The sun., 1873-12-17

The public cprutorha- recently furnished
his report for tho last year. Ills figures
are instructive;
The ac;4Ii disbursements oi the once we're as fol
lows.
For public printing GOD. ................. t7tte9 se
for paper fqr tie praing ...."............ 5gs
Tor uth. graphing and engraving for -,
For napp'qe fir the supreme Court oi
FOR salaries in he once oi the Con. -,
kr,s"iOudl Ir'hter... .......'........' lt'"' w
Total ISIS -"
These are only the "actual disburso-
monts - for twelve months; but they do
not begin to show the real cost by hum
dreds of thousands. The Congressional
Record is not included ut all, which, as the
Globe, cost about quarter Of o million for
the second session of the last Congress.
The public printer reports that the or
ders for documents ut the last session of
only three months exceeded in all 225,O0
volumes, or about as many as are con-
tanned in the entire Congressional Library,
which is among the largest in the country
The mere statement Of this fact is startling,
and IL shows the reckless scale upon which
this business is done, without regard to
reason, necessity, or cost.
Instead of conforming TO the change
made by tho abolition of the franking
privilege, Congress goes on printing "a
wildly Us ever, and tho public printer, so
far from recommending retrenchment for
this reason, sci2cs upon the occasion OF
publishing the Congressional Record to
urge an extension of the buildings aud an
increase IN the pay OF his clerks. And
this, too, right in the teeth Of n demand by
the Secretary of the Treasury for new
taxes to the extent OF si2, 900, 900 u year,
which were taken of to affect the Presi-
dental election, and in the teeth Of fluan-
cial strngency, suffering industry, and de-
ranged business everywhere
The public printing and binding furnish
large opportunities, by contracts aud col
fusion, to those who control the one and
can connive at the other, by which for
tunes have been made and great incomes
are still accumulated. Leading members
of the committees have become rich, aud
others in this close Ring have utilized the
chances for unusual profits. Aud herein
lies the secret Of the enormous quantity of
documents that are issued because the
! commissions paid by contractors are resu-
lated by the bulk.
Less than one-thrd OF the matter printed
10y Congress would more than suffice for the
legitimate demand. A very large proper
ton of 1t should not be published at all.
The press does the work of publicity at its
own expense and gives the substance OF
everything of real value.
Nothing is more notorious than that all
the books Of any merit which are issued
from the public printing office never reach
the people ut all, or even the libraries OF
the Congressional districts. They are sold,
stolen, or exchanged. Not long AGO two
volumes of CLAKENCE KINGS "EXplor;-
tion of the Forticth Parallel were pub
lishcd under direction of the War Depart
mrnt at cost of $4,000 for 1000 copies.
| They were on sale in the bookstores hero
for 80 n copy. How did they get to New
| York for sale, and who sold themi These
questions might easily be answered by an
investigation.
Booksellers AZ Washington drive heavy
trade in the best OF these publications.
! They keep store rooms filled with them,
| bought from members of Congress ut
I merely nominal prices. The grocers and
! butter dealers AT the capital are supplied
with unlimited stocks OF the fine and costly
writing paper used for bills and resolu-
! tons purchased on their own terms.
/ And when the market is glutted, as 1t
was after the fraukng privilege ceased,
the junk shops buy the documents at four
cents n pound, to be reconvcrted into pa
! per and sold anew at four or five times
! that price to the public printer. They
wrr" carried TO these places from the Cap
! itol last summer by the cart load; and
among them, ~ we have occasion to know,
was the complete edition of the census,
with maps, bound in half russia, and pub
! lished in the best style
A copy Of this census, in the original
cover for mailing aud fresh from the docu-
ment room of the House of Representa-
tives, was purchased for 40 cents, which
represented the price paid by the junk
dealer for ten poun6s weight. In the same
shop were scattered heaps of fine bindings
which had been rudely torn from the GEN.
sus as unstable at the paper mills, al d had
cost tens of thousands Of dollars.
These shocking abuses are known to
everybody at Washington. They have
steadily augmented until their huge pro-
portions now disclose monstrous corTup-
tion, without the least color of excuse. 1t
is nothing less than barefaoed robbery.
Millions are demanded at every session for
printing, when the documents aud the pa
per are converted into merchandise by
venal Congressman or plundering officials
This is one Of the many perquisites Of
which no account is rendered, or anything
known, except in the annual charge upon
the Treasury of several millions. Shall 1t
be allowed to continuel
Corporal Punishment in the schools.
In 1870 the Board Of Education passed n
bylaw prohibiting corporal punishment