The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-02-24

sna,e and Assembly Calendar. .....
fsper and piaiias.; ,'.'.'. 1880 1880
Composition, -piain :. ..,...... msli.os psl, os
Conpopiti on-Rule and figure. so1ts.G 0isg @
racer. printing, Ac....'..... issg@ n5M
EnsrayinS printing psStr;.t;. .sMss@ !sSsSS
bnans aesamcni. in paper. sM isisSs
Hai 9S S;nsiss Joirna......... sssssS sSssS
binding caleiitiars ........t.... 800 TOO
The Investigators thlnx, as they explain
In their report that the above figures IL
iustrate some high class teamwork by
the bidders"
"where they did not agree precisely TO
a cent on each ITEM say the investiga-
tors, then one was exactly double tho
price Of the other TO cent. Then In
order that tho Argus company should
finally be the highest bidder In the total
so that the Lyon company should get
the contract, the Argus people 20 sky
rockcting on few other Items For
instance in printing and furnishing paper
for cngrossed bills the Lyon company bid
ss,132 and the Argus company s11.7%5.
The Lyon company bid at the rate Of
20 cents a page and the Argus company
at the rate of 20 cents pae. In the
previous year when the Argus company
got the contract 1t bid 20 cents a page,
the figure at which the Lyon company got
IL Inst year. Counting up a few other
items the total OF the bids was: J. T..
Lyon Company. scss.702.40; Argus Com
pany. 1895. 25S90.
THE Argus Company was awarded the
contract in 1911 at sIse,22s.77. Extras
ewelled that to $36s,5544?, Just as extras
4, tho ,,s, iov,.,a.iva scs.ion will avail
-, -, -.,. -.
INC Lyon o''i u! ee'c'"' "''"'e" '"o"
sand dollars.
.
~""'
epeclai attention Ia called to the ex-
cessive prices paid for the printing of
bills introduced In the Assembly and Sem
ate. The investigators say that the con-
tracts are framed wholly In the interest
of the contract printer and entirely against
the interest OF the State
'"rherc liz no provision whatever made
for standing matter" the report says,
and no provision made for correction In
legislative bills so that even If only a
semicolon Ii inserted az correction or
some purist IN English puts in one word
instead Of another In the printed bill the
State again pays for composition, not for
the page on which the work was done but
for an the pages Of the bill whether the
bill be a charter for the city Of Utica.
with l40 pages, or a bill to prevent tuber-
cniosis in cattle, with two or three pages
The repeated charges for composition are
shown in the following taken from Senate
bill, numbered go, 6is, SIS:
introduced by Mr. Malone--read
twice and ordered printed and when
printed TO be committed to the Commit
tee on Affairs for Cities-reported favor
ably from said committee with amend
and a,,sn renr,n,sa ~ he $500. a', en- ,h.
committee OF the whole-amended in said
committee, ordered to a third reading and
to be reprinted as amended
The typesetting for this bill has been
charged for three times in the Senate
alone The same bill may have been
undergoing similar treatment In the As
sembly. Each time the bill Is ordered re-
printed the contractor charges for new
composition.
In three cases investigated composition
was paid for nine times over. where the
actual composition because OF the amend
ments should not have cost the State more
than II. 1t did cost the State 800 per
cent more.
The printing board, or rather the
clerk who runs II, has made no pro-
vision, as would be made in any business
mouse. to take care OF corrections OF stand
ing matter In legislative bills
Hence the drain on the Treasury,