New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1910-01-12
CONSISTENCY, THOU ART A JEWEL
Now What do You Know About
That.

Fairness and justice is evidently an
absent element in the moral makeup
of several of our present county COM
missioners. This was conspicuonsly
brought to light in the awarding of
the county printing for the year 1910.
Last year the printing was awarded
to the Journal on the bid of DC per
description of the delinquent tax list
and $500 additional for all other.
county printing during that year,
bringing the total cost to about $50
in round numbers according to the
bid. The New Ulm Review Ilast year
submitted a bid offering to print the
delinquent tax list at 15c per discrip-
ton (this being the legal rate) and
$3.50 additional for all other printing
incurred during the year, this bringing
the total county printing expense to
about $3.50. 1t will be seen that the
Review was the lowest bidder by
about $50. Nevertheless last year the
printing was awarded under the pre-
text that that paper was the lowest
bidder on the item of delinquent tax
list for which latter the law provides
that such printing shall go to the
lowest bidder, without considering
that the Review was $50 lower than the
journal on the printing outside of the
delinquent tax list. At that time it
did not occur to the minds of these
wise men to let the printing of the
delinquent tax list go to the Journal
as the lowest bidder on that particular
item and to award the other county
printing to the New Ulm Review as
the lowest bidder on all other county
printing and as would have been con-
sisuent with their action this present
year.
This year the Review submitted
bid to print the delinquent tax list for
&c per description and $3.50 for all
other county printing, while the Jour-
nal offered to print the delinquent tax
list for DC per description and $500 adj
ditional for all other printing. Forced
by law to award the printing of the
delinquent tax list to the lowest bidder
they let this latter item go to the
Review-because they couldn't help
themselves but, low and behold!
the contract for all other printing
which constitutes the lions share was
again awarded to the Journal. In
Justice to Commissioner Jorgensen it
must be stated that he dissented and
that it was Commissioners Polkow,
Knudsen and Tauer who in their un-
surpassable official wisdom affected
the award, Chairman Eckstein not
voting. That the three mentioned
commissioners are the willing servants
of some baneful influence outside of
the interests of the voters of the county
who elected them, is apparent. How
could,they otherwise be sofagrently in
consistent with the principle which
they maintained last year which was,
that the contract for county printing
had to be treated as one item and that
therefore last year the entire printing
had to go to the Journal while this
year they separated the two items as
above mentioned in order, no doubt,
to obligingly please the same interests.
These men must be devoid of pride
and be.carried away by an influence
which blurs their sense of duty as
public officials.
In the light of all these facts what
else could be expected of the Review
but that it should politely decline to
even print the delinquent tax list
under the circumstances above mem
tioned-an item involving about 50
income and requiring a bond Of 81, 900.