Amador ledger. (Jackson, Amador County, Calif.) 1875-19??, 1907-09-27
Running a Bluff.

express LOO
Then the editor of the Ledger pro-
ceeds with a lot of hogwash comment
that is neither relevant nor to the
point, aimed at the supervisors in
general and The Dispatch in parti-
cular. The Dispatch cares nothing
for, the hogwash and does net deem
itworthy of an answer. The only
reason we notice the article at all
is to refute the statement, and to
'sexpose" another of Webb's lies.
The statement that The Dispatch put
InR bill for "expIess SI.00" is alb
soIutely false and without foundation,
and we hereby challenge MIR. Webb to
produce any proof for his assertion.
On the other hand The Dispatch can
produce most substantial evidence
that sWebb's statement is untrue.
That evidence is nothing more nor
less than the bill itself. which is on
file With county treasurer Gritton,
and we defy Richard Webb or any of
his jumpered satellites to find any
item on that bill which reads Eek
press, Sl.00, F" and to which alleged
item the hogwash comment referred.
This is not the first time the Ledger
has mlsrepresented facts in order to
hoO al OAO0oO W a 40"
bouquets. For the past thirty two
years he has been Sin the same old
business. '-Dispatch.
When the Ledger undertakes to ex-
pose official shortcomings, or graft ID
public matters, the editor is generally
pretty certain of his ground. We do
not go into it blindly, but invariably
take our stand on the records. The
case above cited was no exception to
the rule. We took our item from
'the bill itself, which is on tile'' in
the treasurer's oEce. We may posi-
bly, be mistaken once in a while.
But in face of the "bluff'' article
detying US to produce proof of our
assertion, We this week looked up the
bill again, intending, if we found we
hau inadvertently fallen into an
error, to make the correction, and
take back the charge. After examin-
ing the bill, however, we must stay
with our original statement, as being
the only Ineligible reading of the
1bOAs AhO Alu0 lCoOo
July $500 envelopes No Ga 81. 90
express 81 50. sc
The word which we construe as
express" is IndistinctIy written; il
might be intended for expense oil
expenses. The is written as ''p'
but that would be meaningless. We
asked another to interpret, and ht
was unable to tell what it stood for
And we defy those who allowed it tt
make out anything else than express
or expense. And in either case The
charge, written as such, in connection
with the furnishing of 800 envelopes
and therefore falls within the Scope
of grating business. The scheduI,
price is 81. so for 500 envelopes. Tha
Is all we have charged, all we hav,
been allowed, and why the super
visors should permit the Dispatch t.
charge 40 per cent more and do i
month after month, is beyond GU
comprehension. An established rat
is supposed to apply to all who furn
ish supplies to the county officers
1t behoves the supervisors to see tina
no overcharge is made. That is wha
they were elected for. But thi
setting aside of the schedule adopted
10 years ago, and refusal to adopt
another, if it has become obsolete
thereby allowing one shop to ring il
extra, while another adheres strictly
to the old-tIme WORKOUT schedule, /:
a shame and disgrace. The Ledger
does not propose to Intentionally
misrepresent anything. 1t has giver
the facts as far as We could gather
them from the bill. The Dispatch
failed to inform its readers what this
extra 81 for 500 envelopes was for,
and we now call upon our cotempor.
airy to enlighten the public on that
score. Let us know what he meant
by the word we have Interpreted
as express" and cannot upon re-
examination interpret in any other
way.
In the bill of our contemporary
allowed by the supervisors at their
meeting last week, the same gougine
tactics are pursued. The wording is
changed but the result reached is pre-.
cisely the same. In this bill we find
two items reading as follows:
500 60 envelopes $3.50, stock 81 So. 81
The word ''stock" is substituted
for express or Expenses, but the
graft of 40 per cent on the sheduIe
price is retained in each item. II
would certainly be a wonderful ac
complishment for printer to furnish
envelopes or any other printed matter
without stock. The order for print
ing necessarily includes the stock
If merchant orders 500 envelopes,
and was charged $3.50 for printing
and 81 for stock, he would be apt to
open his eyes in wonderment at such
an unprecedented proceeding. But
with the county managers, this thing
is played month after month by the
Dispatch, and still there is nothing
doing to correct the evil. At the
same time the Ledger puts in its
price, ccording 10 schedule. and with
the discrepancy staring the super
visors in the face, the unjust and
ahsurd disorim iDation ooptiDuoa ne e