The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-11-28
'TOPEKAMEN LOSE
LeavenWOrth Firm viii Finish
State Printery.
Contract for Plumbing and
Heating to ThOlen Bros.
WILL PLASTER WALLS
Board Wisely Decides to Cover
the Concrete.
Question fTypesettingMachines
Still Undecided.

At a meeting of the state printing
commission, held Monday afternoon
in the Office of State Architect Stan
ton, it was decided to plaster the side
walls of the inside of the new print
ing plant throughout, at cost of be-
tween $500 and $1,000. The mem
bers of the commission went over and
looked through the building, and
came to the conclusion that it would
look bad to leave the walls in the
rough concrete condition which they
now are.
When the contract for the erection
of the building was let, the board de-
cided that they could save some
money by simply having the front
haH and business offices plastered.
leaving the composing room, press
room and other work rooms in the
rough state. They have now con-
Guided. however. that the bare walls
will hardly do, and Will use a little of
their surplus to plaster the remainder
of the building.
The board also opened bids yester-
day and awarded the contract for
putting in the heating and plumbing
of the building. The contract was
/ given to Tholen Bros, or Leaven-
worth. The Tho1en bid was S3,397,
/
der, and S92 less than the estimate Of
State Architect Stanton. Mr. Stan
tons estimate was $3,4S9.. The bids
on the work were as follows;
Dave Leahy, Topeka, $1,000. (This
bid did not include plumbing-)
ao SonAi'n < e"4'Hi7o"' loDsAa' %
A. H. Mooney, Topeka, s4.s42.
johnson & Beck. Topeka. $3,S61.
| Tholen Bros. $3,397.
Each bid was submitted in four
parts. The first was for laying the
main for steam heat from the state
heating plant to the printing plant.
| Tholen's bid on this was 1922. The
/ second part was for the heating sys-
tenn installed complete, on which
/ Tholen bid 1882. The third was for
/ valves at the foot of the risers, for
which Tholen bid $40. the fourth
was for the plumbing complete, for
| which ThOlen bid 1908.
| Tholen's bid on the main, the heat
| ing and the valves was only a little
/ below the average of the other bids,
/ but on his plum bling bid he cut the
other estimates deep. He offered to
| do the work for less than half the
price bid by one Of the other bidders.
The board did not take up the
| troublesome question of typesetting
machines, and apparently the dead
lock between linotypes and monotypes
| continues. with no prospect for settle
ment. The board will hold a meet
/ ing on December Z, and it is likely
| that at this meeting there will be an
/ effort made to thresh out the question
and arrive at some sort of a settle
ment
AS the thing stands now, the board
has not enough money left in its
| equipment fund to buy any kind of
/ typesetting machinery and will have
/ to rent whatever form of machines is
/ finally decided upon. But it is ex-
pected that the next legislature will
appropriate money to buy machines.
and naturally the machines which are
| already installed in the building under
| rental will have the inside track
Geo. E. Tucker one of the members
| of the commission. is for the Iino-
| type machines Ed Harris, who is
employed at Cranes printing estab-
lishment, where the monotypes are in
use, is convinced that the monotype
is the best form of machine. Chas.
| S Gleed, the third member of the
| commission. is noncommittal. T. A.
McNeal, the state printer. who has
no vote, but whose influence is
naturally worth considering, favors
| the linotype. The whole matter
seems to hinge on Mr.. Gleed's action.
It is possible that the commission NAV
reach compromise by installing one
linotype and one outfit of monotypes,
and giving them a competitive test to
see which is best adapted to the work
| which the state has to do.