Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-09-16
KEEP REPORT ISSUED
Roosevelt Makes Public Print
ing Office Inquiry.
THE LANSTON CONTRACT HOLDS.
President Approves Commissions
Findings, but Decides to Let Pre-
yious Arrangement For Type
setting Machines stand.

Z t1OuS Arrangement type
setting Machines stand.
/ OYSTER BAY, N. Y, Sept H.
President Roosevelt has made public
/ the report of the Keep commission on
! its recent investigation Of affairs in
4 the government printing Office at
Washington. The inquiry was made
! by special direction of the president
/ on account of a protest which he had
/ received from officials of the Merger.
! thaler Typesetting Machine company
/ against the award Of a contract By
/ Public Printer Frank w. Palmer to
/ the Lanston Monotype company for
! seventy-two machines of its make
| BY order of the president the contract
| with the Lanston company was held
/ up until an investigation could be made
with a view Of ascertaining whether
! the charges of fayoritism and corrup-
ton in the letting of the contract were
! substantially founded
i AS heretofore elronicled in these dis
! patches, the president decided, after
/ an examination of the Keep report,
/ that the contract for the Lanston ma
! chimes should stand The Keep com
mission reported that if the contract
could be set aside "such course would
be desirable" although the commits
| sion states expressly that mo corrupt
| consideration, payment or promise
| passed from the Lanston Monotype
company to the public printer or to
I'm ont
1t was developed by the investiga-
ton, however, that two important as
sistants of the public printer were in
directly interested in the Lanston com
| pany, their wives being stockholders
| therein" The commission shows that
fair and impartial test of the Lam
| ston and Mergenthaler machines was
not made and reports that the pur-
chase of so large a number of Lanston
machines was "improvident' and in
dicated great partially and bias on
the part of the public printer" The
commission regards the purchase as
| NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
The report of the commission is
| voluminous, containing about 10000
words. Accompany it is memoran-
| dun by President Roosevelt. in which
he approves the report except as to
the disposition of the contract for the
Lanston machines, which he has di-
rected shall stand. The text of the
presidents memorandum follows:
1.-The conclusions of the committee
are hereby approved save the latter
part of conclusion first. 1t does not
| appear that there is any question as to
the validity of the contract in ques-
ton. If it had not been for the con
duct of the Mergenthaler company in
preferring the charge discussed by the
| committee in conclusion second, that
of corruption, | should agree with the
committee that it would be desirable
to set aside the contract if such a
course were legal. But second only to
corruption in a public officer in point
| of iniquity comes making a baseless
charge of corruption, and this is what
the committee finds the Mergenthaler
company has done in this ease, its com
ments being in part:
"In the light of the failure of the
| company to produce evidence of such
| corruption it must be held that the
charge was made recklessly, and the
| Mergenthaler company should be Sc
| verely condemned for including such
| charge in a formal communication to
the president of the United States
made as basis for official action on
| his part. 1t is fair also to the Lanston
! Monotype company to say that no evil
| 1ence was produced by the Mergen-
| thaler company nor was any obtained
| by the committee in the course of its
| hearing tending to show any promise,
payment or consideration of any kind
whatsoever made by the Lanston com
pany or any of its officers or agents to
any person in the government service.
Had not this charge of corruption
been made | should have entirely
agreed with the conclusion Of the com
mittee that if it were possible (Which
it is not it would be desirable to can
eel the contract in question.
Public Printer Palmer has been re
moved from office The cases of the
| subordinates alluded to i'm the report
must be taken up in connection with
the discipline and reorganization of
the bureau when Mr. Palmer's sue
ceSsor assumes office"
|