The Supreme Court of the State affirmed the judgment of the trial court, which refused to issue an injunction.

The operation and effect of the legislation in question were described by the Supreme Court of the state as follows

Acts Nos. 100, 143 of 1928, were not invalid because placing expenditures in hands of State board of education instead of with parish boards, or as lending or granting to private persons State's funds, credit, property, or things of value, were not violative of constitutional prohibitions respecting religion, constitutional provision relative to appropriations, or constitutional …

When Long' s plan to give free textbooks to public and Catholic schools was resisted on the ground that the state' s “Blaine Amendment” barred public funding of religious activity, he argued that the program would be constitutional if the books were given to the children.

In Louisiana, "the constitution presupposes the existence of the police power and is to be construed with reference to that fact."

Some jurisdictions have concluded that the Blaine provisions in their state constitutions permit a textbook loan program despite incidental or collateral benefits to religious schools.

Acts 1928, No. 100 (LSA-RS 17: 351-17: 353), providing for purchase of free school books was not violative of this section respecting religion.

—the court defended the furnishing of state-funded textbooks to parochial school children in the following terms: The schools… are not the beneficiaries of these appropriations.

—the Louisiana supreme court held that such appropriation was for the benefit of the children and the resulting benefit of the state.

Viewing the statute as having the effect thus attributed to it, we cannot doubt that the taxing power of the state is exerted for a public purpose.