Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-07-23
Editorial Comment
The State PRINTING,
cortland Evening Express }

we are ud1ly DelnB tOlu, IN the or
gans which support the administers
ton of Governor Plaisted, that this is
a business administration par ..exeeIl
lenceA Persons Who. only ( read that
side of the campaign literature would
be. led to believe that the business of
the State is being conducted with re-
maTka BILE impartiality and ability, and
the conclusion that the voters are
asked to draw is that they in their
wisdom, should continue lin power an
administration which is doing so well
for the people of Maine. Let us ex-
anime fer a moment one line of bust
ness transactions and see what we find
to be the case.
The contract for printing the State
ballots and for book work for the
State of Maine was awarded to the
Waterville Sentinel Publishing Com
pany at the meeting of the Governor
and Council held June 20. 1911. This
award was contrary to the laws
of the State because Cyrus w. Davis,
Secretary of State, was known to be
financially interested in the Sentinel
Publishing Company. This is the
same Mr.. Cyrus w. Davis by the way.
who told the United States Brewers
Association in Chicago. last October,
that Not until the farmer was
brihed with licensed cider.
was prohibition allowed to go into
the constitution of Maine"
Both the Governor and Council and
the Secretary of State should have
known that this contract was illegal.
~ .If.4s - q g,
damental law of the State and
aroused much unfavorable comment
and condemnation. So. on August Z,
the Governor and Council submitted
the question as to the legality of the
contract, to the Supreme Court. On
November Is the court rendered it's
decision stating that the contract was
Illegal Ten days later the Governor
and Council ordered that the State
printing contract begun by the Water
vile Sentinel Publishing Company and
remaining unfinished November Is
1911 shall be continued by Howard G.
Morse of Waterville, the trustee for
the bond holders of said company,
under the direction of the Governor
and Council, at prices named in the
is furthered ordered that and State
printing which may be required in
classes awarded to said Waterville
Sentinel Publishing Company, shall be
performed as above on the basis of
the bids submitted by said company,
until such time as permanent ar
engagements shall be made for doing
said printing" snsesff as 5HNye
Now the decision of the court rem
dered the contract void. Since No
vemberl Is. 1911, there has, been no
contract. The work has been done,
since that date, for the benefit of the
Waterville Sentinel Publishing Com
pany,. With no existing contract, while
the law expressly provides that there
shall be competitive bids and con-
tract What right has the State audi
tor to allow any payment to be made
for this work to the above company,
and what legal right has the Governor
of the State to draw his warrants for
the payment of these bills. This Illegal
procedure has continued for more
than eight months. The administra-
ton makes no pretense of obeying
the fundamental requirements of the
law applying to State printing. Why9
The Waterville Sentinel Publishing
Company does the printing and gets
the pay!
Under the new direct primary law,
the State is required to print and
furnish the ballots to be used at the
primaries. These ballots were some
19 inches long and some II inches
of
the Socialist ballot, furnished ex-
ceedingly fiat" copy for the printers.
The following figures show how Law
ishly and uselessly they were sup
piled to the cities and towns of the
State. More than 100000 ballots were
sent to Cumberland County. This is
a larger number of ballots than was
ever cast in the whole State of Maine
in any one election. OF this large
number of ballots. more than $4,000
were for the Socialist party. which
party in the State election of 1910,
cast 291 votes in Cumberland County.
served throughout the State. The
Secretary of State ruled that the law
required this unnecessary expense OF
printing and distributing this large
number of ballots and he may be GER
rect in his ruling. but why is the law
deliberately violated in one instance
and SO scrupulously followed in the
other Answer: The Waterville Senti-
mel does the printing!
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