The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1851-02-14

made; and yet q Senator moved 10 repeal 1t,
with as much nonchalance he would call for
a cigar after dinner. Mr.. DODGE grew a
little ashamed of his proposition before the
matter was disposed of, but the record shows
that he at one time entertained it. This was
all wrong. We submit that there is nothing in
the Constitution or laws which excerpts printers
from the benefit of the rules which protect the
invioability OF contracts.
In the debate of Tuesday in the Senate there
was another passage which illustrates the ma
ture of the policy pursued in the matter Of fhe
public printing. resolution was presented by
Mr. RUsK, contemplating the distribution of
four hundred copies of the laws. On this
motion Mr.. DAVIS, of Massachusetts,, made the
following remarks
"There arc two editions OF the acts of Congress
printed. wish TO call the attention Of the Sen
ate to that fact. One edition 10 printed at the
close of the session, and is very badly executed.
There is another edition printed by order Of the
Senate that conforms to the general issue Of the
statutes by Little & Brown. That edition has
good index, and it is to which we refer
with satisfaction. If we require copies for dstri-
button, it would be better to state what edition
we TO have distributed.
The Senator from Massachusetts, reflects on
as every badly executed" He considers that
this edition is SO badly executed that it cannot
be consulted with ''satisfaction" by the members
of the Seuate. We think the Senator alto
gether right in this view of the subject. 1t is
equally true that the edition cannot be consulted
with satisfaction" by any one out Of the SEN
ate. 1t was printed by GIDEON & Co., and SO
printed as just to pay for the paper and journey
mems wages-on the system Of letting to the
lowest bidder The sum received for it just
covered the actual disbursements. 1t was
little disgraceful to any printer to put
forth such work in this age of civilization, but
much more disgraceful, we submit, to any
Congress that would order the work to be exc
cuted in such style. But we would suggest
execution of public work in such a manner that
they should be unwilling to take an edition Of
their own printing, and deem it necessary to
order some other edition issued by private en-
terprise, and not ''by authority"
Again, we had occasion day or two since
to consult a volume of the Presidents message
and accompanying documents, and this, too,
was printed on the system which Congress has
adopted with the view apparently of degrading
| the art of printing. The volume we consulted
was printed on sort of thin brown paper, very
well for wrapping, and similar uses, but alto
gether unfit for the preservation of any docu-
| ments worthy of preservation. There was no
index to the volume; it was cut with little or
margin, and what there was of the margin was
as crooked as rams horn; and there were ridges
in the paper which, to the surface, were what the
ridges of the Rocky mountains are to the surface
of the earth. A pretty volume enough this would
have been for convention of Hottentots to issue,
highly creditable, perhaps, to tribe of Central
Africa; but that civilized men, at this stage Of
the worlds progress, should have put it forth as
a specimen of what the 'smodel republic" can
do in the way Of typography, is one of those
| marvels that we cannot reconcile with any no
| tons of propriety and fitness.
What is true of the Congressional printing
is equally true of that which is executed for the
Departments. The whole style of printing for
the Departments is shabby and miserable,
but it is the best that can be called for by the
system Where the work goes to the lowest
| bidder, the lowest bidder will give Of course
| the worst description Of work--and at that, if
he pays his paper bills, and journeymen's wages,
he will do all that he expects, and more than
he usually accomplishes. Nothing but fair
price will command fair work; and hence it is
| that we find Senators rejecting the work print
ed by their own authority, iE the style they
themselves call for, and requiring that the vol
umes desired for their own uses should be OBJ
| tanned from some other quarter than their own
printers.
The only possible mode of procuring decent
, work is to pay price which will enable the
contractor to furnish good materials and pay the
current wages to his hands This is the pro-
per system; and whether it enures to the ben
eft Of one person or another, is an immaterial
question, The nonsense that has been uttered
| about " combinations" to put down the con-
tract system, may pass for what it is worth. AS
matter Of course, all printers, masters or jour
neymen, are opposed to the contract system, for
! the reason that experience has proved it to be
entirely inadequate to secure good work or the
| seasonable execution of it. 1t has resulted
uniformly in bad work, delivered at unseason-
! able times. We have no doubt that both the
late contractors have furnished better work
| than they could afford but any one who pre-
| tends that their work has been executed as it
ought to be, must have derived his notions of
the art Of printing from what is called the
| I" cheap literature" of the times.
We confess that we should like to see more
liberal and sensible policy pursued by Congress
in relation To the public printing policy that
would advance the art of typography and not
degrade it--a policy that would procure such
works would give satisfaction" even to
Senators, and not compel them, in procuring
works for their own use, to repudiate expressly
1 the works of their own manufacture And this