The Price of the Official Record

The county commissioners met in adjourned session Tuesday afternoon for the purpose of settling with the county treasurer, awarding the contract for the county printing, and any other business that might come before it. There were four bids for the county printing. The Economist offered to publish the proceedings of the board for one cent, and all notices and the tax list at six cents per inch. The Washingtonian bid ten cents for the first insertion and five cents for subsequent insertions. The Vidette offered to print proceedings and notices free and the tax list ten cents for each description. The Chronicle and Herald made a combined bid offering to publish in both papers, the proceedings for $100 for the year, and all notices and tax lists at fifteen cents for the first insertion and ten cents for the second. This last was the only reasonable bid in the lot; the bids of the Washingtonian and Economist being far below cost, and that of the Vidette amounting to twice what it was worth. The law requires the commissioners to give the notice the widest publicity, and in compliance therewith it should have been awarded to the Chronicle and Herald, but the editor of the Economist swore to twice the circulation that anyone supposed he had, and so the commissioners awarded him the contract.