The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-01-08
SUPREME COURT.
Monday, January 4, 1873.
Present: All the Justices.
Decisions.
by JUSTICE MARI,


Printing Board, appellant. State of Louisiana
intervenor and appeant.-Appeal from the
Fourth District Court. parish of Orleans.
By section OF act No. 40. approved March Ia,
1877. the State Printing Board was authorizes
and directed TO contract on the second We'd
nesday after tho PRONUNCIATION Of the act. and
| afterwards on the first Monday In December of
each year. at a reasonable rate with such per-
son as they may consider proper and responsi-
BILE. to do and perform all the printing and pub
| lioation OF whatever nature which shall become
| necessary for the use of both houses of tiIy
| densrai Assembly. and for the Executive De-
| partment of the State'
A proviso in this section empowers the,
board to contract with any other person for the
printing OF the reports Of the various heads eF
the Executive Department and the blank work
for the Auditors Department, and another pre-
| viso excludes the printing Of the decisions Of
the Supreme Court from the contract for tho,
State printing In general
BY section q. such contract shall be for period
| not exceeding one year from its beginning, or
until the next contract can take effect.
| Pursuant to this act the Printing Board, by
notaral act. OF date March 2s, 1877. contracted
with Geo. W. Dupre & Co., TO do and perform
| all the printing work required by the State and
| specified in act No 40, as far as the publication
Of the two houses of the General Assembly, tho
publication Of the laws of the State and the
printing Of all job work required for the use of
| the State as specified In said act" An official
copy Of the act Was attached to the contract and
the contract was declared to extend from it's
date to the first Monday In December, 1871
| BY act No. 1oi. approved April 3d. 1877, proyis-
ion was made for the appointment OF regis
trars, and for new registration Of voters
throughout the State. The third section Of thiss
/ ap rcunirod tho rf gtutn ff fnrp ich
within sixty days after it's passage, the books
| and blanks necessary for this registration and
| the fourth section required that "the contract
| for preparing the books and blanks provided fer
| in section sboula lses
let out by the Printing Board to the lowest bid
| der"
| On the 9Th OF June the Printing Board By
public advertisement invited proposals for
this work. Dupre & Co. protested against this.
and the board, after consulting the printing
law. act No. 40. and section Of act No. 1o1, Or
dered the secretary to say In answer to this pro-
test, that the board deemed it its bounden duty
to carry out the provisions Of section Of
net No. 1o1." ThersuDon Dupre b Go. obtained
an Injunction TO prevent the letting out OF this
work to any other person. on the ground that IL
was included in the terms Of act No. 40, and of
| tho contract OF March 49, 1877, and that tho
contemplated action OF the board would be- an
infringement OF their rights under that con-
tract, and O violation OF article 11o of the con-
stitution Of the State, which declares that:
mo eI post Jacto or retroactive law nor any
law impairing the obligation of contracts shalt
be passed. nor shall vested rights be divested.o
etc. No answer or other pleading seems to have
been filed by the board. and the case was tried
on a rule to show, cause why the Injunction
should not be perpet1ated, The Printing Board
i was represented by the Attorney General The
mi a1 nj and fha 3uyfr
petuated. The board appealed. and the State,
through the Attorney General. intervened and
| also took susDensive appeal.
The Attorney General argues that the regis-
tratton books and blanks In question are not
nfsdsd sh n Sg desfa f act Me-
unconstitutional unless clearly So particularly
when that act as In this case, s calculated to
lessen sen the PUBLIC burdens by opening the door
The 8ecretary. o., State Is the head Of one Of
the State. and act No. 1o1, section three, made It
his duty to fu' 'nish these books and blanks
within period which B. was I INCLUDED l n the con-
comes within the terms and specifications Of act
No. a9. be cause II was necessary for the use Of
public duty imposed upon him ny section 8 Of
act No iol. The mere reading Of act No. 40 and
work ali job work required for The Il use @ of fi the
State as specified In ACT No. 90.
Comp tition certainly affords q wholesome
restraint on prices. The act No. 40 fixes the
maximum ra, o for each and every class of WORK
for which Y provides; and requires the Print
| ing Board TO contract at a reasonable rate y
The Legislature must have ascertalned whn6
the usual rates were for the several elasses Of
work before 1t would undertake t. fix tbs max
Prnns Board 0 Charged With an naI h
as to the current rates for such work Ia order
TO ascertain what would be "a reasonable rate.~
The contract IN question fixes the rates consider.
ably lower than the maximum fxsd by the
Legislature. The limitation of every c1ntrner
TO period not exceeding one year enables tho
In the cost Of materials or labor, and to demand
and obtain such reduction ON former rates az
making each annual contract would Justify aud
This. however, belongs to the domain of OK
Prnng Board Alter having Gr i's m ans
ior es wor s hS a as9 ssar sss
with others TO do part OF that work during the
period embraced In the first contract and while
Dupre 3 Co. we're entitled to do this work.
and the contract created in their favor an OBJ
to them, but that they should be paid for it Ii,
accordance with the terms and provisions of
They had BY this contract a vested right 10 a its
obligations and stiDnlations in their favor
SECTION 4 Of act No. 1o1 required the Print
new registration to the lowest bidder: and by
section 9. this work was to be done during the
gOntinuhHce Vi bne CONT act with DuDre A Go.
1t was, therefore, an Infringement Of the pre-
existing vested rights Of Dupre 4 Co.: and II
would, Il carried out, not merely have impaired
the obligation OF the contract but would PRO
t0nto have abrogated It.
1t is the duty Of judicial tribunals to maintain
and enforce the legislative will lawfully ex-
pressed, and to respect all lawful action OF
either OF the coordinate departments OF the
government; to assume. Drina facie that an
their acts are lawful. and MT to disregard or
declare than Ultra uires or void when they are
susceptible Of different inter pretaiinn All ths
powers Of the several departm mig Of the gov
ernment must be exercised In subordinatfon to
the organic law. Where an at Of the LegsIa-
ture is shown to be In violstion Of the organic
law 1t is the solemn duty Of this court, when Il
has cognizanee OF such act. so to decide and to
declare that 1t is not within the powers dele
gated or the com potency of the LpgisIature
1t was not possible for the Printing Board To