The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-11-30

pads was awarded to w. G. Long, at Is
cents each, in preference to 14-cent
pads offered by Herman Baumgarten.
Long was not manufacturer so he
bought an inferior pad from Baumgar-
ten at 1919 cents each. Long received
a net rake off" of s1625 on the years
business.
For the fiscal year 1sOO-1s01, NJ D.
Helm had the contract for Irvine at
$l0.95 per hundred pounds for the fol-
lowing fiscal year the price dropped to
+ 745. During the closing months of
the year 1901 when the price of Irvine
was $10.95, and after the contract had
been given for the succeeding year at
$T45, Louis bought large quantities of
the Irvine at S1o.s5. which was carried
lover into the next fiscal year. He was
removed October 81, 1903.
Purchase of Manifold Books.
In September, 1901 George L. Morton,
representative of the General Manifold
company of Franklin, Pa submitted a
proposition to furnish manifold books
made of a patented duplicating paper
for the registry system. w. H. Land
Vo1gt was then superintendent of the
system. After Morton submitted this
proposition, but before any books were
ordered, he proposed to secure Land
voigt's son employment with the presi-
dent of the General Manifold COMPANY
I
voigt, who considered it a great person.
al favor.
1t was Landvoigt's duty to pass upon
the merits and quality of the supplies
furnished by this company. and the ac-
ceptance, therefore, of favor of this
character was considered highly i'm
proper, and his resignation was re-
quested and accepted.
The law required the department to
purchase manifold supplies from the
n1lf he HI ter
could not buy completed books. Nor
ton to succeed in having the law changed
so as to authorize the public printer to
buy completed manifold books After
this the use of books of the General
Manifold company was extended so as
to include all books used in the registry
service.
On June 1, 1902, Louis Kempner be-
came superintendent of the registry sys-
tenn, and under his administration
books made by the General Manifold
company have been used in a lavish
manner. The original proposition was
to furnish a book containing 500 receipts
for 2212 cents each. This book, how
ever, was never used, but in its stead
a book containing 1000 receipts, which
cost $1.10.
Prior to Kempner's appointment as
superintendent of the registry system,
manifold books were not furnished to
Offices where less than 1000 pieces of
registered mail were handled per an
mum. kempner disregarded this rule
and sent these expensive manifold
books to third and fourth class offices.
The books are made of material re-
curing careful handling, yet they
have been sent to hundreds of offices
throughout the country that are kept
in small country stores and farm
houses where not more than rs pieces
of mail are registered in year.
The result has been that the cost of
manifold supplies for the fiscal year
1902 was SS4, 1885, as against $41, 1924
for the fiscal year 1901 when supplied
by the public printer, an increase of
$43, 26961. After the books were once
adopted for general use the company
advanced the prices; to illustrate:
On October 9, 1902. 25 books were or
dered for Atlanta. Ga, at a cost of $33,
while on the 18th of November, five
weeks later, 25 books, exactly the same,
were ordered for Ogden, Utah, for
October 10, 1902 100 books were ordered
for Boston, Mass, for which the com
pany charged $12650, while in April
1903, 100 of the same books We're or
dered for the same city, for which $165
was charged.
During the investigation it was
learned that Kempner had been re-
ceiving from Cuba numerous packages
of cigars without paying duty as re-
quired by law. BY an order of the
anyone employed in the United States
service in Cuba was permitted to send
gifts or souvenirs to members of his
family free of duty. Kempner had
parties in Cuba buy cigars for him and
send them 10 him by registered mail
marked gift thereby evading the
duty. Seventy-eight packages were
received by Kempner in this way,
many of which he sold.
He was removed October Is, 1908.