The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1871-05-13
HOW CONTRACTS FOR OFFICIAL
PRINTING ARE SECURED!
Tho Opinion Of Judge !. r. Head.

We have uniformly discounted the
of all those papers in this
State at whose masthead float the
words "Oticial Journal, )" believing that
no such favor could be obtained from
the Printing Ring, except with pledges
favorable to the ruin Of the Democratic
party. We have now the testimony of
an editor who has made two unsuccess-
full efforts to secure from the Ring the
official printing for his parish. This
gentleman, Judge J. r. Head, of the
Sparta Times, confirms, by his expe-
rience, the opinion we have held, and
proclaims to the public his belief that
the "official Journals are sold out to
the Radical party. We append Judge
Heads own startling disclosures
Having twice, through the interven-
ton ofanxious friends, had the promise
of the official printing for the parish of
Bienville without obtaining it, we de-
termined to bring the matter to direct
test, and ascertain definitively whether
terms of independence. The result of
no such favor can be obtained except
under the condition that the party re-
ceiving it sells himself to the Radical
party, or at least obligates himself to
withhold his opposition to that party
and to connive at whatever they do in
derOgatiOn of the best interests of the
people of the State. Although the Rad
icals are at war among themselves,
neither faction will throw anything
within their gift into the hands of any
one who will not lend himself to that
particular wing granting it, or refrain
from opposing the party generally
! More especially is this the policy
adopted towards the press. The faction
| which controls the dispensation Of the
patronage conferred by the printing
bill, being conscious of it's influence, are
using that patronage for the express
purpose designed in the passage of the
act, and no one iSJern7itted ece,a the right
Of publishing satca legal advertisements as
might be oVortleti him By the parties in
tes'este1, stJ4o does rot come atssde1- odltgz-
tons either directly or Indirectly to sap
port tie tactical party. In order to I'M
derstand the operation of this law it
must be remembered that the power of
giving the official printing to any paper
is with the Governor, the Lieutenant
Governor and the Speaker Of the House
of Representatives, any two of whom
| may act so, if the Speaker of the
House co-operates with tho Governor,
he can bestow the printing as he
chooses if the Speaker acts with the
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS, then the power
| is with them. At the present time Car
| ter, the Speaker Of the House, is acting
in concert with Dunn, the Lieutenant
Governor, WarmOth and Dunn being
at war with each other. At the time
] the printing was last promised to this
paper, through Butler, Carr was the
! Speaker of the House and he. was act
ing in harmony with Warmoth. The
promise was not executed, however,
until Carr was superseded by Carter,
and now upon application we find that
any one obtaining an appointment
under the law must como under obi
cations to the Dunn faction either to
support that party or play the part of
political neutrality; for after getting
the matter in the hands of the proper
person we We're frankly told by that in
dividual that if he secured the assent of
Dunn, he would have to become re-
sponSiblc to his sable eXccllcncy for our
conduct towards his party. The posi-
ton was respectfully declined under
any such conditions, and we informed
the organ of Mr.. Dunn that we would
accept the appointment under no re-
strictions, and VIC did not wish him to
assume the responsibility to say that
we would do otherwise; so we of course
failed to get the printing, and sce are
noe prepared to sag to the public that all
papers claiming to be the o6ci0l Journals
Of the rarious parishes ARE SOLD OUT TO
THE PARTY MAKING THEN SUCH. If
they, the publishers, are green enough
! not to know it, they have been unfor-
tunate enough to impose upon the per-
son or persons through whose agency
they obtained it Il responsibility which
they ought never to have had the I'M
pardonable stupidity to intiict upon a
confiding friend.
We state it rs reliable fact, that
hundreds of Northern men who had
intended to visit the Southern States,
with a view to travel and investment
of means, have been deferred from do