The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-09-06
CONTRACT MAY PROVE ILLEGAL Printing of Code Given
 Nashville Firm, LOWEST BID RECEIVED s3I,OOo Code Commission Lets Work for
 Printing State Laws. State Has Existing Contract With State Printer. and Special Law May
 Be Declared Illegal and

OHuer the act vfOr the publication and distribution of the Code of Ala barna. and acts of the Legislature for 19o7." the contract for the printing of the Code was let yesterday by the Code Commission to the printing firm of Marshall and Bruce of Nashville. Tenn. its bid of $31,000 being the lowest of the five bids received.
 The Code Commission. consisting of Col. Sam Will John. of Birmingham: Secretary of State Frank N. Julian. and Ex-OHicio Member J. J. Mayfield, of Tuscaloosa, who was the Commissioner for the preparation of the matter in the Code. met yesterday morning at the home of the Secretary of State. as Sec- retary Julian was not able to be at his office, owing to an indisposition. The giving out of the contract may or may not be legal. all depending on a decision to be rendered by Attorney General Garber, as the authority for the publication of the Code is contain
 ed In bill which provides for the violation of the States contract with the State Printer.
 Attorney General Garber, when seen yesterday, declined to state his opinion as to the conflict of the special act with the contract between the State and the State Printer.
 The section of the special act which the Attorney General is now looking into is Section IS. This section reads as follows:
 '"ro facilitate the indexing and prop- CT noting of cross references to the Acts of the present session of the Leg tslature which has been incorporated into the Code, the Secretary of State shall have printed $500 copies of the General Acts Of the preesnt session of the Legislature. to be printed on sixty pound laid book paper. pure rag stock; to be hand sewed in sections of six teen pages on five bands, and to be trimmed to the size of the Supreme Court of Alabama Reports and bound In linen buclkram of the same color and quality as that prescribed for the State Edition of the new Code, to be printed on new type of the same style and same measure per line as that used In the Reports of the Supreme Court of Alabama. Whenever the words Be 1t further enacted are at the beginning of any section, they shall be omitted. The pages of the pamphlet containing the general laws which was publish ed by authority of a Joint Resolution Number 5S, approved March g, 1907. shall be preserved in the new volume as star pages, but in every other re- spect the type and size of pages Shall Dc as required herein, and the General Acts passed on ana after July 8, 1907. shall be added to those passed before the recess, and bound in one voiume with full index and must be published within sixty days from the adjourn ment of this Legislature"
 according to this specification of the act the State printer Is lgft on the same roofing with other contractors, oisregarding the fact of his twosyear contract. The Brown Printing Com pany has contract with the State for two years. dating from October, 1906, to October, 1908, and in thIs contract 1t Is specified that the printing of the, general acts of the Legislature shall be part of their contract, and at rates which are set out in the con. tract. This contract was signed by Sovernor Jelks and Secretary of State
 The Brown Printing Company has already printed the acts of the Legls. i lature during the winter session, and turned them over to the Secretary of State. These acts do not conform in any manner to the specifications con- tained in the general act providing for the printing of the Code and the session laws.
 In speaking Of the matter yesterday, Attorney General Garber said that there is little chance to break the contract between the State and the Brown Printing Company, unless some official complaint is made of failure to carry out the contract so far. His official opinion, however, will be made after he has thoroughly investigated the matter.
 The bidding for the Code yesterday was between Marshall 6 Bruce of Nashville, Brandon Printing Company of Nashville, the Foote-Davies Com. pany of Atlanta. the Tribune Printing Company of Charlestown, W. Va, and the Brown Printing Company of Mont gomery.
 The specifications call for 5000 standard pages. the Code to be In sets of three, with the finest English buck ram binding, on 70-pound paper and