The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1923-03-01
MORE ABOUT THE
COUNTY PRINTING.
Ii Is Not Strange That an Effort
Should Be Made to Protect"
the Commissioners, but II
IL Laughable to Readers
Continued from Page One)

Ii the star Will admit that county
funds are being played with in this
manner, for politics sake, yes, and
positively wasted if no harsher term
shall be applied, it must not blame
citizens for believing that all county
business is conducted, and all coun-
ty funds expended, in a similar
manner. It must not blame people
for believing that if the commits
sioners will stoop to betraying the
interests of the people who elected
them, in the printing instance, those
same commissioners will betray the
trust reposed within their hands in
every other business transaction.
In fact, men who will pay out more
than double the amount necessary,
of public funds, for any given SER
vice or goods, are absolutely betray-
ing the public trust, and those who
would protect them in such action
Immediately place themselves in
the same class. They might Just
as well pad the payrolls and pay
county employees double the amount
earned. They wouldn't do that, no,
but the instances are paralleling and
one would be just as dishonorable
as the other.
County funds do not belong to
the commissioners, nor 20 any of
their henchmen. They belong to all
of the people and taxpayers and
should be expended as carefully as
the commissioners would spend their
own funds.
The Star points to the fact that
the Harding administration recog-
nizes The Silver State as an ad-
ministration newspaper, but neg
lects to relate that it was only a
month ago that the Star pri tied a
government legal notice concerning
a contemplated improvement. of the
postoffice.. 1t is true that The
Silver State gets practically all of
the business from the land offices
which is practically all the govern
ment business there is, blu. it is
such a small matter thai the COM
menting upon it by the Star is
merely another attempt to find ar
excuse for the commissioners, &C.
ton in throwing away at least
$1,000 year, We repeat, merely te
reward political friends. There il
no parallel in the government mat
ter, and that all of the cards MAY
be laid exclusively before the read
ers of The Silver State we list the
government business, in total, il
this county for the year 1922, a.
follows:
Carson Land office, l922-Janu
airy, $3.50; February, $3.50
March, nothing; April, $3.50
May, $3.50; June, $3.50; July
$12.50; August, $500; September
October, and November, nothing
December, $3.50. This makes
total of $162.50 for the year 1922
or an average of $13.54 per month
Elko Land office-January, Feb
ruary, March, and April, Nothing
May, $3.50; June, nothing; July
$3.50; August $3.50; Septem
Der, nothing; October, $3.50; No
vember and December, nothing
This makes the bountiful patronag
from the Elko Land office enjoye,
by The Silver State during 1922 tn
enormous sum of $50 for the en-
tire year, or an average of SAL,
per month. If the Star begrudge
The Silver State this wonderful
graft of $4.16 per month wei
gladly whack up. The gross tota
from the Elko Land office durin,
the year 1921 was exactly the same
$50.
Endeavoring to compare thes
trifiing sums with the $3214.S0 tn
Star got for county printing las
year; the $10S.S0 received by TIL
Silver State; the S243.S1 receive,
by the Irwin-Hodson Company o
Portland, Oregon; and the $1519.S
paid to the A. Carlisle Company o
Reno, by the county commissioner
during the year 1922, making
total of $5086.52, half of whicl
could have been saved to the tax
payers of this county if the com
missioners had needed the propose
and offer of The Silver State t.
do the work for half that amount
thus appears to the reader to b
small potatoes indeed, not onl,
laughable, but as a direct effort t.
becloud the proposition and to be
little the intelligence of averag
people.
THE public really has little, i
any interest in newspaper contro
versies,' says the Star. No, the,
have very little interest except t
know that practically $2,543.26 O
the public's funds, or half of tn,
s5oS6.26 paid out by the com
missioners to printing firms las
year, was entirely wasted, and i
not wasted then paid out unneces
iarily to reward political friend
hip. No, the public should hav,
no interest when a bunch of poll
teal highbinders dip down in tn,
public pocketbook and remove sucl
small items as $5086.26. We dom
blame the Star for not wanting tn,
public interested. Anyone mike,
up in similar project would no
want the public interested, if the,
could avoid it, but unfortunately il
this instance they can't. The Silvel
State believe the public to be vital,
interested and if comments to thi,
writer are any criterion they ar,
interested in other matters than tn,
county printing.
Now If the Star really wanted tt
answer The Silver States expos,
OF the county printing matter VIII,
did it not refer to the offer of thi
L mn L 4