Gardnerville record. (Gardnerville, Nev.) 1898-1902, 1898-10-18
County Printing.
WILL BE GIVEN TO LOWEST
BIDDER.
Supreme Court Decision.

With two newspapers in Douglas coun-
ty, new question presents itself to the
Board of County Commissioners. While
there was but one no question was ever
raised as to the price to be paid by the
county, and full legal rates were always
allowed. With the appearance OF the
RECORD, competition began, and that
paper publicly advertised and stated in
its columns that it would be willing to
take the work for % per cent less than
what the law allowed. At the quarterly
meeting of the Board, October 3rd. the
proprietor of the RECORD personally ap
peared before that body and offered to
bid on the work, to the end that a saving
would be effected to the county, and
quoted the law to support his claim, as
follows:
Statutes of Nevada, 1917
SECTION |. All advertising ordered or
required by the State of Nevada, or by
the respective counties of the State shall
be paid for by the State or the county
ordering or requiring the same at the
rate of two dollars per square of ten
lines nonpariel measurement for the first
insertion and one dollar per square for
each subsequent insertion; an insertion
be held to be one publication per We k
whether the newspaper III which such
advertising is ordered to be done is pub
lished daily or weekly; PROVIDED, that
nothing herein contained shall prohibit
Boards of County Commissioners from
entering in annual contracts for the en-
tire official printing and advertising of
their respective counties when in their
Judgment a saving of public funds will
be effected thereby. SECTION 2. All
acts and parts of acts in conflict with
this act are hereby repealed.
The Board was advised that the act of
1895, Nevada Statutes, compelled them
to disregard the RECORDS claim. The
law reads as follows:
SECTION l. The Recorders of the sew
eral counties of this State are hereby
authorized and required to subscribe for
one newspaper printed and published at
the county seat of each county of the
State, and the Board of County Commits
sioners of the respective counties shall
designate the paper SO subscribed for as
the official paper of the county wherein
all legal advertising and printing shall
be done: PROVIDED, rate for such
work shall not exceed the rate now es-
tablished by law. No paper shall be so
subscribed for and designated unless 1t
shall have been established for at least
one year, and is printed and published
IN lis entirety at its place of establish
ment
Ih1s action, however, cannot hold, as
the act of 1895 was declared unconstitu-
tutional by the Supreme Court only a
few months after the act of '95 became a
law. in the case of The State of Nevada,
ex-rel I. H. Nofeross as District Attor-
ney, relator, VS.. The Board OF County
Commissioners of Washoe county. The
court says; THE Act being unconstitu-
tional and consequently no law, so far at
least as the subject of legal advertising
is concerned. the order of the Board
cannot he in conflict with it, And
again says, ''at any rate they could ad
vertise and let it to the lowest bidder,
and where they have acted with an eye
single to the interests of the taxpayers,
we may suppose they have done So"
The Board at the last quarterly meet
ing adjourned without making arrange
meuts to secure cheaper service and con
sequently, IA the matter now stands, the
clerk is causing to be published all the
presumable, at the highest
price the law will allow. and the taxpay
ers are compelled to pay at least % per
cent more for the work than it can be
done for by the RECORD.
1t ia we'll known fact that there is
more work of this character necessary to
be done this fall than all the rest of the
year, aud the promise 10 let the matter
go as it is until January 1st will cost the
county in good hard cash over one hun
dred dollars Such being the facts, it
would seem the imperative duty OF the
Board to advertise for bids at once. and
give the work for the ensuing year, cleo
ton printing and all to the lowest bid
der. or divide the work between the
bidders at uniform price. if that plan
was as cheap and otherwise satisfactory
to the publishers.
The majority of the Board seem to
persist in holding the matter over, APP
parently for election purposes while the
Republican member, Mr.. Rodenbah
fayors the immediate settlement OF the
question.