Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1849-01-22
THE LYNCHBURG VIRGINIL.N
BLACKBOARD, TOWNLEY & BILLIARD
pROPEIETORS.
LYNCHBURG. JANUARY a2. 1870.
CONGRESSIONAL PRINTING.

Lf NCH Il KeG j A AK S2. 50.
CONGRESSIONAL PRINTING
We referred in our last to The very sloveny and dis
graceful stylein which the printing If Congress was
done BY TIE contractors under the system. Messrs
Wendell and Van BPnhuysen. We did not dwell as
might have done, on the iardiness which las matk
ed its execuon-a tardiness amounting to frusra-
un Of all the objects of printing at ALL Last Session The
Report of the Secretary of the Treasury did appear
for three four montbs-and this Session, though the
document is of moderate size, has only Just been
printed. We did not know, when penned our hasty
article, that these contractors before Congress with
petition TO be secured from loss by CONTRACT which
their own folly ignorance induced them enter into
When they We're declared the successful BIDDERS the
propetors Of the Inellgencer, Union and Congressional
Globe all declared that money would be lost upon the
printing of both houses, at such inadequate rates Mo
ney has been los-and the loss would have been still
greate, had The printers complied 50 far as despatch,
quality of paper and style of execution were concerned
with the requirements Of the contract These contrac
tors come before Congress and alege that their bills
for the printing for the Isl Session of 3Oh CONGRESS
amount to sIO1 ESQ "a
They allege their expenses 10 have been IOSCS64S.
Showing loss to the con'ractorsof a,O53. S.
They 90 on 10 say that The same work
if executed by Richie & Hess, would
have 1907 Q75 o6
lfexeruted by Gales ana Seaon. S44l q2l %
This latter assertion has drawn forth from Nessrs
Gales & Seaton an indignant denial. They pronounce
The assertion false and decepous, and proceed to show
that the attempt to single them from other printers IL
Congress. WHO have received precisely the same prices
for many hundred thousand dollars Of work, gross in
jury TO them and miserable attempt to inn Sc upon
Congress and the people. They proceed to show that
from 1919 when The system was abolished and
a printer eected) until 1929, they were continuous
y printers to both Houses The highest amount recev
ed in any year (lS27) was S67 SIS which included
the reprinting of the old journals The lowest amount
in any one year QS2l) was S22 ,3l6-the aggregate
Tor The ten years was 1868 7O5-or average of $780,
5|O per annum. 50 much for their bills before Mr.
Van Burens efforts improve the Press led 10 their pro
scHptlon As to what their profits have been since we
give an extract from their exceedingly interesting article
iWhen, at the end IF the first ten wears under he old
system, another succeeded o. & 5. in the post of Prr-
Ter to the two Houses Of Congress- and at successive
subsequent Congresses the amount as well As the nro6
OF The printing came to be increased the o;no,tt hv
the now and yet growing practice ordering arre extra
numbers OF volumlnous documents to be printed and the
pToffs by the Introduction of labor saving machinery
oWerPeases and the reduction of the cost of pa
per- W hen. therefore, Gales g. Seaton aGain becaiu.
Printers to Congress the bills of their work became
Than they We're IN the first years. The average amount
however per session. for each Of the sessions
during which Gales < Sealon executed the PRINTING for
Congress (ncindng he above enl but $40 3l5 per
session being little less than one hHf Of the anorledg
ed amount Of bits The contractors for the single SEES
sIon not including The bills if any, which had not been
rendered wien the abhve statement was made out
we 90 not mean, If conrse by this dem0nsi ration
Intimate an opinion that the prices established by the
Resolution OF 1919, graduated they were the then
prices OF prnIng-that is 10 saw of the manual labor
and materials of prnting-and adopted 10 the usages of
printing only limited number of documents of voumin-
Gus SIZE would not be too high al this day. They would
be, In some particulars, though in all The cost O.
composition (seng he types for example, has increas
ed instead OF diminishing, the weekly wages for such
work, from manuscript copy, which then So
being Sill. The est Of paper and press work has
however been greatly reduced as Shall have occa
sion to show Congress. aware Of this change had by
law reduced the prices of 1919 thirty en- and half
per cent? before resortng to the contract system The
price for paper and presswok might be reduced vet low
er say 10 fifty per below that of O. if the com
position of plain work left stand as it OUGHT 10
do, the price fixed by the Resolution of 1919 AT such
reduced prices work may be done without loss
which could not formerly Se done for the same price with
out great H)SS
comparison Of the cost oftwo ingredients, Of 'epaper
and press wrk," Chat is to say. of the whole operation
OF printing the extra numbers, which constitute at least
twothlrds OF the amount Of the present contractors bills
VIII show how impossible it would have been in past
years to work at prices which would now Weld profit
For the paper on which for many years Gales s. Sea
ton executed the public work they paid five dollars and
fifty cents per ream, for single royal paper whilst do
BILE royal paper, such the contractors have employed in
their work, now be bought about three dollars
per that is to say, the contractors get for three dol
lars the same quantity If paper that paid (outsle
quires deducted) tcclre dollars for. Press-work by
hand presses, Che only then in USE on this single
royal paper ght pages to the FORM paid for.
at less rate than thirty three and third cents per to
SOS, does not cost the contractors Gall expenses ncuded
more than fire cents Gfas much) for the same auan-
ty."
They go on to show that it is only when very large
number of document is ordered be printed that much
profit occurs, and that Congress- in their day. was not
in the habit of ordering such Of printing as now
orders Thus, last year 10000 copies of the Patent
Office Report-a large volume-was ordered to be prin
ted The anilunt which the Albany contractors will
receive for this job alone, their inadequate prices
will be about $50 600 Not onefourth of these 3OOOO
copies have been off by the mails and as the new
Report from the Commissioner Of Patents is already in
copies hand of the old are worth about as much as
I