The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-01-05
PUBLIC PRINTING.
In. O. Ren.]


The city printing, which was paid at one
dollar square to the Republican under Radi
cal rule, has been given this year, as it was
last year, to the DEMOCRAT at twenty cents O
square, say one-ffth of the price formerly
paid. This rate Is certainly not remunerat-
Ing, for the setting up alone of one square oi
q hundred words costs eighteen cents, and II
other expenses are taken under consideration,
such as paper, printing and general expenses,
it cannot be denied that the rate OF twenty
The taxpayers therefore have no reason to
complain about the price at which the city
printing has been adjudicated.
The only offer that was made under 20
cents was that Of the City Item, and that
paper only publishes an evening edition. The
bids OF the DEMOCRAT, the Picayuae and the
Times differed only as to the heinsertions subse-
quent to the first and as the proceedings OF
the Council and the city ordinances, which
form the main portion OF the city printing,
between the bids OF these three papers was
therefore Insignificant.
The City Council has thought proper to
give the printing to the DEMOCRAT, which has
been the organ of the Democratic party dur
ing the last campaign. We cannot blame the
Council for that decision, especially when we
consider that the interests of the taxpayers
have not been In the least sacrificed.
The Democratic press has immensely
suffered under Radical rule, which took away
lEOIu IL lLS IlRutlul pttIOIldRS-buab OI bIle
judicial advertisements-to give 1t to Radical
sheets created for the purpose. and that could
not exist without public patronage.
Well 1t can truly be said that the Legisla-
ture has pushed the spirit Of reform to its
last limits as regards the press. At the same
time that many sinecures and largely" y"salaried
offices have been permitted to subsist, the
printing expenses have been strictly reduced
and the rates OF judicial advertisements fixed
to prices which we consider as the lowest pos
sible limit
The condition of the State finances, as well
as those of the city and parishes, certainly
justified all these economical measures and
whatever may have been the claims Of the
Democratic press to some small share of
gratitude and indulgence, it is too patriotic
and too much accustomed to sacrificing its
interests to complain about what has been
done.
But, If under the present starving rates to
which the printing has been reduced, a muni-
cipal council or police jury deem fit to exer-
else some preference for given paper, we do
not think that there is any occasion for any
one to cry aloud in complaint. We think 1T
would be very desirable II there were no
greater extravaganza in State and city ex-
penses than publications at twenty cents a
square, If everything was reduced to that
basis we would say hosannah
Our big contemporaries on the upper side
of Canal street have enough patronage not to
need the meagre profit-if any profit there
be-which can be drawn from the State or
city printing at the present rates, and they
seem to us to have made about these two
contests great deal more noise than was
warranted.
The legislation of 1877 on printing and judi
cial advertisements is not perfect, and could
be modified to some advantage. Our legisla-.
tors must not lose sight of the interests OF
the public nor of those of private individuals,
but at the same time they must endeayor to
conciliate these interests with what Is due to
the Democratic press of the State, which has
been for eight years subject to ruinous
sacrifices.
The system of adjudication to the lowest
bidder has, besides, serious objections which
we have often pointed out, and which have,
we believe, become but too apparent.