The Fight for the County Printing Contract
The Kennewick Courier protests the county commissioners' failure to award them the county printing contract, arguing it was a violation of legal and professional standards.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The bid of Geo. E. Boomer, representing the Record and the Courier, for 10 cents per square for first and 6 cents per square for subsequent insertions was the lowest and best. It was legal in form and secured by a bond. In making the award these were the only facts to be considered. It was a mere subterfuge to take advantage of the clause, 'the right to reject any and all bids,' designed to prevent fraudulent and excessive bids. The plan of publishing proceedings in two papers, one in each end of the county, gives all the people an opportunity to keep posted. The plain duty of the commissioners was to award the contract to the Record and the Courier.
“The widest possible publicity is a factor mentioned by the code to be considered by the board in making the award.”
Newspapers were once the primary gatekeepers of public information, and the fight for 'county printing' was a fight for both revenue and local political influence. Today's public notice requirements are similarly contested, though they have shifted from print circulation to digital archives.
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