The record. [volume] (St. Maries, Idaho) 1913-1918, 1915-06-08
A GOOD LOSER

and a half years that the Record
has been edited in this city has
il been the intention of the man
agement to enter into newspaper
controversies with its competitors
merely because it is in a position
to do mud singing through its
columns. Yet in this instance the
statements scattered so freely
through the columns of the
Gazette of last week call for an
answer, not in the manner
adopted by our esteemed COM
petitor but merely the telling of
plain facts without any attempt
to throw mud or to make state
ments which while not actually
making charges Of a serious ma
ture still imply the same both
against the management of this
paper and the Board of County
Commissioners as we'll.
Business adverses are not un-
common in any line of business
hut when a concern is given the
same privilege as another, the
same careful consideration,
namely, the opportunity to COM
pete by means of sealed compe-
titive bids for a contract and
then loses on account of the bid
of the competitor being lower
than his own, in our experience,
at least, il is but seldom that this
same loser will publicly show his
chagrin over his loss by charges
and mis-statements such as were
made in the articles appearing in
last weeks Gazette under the re-
spective headings of ITO Our
Readers" and mo Such Trouble
in Benewah."
We feel sure that the public in
general will consider these state
mcnts as we do, merely the over
flow of one who is a hard loser,
but for the enlightenment of the
taxpayer of Benewah county who
is watching the actions of the ap-
pOintive officials of Benewah
County we publish the following
verified statements concerning
the action of the board OF COM
missioners in the letting of the
printing contract.
Bids from the three printing
establishments of the City of ST.
Maries were opened on Thursday,
May 27, two members of the board
of county commissioners and the
clerk of the board being present.
Although the board had expressly
stated that only bids submitted on
the forms furnished by them and
upon the list as a whole would
be considered, three bids were in
evidence, although but two news
papers are published in thee ity
and the law plainly states that the
county advertising must be done
in an established newspaper of
the county. The board of cOun-
ty commissioners tOtaled the bids
of the three concerns and that of
the Record was found to be from
ten to fifteen per cent the lower
and consequently, following out
the economic policy of the board,
regardless of politics, the Record
was awarded the contract. The
files of the county show these to
be the facts and anyone so inter
ested, or doubling the veracily Of
our statements may easily veri-
fly the same.
The editor Of the Gazette in
one breath intimates that the bid
by which the Record secured the
contract was so ridiculOusly low
that the work could not be done
without "nim-haming the public"
and in the next intimates that
his was the low bid and that thv
contract was obtained through
favOritism and the influence Of a
relative on the official county
staff" This latter insinuatiOn
Is low and despicable and is so
absurd that it needs no further
comment only that the editor
should be excused in letting his
wrath so get away with him, but
he can hardly be blamed as the
provocation was such, lit may
have to suspend, as many a
stronger institution has during
the past two years"
AS to the former, if the Gazette,
with it's old fashioned, out of
date, hand composition could do
the work without being tempted
to flim-ham the county" then
there is certainly a fair profit in
the contract for the Record with
a modern equipped Office and the
latest machine for rapid compo-