Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1906-03-30
j. r. whitney.
Candidate For denomination For
State Printer at Republican
Primary April 20.

A mistaken idea prevails to
some extent as to the emoluments
of the state printer and the prac-
tical workings of the Office. 1t
is not the big "fat" office it is
accused of being.
In the FIRST place the appropri-
alton for ''printing'' conveys a
wrong impression. The bien-
NAL appropriation is not for
printing alone, but includes also
the cost of paper, ruling election
supplies and many sms ller items,
amounting for the biennial period
to about $23, 900. The last re-
port of the Secretary of State to
the Legislature will show these
figures to be correct. Then the
State Printer must provide his
own printing plant and pay ali
running expenses of the Office.
The pay rolls alone for the two
years exceed $4,000. The Sa-
lem Typographical Union can
bear out the accuracy of this
statement. The cost of material. :
a limited amount OF work done in
outside Union offices during
rush in the State Printing
office, rent, power, inks and a
hundred other expenses, adds
fullp $40, 900 more. This makes
$5S, 900 of expenses which the
State Printer does not get.
Thus it will be readily seen
that when the cost of production
of the printing is taken into con-
sideratlon, the state printing Of
fee is not all profit. 1t is just
like any other printing business.
It costs something to run it.
Criticism has for wears been
directed at the state printing of
fee and it seems that it still con-,
tinues. The preseut State Prin-
ter has been accused of graft, of
dividing the profits of the cfice
with political bosses, and a fur
ther division for the use OF the
state printing plant. There is
absolutely no truth in these
statements. 1 pay 500 per
month rental for the plant and
no more, which is considered
reasonable rental. I have a lease
duly signed to this effect, and
there has been no division of the
Office with any person.
The fees paid the State Printer
are fixed by law, and every item
printed is measured by an expert
printer, appointed by the Cover
nor, whose dnty it is to measure
the printing and affix the amount
due as provided by law. Cover
nor Chamberlain appointed to
this position Mr.. Albert Tozier,
a democrat, practical printer,
and Secretary of the Oregon Press
Association, whose integrity is
unquestioned and who has meas
ured all printing done aud ap-
proved all bills therefor in strict
accordance with law. Every bill
for printing is also carefully aud
tied by the Secretary of State.
Mr.. Dunbar is acknowledged to
be one of the best officers the
state has ever had, and his aud
iting stamp of approval is suffi-
cient guarantee of honest account
ing.
The state printing office is a
target of attack without just rea-
son. The heavy cost OF printing
in past years has been chiefly due
to the large number of copies
printed. This has been reduced
by law and the price now paid by
the state for most of the public
printing is not above that charged
by the printing firms of Portland,
and some of it is considerably
less. For some classes of work,
especially where a large number
of copies are required to be print
ed, the price should be reduced
somewhat.
1 have given this subject care
full study, and believe there are
two methods by which the cost
of printing could be kept down
to minimum. One is to Iimi,
the volume of printing and revise
the schedule of prices on an up
to-date basis, the same as that o.
commercial printing generally,