Los Angeles herald., 1905-05-02

rection of the Assistant City Attorney
as to require fourteen lines of agate
to the inch. / believe this subsequent
raise in the figures to have been an err
ror, or at least an inadvertence. Ger
tainly it was change made directly in
the face of the specifications them
selves, being wholly inconsistent with
them, and therefore manifestly inda-
fensible. / do not assai or impugn the
motives of the officer responsible for
the change, but / do not hesitate to
say that the condition should not have
been exacted, and that the execution of
| the contract was mistake under the
circumstances, in the form finally de-
manded.
| QV.) Fourteen lines of agate cannot
be put into an inch in depth of type
space. If that number of type lines
were to be put into one inch, the type
employed for the purpose would not
and could not be agate, or 51a-point
type. 1t would be something else. 1t
would be smaller than true agate; it
would be what is called a bastard"
size. This assertion cannot be success
fully eontroverted, and the point need
not therefore, be further dwelt upon
here
(V) The manner in which The Times
has executed the official advertising
contract is we'll known to your body. 1
assert here that the integrity of our
course, as the contractors, cannot be
justly assailed.
! (vI.) In the outset, printed speci-
mems of the style of composition were
submitted by The Times to the City
Clerks office, passed upon officially,
and officially approved in advance of
| beginning the work. The type used
was and is true agate, set solid. There
has been no avoidable expansion prac-
ticed by The Times for the purpose of
increasing the cost. This office even
offered to undertake the compression
of the city advertising matter into still
| smaller space; and the method and
style in vogue throughout the life of
the contract is the method and style
chosen and approved by the authorities
for the typographical execution of the
matter.
(VII) We had the right, by the very
| terms of the contract, to use 6-point,
or nonpareil, type az lines to the inch),
instead of 51a-point or agate type Ga
trife less than 13 lines to the inch).
Had the publishers availed themselves
of this, their clear contractual right,
the aggregate cost of the city adver-
tising for the period from June 8, 1904,
to April 30, 1905-about ten and two
thirds months-would have been in
creased by about 19 per cent, or not
less than $500 in ALL which would have
made the aggregate cost thus far $34,-
5000, instead of $29, 9,3S039, which is the
sum earned under the contract to date.
| This material fact is now submitted
| to the members of the Council as bear
| ing in a direct and convincing way
upon the practical question as to how
The Times has actually fulfilled its
contract with the city,
| (VIII) Another fact worthy of con-
sideration in this connection is this:
During the term of our contract with
the city, we have Systematically and
regularly published free of charge, in
conspicuous place, daily, and in the
form of reading matter. clear and ex-
plicit mention of every ordinance, no
! tice or other city advertisement pub
lished, such mention being made on the
day of the first insertion. This has
been done of our own volition, for the
early information of thousands of cit
liens interested in city business and in
the proceedings of the Council. This
matter has made in the aggregate more
than $500 lines of minion or reading
matter type up to date, and had 1t
been charged for at our full CONNER
cial advertising rate for that class of
matter, would have amounted to an
aggregate of more than $19O0
do not exploit this fact here as
ground for a claim of any sort against
the city (for we have none on that ac-
count, but only to show members of
the Council and all other city officials
that The Times was determined not
only to fulfill its contract to the letter.
which it has done, but to do something
more to show it's good faith.
QX.) This letter is not written nor
are the facts therein presented to you
and the Council for the purpose of lay
ing the foundation for another contract
for city advertising, for that we are
not expecting, and we could not, in
justice to ourselves and our regular
advertising patrons. even consider
figure less than go cents per inch. The
facts are laid before you only with
the object. as stated at the outset, OF
clearing the atmosphere, clouded
throughout the year by the misrepre-
sentations of disappointed rival bidders