The southern press. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1850-1852, 1852-05-12

law OIL 1888 va Increased 70 4200IO00 HS
expenses Ia l847 were e6O7, 800, and its re-
ceipts @oai 900. In le4e the expenses were
$75o,7Oo, and the receipts $4,000 In IS47
the amount OF Rrasuitous printing for the gov.
eminent was S22 500. and IN l848 n2O 400
The number Of workmen EMPLOYED r. Iaa1
aud lS4S was 1854. viz :--564 men and how.
and 200 women. The wages Of The men ysr;sd
from 10 cents to $l.20 per day, and the women
from 40 to 50 cents per day. The foreman
earned $780, the eompositors $l.lO and the
apprentice competitors 80 cents. Two per cant
of the wages is retained for the formation Of
pension and relief fund. A workman ean -
tire after thirty years of service--or After
twenty five years, if he shall have attained the
age OF sixty years, on minimum pension Of
$50 per year; and after thirty. five years of ser.
vice he can retire on a maximum pension or
800 per year. The pensions Of the women
are one-ihird less In case Of illness, the men
are allowed twenty cents per day, and the wo.
men fifteen cents per day, but this allowance +
not granted for more than ninety days in any
| one year
The services which this Institution is enabled
to render to science are cry important. It's re-
| sources are open TO all the private nr;nt;n..
houses Of France, and are offered even Ia tbeS
use Of foreign countries. It's celebrity = pr;-
versal. 1t has executed catalogue of the chi.
nese books in the library Of Berlin. for ~.
King Of Prussia; the Pacha of Egypt hss en-.
| plOyed it to print his State account homie. h.
has printed bibles in Turkish Syrisc. and oths.
| Oriental languages for tho London R,hla 81.
cisty: and the Asiatic society has copfided "a =
| the printing Of some of their mont imnort.rt
publications. In fact it holds itself under sn;,'
able restrictions, at the disposition Of the learnad
world. Its collection Of types and character. !.
unequa'led It has no less than iffy.six font.
OF oriental characters and can rrint ia nearly in
the known dialects Of Asia. 1t boasts also or
100000 groups OF Chinese characters, enqraven
on wood, IN addition to 5000 moveable types
by the combination of which it can ars.,,e
nearly all the lnnumerabe and grotesque Chi.
nese signs. In 1906, when Pope Pin, VII
visited the establishment the director otfarad
him the Lords prayer printed in one hundred and
nifty tongues or dialects The grosa weight Of tha
types in this establishment il 100000 k;llo.
gramnes, (about 100000 lbs avordupois
! In connection with the above notice Of tho
national printing office, it strikes me that the
following information touching the prntars,
profession in general in Paris will not he ont ~
place or unacceptable:
BY decree dated Fl bruary &. 1910 IF wb;o,.
the principal provisions are still in force M ono
can exercise the profession of printer IN France
without license from the minister of the inte
rlor. The decree also determines the nnmhar
OF lprinters for Paris, which was at that time
hxed at sixty, but in 1911 was increased n
eighty. In order to evade this law regulating
the NUMBER OF printers, numerous establish.
menus nave been founded, from time to time.
purporting to be branches of the reoularlv ~
censed establishments, and to do business undor
their responsibility. The number of thasa
"branches" in existence at the present dsv. how.
ever, is very small; in l847 there were seven
In 1922 the eighty licensed printers in paris
| transacted business to the amount of abont q
7oO,OOO The number of workmen emploved
was 500; and the average business of tho "a.
tablishments was about S2l 900. IN 1sA7 tha
eighty licensed printers and the seven unl;can.a5
employed 1886 workmen and transacted hps;.
ness to the amount Of about 5000 600 Sx
printers did business to the amoant of Ion 0nO
ana above; eighteen to the amount of from
$4o'ooO TO 100000; twenty seven from $40.
0OO TO $4,000; nineteen from 81 10 900 to 800
600; nine from $4,000 to $4,000 six from
Saooo 70 $o'ooo; and two to the amount of
@zoUo ana less In l848, during the four
| operatives were dismissed, for want IF work
and the business Of that year was redncad r.
about $2,225.00O The printing business suf.
Tered less than most other trades however hv
she revolution; for although there were bnt
comparatively few books to print, the number Of
| newspapers was much increased.
~ the 1886 workmen in I847, there were
4,O59 men, l72 boys, and 3O5 women. The
wages OF the men averaged about 90 cents per
day; of the women about 40 cents per dav !. If
the boys about % cents per day. or the l72
Boys 10 Qrom IL to 16 years of age) were
apprentice compositors. There are no appren-
t'ces allowed among the pressmen. The COM
positors' proof-readers and pressmen earned
rom v TO $l40 cents per day but there were
about dozen in all Paris, who earned Sl go.
'our VINO earned w, and one who earned as
per cay. 2'226 OF the men worked by the day
o. 'ne honr' and the others by the piece. Among
!! those who work by the hour. were The nroo3
readers and job printers. Of the women. 1as
were paid by the day, lsl by the piece. and IS
by the month. None of them were COMPOST
tors, put most were employed in folding. stitch
ing, ana laying the sheets upon the machine
presses,
me condition OF the printers in Paris rs COM
pared with that OF other mechanics is consider
eo good. The report of the chamber Of COM
merce, from which the above account /. taken.
represents that about one fourth of them are
well situated, and in what may be called fayora.
Ole conditions of existence; that among the
othefs, especially among those of them that
WORK by the piece, the state of things is tolera-
pie thongh there arc many of them whose con.
dlton, like that of the other mechanics of Paris.
Is so dependent upon the varying state of bust
ness, that they are frequently in state of great
poverty. Formerly it was estimated that about
one fourth of the mechanics of this profession
were more or less dissirated; but within the
last few years this proportion is said much to
have diminished; result which is attributed in
the above mentioned report, TO the more general
diffusion of knowledge.
The number of photographic and copper plate
printers in Paris. in l847. was 3O5, who en-
pioyd IN the aggregate, 1888 operatives and
transacted business during the wear, to the
amount of $l,56o.0oO; $65s,OOO being re-.
ce'ved for printing music and works Of art.
100000 for printing cards. circulars, &c. AL
though photographic and copper-plate printing
are trades essentially differe mt from each other,
they are 20 often carried on BY the same persona.
and in the same establishments that IL ia impos.