Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1911-01-06
THE STATE PRINTER.

The local printers union in the cal
ital of Oregon is making an acti'
effort to secure the passage of la
placing the State Printer on fiat sa
ary and providing for the purchas
of a printing plant by the state.
their last meeting, these printers pas:
ed the following resolution:
Resolved, That Capital Typograpt
ical Union, No. 210, would urge tn
immediate enactment of a law provid
ing for a state-owned printing plar
and fiat salary for the state printer.
In other words, this Salem unio
would fill the statehouse basemer
with printers-good, bad and indiffer
entail doing about three hour!
work for full days pay. and fore
the State of Oregon to foot the bill
If the Oregon Legislature desires t
follow the path of wisdom, it vii
have nothing to do with this schem
to provide a state-owned printing
plant and a flat-salary printer. n,
one will dispute that oregon is payin.
a large amount of money for its print
ing, but the adoption of such a Law
would open the way to a system o
extravaganza and graft that woulC
make the present printing bill lool
like the contribution of an infan
Sunday School class to the missionary
fund.
Oregon does not need a state-owneC
printing plant Neither would it be
wise IN nIapa the urfptaP nm q flat sa l.
ary What the state does need IS the
injection of a little common business
sense into the affairs of that depart
ment. Instead of carrying out the
plans and advice of a lot of job
hungry printers and visionary cranks,
and passing a law providing for a
state-owned plant, the legislature
should revise the printing laws now
on the statute books and make them
conform TO modern business condi-
tions in the printing world.
Almost half of the printing now
done for the state represents a useless
expenditure of money. Not one-third
OF the printed matter of certain classes
is really needed by the state, and tons
of IL are never used. The statehouse
basement is piled fun of unused re-
ports of state boards and commissions
all work of the most expensive char
acter. but absolutely useless and unin-
teresting to the ordinary taxpayer.
Where thousands of copies of certain
documents are printed, hundreds
would suffice. The State Printer is
not to blame for this condition of af-
fairs. He does not make the law. He
prints what the law tells him to print
no more. no less-and he charges
what the law allows him.
on certain classes of work, incred-
ible as the assertion may seem. the
state printer actually loses money.
on other classes, and, in fact, on the
greater part Of the work, he makes a
proft beyond the bounds Of reason.
This statement will not seem at all
strange when II is recalled that the I
scale OF prices under which the state I
printing was done was adopted over
30 years ago. Probably no trade or
line Of manufacturing business has
more nearly kept in advance OF the
march OF progress and invention than
has that OF the printer. and yet the
taxpayers OF Oregon are willing TO
tamely submit TO a scale OF prices
adopted in the days Of the old Wash
ington hand press. When they do
raise their voices In protest. IL is not
TO object to the prices charged for any
certain class OF work or to crlticise
their lawmakers for authorizing the
printing OF tons Of useless matter. but
IL Is 20 abuse the State Printer. Nor
should il be forgotten that the recent
heavy Increase in the cost Of the
department 20 the state is
directly due to laws passed by the ,
people themselves The direct prim-
ary law. the initiative and referen- ,
dunn. and the corrupt practices act
have all added enormously 10 the pub ,
Dc printing bill
The people do not need state
owned printing plant. hiled with
-rafters. -clock-watchers" and politi- y
al hangers-on- They cannot AFFORD /,
% pay 81 or S. a day TO a lot OF Idlers
whose only ability lies In lining I'D the
'oters on election day FOR this or that /,
'olitieai candidate. Neither should !.
he taxpayers be satisfied with the "
ervices q any man who Is willing to
.ccept the ONCE of State Printer az !,
25eo year, tthe amount proposed :,
o be paid that oficerl A really "
ompetent man can get more salary
han that as manager or superintend- ID
nj of any of the large city printing.
oncerns. without paying out a cent :.
b anyone FOR helping him to land the y
oh Any man who would b. willing
b make the race for state Printer un-
er the expensive primary law Tor the
ioasiy salary Of s250o a year could
e safely claszed as an incompetsnt
? a grafter-or probably both
The state of oregon should D. VII p
ng 10 pay q fair. living rate for is u
rinting-a decent NaEe for ability .
ID an honest day's work. That Is an -
ny reasonable taxpayer can. or dos A
T. Therefore. the solution o. the II
ate printing problem should prove
} easy task. The state does not need oi
plant q is own Il only needs q -
vision q the existing scale of prices
make the cost of the state work ~
nform . that Of q given amount of
intlnr turned ont by any of the
udern ofnces q the western States
10 saving 81 thousands 81 dollars q In
ar cuuid b. accompiished IN two or ~
Zee days and a. q nominai cost bv a
rloElnE three master printers from N
, % the larre Partiaad concerns % "
,s the cld price ~ ard revise ths rs
A. ~ charre4 Purtiant = fun % sr'
rfinr houzss that are annually pro- -
Inr q fzr rrraier Quantity 81 print m
matter than - turned cut at the az