New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1858-01-27


been placed by Mr.. Speaker Orr at the head of the
Special Committee on Public Printing has been
instructed by said Committee to open cOrrespOnd1
ence with printers and others with a view to the
concentration of the greatest possible light on the
subject of Government Printing. We have not yet
received the letter in which Mr. Taylor has doubt
less addressed or resolved to address, us on this
important topic; but we do not stand on ceremony
when the enlightenment of Congress and the saw
ing of Public Money is in question-sO Mr.. Taylor
will please receive this letter as our answer to his
anticipated inquiries.
Three distinct modes of procuring and paying for
Public Printing are possible:
l. The present mode of electing a Printer for
each House and engaging TO pay him stipulated
price for the work;
2. The establishment of National Printing
Office, wherein all Government Printing shall
henceforth be executed; and
3. The advertising for proposals and awarding
the Printing in classes to the lowest responsible
bidder for each class respectively.
We are known to favor the last of these alterna-
tiyes, most decidedly. In other words, we would
have the Government procure its Printing pre-
cisey as it does the Beef, the Pork the Flour, re-
aured for the subsistence of its Army and Navy.
If it is best for the Government TO buy tools teams
and seeds, and hire men to work its fertile and
abundant lands, so as to produce therefrom the
food of it's soldiers and sailors then il is also best
that it should set up gigantic Printing Office,
elect Chief Printer, and appoint or hire two or
three hundred engineers, pressmen, proot-readers,
foremeD, &c, &C., who must be paid whether
they have or have not work, and for whom work
will doubtless often be made rather than have them
to pay for doing nothing. We think no printer of
experience, who has no personal interest or am
bition to serve in the premises, can hesitate as to
which is the best and most economical plan.
There is no good reason for requiring that all the
Government work be done at Washington, where
labor and living dear, rather than IN places like
Harrisburg, Cincinnati OF Columbus, where they
are relatively cheap. Give out the Government
work by contract to the lowest responsible bidder,
and il will BE- done wherever it can be done cheap
est. as il should; while the establishment OF Gov
eminent Printing Office confines 1t all to the EIDE
raj City, where good part OF it must at all events
be done.
There is Io real impeachment in the way OF Print
ing by contract. Let the specification be iuu and
precise; let ample security in cash or approved
BONDS be selected; and let a Superintendent OF
Printing be chosen who will not cheat and cannot
be cheated. Should the work be divided among
dozen concerns, so much the better; and It may be
well TO forbid the award of two different classes of
'he fuohc Printing to the same house Ii work is
not executed within the specified time let the con-
tractor be made topay for his hardness. In short
employ three honest and capable printers to draft
your specifications, and all may be made secure.
We presume there is much e1aggeration in the
] gossping reports of the profits realized from the
Public Printing; but they may be safely estimated
at 100000 per annum. The contract system
would not only save this sum to the Treasury. but
would check the prevalent tendency to order use