SPECIFY THAT 1T
SNAIL BE HAND WORK.
II WIN Take the Lowest satisfactory Hid
FOR Printing the "CIty Record'-"Naii
and Express" Claims The job, say
Ing Bids We're Illegally Thrown Out.

The Board of City Record at it's meeting
yesterday o up the bid made last month
for the printing of the CITY Record, of which
the Mail and Express. a new bidder, made
the lowest. All Of the bids were thrown
out by the old board at a meeting held on
Dec. 20, to which the Representatives Of
the bidders and the public were not ad-
mitted, and the Mail and Express con-
tended that this meeting was illegal.
The representatives OF the Brown com
pany said that they had bid for the con-
tract on the understanding that the COM
position was to be HAND work, and that IL It
was not they wanted to have the cont ract
readvertised, so that they could bid on IL
at machine rates. The Mail and Express
declared that the Brown now
knew its figures, and for the sake of keep
ing the contract would do the work for less
than cost.
They viii do this because they expect
to make fortunes in the future. after two
years. said William Irwin, appearing for
the Mail and Express. while AL the menu
bers OF the board smiled.
"We're not willing to admit that the next
Mayor will be a Tammany man. said
Comptroller Grout.
The Mol and Express said tina il could
not Dlu again, ana tndt lS DID was made
in good faith and was the only one that IL
would give. The Brown company said
that IL had reduced it's bid from 1901 be-
cause IL wanted 10 keep the contract, and
had figured on doing the work without
profit, and IL said that il would guarantee
that IL new bids were asked for il would
make a lower bid han any that had been
put In.
Several representatives Of the printers
union appeared and asked tina the work
he given TO an Office that would do it by
hand, and aid that the substitution of
machine work for hand work would throw
250 men out Of employment. There was
one man representing the union who threw
a io0-page supplement ON the table and
exclaimed:
That supplement took 400 men two
weeks to set"
Col. Henderson Of the Mad and Erpress
said that this was a ridiculous exaggeration,
and then he said that all the talk of havoc
TO be wrought by the substitution Of ma
chine for hand work wa exaggerated in
the same way.
Mr.. Kelso Of the Brown company was
asked how many men were employed on
the Record, and he answered that 1870 were
at work on IL at all times. and that when
there was a rush more were put On. Comp
troller Grout took Mr.. kelso's figures Of
the number of men employed and the pay
they received and showed that the amount
paid In salaries according To the statement
Of the company was $4,000 a year. while
the total Of the contract was only Sl62 900
and the amount that the company said
that II paid for overwork and tho like to
printers and compositors was SOL 600.
I'm glad thai I'm not a printer" said
Mr.. Grout.
You may well be-" said Mr.. Kelso.
The board informed the union that il
was not in its power to limit competition
by saying how the work should ho lone
other than to say that it must be lone ia
a satisfactory manner Then II rave counsel
until noon to-day to furnish afidaylts as
TO whether the meeting Of the board at
which the bids were rejected was a legal
meeting or not.