Omaha daily bee., 1905-09-11
KEEP COMMISSION REPORTS
Result of Investigation OF Govern
ment Printing once Made
Public.

OYSTER BAY, N. Y, Sept. 1O-Presldent
Roosevelt today made public the report Of
the Keep commission on its recent investi-
| cation of affairs in the government print
/ ing office at Washington. The inquiry was
made by special direction of the president
! on account OF a protest which he had re-
| ceived from officials of the Mergenthaler
| Typesetting Machine Company about the
| award OF a contract by Public Printer
| Frank W. Palmer to the Lanston Mono
| type company for seventy-two machines Of
! its make.
BY order Of the president the contract
with the Danston company was held up
until an investigation could be made with
the view OF ascertaining whether the
charges of favoritsm and corruption in the
letting Of the contract were substantially
! founded.
J The president decided, after an examina-
! tion OF the Keep report, that the contract
! for the Lanston machines should stand
! The Keep commission reported that II the
| contract could be set aside such a course
| would be be desirable" although the COM
| mission states expressly that mo corrup-
! tion, payment or promise from the Lans-
ton company to the public printer or to any
person in the government service" was
! shown.
1t was developed by the investigation
| however. that two important assistants Of
the public printer were indirectly interested
! in the Lanston company, their wives be-
! ing stockholders therein" The commission
! shows that a fair and impartial test of the
Lanston and Nergenthaler machines was
| not made, and reports that the purchase
| Of so large a number of Lanston machines
| was "improvident" and indicated great
! partiality and bias on the part OF the pub
| lie printer" The commission regards the
! purchase as NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS."
! The report of the commission Is volumi-
nous, containing about $1,000 words Ac-
| companylng 1t is a memorandum by Pres
! ident Roosevelt, in which he approves the
report except as to the disposition OF the
contract for the Lanston machines, which
he has decided shall stand. The text of the
presidents memorandum follows:
| OYSTER BAY, n. Y. Sept g. 19O5.-The
/ conclusions of the commission are hereby
approved, save the latter part of conclu-
! sion first. II does not appear that there
| is any question as to the validity of the
/ contract in question If it had not been
/ for the conduct of the Mergenthaer com
| pany in preferring the charge discussed by
| the committee In conclusion, that OF cor
| ruption, / 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 lniquity comes making a base
/ less charge OF corruption, and this Is what
| the committee finds the Mergenthaler COM
pany has done in this case, its comments
/ being in part:
I'm the light Of the failure of the COM
! pany to produce evidence of such corrup-
! tion It must be held that the charge was
! made recklessly, and the Mergenthaler
! company should be severely condemned for
including such a charge in a formal COM
munication. to the president of the United
| States made as q basis for official action
! on his part. II is fair also TO the Lanston
Monotype Company to say that no cyl
! company, nor was any obtained by the
committee in the course of It's hearing,
tending to show any promise. payment or
| consideration of any kind whatsoever. made
! by the Lanston company, or any OF It's
oficers or agents, to any person In the
/ government service"
made I should have entirely agreed with
| the committee, that If u were .posslme
! (Which II is noD. II would be desirable 10
! Public Printer Palmer has been removed
| from office The cases of the subordinates
alluded to in the report must 6e takSen Ken
! OF the reorganization of the bureau when
! Mr.. Palmer's successor assumes ofice
| THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
| The Keep commission was appointed
| some time ago to make general investiga-
ton OF the business methods in all the
, government departments with view to
simplifying and improving them. It's re-
! port on the affairs Of the government
printing office is signed by C. II. Keep
assistant secretary of the treasury chair
man; F. H Hitchcock, first assistant post
master general; Lawrence o. Murray as
sistant secretary of commerce and labor
and James r. Garfield, commissioner of
corporations in the department of com
merce and labor.