Daily national Democrat., 1860-04-01
s'COmmon Council and CITY Printing!

going out Of power a person unacquainted
with our city affairs would suppose that the
Council had done some foul and heinous
wrong, had violated all morality and justice,
and deserved the condemnation of the whole
community But after all this fuss and fury,
what is it that the Council have done? Why,
they have passed an ordinance requiring that
the city printing shall Be let out to tic forrest
bidder. This is the unheard-of outrage that
has been perpetrated. The Council have
concluded that it will be economy for the
city and a saving to the treasury to have the
printing done in this way. The only possible
objection to such an ordinance is that it pre-
vents the giving out of the printing to par
ty iavorite. Very likely the Express would
prefer to have the old ordinance in force,
which gave the Council power to elect a City
Printer and then contract with him at price
upon which the parties to the contract could
agree. The Express probably has notion
that, if the old ordinance under which the
present City Printer was elected were in
force, some one of the Express firm would
be elected for the ensuing gear and get more
money than what will, under the new ordi-
nance, be paid to the lowest bidder. But
this is hardly fair excuse for getting into
such tempest of wrath Certainly the
present Council had right to pass any ordi
nance that they liked, without asking any
body's leave. They have not only legislatcd
with view to economy in the public print-
ing, but they have economical by passing an
ordinance reducing the number and the com
pensation of policemen, as well as in various
other ways during the term Of their office as
Aldermen
The only point in all the rawlings Of the
Express on this subject is, that, the present
Council meddled with the proper business of
the incoming Council. Now, is this point
well taken Not at all. You might as well
say that one Congress has no rightto enact a
law which may fail to please a subsequent
Congress, or one legislature to pass till
which may not be liked by another The
present Council thought proper to pass an
ordinance requiring the city printing to be
given to the lowest bidder If the next
Council think it is more to the interest of the
city to arbitrarily give the printing to some
especial favorite of the majority of the Alder
men, let them take the responsibility of so
enacting. The ordinance, under which the
last City Printer (whose term is about to ex-
pire) was elected, required that the Printer
should be elected and contracted with No
provision was made for receiving bids. Tn.
der authority of this ordinance, the Council
then acted This ordinance had been passed
by previous Council. Now, this present
Council does the same thing for the incoming
Council that had been done for them by the
Council preceding them; that is, they pass an
ordinance, under authority of which the next
Council may act Ordinances must frequent
ly and necessarily be anticipative. 1t is per
fectly ridiculous to suppose that when one
Council go out of power they must take al
of their ordinances out with them, as so much
dead luggage on their backs, and leave
blank page for the new one to begin on
The whole matter resolves itself into this
The outgoing Council have concluded that i
would be economy for the city, to let on
the city printing to the lowest bidder If tn
incoming Council prefer that it should b.
given to a party favorite, let them take tn,
responsibility of repeating the existing ordi
nance and justify themselves before the
people as they best may.
AS to the charge of party hvoritism, it
amounts to nothing. The Express had the
printing for one year at $500. The DEMO
GRAFT had it next at $1,000. 1t is now pro-
posed to give it to nobody in particular, but
to award it to the lowest bidder, whoever
he may be. Is this determination a proper
one? Do the people approve it? Win the
next Council undertake to overthrow a sys-
TEN of economy established by preceding
oueP Are they determined on saying that
the policy of letting out the printing to the
lowest bidder is not a good policy? This is
the whole sum and substance of the matter,
and the question of what has been done here.
tofore has nothing to do with it. The Ex-
press got the printing one year for Sl5OC
when another paper was ready to do it fol
Sll00. They received the County Printing
also, for this year. from the Board of Super
visors, when another paper stood ready and
was offering to do it several hundred dollar.
cheaper. But all this as we have said, i
neither here nor there. The question is
shall the most economical system for doing
the city printing be adopted or not? Fo
our part, we are decidedly of the opinion
that if ever this system is to be adopted a