The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1858-04-24
hhP0Rp P0 Rp ON THE PRINTING QUESTION
t,66UUFOSED REMEDY FOR PRESENT
ADJ ADCSES-NATIONAL PRINTING RTTRFAJr

II
ABuSES-NATIONAL PRINTING BUREAT
r. W ASHlNGToN, April 22.-Thc report of the Select
1"iii%lttee % on the subject of the public printing
aIaIe oy the Hon George Taylor of New York, IS
| elaDorate and interesting. "
The committee saw amono otbor ,bi,.. l
Public Printer elected by the ThirtvThird C
gress, and the Public Printer of the Senatn Of tbo
inlrtyrourtn Congress, contracted, each one re-
SpectlVey, with another third party TO do tba
required work, rooorrirng IN birsIf 60 W. .nc
! per centage which was net reward or I ni ~ ~
! tor simply taking under the name of Public Printer
the printing of Congress, and sub-letting it to an
other, neither of them having done anv portion of
| the work himself
The Public Printer elected by the House for tb.
! Ihlrty-Eourth Congress (Wendell) did the re-
CURED House printing himself, and in addition as
sub-contractOr under the Senate printer did The
printing of the Senate for that Congress as he did
all OF the printing for the Public Printers of both th
Senate and House of the Thrtv-Third CONGRESS
and is now doing that for both the Senate and the
House of the present Congress Moreover the
same party, sub-contractor under the Senate and
House officials, is printing the Post Office blanks rs
sub-contractOr for the person having that con
tract.
The per centage paid by the sub-contractor above
mentioned to thevariOus public printers designated
-emolument of their mere sinecure oflces-amountg
at present to about twenty thousand dollars per
month. And this includes no allowance of per cent
age upon the House printing for the Thirty Fourth
Congress, the subcOntractor mentioned. wendell
as public printer of ttat body, doing that work for
himself as principal and so being saved any pay
ment for privilege
The gross amt paid as stated as per centage or bo
nus for privilege by the party now doing the public
printing for officials of the Government varies but
little from two hundred and forty thousand dollars
year. At the same time he realizes over and
above that vast profit handsome reserve profit for
himself The printing of neither the Thrty-Third
! nor the Thirty-Fourth Congress is vet completed
but that ior both is in course of execution; there
! tore the aggregate of per centage named as being
paid to the officials by the sub-contractor who is
doing the work. is the per centage on that printing
! on the printing for the present Congress, and on
| the printing of post office blanks which is separate
| from the Congressional printing, and amounts to
| about fifty thousand dollars per wear.
! In the matter of the binding Of Congress and the
Departments similar state of facts has been found
to exist The House binding for the Thirty Fourth
Congress may be taken as fair illustration of the
manner in which that work has generally been eX-
| ecuted. That binding was contracted to be done
at twenty-five per cent. less than former prices
| lhe person contracting Civilians, OF OhiO,) sold
| that contract or re-let the work to be done to
gentleman of Washington, for the consideration OF
twenty per cent, to be paid him on the gross
| OF binding done; and his sub-contractOr again sub
let his contract to another third party, for the
consideration, to be paid him, of one-haf of the pro
fits on the doing of the work after the deduction of
the twenty per cent to be paid the binder who had
contracted. Upon information which this Commit
tee are not disposed to question, it is believed that
the twenty per cent reserved by that contractor to
be paid him by the first subcontractor has already
amounted to thirtythree thousand dollars and that
! the second sub-contractor has received very CON
siderable sum out of profits which have been made
in doing the work, after the payment of the twenty
per cent to the first contractor stipulated in his
contract. 1t is just to the third party second
sub-contractor doing the work, to add that he has
been so satisfied with the residum to himself under
his contract, as to have feltmpeed or what he re-
ceivcd, to do the binding in a better manner than
much of that heretofore done.
The Committee say this particular illustrationhas
been selected, not with view to find fault with the
| first contractor, but as apty showing the general
! practice OF persons do the nublic work
who, not themselves for zthe most part mechanics,
but spectators, obtain contracts, and mechanics
/ to execute them, under a reserve from the actual
operations of large per centage profits to them
selves.
The gross amount of binding for the Thirty Third
Congress, is S53S, ,45S. That for the Thirty Fourth
/ S365 033. But, in addition to the Congressional
works, there is large amount of binding annually
done for the several Executive Departments and
| bureaus. The prices are much higher than those
established by Congress, the work given out with
out SYSTEM and with little or no regard for econo-
my The binding for the Departments and Bu-
reaus including the printed heads in some instan-
ces, for the year 1884, amounted in gross to S175OO,
and will probably be about the same for the present
year.
The Committee have ascertained that the engrav-
ing for Congress and the Departments can be done
for fully thirtythrec and third per cent less than
is now paid. The wood engraving for the Patent
Office Report for 1851 may be taken in illustration
of general manner. Those engravings cost the
Government, per page of thirty-three and third
part of the work done in New York and thus sold
or sub-let his contract to second party at a very
large discount from the price which he himself was
to receive from the Government; that second party
again sub-let his contract to third party, who
actually did the work for SIG per page.
The committee are assured that the whole cost of
the engraving-the wood, the drawing, and the
eectrotyping-nee and ought not to have been
more than So per page, while it cost the Govern
ment S32. TO-
The whole amount of the cost of engravings,
Autographs, and electrotypes for the Thrty-Third
Congress is SS29, S58.25; that for the same, for the
! Thirty Fourth Congress is 1851 ,S54.G2 The saving
of but twenty per cent. the these large amounts
more than which it possible to have made, would
| now gone to contractors and spectators, not to
meritorious artisans-of S2S7, ,34257.
Abuses as to the quality of paper etc, were like
| wise discovered
The grand total ofthe cost of printing binding en-
craving lithographing and electrotyping of Con
gress and of the Departments during the Thirty
Third Congress-that is, for years
is ,s2,7sG, ,29C.98
Amount paid for the Congressional
Globe for the Thirty Third Congress 239G4O.9i
5000 1912
Cost for the same during the Thirty
Fourth Congress l,S737O7.3l
Paid to Globe 257 90i.2S
s2,I3l GlI.59
Add Sl50,0O per annum for stationary in the De
partments, the Clerks offices and folding rooms,
making $500, 900 per Congress.
The Committee, with view to end the abuses in
the present system proposes to establish Bureau
for the execution of printing, binding, engraving,
&C. The Office of the Superintendent to be abol-
| shed.
They are satisfied that while the present specua-
tons will be removed the work generally can be
done, by this means, with at least thirty or forty
per cent. saving to the Government.
FREAKS OF LIGHTYING.-The Ne,o Haren Journal
| of Wednesday says:-
The rain storm of yesterday forenoon was accom-
panied by thunder and lightning. In the town of
Milford there were two strokes, of which
descended in a solid body upon a chimney in the
house owned by Jonas q. French, and occupied by
the families of Mr.. French and Mr.. Ralph Ii. Augcr
The lightning separated, passed down both chin
neys, and penetrated every portion of the house.
One chimney entirely demolished, and the other
was very badly injured There were four stoves
in the house, every one Of which was burst open
and broken in several places. The lightning passed
through cupboard, and scattered the crockerv in
every direction of the pieces striking lad of
Ia years, and badly cutting his face Every room in
the house received more less injury and theh house
is said to be left in bad condition as not to be