The Bozeman courier., 1927-06-17
'TwOULD MAKE A HORSE LAUGH

Wnen laSL weeks Belgrade journal reacneQ our
desk, we found in it a couple of statements that
made US smile right out loud.
One was: "It is a notorious fact that the Re-
publican county commissioners do not desire to
save the taxpayers any money, they would
have Obeyed the law and submitted the county
printing to competitive biddings."
And the other: 'I made bold to state, that if
the county printing was submitted to competitive
bidding on fair, open opportunity to every pub
Usher in Gallatin county, I would guarantee a
saving to the taxpayers of Gallatin county that
would make the extra pay for County Agent
Bodley look like thirty cents"
1t is to laugh.
When the Journal declares that the county
commissioners disObeyed the law in placing the
county printing contract without submitting it
to bids, it displays a lamentable ignorance. In
Montana there is no provision of law requiring
such action. The statute (Chapter II, Section 1,
Session Laws of the Fifteenth Assembly, says:
"The contract shall be let to the newspaper that
in the judgment of the county commissioners shall
be most suitable for performing such work, pro-
vided, that the county commissioners shall re-
quire of any contractor to do such county print
ing good and sufficient undertaking in such
sum as said commissioners may deem advisable
= No such contract for printing shall
extend for period of more than two years."
Nothing directing the county commissioners to
call for bids, or even suggesting such course ap-
pears IN the law. AS a matter of fact, during the
IA years that the local Democratic newspaper
held the county printing contract not even
whisper OF letting it on bid basis was ever
heard. SO the Journal seems to be woefully
ignorant both of the statute and of the general
practice in Gallatin county
It the second statement, however, that
caused us most merriment The Journals "guar-
antee" of Saving" to the taxpayers on county
printing would make Captain Kidd turn over in
his grave. And thereby hangs tale.
For two or three years the Journal man has
been hanging around the court house, balyhooing
about how much he would "save the county" if
ne had the printing contract. About year ago
ne had an opportunity to demonstrate The
management of the Gallatin county fair, knowing
that The Courier plant was extraordinarily busy,
gave him the job of printing the entry blanks.
When the work was finished and delivered it
was accompanied by bill which called for S65 90
see County Warrant No. 1OO1 It was question
ed, but assurance was given that it represented
the Journals regular charge" Thereupon The
Couriers bill for doing the same work in 1925
was resurrected. It was net, 1858. Confronted
with this, the Journal man hemmed and hawed
but stuck to his guns. So his bill, which was
nearly double what The Courier. the county's con-
tract printer, would have charged for the lob
was paid. For the fair commission the experience
was an expensive one and probably will not be
repeated.
This incident shows how the Journal would
save the county money" In other words, il
the Journal had the county printing, judgins
from the basis of the before mentioned Job Gal
latin county would pay from $4,000 to S13.OOC
annually for its printing, as against the $4,000 o.
$1,000 it pays The Courier, the awarding of
contract to which Editor Hampton protests 81
bitterly.
1t is to laugh again.
While we are on the subject of county printing
1t might be well to say few words about the con
tract The Courier now holds. This contract, whicl
runs for two years, provides that printing fo
GaLatn county shall be charged for either a
statutory rates or at Franklin Price List figures
both less general discount of Is per cent
may be asserted that this is the most favorabl
printing contract this county ever has had, an
that under it Gallatin becomes one of the YER
few counties in Montana with contracts based O.
standard prices for ali work, thereby automatic
ally eliminating possibility of overcharge o
graft
Some classes of printing take statutory rates