The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1846-07-11

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pages II OF
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Add 10 per cent 254 81
81 $50 sheets of paper, at one cent each 3l2 50
Add 100 per cent. on paper for purchasing,
wastage, &c. 81 IS
Cost, adding 100 per cent to workmen's
wages 9l2 20
Congress price for documents or reports l66 20
Congress price for journals 855 80
| Thus it appears that Congress pays about 25 per
cent. more for extra documents and reports, and
about 3 per cent. less for extra journals than they
would come to by adding 100. per cent to work
mems wages.
All the foregoing calculations are based upon
workmen's prices "by the piece" except folding
| and stitching, for which have set down what long
experience has convinced me is about the actual
! cost. The folding and stitching is all done by
women. When employed by the week, three dol
lars a week is paid to them. But my experience
has proved to me that you may fiji large room
with item, and they will not Keep the work up
when employed by the week, and they are there.
fore now usually employed "by the piece" at
| which prices they can make " or - week.
Their prices "by the piece" would not, think,
amount TO what | have estimated for folding and
stitching but, from the nature OF that work, they
have 10 keep their own accounts, and they make
them amount TO II large sum. | think the folding
and stitching nOW costs "a much the press-work,
when the power-presses are kept running constant
ly. The folding and stitching is growing expense.
A few years ago thirteen or fourteen girls did the
folding and stitching Of both houses when we
printers for both. When we last had the printing
Of the House alone, We employed about twenty
| two girls to do it, and l think the House at that
Congress did not order more work than had been
ordered by the previous Congresses, when thirteen
or fourteen girls did the work of both houses.
believe tlis to be the fact in regard to the folders
and stitchers-that most Of them charge according
to what they conceive the profits Of the printer will
bear. Many of the men employed the public
printing, believe, would charge the same way, or
work very slow, when they got a chance to do so;
but they have not such opportunities to do either,
as the employer or foreman is usually with them.
The men all work by the week on Congress print
ing The foremen seem 10 think that il is impract-
cable to do the work "by the piece" because, il il
were given out to the hands il comes in, which
Is the rule where printers work "by the piece, )"
many Of them could not set up a rule-and-fgure Job
| as II should be done, and would cut up more rule
than would be necessary. And, besides, Congress
work is often required to be done in sneh hurry
that II is cut up into very small ''takes," which
would require too much time 10 measure think
indeed am sure-that all the plain composition,
which probably is four.hflhs Of the work. costs the
printer Of Congress more than | have estimated
and that the balance, which is rule-and-fgure
work costs him less than | have estimated. All
the press.work which is done on power-pi esses
prices charged when the work is done on hand
presses. The testimony taken by the House of
Commons Of England on the subject leaves il doubt
full which is the cheapest mode Of doing the press
work, by hand or BY powor-pressesj but my expe-
rience, since read that testimony, has convinced
me that when power-presses can be kept constantly
at work, they can do the work for less than holt
what It would cost in this city TO do il on hand
presses. think it proper to state here that all the
power-presses In a Congress office rarely work all
Ha ,pta aofth H. k.v k~.n
ordered. Your committee can guess as well a. I |
can, or better how many extra copies Of documents
this and future Congresses will order to be printed.
The printer must keep his power-presses manned |
during a session of Congress- for when extra num-
bers ordered on document he cannot get per-
sons competent to work powsr-presses in an hour
or day, or probably in month. Under these cir
cumstances, should not printer be allowed little
more on the Press-work on extra copies, than the
estimate for regular work. If he is not allowed
enough presses masned during the session to do
the extra numbers as promptly as they should be
done,
think that from is to IS per cent. more should
be paid for Congress printing than for printing done
for responsible individuals, because portion Of
Congress printing must be done at night and on
Sabbaths, when it costs from IS to so per cent
more than it does to print in the regular working
hours of the working days of the week.
Printers wages in this city are nearly double
what they are in London, and yet the British Par
Lament pays about 90 per cent. more for it's print
ing-or did pay that much few years ago, when
examined the prices, (and have not heard Of
their being altered slncc)-than Congress does for
its printing. 1t is true that The documents of the
British parliament are printed on much better paper
than the congressional documents are; but the diff
ference in the price Of the paper is equal to the
difference in the prices paid to the workmen
When the same person persons printers to
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should not be charged against both on the same doc
umens ordered to be printed near the same time
say within three or four days of the me-while
the types are standing would say, that the House
ordering the greatest number of the document to be
printed should pay the full price of composition,
and the other should pay from l6 to 90 cents per
page. As you are not acquainted-certainly no,
,oeH acquainted-with the manner Of doing Con-
gress printing, you probably would like to know
wha reason there is why the branch ordering the
lesser number should pay anything for composition.
| will tell you. The heading of every page must
be altered. The time of the person altering the
pages would not be worth half the lesser sum; but
while he is altering it, all the persons employed on
the power-press, which has been working the form,
and is to work it again. idle. II il is double
Napier press--upon which kind Of presses most Of
Congress printing is done--hve persons will be idle
who could make for their employer more than the
highest sum have named that should be charged
for the alterations, if they were working. But in
my opinion 1t will make but little difference to the
printer whether he gets 80 cents the full price, or
20 cents, or nothing, for altering the page. To
make money, he must get good men to do his work,
and pay to them good prices, and in good time; he
must pay good deal Of attention to the work, and {
he must get good many extra copies TO print. |,
After ALL believe the best reason and perhaps
he only one which you can fnd for reducing the
prices paid for Congress printing will be, that
Blair & Rives made moro money while they were !
printers for Congress than you think men Of their
alents should make in fourteen years. No other !
printers to Congress ever saved any money, though
Ill except Blair q Rives received much as 20 per
cent. more than the present prices. But Blair &
Rives had advantages which are not likely to hap
zen again; and, moreover, they had the very best
luck" if | may so call il. No accident occurred
Turing the whole fourteen years to stop their work
single day. I will say here, that do not think
more than one-half of what we made was made on
he Congress work proper Per----cetera desu't.
To the Hon G.. s. Benton,