The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1868-11-13
-Nok. put these 225 lons DO d.

l Nov, put these 225 tons into the
mail bags franked by congressman to
corner grocer and gin mill proprietOrs,
and you get some notion Of the rea-
son Why The post Office is not self
sustaining, If the frankiDg privilege
were stopped and a hundred dollars
worth Of postage stamps voted annual
ly to each congressman, the necessity
for this vast quantity Of public dOcu-
ments would also cease. One evil
suggests and supports another. The
sWindles Of the world are linked to-
gether, and the devils forlOrn expedi-
euts against the nation arc "omni-
bused.no asia
At this very moment there are
500, 900 copies Of the reports for va
Tious years lying in the vaults Of the
patent Office building, being the guam
tity annually printed in excess Of the
demands even Of extravaagance'
Those copies represent $50, 900 of the
peoples money in waste paper mildeE-
ing, rotting, the spoil Of paste-rats
and truss. makers. The new cOmuis-
ionefof patents Mr.. Foote when be
took his seat some time ago was not
aware Of this decaying mass Of sgri-
cultural knowledge, manuring tha
ground instead of the yeOmsn intel
lect The patent Office is self-supPort-
ing; but that is no reason why it should
print more books than it wants. The
bill for engraving plates Of models for
the patent Office last year was ss5,OC0
This is not mis-spent but the excess
Of books was pFOfigacy.
The usual number Of copies printed Of
any public document is ], $50, or about
the average circulation of books prin-
ted by private publishing honsss. Out
of this number more than one-hslf are
bound up, the rest being distributed in
sheetsby gift, mail or otherwise.
THE FRENCH GovEREMENF PRINTING
OFFICE.
Our printing Office might almost be
made self-sustaining. The first thing
to DO in this direction is is to abolish
the frankiug privilege, and so inmedi-
ately make the post Office remuneFatiVs
and in time the public printing bureau.
To show that this is the case in 9TH
er countries, I have been at pains to
look up in my guide to Paris a sketch
OF the French government printing
office.
The French government printing
Office, called the Imprimeris Imperigle,
was conceived in small part by Francis
I. about two hundred and fifty years
ago. Richelieu somewhat later used
the Office to print books in Turkish and
HindoOstsnee 1 for the missionaries
whom he sent to the East on political
errands. The printing Office was first
set Up IN part Of the palace of the
EuHeries, aud GaramOnd, the type
carver of the time, made characters in
Greek Syrian, Armenian, Persian and
Samaritan. To these Louis XV added
Hebrew and Chinese characters, while
Louis XIV had cast some Of the finest
fonts of type known since the time Of
Guttemburg. The present printing
in Paris was establish
ed by the Republicans in 1889, and
they swung a printing press more
powerful than their guillOtine. fhe
covers 12,edO square
yards. Its expenses in 1860 were
$4,000 francs, or S764,O 900, and
Is receipts exceeded this outlay BY $500.
Of these receipts more than $4,000
we're acquired by selling the Bul7stis
u Tie Laws and other Oficisl journals.
The Iusprinsris Inaperials contains
sa hand presses and l9 steam presses.
It makes $4,000 packs Of playing
ards day, for in France playing cards,
Ike tobacco, make a government mo-
lopoly, and no private firm can manu-
aeture either. There are also 20 lith>
'grapbic presses and Is ruling ma
'hines and the whole force Of the es-
ablishment is under eleven hundred
persons, The functions Of the French
printing Office are more manifold than
,urs- 1t is considered the preservef Of
he national art Of printing, Issues
ich books Of all sorts, and has little
correspondence with she Washington
printing office, which is a workshop Of
he plainest exterior, self-supporting in
othing, gift enterprise, indeed.
G. A. T.