Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1917-11-09
FRIDAY, NOV. 8, 1917.
SHABBY TREATMENT

IT HE RECORD does not make q pfacClce OF air
ing personal differences or grievances through
the columns of the paper but sometimes, when
these grievances concern public officials and pub
lie boards, it is in measure unavoidable. The
Record believes that it has just cause to resent
the treatment which It'll receiving from the pres
ent Board of County Commissioners and the Coun-
ty Clerk, who is the chief purchasing agent of the
Board.
Since the establishment of newspaper at Par
owan little more than two years ago, the County
Clerk has not sent one piece of work. ordered
one dollars worth of supplies for the county, over
which he had control from this paper He has
been extremely biased in this respect as to at
tract the attention of many persons in no way
interested, but who have mentioned the fragrant
display of bias
To be sure county ordinances have been pub
lshed in both the papers of the county, but at one
half or less their regular rates. Two or three of
the county officials residing here have ordered sta
tionery from us.
In few instances bids have been called for
covering the printing of such things as assessment
and tax notices. In these cases The Record has
submitted bids on the work, at least cheap as
it could be obtained from Salt Lake printers, but
there are, unfortunately, what we know as "scabs"
in every professon--people who apparently live to
undermine and injure others who base their prices
for service upon the exigences of the occasion,
Knocking to the ground when there is a competa-
tive bid, and holding the customer up when the
question of price is matter of honor and fair deal
ing.
We say that this is unjust competition. In the
first place, why should the newspapers be required
to submit comparative bids for commodities they
furnish to the county any more than the stores and
other business establishments, from whom sup
plies are being purchased every month? Why
should the Couny Board representing the people
of the county collectively, expect and insist upon
obtaining their needs at less figure than private
individuals have to pay for the same service or
commodities? We are willing for comparison of
our prices, either on comparative bid, or on open
order, with those of the best and most responsible
printers of this state, and if they found to be
as low, or lower, that should be sufficient, and we
are entitled to a portion of the work. regardless
of whether or not some one else, out of jealousy
and venom, is willing to bid less than the work is
worth
These matters we have passed by lightly and
have made little or remonstrance, preferring to
suffer wrong rather than to do wrong" and know
ing full well that the clerk would favor his home
paper in any way he could.
But now comes up matter that cannot be so
lightly condoned and excused. We refer to the
publication of the delinquent tax list for the cur
rent year, which was awarded by the county COM
mssioners at their last meeting to the Parowan
Times. This is a work which cannot be performed
at all satisfactorily in an office dependent upon
hand composition. If such an office gets by at
all with the work, it is by the omission of the ma
jority of the punctuation marks required to make
the descriptions ineligible, and by the subsitu-
ton of small letters in majority of places for
capitals where they are called for The voters of
this county had a sample of this class of work
three years ago. and those then concerned in
awarding the contract said, "Never again" Not
10 per cent of the descriptions were set correctly
1t simply cannot be done with list such as Iron
county ordinarily furnishes, with ordinary cases
of foundry type
Of course, the Commissioners did not know If
they had they would have made some inquiry as
to how the list was to be set and in what shape it