Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1913-12-09

first in one and then in the other, al
the price of one dollar per square. as
heretofore paid all the papers. One
publication was at that time. ap-
parently, satisfactory to the council.
However, when the Freeman-Trib-
une submitted it's bid to do the work
at one-third Of what it previously
cost the taxpayers, the council could
see no way to serve its defenders and
supporters-the Herald and Journal
If it gave the Taxpayers the bene-
fit of this bid. Hence the matter
was referred to a committee-the
usual way that legislators and other
public servants have of disposing of
troublesome matters. However, when
the Herald and Journal submitted
counter propositions no committee
foolishness was deemed necessary
Oh, no. If any delay was allowed
the Freeman Tribune might over
come the fimsy excuses offered by
the council for not accepting its bid,
so the contract was Immediately
awarded both papers and the taxpay-
ers made to pay twice as much as
they would have had to pay if the
bid of any one Of the papers had
been accepted. If the council want
ed to serve the taxpayers and was
disposed to punish the Freeman
Tribune, why didn't it award the
contract to the Journal or the Her
aid? 1t had declared that only one
paper would hereafter be used
In it's issue of Nov. goth, the Her.
aid, in speaking of this matter, said:
thereafter the various publica-
tions will be made in only one of the
papers instead Of the three. 1t is
considered that the result will be as
satisfactory, and considerable work
will be saved the auditing committee
in keeping tab on the various publi-
cations"
The Herald at that time
supposed one publication in the Her.
aid or Journal was going to cost the
taxpayers one dollar, hence it was
pleased with the arrangement, but
when it discovered that bid had
been submitted for one-third Of that
rate, it suddenly became imbued
with the idea that two publications
were necessary and that one of those
publications should always be in the
Herald. !, !. g..
The Freeman Tribune is not COM
planning of the counting room OF the
Herald in this matter. AS a business
proposition it was looking out for
its own interests, but when the Her.
aid editorially defends such double
dealing in it's editorial capac-
ity it is an enemy of the taxpayers,
just as the council is when it pays
more than necessary for a given SER
vice.
''He that avoideth not small faults,
by little and little falleth into great
er ones.'
This printing matter is a small
thing, but it shows the disposition
of the council not to give the tax
payers the benefit of its best endeav-
ors.
The proposition submitted by the
Freeman Tribune contained no vital
as the Herald init
mates. All the reservations it con-
tanned was that the contract could
be abrogated upon thirty days notice
by either party and that all Job
printing for the city should be
awarded to the lowest bidder. A
of the claims committee was
informed by the Freeman-Tribune
that so far as this company was con-
cerned it would make contract for a
year, and that the reservation was
put in for the benefit of the council
in case some other publisher might
make a lower bid later. Possibly the
that job work should be
submitted to bids, was the objection
to which the Herald refers.