Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-08
INK IRREGULARITIES
Methods in Bureau of Engrav-
ing and Printing.
LARGE SAVING MADE NOW
colloquy Between Chairman Tawney
and Director Sullivan.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY BAKER
Now Has Case Under Consideration as
to Whether Prosecution
Will Stand.

United States Attorney Baker of the
District OF Columbia has under considera-
ton at present the report Of secret service
operatives who investigated alleged irregu-
larfties in the purchase Of ink materials
for the use Of the bureau of engraving and
printing. The amount involved is under
stood to be between $500, 900 and 81, O00, 0O0
and the Irregularities are said to have ex-
tended over a period of from four to seven
years.
The papers in the case were turned over
to Mr.. Baker with the request that he sub
init an opinion as to whether a criminal
prosecution Of the persons involved would
likely be successful. At the Treasury De-
partment this morning Star reporter was
informed that Mr.. Baker had not yet sub
mitted his opinion. When seen at the dis
trict attorneys office this morning Mr..
Baker declined absolutely to discuss the
case.
Last year when new contracts for ink
materials were about to be awarded charges
were made to the director OF the bureau
against the ink expert of the bureau, who
from 1898 to 1905 had practically final de-
cision in the matter Of dry colors. ink ma
terials and the like. The director submit
ted the allegations to the Assistant Sec
rotary of the Treasury Keep, with the
result that secret service operatives were
detailed to the case. 1t Is understood that
several ink and color manufacturers brought
the charges. claiming that while the &C
cused ink expert was an official Of the
bureau they had been wrongfully denied
participation in the government ink con-
tracts.
Turned Over to District Attorney.
The report of the operatives was submit
ted to Mr. Keep, who. through the Secre-
tary Of the Treasury, turned it over to
District Attorney Baker, who. according to
treasury officials seen this morning, has not
yet sub:itted an opinion in the matter.
All facts connected with the alleged ir-
Irregularities have been suppressed up to
now, and probably would never have be-
come known-in the event of 1t being deter
mined inadvisable to institute prosecution
but for q paragraph in the published re-
port of the hearings on the sundry civil
bill before the committee on appropriations
of the House of Representatives during the
session just ended. 49,
This paragraph contains a colloquy be-
tween Representative Tawney of Mime
sofa, chairman of the committee, and d.
rector Sullivan of the bureau Of engraving
and printing. in which It is brought out that
since the charges Of Irregularities were in
vestigated by me secter service men t has
been possible to effect a saving OF about
S125,OOO year in the one item of dry
coors" purchased by the bureau, most Of
this reduction being duo to the cut in the
price of hard black from 45 cents to II
cents pound.
The Colloquy Referred To.
The colloquy between Representative
Tawney. and. Director Sullivan. which
throws some little light on the subject, fol-
lows
The chairman--"Mr., Sullivan, in the item
for materials, there is reduction Of $685.
coo. Your estimate there for the fiscal
year 1908 is $a2S,0o3. and our appropriation
for the current fiscal year is $685.. 1852"
Mr.. Sulhvan-"YeS."
The Chairman-Wiu you expend the
s565.408 this year?
Mr.. Sullivan do not think We shall
expend all Of it, sir.
The Chairman-What are the reductions
that made it possible to reduce this
amount?
of materials.
The Chairman-This is the first time in
the hearings for two sessions of Con-
gress that l have found a reduction In
the cost of materials.
Mr.. sullivan-Last spring We opened
bids for our materials as usual, and l
took a more careful part in 1t than 1 ever
did before OF course, under other ad-
mnistrations the gentlemen at the head
took advice from various sources. Last
spring got hold of the thing myself and
made personal investigation of one item
an item of hard black-and the price
was reduced from 45 cents pound to IL
cents a pound.
Devised by Same Man in Bureau.
The chairman-"Was that the case where
the ink you had been using was manufac-
tured under a process that was devised or
invented by some man in the bureau?'
Mr.. Sullivan-"Yes; alleged to be-"
The chairman-"You have reduced it, you
say, from AZ cents to II cents a pound?'
Mr.. sullivan-Yes: we are now paying
II cents a pound for it, and it is giving ex-
cellent results
The chairman-"What is the aggregate
reduction in that one item? Can you give
it to us?''
Mr.. Sullivan-"I can not give you the ag-
gregate, because it Is all In dry colors: but
there Is $1A.OOO saving in that Item in dry
colors. and large part of 1t Is In that item
of hard black. After / had made my per-
sonal investigation in regard to this one
item I turned all the balance of the items
over to Mr.. Ralph, who had by this time
been designated by the Secretary as the fu-
ture assistant director of the bureau: and
Mr.. Ralph went into it and made an inves-
tigatiop on all the other items; and he de-
veloped soft black that we had been pay
ing Us cents pound for. and got 1t at II
cents q pound; and all the other colors in
the same way. He went right straight
through the whole series of colors there.
and we made our contracts at all these re-
duced rates."
The chairman-How long had they been
furnishing this black at 45 cents?
Mr.. Sullivan--I think they had been fur
nishing it about four years.
Price Previously Paid.
The chairman-What WAS the price pre-
viously paid for this ink?
Mr. Sullivan-We had been paying before
that 45 cents, and we had paid before that
IS cents. Years ago, there was firm up
In Troy, N. Y, and I think they are Just
as square firm as ever lived-the firm Of
Titus Eddy & Sons. They will not sell a
pound of their black today under IS cents
under any circumstances, but they have
magnificent black, which has been recog-
nixed as a standard black in bank-note
printing for sixty years. It has been recog-
nixed In the bureau also an q standard
OF fine black. to my knowledge. for thirty
lve or thrty-stx years; 50 that the impress
sion, always going back to Eddys black
at e cents. rather threw me on the track