Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-05-26
printers who are required to superintend it S

| F.>eiS "ho ak0 iSquiICu W supcflutcuu III
operations
As preliminary to Mr. Rives's claim on &C
count of conjectural difference between de
oates and documents, and apparently with
view OF giving it bearing in connect ion with
my estimates, he says that during - the frs
sixty-nIne days of the session" the printing
OF Column of debates cost him more tba,
double as much as l allowed. The mode O.
| expression adopted is not only indefinite. bu
quailhed as to time. l allowed So 40 no,
| column for the printing" (ce,nposit;on
which gives 81 so to the journeymen. Iwr,
work by the piece,) and sixty cents for readin,
| the proof To double this sum would be Sl 81
for the printing" Then add Mr.. IS claim
OF 81 "a for reporting, and the total cost of ,
column would exceed SO 81. In his circula,
statement Mr.. Rives sets it down at SlI 35
and it was on these fgurr that he predicated
ms loss OF $2o,S11, heretofore referred to
but IN his last newspaper publication he more
than once recurs to this item of his expenses
lie first states the cost Of BREWER column "a
De 80 "a, exclusive of proof and super.
intendence; few lines lower down the entire
average cost is stated at 81 50 vet a little
lower down the items of expense in preparing
column are given at 81 IS, wiz. for report
Ing "a "a for journeymen 81 80, and for proof
reading 81 Il y and then the average cost for
an entire Congress is stated at 81 OIL. Thes.
column OF the newspaper publication / shall
not attempt to explain how these conflicting
results are produced, but do not think tha:
their author ought to have called NV motives
into question for the difference of half n cest
In estimating a column of the Intellipencer
and column of the Globe,
1t may be remarked, however that the cal
culations SO specifically set forth in the news
paper publication, made in April, compieteiy
-SrrLrO,r he
ctrcNfar printed tH March. This whole in
vestlSation seems to have originated in a claim
oy Mr. Rlves for increased patronage to the
amount OF S44, ,2o0, on account of an alleged
loss of S2S,oTl per Congress. This loss. as be-
tore stated, was predicated on Mr. Riyes saver
ment that each column cost him SII IS This
ayerment, it should be observed, ia qualified
as is his deduction from it. (See his first state
ment above .quoted) But, nevertheless. the
alleged loss which so astounded some of Mr.
Rivess friends, and to discover which has 50
puzzled practical printers, was based upon the
cost OF Sl1 35 per column, which Mr.. Rives
says was ascertained and proved to have been
the exact amount 60 for the first sixty-pine
days of this session" and which was app.ied
10 7,499 columns, the assumed aggregate num-
ber OF Congress. Now, if finstead of this
SIl.31) we estimate according 70 the highest
amount OF cost per column as set forth in the
ARiAA PuoiiSatiOAi, kSJ-ol, IL VIII relieve Mr.
Rives of nearly two-thirds of his loss. nv 70.
ducing it from S2S,S71 to $40, 1874; and if we
estimate upon the next highest figure, (S7.75.
where the items of cost are given with most
it will almost wipe out the re-
naming third, The lower sums, of course
would entirely obliterate this pretended loss
by Mr.. Rives, and throw the balance in his
favor instead of against him, as he chooses to
represent 1t. L trust that Mr.. Rives will ac-
"a f.rH dIrn rndrf f..~
allty OF which may be easily verified by null
tplying 7.449 columns by the respective sans
above named. May his Golfers be ALWAYS 50
well filed that $2S 600 or $50 900 cannot be
missed from them.
Before taking leave of this branch of thu er-
traOrdinary publication under review. + mov
posi- bly, be INDUCED in remark upon quite
a trivial circumstance which is therein rrave.
~ introduced MIR. Hives states that the Ia
teillgencer gets sometimes the type of the
Globe already set up" to save it from .ssome
OF the oneEous expense Of reporting and set.
ting up the proceedings Of Congress. In the
expression aUvNu quUTen, ,aAe eAceptIun 10 I
tie word "Sonrettmes," which has certainly
been used by Mr. Rives without reflection
None OF the types OF his proceedings or de-
bates were ever borrowed by the Inteiligeucer
except on one oceaston (about the 30th Of Jan |
uary last) At that time, the editors of the |
lntelligencer, being desirous of publishing on |
the same day the entire mass of debate be- |
tween Mr.. Cass and Mr.. Clayton on the Cen
trail American question, suggested to me the |
expediency of getting supplement of four |
pages of it printed at the Globe office, for which
they expected to pay just price. Upon 90 |
ing in person to that office to make the ar |
rangement l was informed that the presses of
the establishment were then hard pressed to
keep up with their regular work so that the
desired accommodation could not be convent
emily extended, but the use of the types was
urteously rendered, or loaned at my REQUEST.
Il now forget which, 1t was in this manner
that the types of Mr.. Rives's proceedings in
Congress were once borrowed by the Intel |
ligenoer, to which he loosely applies the word
s0nietlnieS, as II 1t were common occurrence
believe that on a former occasion, many
years ago, we borrowed the types of a "docu.
ment,' making probably eight or ten columns
L may add, that except during the brief Pc
riod of its contract with the Senate, the Intel
ligencer merer received from Congress, and
does not now receive, any compensation what
ever for 1.-The onerous expense it has incurred
in reporting and publishing the proceedings
and debates.
The next item Of consequence is the press
work and folding. In my first statement this
is set down at the Congress price Of one dollar
per token, because that statement processes TO
be based on the Congress prices; and in nv
second statement, which processes to give an
estimate of the outlay of the contractor, it is
set down at fifty cents per token. Both state
ments, however, are qualified as to the cost Of
the pre,swork by the remark that it will cost
the contractor Tess than fifty cents per token
Mr.. Rives says that he and his foreman think"
that | should have allowed him 81 162 per
token, L" because the work on the debates has
to be done in q great huIry.n Such a d. eten-
sion as to the cost of - token done on power
impressions on % form" extend to $500
copies, would excite ridicule in every part of
the country, (the Pacific States excepted, about
whose prices [ know nothing) The foreman
of whom Mr. Rives speaks testified before a
committee of Congress that the cost of press.
work was about twenty-five cents per token,
and tho pressman of the Union Cfiee gave
similar testimony, as may be seen by referring
Sess 3lst Cong. Yet Mr.. Rives challenges
.shas bean done in this city as low as fiftv
cents per token" In this challenge, althou yh
he does not say so, Mr.. Rives again departs
from the paint of issue, (.'t the cost to the
printer,') and refers to the compensation of
an ;' employing printer" who, like himself.
has claim for capital invested, wear and
tear of material, fuel, lights, &C., all of viii,
L allowed Mr.. Riyes to the full extent of his
own figures. which L thought very extrava-
CANT.
Whatever testimony l might produce on
this point, obtained from other sources than
Mr.. Rives himself, would, presume, have lit
tie weight with him L prefer, therefore, not
-. - l. Il