The American. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1857, 1857-11-21
THE PUBLIC PRINTING PLUMBER.

The FUbLlC FtlNIlNG FLUNDEhs
The Richmond Wing, quoting recent article
in The Stateso giving the statistics of the print
ing now, as compared with ten years ago, uses the
figures to malign our Democratic Administrations
and Congress, thus:
According to the report of the Superintendent
Of Public Printing, the cost of 30 much OF the
printing, &C., as was ordered at the first session
of the Saith Congress- and had been executed and
delivered to January IL, 1857, including the print
ing of the Departments, is $74S,l20 81.
At the time this statement was made, a num-
Der of expensive documents ordered at the first
session were not Completed SO that it may be
reasonable to suppose that when all are finished,
the cost Of the printing for the first session of the
thirty-fourth Congress atone will exceed 81 ,0o0,
600.
Ten years ago the cost of the printing for the
two Houses Of Congress- for both sessions did not
exceed $276,000. This included the paper and
binding.
"We have some rich documents on hand, show
ing how the Office of public printer is at present
secured"
The foregoing astounding development, in re-
gard to the cost of the public printing, is taking
from the Washington States--a warm Democratic
journal. The cost Of the public printing ten years
ago, we are told, /" did not exceed $275, 000," for
''both sessions" of Congress. But what is the
fact now9 Why, we are colly informed that the
cost of the printing for the first session of the
thirty-iourth Congress alone, will exceed 81 ,000,
000!l" Thus, the printing in these latter days,
under Democratic rule, costs eight times as much
as it did ten years ago. Do not the people, in
deed, pay heavily for the luxury of having Dem
ocratir Presidents and Democratic Congressesg
Such recklessness and profigacy of expenditure
only few years ago would have startled the peo-
pie, and caused them to rise as one man, and hrr
from power the political sharpers that thus feeced
and oppressed them.-Ihe States ..@ 4.
"The States in its comments on the above
endeavors to throw the responsibility of this
Public Plumber" from the shoulders of the
Democratic party upon those of the Republi-
cans, by saying that the 34th was Repubi-
can Congress, and that "the Black Republicans
had a monopoly of plumber, aud made the last
infamous, in consequence" But The States
should bear in mind that if the House of
Representatives was under the control of the
Republicans, the Democrats had large ma
jority in the Senate, SO that they must at
least share and share alike the responsibility
of what the The States calls "the Public
Printing Plumber" Besides, we opine that
no small share of the 100000 above men
toned, went to pay for printing, binding and
engraving, ordered by the SD Congress
which was wholly Democratic. Herndon and
ellis reports, Commodore Perry's Japan re-
port, the Pacific Rail Road surveys and re-
ports, and the Commercial Statistics-three
large volumes immensely expensive works,
were ordered before the Saith Congress came
into existence and when the Democrats had
full sway in both branches of Congress, and,
to use the language of The States, :" a mono
poly of plumber"
But included in the above is the printing of
the Departments, which belongs exclusively to
the Democracy. If the advertising of the
several Departments and Bureaus of the Gov
eminent is reckoned in the above sum, it makes
no small figure. In no acts of the Govern
ment is there greater abuses, and even corrup-
tion to be found than in its advertising. We
took notice of this some time since, and we
now repeat that advertisements are ordered
into two, three, or four papers in city, some
of which are never seen by single person
whom advertising is intended to give notice
to, and for all the benefit the Government de-
rives from them they might just as well, after
being printed, be packed away in dungeon
The sole object of ordering long advertise
ments into two-thirds of the papers in which
they are published, is to put little money in
the pockets of these Democratic Editors. How
long the people may tamcly stand such abom-
course are unable to form any opinion, since
they seem disposed to be very submissive
under any and all Democratic plumber
We have no defence or apology to make for
the House of Representatives of the last Con.
gress; the election of Public Printer by that
body was most disreputable, and the dispo-
sal of the public binding not very brilliant