Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1908-12-26
CITY PRINTING PLANT FAILS
Experiment in Municipal Owner
ship Costs Boston 100000.
Victim Of Political and Labor Mis-
acknowledgement Rec
Ommends DiscOntinuance.

Boston, Mass.-The report of the
Finance Commission to Mayor Hib-
bard In regard to the Municipal Print
ing Plant has opened the eyes of tax
payers to the folly of the city's at
tempting to conduct such an estab-
lishment, and the believers in munich
pal ownership stand aghast at the
revelations.
Here was an experiment in munich
pal control, municipal industry en-
dowed with every advantage appar-
emily, ample capital, generous appro-
priations, plant in excellent physical
condition, regular work of the same
general character throughout the
year, everything favorable for a sue
cessful enterprise, which should do
the city's printing better than by con-
tract, and which should be able to
pay as good or better wages while
giving shorter hours to employees.
Notwithstanding these advantages,
which seemed to assure success, the
plant became the prey Of political
spoilsmen, who operated it in strict
conformity to the requirements of the
labor unions, and extravaganza, in
competence and dishonesty caused a
total loss to the city of at least ST.
OO0,0 900.
The commission also Incorporates
into its report to the Mayor and City
Councils the revelations made by an
expert who investigated the plant
shortly after Mayor Hibbard took
office, when 1t was found that the
printing plant was nothing short Of
municipal junk shop.
The expert found the stock room
crowded with merchandise In excess
of the ordinary needs of the depart
ment; an unnecessary number of en-
ployes from the standpoint OF ef-
flciency and economy; incompetent
and sometimes useless employees
forced upon, or at least accepted by
the superintendent; lamatable lack
Of interest manifested in the work;
with hands idle for hours at time.
An examination of the labor cost,
made by comparing the time sheets
Of the composing room and press
room workers with the pay rolls,
showed a very large discrepancy be-
tween the time as reported on the
time sheets and the time for which
they were paid as shown by the pay
roll Upward of 5000 entries were
thus compared, and it appeared that
the city paid for 16,767 hours more
than the time reported on the time
keepers sheets. This involved loss
iof $6115.2O, of which $3383.24 was
in the composing room and $1731.96
in the press room.
Superintendent James H. Smyth,
who has been trying for ten months
to transform this municipal white
elephant" into a paying enterprise,
says:
IT am strongly in favor of the dis
continuance of the printing plant by
the city.
"Its total cost to the city of Boston
for the eleven years of its existence up
to the beginning Of this year was
over $2,000,000.
"The past management has been
frightfully extravagant, and the con-
seQuent cost to the city outrageously
high.
"Boston has no business to attempt
to do that which cannot be efficiently
done by the municipality. BY giving
the work out under private contract
and competition, it will prevent the
recurrence of into1erable conditions
and save the taxpayers from an an
nual loss which in the last eleven
years has aggregated nearer to $1S'
100000 than to any smaller sum-"