The weekly Thibodaux sentinel. [volume] (Thibodaux, La.) 1898-1905, 1902-09-20
"The Parish Printing"

iuc pOiIcc Jury NJ itS iaSJ SESSION.
elected the proprietor of the SENTINEL
the parish printer for the ensuing
year. In doing 80 it acted strictly
within the law which provides that it
"shall be their Police Jurics) duty
to elect parish printer for their res
pective parishes, who shall be the
owner or representative of some es-
tablished newspaper, published iu the
parish, which has been in existence
for period Of one year next preced-
ing the election. The person so
selected shall designate a newspaper
published in the parish, which paper
shall be known as the official journal
of the parish, and shall publish in
such newspaper all the official pro
'ceedings of the police jury and all
such notices as may be required by
law to be published by the police
jury"
The law further fixes the compen.
sation of the public printer, and IN.
fers upon him the right to demand
the compensation so fixed.
The law is PLAN; 1t makes it the
duty of the police juries to elect a
parish printer,-Ht shall he their
duty to elect parish printer, etc.
not to parcel out the parish printing
among two or more persons.
Under the plain letter of the law,
The police jury should not and ought
not 10 elect t,0o parish printers, any
more than it could elect too parish
treasurers. The Office of parish PRINT
er is created by law, and his election
also regulated by law, just as that Of
the parish treasurer, and the police
juries are governed by the law in
filling those two offices, which are not
of their creation. In selecting fiscal
agencies the police juries have greater
freedom of action, and may select
two agents If they SO choose, the
matter addressing itself to their
sound discretion.
Such being the law of the case,
and the police jury of Lafourche hav.
ing acted strictly within and accord.
ing to law. We think our esteemed
neighbor, the Lafourche Comet, does
the jury serious injustice in taking
it to task for its action in the matter
Of the election of parish printer.
We hardly think the members of the
jury will feel like thanking the Come,
for trying to excuse them by plead
ing for them the baby act 1t relieves
them of any responsibility in the
premises because, says the Comet. in
ehett, They did not know WAT. has
were dong.
1.-The members of the jury in I'll
caucus treated US unjustly, we belle,
unintentiOnally. They did so becau!
they had not time to reflect over II
situation"
Indeed did the critic of the PoIl'
Jury really intend this left handle
compliment These gentlemen
mot deserve such treatment. The
are intelligent men and honest publ
s,rvants, and they knew what the
were doing; they were discharyr
according to law a duty imposed u
on them by law.
But what is this great injustice IL
Comet complains of I? Simply tn.
the Police Jury did not again th
year divide the parish printing b
tween the Comet and the SENTINEL s
it did last year. We have quote
the law governing the case; the ju,
acted strictly within and according {
law in the premises; that ought to t
sufficient answer to the accusatio
brought against the jury.
The Comet thinks, however, til.
last years arrangement should ha,
been kept up as a reward for what
has done for the Democratic party
the past, and conveys a threat {
what it might do in the future again.
that party or some of its members,
case the police jury does not recol
slder its action and again admit tt
Comet to share of the public prin
ing.
We regret that the Comet has mao
this statement, because We had bee
pleased all these years to look upo
its democracy as genuine and dish
terested, and not only purse dee
We would fain believe that the Com
has done itself an injustice by i
hasty utterance. just a. q child actin
in a pet says and does things whit
he does not mean and afterward
regrets.
But this is not a question of T
wards; and il it were, has not Il
Comet enjoyed the town printing f
years ? has it not been the sole pari,
: printer at one time some years ago
And all Of this during thirteen yea
of existence.
The Comet having brought Its der
ocracy into the discussion of the pu
l,c printing, the SENTINEL may not
tasked with vaiuglOry for advertiu
, to the fact that il has been a Dem
cratic paper since its foundation ov'
thirty.six years ago, some years 4
fore its present proprietor was Dor
and during that long period Of tin