Rocky Ford enterprise., 1904-04-15
STATE CAPITAL KOTES
Money Saved on State Printing.

Commissioner Of Printing ", A.
Platt has made a report To Governor
Peabody. covering the nrsi quarter OF
the euTrent year.
The report demonstrates the wisdom
OF tho last Legislature in putting one
man in charge OF the stale printing.
Previous "a tho last session which ere
sIed the once Of the State commIs'
sionsr Of FTiRtiRs the matter OF
making contracts for printing had been
placed In the hands OF elsEA IN The
Secretary Ot States Once: but as e
matte. OF taeI tho various departments
did their own contracting,
The report STATES that during the
year jus, endei the total expenses Tor
printing have been szo.Sti-5S, III"
books OF the department show that tho
expenditures for the previous year.
lsOI-z. was 5z.lSi.i5. more than tao
and a half times as much. The Fedue-
tion was partly due To the smaller
amount Of printing ordered BY the de-
partments OF state. and partly To The
smaller amounts paid for printing y
careful estimate oI the cost OF pFink'
Ing for the last year at the rates paid
during the previous year would have
raised the amount from s=O.siiy5p To
f5J 700. In other words thrfu has
been n total saving of t5l 300 duFins
the now administration. slt.5gV ot u
due TO the smaller amounts ordered BY
the departments. and $4,000 Leakage
on prices paid during the previous
year.
The total cost ot printing for the bl'
cnnial period. Including the years lsvi
and 1909. VAS about fiiO.oOo. Ia" To-
tai cost for the present bicnnlal period.
A.. Ea.f ~ %
pryasnt time, will be about 100000.
considerably less than half the former
coat. A portion Of Mr.. PIa,t's report
reads as foiloNa:
IF tho amount paid for printing OF
House and Senate Journals. Session
Laws, etc. be taken from tho totals
for tho two years under comparison.
tho difference Is even more striking. In
the year April. is0i'O. the cost OF
printing, aside from those items. vas
more than 10000. in the year ApfiI.
IeO3-0t Il Ia less than tii.soO-Juhi
nbou, onc-thi:d.
-Thc excessive prices paid In pre-
sIoua years for printing were largely
due TO the fact that 80 many articles
OF quite common use were not hpcci'
ned In the contract In some OF Thea"
cases, I have been abio To brin. them
under tho present contract without un'
duly stretching It's provisions. and In
cases where articles ordered were
clearly not within the contract. hnSo
obtained bids and let tho contract to
tho lowest bidder. In former years II
was a general practice TO order letter
heads. blanks. circulars and the like.
on n higher grade Of paper than was
specified In the contract. thus runnin.
up bills for extras. There Is n general
disposition In NIL the departments now
TO avoid these extras and to Keep down
tho cost OF printing nx low as possible.
When the now contracts are let. next
fall. I shall see TO II that they are
made ms specific as possible. and that
all articles OF common usc nrc
brought within their terms.
while most OF the excessive prices
paid In former years were on account
OF defects In tho contract. some OF
, them appear to have been clearly In
violation OF It's provisions. l am not
able to find any instance OF blank or
record book which was paid for Mt tho
rate named. The contract price for
such books was 81 per quirc. and most
of tho books. II paid for on this basis.
should have cost IS each. As n mat.
ter OF record. they did cost all tho
way from s22 to $50. The average
price OF an ordinary book was about
$35. Now II is $l2."