The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-12-27
THE BLUE GINGHAMS.
Attendants at the state Hospital Some.
what Excited.

NOTICE-Attendan are required
to buy the goods for their uniforms
/ from the Mills Dry Goods company.
The resignation of those not wanting
| to comply with this order will be
eheerfully- accepted.
/ The above announcement is con
spicuously placarded throughout the
ward rooms at the Topeka insane asy-
lum, and the attendants are showing
! symptoms of organizing a revolt. They
claim that they should be allowed to
make their purchases where they
please One Of the attendants writing
to the State Journal says:
Where is the graft? 1t seems that
we are required to buy goods from a
/ certain firm. The Mills company
charges 1 cents d yard for the goods.
Better goods, answering the require
ments, can be bought at Crosby's for
! 10 cents"
The material about which contro-
versy is raging is blue gingham- Until
recently, the custom has been for the
state to let a contract for the ginghan1,
and for the institution to buy the ma
terial in 1000 yard lots. The steward
then issued the cloth to the attendants
/ as they called for it, and charged them
/ the cost price. At the end of the
month, the steward reported the
amount purchased by each attendant,
and this amount was deducted from
the amount of. the attendants check
If the attendants salary was $40 per
month, and the purchases amounted to
So, the steward would send in the pay
roll thus: $50 less So, amount of
check S17." and the state auditor
would sign the warrant for the $17.
This system has been stopped by the
new state board of control. The board
of control has decided that it mixes up
the accounts, and besides is contrary
Harry Bowman, one of the men,
bers of the board, said today: THE
effect of allowing the institutions to
I buy supplies out of their maintenance
fund, and then use those supplies as
I credits on salaries of the employees IS
in effect the depicting of the main
| fenance fund for the benefit of the
salary fund The maintenance fund IS
practically used to pay salaries, thus
/ leaving a surplus in the salary 1und
which the institutions use for employ
! ing additional help.
Now what we object to is that if we
allow this to continue, we can't ten
] how much the institutions are reaIly
expending for salaries and how moch
for maintenance The two funds be
I come mixed
1--WE believe that under the. law such
J transactions are invalid Section OF
1 CHAPTER 1872 of the session laws of 1903
reads thus: No officer or employe or
I any state institution shall be interested,
J directly or indirectly, in any purchase
/ or sale of any article, or in any con-
J tract for supplying any nstltuIion
/ with anything whatsoever mat
/ seems to be broad enough to prevent
/ the sale of goods purchased under
+ state contract to employees, and we
have instructed our superlntendelts TO
J stop the custom.
Il do not know anything about the
{ order issued by superintendent BID
I die of the Topeka asylum, but sup
pose that what he wants is to have his
employees all buy uniforms at the same
/ place, so that they Will all be alike.
{ While possibly an emplOye can not be
/ discharged for refusing to buy goods
at a certain place, the superintendent
! can certainly require that attendants
/ wear certain kind of uniform
When the board of control issued
! the order forbidding the purchase of
Bingham or any other supplies by the
state, to be dealt out IN retail lots 70
Z attendants. superintendent Blddle
called on the various dry goods men in
town, and solicited bids. The dry
goods men did not like the new sys-
+ tenn. because it involved the possible
ity of keeping a number of small and
somewhat troublesome accounts for
transients. But after talking with the
1 different merchants, DR.. Blddle De
{ cided that he would turn the trade TO
the Mills company at IS cents.
Then the trouble commenced. The
attendants decided that they could
buy Bingham which met the require
/ ments al a less price than Is cents,
and DR.. Biddle found that his award
of the contract to the Mills company
would not stick. Then followed his
proclamation threatening those who
failed to buy at Mills with discharge.
And it was this which aroused the
fighting spirit of some Of the attend
ants.
E. H. Crosby. head of the firm Of
Crosby Brothers said today DR..
Biddle talked to me about this mat
ter. and I told him he would have
just this sort of trouble If he tried to
award a contract in this way.
don't care to come out with a criticism
of any of my business rivals. I think,
as a matter of afct, that Mr.. Biddle is
too. ShreVvd a man TO allow any DOdy
to pass off on him line OF glngaa m
worth less than the is cents which he
agreed his employees should pay.
I There is a profit of only about cont
a yard on such Bingham as Dr. Biddle
wanted. My bid was Is cents Tor
that grade. Perhaps / might be able
to supply a line of Bingham which
would look as we'll and wear better
than this Is cent Bingham for 10
cents, but it would not be as good
DR.. Biddle said today; ''The at
tendants were buying their uniforms
at various stores, and were getting all
kinds and qualities. They bought
whatever they could buy, Just so it
was cheap. 1t was necessary to issue
this order to insure the uniforms be-
ing all alike. The bid submitted by
the Mills company was the low bid
w. w Mills, the head Of the Mills
Dry Goods company, was not at his
store today, but his brother, Arthur
Mills, said:
We bid for the cloth for all the uni-
forms on submitted samples, just as
other firms did Our bid was the lowest