Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1934-12-26
PRINTING CONTRACT AWARDED

vote, Monday afternoon awarded the contract for provid-
ing printing and supplies to the county for the next two
years to the Red Lodge Picket Journal. This decision was
made in spite of the fact that The Picket Journals bid will
cost Carbon county taxpayers from two to three thousand
dollars a year more than it would have cost them had the
contract been awarded to the Carbon County News.
The new contract is effective January ], 1885, and re-
mains in effect until December 81, 1886. In other words,
it gives Mr.. Charles II. Draper, publisher of The Picket
Journal, license to fitch a tidy sum from the taxpayers of
this county during the next two years-something, by the
way, at which he is very adept.
AS stated in The News last week, the matter of awarding
the printing contract was postponed from December II
until l p. m, December "a. In the meantime Chairman j.
M. Anderson OF the board of commissioners asked Deputy
CLERK and Recorder John Honkala to analyze the two bids.
Nh. Honkala's report to Mr.. Anderson was based on sup
plies which he was reasonably certain would be used by
the county in the next two years and showed plainly that
the Carbon County News bid would have saved the county
$~1,932.93. AS stated, this saving alone would have been
made on only part of the supplies that would be used, Mr.
Honkala pointing out that his report was incomplete be-
cause it was impossible to tell in what quantities the small
items would be used.
The minutes of Mondays special meeting of the board
show that two votes were cast in favor of accepting the bid
of The Picket Journal, while one vote was against such
action. The editor of The News ascertained that the mo-
|tion to accept the Picket Journal bid was made by Commits
|sioner G. G. Bowler. 1t was also learned that of the three
votes cast, Commissioners Bowler and John Normile voted
Ito accept the Picket-Journal bid, while Chairman Ander-
lson cast the dissenting vote.
When you take into consideration certain facts, it is easy
ito see why Commissioners Bowlen and Normile took such
faction. For one thing MI. Bowler has more than a pass
ling interest in The Picket Journal. He rents the space oc-
|cupied by The Picket Journal plant to Mr.. Draper and
there is little doubt but what this fact had something to do
with his decision as a county commissioner. As concerns
Mr.. Normile, The News is Of the frank opinion that he
made a valiant effort to render a fair decision in the mat
ter but was swayed by pressure being brought to bear upon
him by certain county Democratic factions and was mis-
led by deceptive statements made by Charles H. Draper
and the state code authority in regard to the true status of
the graphic arts code.
Both Commissioners Bowler and Normile were elected
by Carbon county voters on pledges of economy. Taxpay-
ing citizens and farmers of the county have long been urg-
ing that more roads be improved and built in Carbon, and
the commissioners have invariably answered that there
is no money in the county treasury for such work. Yet a
majority of them vote to give a printing contract that will
|cost the county from four to six thousand dollars more than
what such a contract could have been secured for.
Carbon county has had previous experiences with con-
tracts let to The Picket Journal. The records of the coun-
|ty and the Montana supreme court will show that Mr.
Draper illegally took thousands of dollars from the county
by submitting fraudulent printing bills in years gone by.
A'certain incident which took place at Mondays meet
ing should be called to the attention of the public. This
was a letter written by Henry O. Woare, regional manager
for the graphic arts code administration. Although the
letter was read by the commissioners, Attorneys John G.
Skinner and S. C. Merriman and by Mr.. Draper, the editor
of The News was not permitted to see it, as it was supposed
to be confidential. The letter purportedly stated that The
Picket Journals bid was within the graphic arts code and
that The News bid violated the code.
OF course, Mr.. Woare had no chance or opportunity of
knowing anything about the costs and efficiency Of The
News office. He was therefore wholly incompetent to pass
upon the bids in question and had no authority to do so in
the first place.
When the national recovery act-the NRA-was passed,
it was never intended that the public should be robbed by
|collusion. Yet that is exectly what has happened in regard
to the letting of the county printing contract.
Section 10 of the national graphic arts code reads as fol
lows: "No provision in this code shall be interpreted or APP
piled in such a manner as to promote monopoles, elimin-
|ate or Cypress small enterprises, or discriminate against
Notwithstanding this provision, a conspiracy is on foot
to rob, not only Carbon county, but all counties in the state
in regard to the letting of printing contracts. This thiev-
cry is reputedly being brought about by the state code adj
ministration-a purpose for which the NRA never was in
tended. There is an African in the woodpile somewhere
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