The searchlight., 1912-11-01
The PRINTING BILL
(Continued from First Page,


commissioners, recognized the bid
Of the News as illegitimate. He
is an editor and practical printer |,
and he made a statement at the
time that the News would lose |
money on the bid, unless an over
charge was made some where, for
the bid was below cost.
Mr.. Ferris proposed to throw
out the bid on account of the fact
that Valley County should not ac-
cspt something for nothing. The
other two county commissioners,
however, saw a chance 10 save
Valley County several hundred
dollars, and they accepted the bid
Of the Valley County News and
rejected the bids of its competi-
tors. They said "we will watch
the bills Of the Valley County
News carefully, and if they make
overcharges on items not men
toned IN the contract, we will cut
them out"
This program the county COM
missioneIs carried out. The News
carried out its contract OF Tree
printing and half price printing
until they came 10 the election
supplies Then they put in bill
for 50. sag so. The county com
missioners promptly cut the bill
down to 81, ,o23 SO, cutting out just
81, 500. 90 rhe News accepted
the amount OF sI,o23 so, giving a
receipt in full.
On the whole contract the News
undoubtedly lost monSy, hui II as
their own crooked bid which
caused them TO do SO. the a.
mount allowed by the board for the
election supplies was amply sutiic
lent Tor those supplies. They lost
no money on the election supplies
at all. The two thousand five
hundred dollars was put III TO re-.
coup them on losses sostained 10y
! reason of their low bid on the bal
! lance OF the contract, which was
. made IN that way to get the coa-
/ tract away frcm legitimate bidders
The above exposition OF the
Printing contract OF the Valley
County News is an extremely Ia:l
and concise statement OF the affair
1t was the fault OF the Shanley q
Rhodes bid that they lost money
on their contract, not the fault oil
the county commissioners, who cut
!. out the over charges ON election
!, supplies.
In fact the county con missioner.
are to b. highly commended Oh
the result for they made The News
. 1--we up to the letter of the contracr
: and saved VALLEY County ju
' 81, 500 by doing SO.
The Valley County News last
week gave the SIoIy more III detaI
4 but very much a. the Searchligh
D here explains It, aud winds up a:
< follows:
D The News lost money on the contrsc
. and Farris knows it as we'll as We do, ant
Farris knows that we didn't force tn
y county to pay the bill because the write
. was expecting to withdraw from the New
= and be knew that Mr.. Stanley. who wa
interested in political .natters otherwise
p would rather forfeit his interest in IN
. county account than explode the politics
Il row that was brewing in the Republica
party at that time. which has now becom
= very much in evidence.
. As a matter of fact the New
n didn't force the county to pay tn
. bill" because they couldn't. an
4 their whole article was only an el
. fort to show that they were just
Il fed in making this overcharge.
. There is however, no justifica
u tion for such conduct. Stanley .
. Rhodes entered into the contrac
4 OF their own tree will, md the
= must now abide by the conse
= quences OF their own act, which
= according to their own story show
= them up in no enviable light.
II The Searchlight did not inten'
= to make any comments on thi