The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-04-25

postoffice department $3.50 a ream.
The treasury department gets II for
1894 ream, and the navy department.
for $3.50. In the same way the In.
terror department pays $512 a ream
for the 24x36 Manila of 80 pounds
weight, while the navy department
gets its manila, 36x4o. 80 pounds
weight, for $2.95. Again one cannot Be
quite sure that the articles are iden-
tical. but the specifications indicate
that they are almost the same.
Departments Far Apart
In the postoffice department semi
carbons, 14x17. cost 1880 a thousand.
while the interior department gets
about the same thing for s11 thou
sand. The treasury department pays
$1.10 thousand for semicarbons, type
writer letter size. while the interior
department gets them for 80 cents a
hundred.
Typewriter paper. letter size, costs
the postoffice department 33 cents q
ream, while apparently the same pa
per costs the interior department IS
cents ream
In inkstands the departments have
varying tastes. The postoffice depart
ment gets the square glass, 3inch, ink
stands for SLIT a dozen, while the
more aristocratic interior department
takes the 31-2-inch inkstands, and
pays 1882 a dozen. The 21-2-inch
round inkstands cost the postofflce de-
partment $1.45 a dozen, and the inter-
Tor department $3.50 a dozen. The
treasury department compromises by
paying from $1O5 to SO a dozen for its
inkstands.
If all We're purchased through CEN
trail purchasing bureau and the bills
therefor audited by the same auditors,
one department would nel pay six
| times as much as another for ink
stands Each department would put
up with the same conveniences. 10y
Ink Purchases Queer
The interior department pays 10
cents a dozen for Bounce bottles Of
carmine ink and the navy department
pays $1.25 a dozen for apparently the
same thing. Crimson ink in 4-ounce
bottles costs the treasury department
| So cents a dozen, while it costs the in
| terror department 40 cents. 1t is said
that carmine and crimson ink can be
| produced at the same cost.
The postoffice department gets quart
bottles of copying ink at $1.53 dozen.
and it is called the best. In the in
terror department it gets SO a dozen.
and in the treasury department, $2.15.
! The treasury department ink Is. a
! standard ink, after formula approx
ed by the department chemist as likely
to hold it's color permanently. Secre-
tary Gage, finding the records fading.
had the ink tested and formula fixed
upon. Still this everlasting ink mas
not been passed about to other depart
ments, which pay up to 1914 for inks
with fancy names. The formula, how
ever, has narrowed the bidding for
treasury inks.
Confusion Is Costly
Thus there is confusion among
Uncle Sans shoppers, to the ever
lasting detriment of Uncle Sans
pocketbook. Undoubtedly the same va
ration in prices is found in furniture.
and other more expensive articles,
but there is no standard and no basis
for comparison Not only are there
/ separate bureaus for each department.
for the purchase Of supplies. but
there are wheels within wheels in each
department.
| Hinder the conditions which now OBJ
tain. each bidder each year gets the
figures paid by the various DEPART
ments for the year previous and ha
deals with that department upon the
! basis of these figures. Purchasing bu-
reaus for the various departments
seem to go to no such trouble. =;
| 1t will not be surprising if this mat
fer gets before President Roosevelt
and he makes an effort to bring order
out of this chaos of purchasers. A
central purchasing agency for all sorts
of supplies, with a central auditing
force, seems the thing indicated. But
congress must move to establish such
a bureau.
Rut Olson's Restaurant always leads.