Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-08-26
Printing Overcharee.


Further investigation into the recent
allegations that the State paid enorm-
Gus overeharge for the printing of the
ballots for the June Primaries. con-
firms all that. has already been said
on that subject. Two points which
any man, even though he be not a
printer, can understand, will illustrate
how this overcharge was accomplish
ed The contract for the printing of
the ballots under the provision of
which, though it is not now legal, the
Waterville Sentinel is still doing this
work, provides in so many words
that the charge shall be for the ac-
tual number of impressions re-
CURED"
In printing these ballots on the cy-
Under press, the forms were made up
in what printers call -four on that is
there are four copies Hinted to each
impression. This is shown from the
bill eff the Waterville Sentinel which
says that the stock cuts four to the
sheet. Under division of Glass D.,
the Waterville Sentinel contracted to
Go printing on the primary ballots at
the rate of 81 for the first 500. ten cents
hundred for the second 500 and 90
cents thousand on all except the first
thousand. 1t should be borne in mind
that the general Specifications required
that the charge shall be for the actual
number of impressions, so that in
printing 1.127,SS0 ballots on one side,
there would be ene-fourth of that num-
Der of impressions, or 2S1.970. Now at
80 cents per thousand for those i'm
pressions, the bill for the press work
for one side of the ballots should have
been S253.77, whereas, the Waterville
Sentinel charged and the State paid,
sl,0l5.69. The same charge was made
FOR the face of the ballots, so that for
the press work on these ballots the
Sentinel collected four times as much as
the contract called for, or $2,03l.3S,
when it was entitled to S50S74 for it re-
ceived $3.50 per thousand for the first
thousand. This overcharge is not in
accordance with the contract with the
State and if the state printing were
subjected to the same scrutiny in the
auditors office that other bills are al
legged to be subjected to, it is a very
strange feature of the case that the
bill should have passed and been paid
without Auditor stevens attention be-
ing called to it,
Another curious thing about these
bills is that the bill for changes is
charged under different class as
specified in the contract, from that I'M
der which the press work is charged
The press work at 80 cents thousand
| is charged under Division 4, Glass ID.
In this class the schedule of the con-
tract provides that changes shall be
| reckoned as time work, and shall be
| paid for according to certain specified
rates for the time required to make
| the changes. Instead of that the Wa
teryille Sentinel bill charges for max
| ing 1893 changes on the back of the
ballots and 402 changes on the face OF
| the ballots, the former at Is cents per
| change, the latter at AZ cents per
| change These are the figures ar
| ranged for in the contract for making
| the changes in the State election bal
| lots, ballots to be used in September
| and are known in the contract as Di-
| vision ] of Glass -. That is, the Sen
| tinel charged for press work four times
| as much as it agreed to charge, figur-
| ing under Division 4, and it CHARGED
| for piece work instead of time work or
| the changes, figuring under Division /
| The Kennebec Journal brought the
| matter to the attention of Hon. Her
bert M. Heath OF Augusta. who wrote
la legal opinion on the subject which
| the Journal published in Tuesday
| mornings issue.