The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-11-25
III. G.-s-.neu. Printing.


Ia. G.veranent Printing.
| The Washington correspondent of the Cleveland
Leader gives long and interesting account of the
| government printing office. In 1860 Cornelius
| Wendell sold this establishment to the United
| States for $l35 600, and it Is now the largest
printing office in the world. Among the puoc
| printers have been Gales Il 6eston, Jonathan Ell.
| liott Armstrong of Tennessee, Duff Green, Blair
| & Rves, Cornelius Wendell and at last John ID.
Defrees, who has held the position since 1861.
Last year one hundred and ffty.six separate
| books and documents were turned out at this
office; variety of work which was not probably
| equalled by the HarpeIs, Appletons, Lppncotts,
| Fields and Scrfbners together. The entire nun.
Der of copies printed was not far from nine hun.
dred thousand. Mr.. Seward had an appendix to
his diplomatic correspondence prepared, at q cost
of SIS, 900. The book made seven hundred and
fifty four pages, and there were twenty two thou
sand copies printed. The diplomatic correspon-
dence in two volumes. attached TO President John.
sons messages for 1867, made also about twenty
two hundred pages, costing $4,000.
Mr.. Stewards annual international commercial
report made $50 pages, and cost $4,000. There
were also q report on Southern railroads, logo
pages. Report on Delano and Morgan, 1904
pages. Report of Hogan contrasting Piles seat,
632 pages. Report of the commissioner of pa
tents, 2ls0 pages. Lanmsns Dictionary of Con.
gress, 6l0 pages. select committees report
on the Indians, 544 pages. Smithsonian annual
report, Az pages. Confidential communications
from the president. S72 pages; Three army reg
the conduct Of the supplement to it 1859
pages. Laws of the United States, 7s9 pages.
Report Of the commissioners of the land Office in
English, French, German and Swedish, BAG pages.
This is the most practical and valuable report
issued. Agricultural report, 6l2 pages. This is q
very expensive book, printed to the amount of
lt6,000 copies, at o cost of sl44, 1000. The agr-
cultural department Is q candidate for 100 900
more copies Of its report. The patent Office peo-
IL Al
on the death of Mr.. Lincoln, which Is the most
costly book probably ever issued in the United
States. This is the appendix to Mr.. Stewards
diplomatic correspondence. containing expires.
sions of sympathy and coincidence with the nation
on the fate OF Abraham Lincoln. The cost price
of producing the book will be $ls,2eO, or more
than SIX dollars a copy, while the bindings on
some special copies, ordered for the crowned
heads, etc.. abroad, will probably bring them up
to twenty or twenty-five dollars copy.
OF the agricultural report the extraordinary
number of two hundred and twenty thousand
copies have been ordered for last year. at cost
of $4,000, or about eightyfve cents a copy.
This cost is enough to pay the president, vice
the House. and two.thirds of the frstcla foreign
ministers. In these reports there are four hun
dred and fifty thousand pounds Of paper, or two
hundred and twenty-five tons-enough to take
two hundred and twenty five double. horse wagons
to pull them.
At this moment there are eight hundred thou.
sa7d copies of the report for various years lying
in the vaults of the patent Office building. being
the quantity annually printed in excess of the de-
mands even of extravaganza. These copies re.
present $4,000 Of the peoples money invested in
waste paper.
In one year new type added a cost of SIS, sO4;
printing ink, $l9, III; coal, seven hundred tons
new machinery, $4,000.
In the bindery four thousand Russian leather
skins were used, seven hundred and sixty packs
OF gold leaf Costing nearly $1,000, nearly $4,000
worth OF twine and as much glue. Paper for
postoffce blanks alone cost $4S 600. The binding
Of books consumed $73, 900, and binding materials
sll3 600. Engraving and lithographing cost SILL
600.
Tie paper that runs this huge printing Office
comes from varions manufacturers, and il is not
ordered by the congressional printer, but by a
joint committee Of Congress. 1t is ordered in
reams Of five hundred Sheets and sometimes paid
for by the pound. In the latter case from twenty
to thirty cents is commonly paid, and by the ream
the prices vary from eight dollars and half to
thirteen dollars. Three thousand reams came
from Baltimore, nineteen thousand reams and also
twenty thousand pounds came from Manchester,
Connecticut, four thousand reams from Boston,
four thousand from Lancaster Pennsylvania one
thousand from Philadelphia, exclusive of one
hundred and sixty-eight thousand four hundred
pounds, and twenty thousand reams from New
YORK. The manufacturers furnishing the bulk of
the paper were Jessup, Keeney, Magarge, War.
rem and Baer. The cost of all this paper was
$685. 600, considerably past half million, yet this
was less than the sum paid for five preceding
years, the cost Of the paper being in 1865 more
than million and quarter of dollars and averag.
ing for five years about $500, 900. At the end OF
this economical year about s22S O0O worth of
paper remained in storage. Government never
insures its property, and this immense amount of
infammable matter is stored in sheds adjacent to
the printing office and guarded by watchmeo.
The printing for the executive department Of
the government costs nearly as much money as
the total work done for Congress. The executive
departments. with the courts, required in 1867
about s757 900 worth of printing, while the House
of Representatives ran up bill of $454 900, and
the Senate $ls6 900. In addition to this, acts of
Congress warranted about 1888 900 additional of
work done for miscellaneous objects. The Su-
preme Court and its satellites take nearly SIS OOO
The agricultural department with its huge reports,
passes 1872 600. The treasury leads with nearly
$500 900, and the war department follows it with
sl4S goo. Next come the postofice, navy and in.
teIior departments, ranging from SIS, 600 to
$52, 600.
The government printing Office thus involves
yearly expense OF from one million and a half dol
lars TO over two Millions and this does not include
the printing of the debates of Congress, which is
done by contract at the Globe Office. and which
costs seven dollars column to report them and
six dollars Il believe) q copy per session, for the
Globe In which they are printed.
Government printers get q tri1e better prices
than are paid elsewhere in the country. Steady
work will give one fifteen hundred dollars year
in this mandatory. The work-girls get from
nine to twelve dollars week. The printers are
almost always in excess, however.