The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-11-11

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MUSTER AND PAY-RoLT.s BOUND UP
!, CONTRACTS FOR, WORK AT Low BATES
THE ANCIENT SYSTEM OF PUBLIC PRINT
ING DISCUSSED.
The following is the first report OF Cap
tain r. E. Frayser, Superintendent OF Pub
llic Printing: r5
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA.
| DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC PRINTING.
RICHMOND, October ID, 1878. II
| TO the General ASSEMBLY Of Virginia: l..
: Gentlemen,-I herewith most respect
fully submit my first annual report, exhibit
| ing, in detail, the whole OF the disburse-
nents OF this department for the fiscal year
Terminating the, goth dav OF September,
| 1878, amounting in the aggregate to S21,-
|-754 12. This sum subtracted from the total
expenditures OK S29,S12.35, as embraced in
| the sixth and last annual report of my pre-
decessor,~ makes q difference in behalf OF
the Commonwealth OF ,sS,05S.23, reducing
the cost Of printing, binding, stitching,
| folding, etc., to q lower figure than the
same work has ever been executed for
since The creation or thas office. The books
| in this department show there was more
| than an average OF bills, resolutions,
and documents ordered to be printed
| by the last General Assembly. Some
OF them were OF 4 very yoluminous cllarac-
ter, such as the criminal law, report OF the
/ Joint committee relative to the doub!e-fund-
ing and abstraction Of State bonds in the
ices OF the Second Auditor and Treasurer.
report OF commission to prepare plan for
REORGANIZATION OF the government offices,
together with many others Of like nature
too numerous to mention here. The House
and Senate Journals are also larger than
those Of the previous session.
The Governors proclamation to holders
| OF State securities was also published III
some OF the leading commercial journals in
the North, and the advertising was paid out
OF the printing fund.
The Auditor Of Public Accounts collected
an immense mass OF
MUSTER AND PAY-RoLLs
OF the war OF 1912. which had become mu-
tilatcd by time and frequent handling, and
ordered them to be properly bound and ln-
/ dexed-this in like manner was paid out OF
| the same fund. / mention the foregoing
items TO demonstrate 10 your honorable
body that there has been but little if any
abatement in the public printing since my
| installation, which occurred on the 3lst day
OF January, 1878. My Office has been open
every working day since that time, and
have been diligently engaged in the dis
charge OF my official duties. On the 18th
day Of last March advertised through the
press OF the city OF Richmond for propo-
sails for public printing, binding, stitching,
folding, etc., contracts for execution OF
work to commence on the lst day
of April, 1878, and expire on 31st
dav of March, 1879. Proposals OF many
of the most skiIful and responsible print
ers OF this city were submitted, and are on
file in this Office. exhibiting very low scales
OF rates for the various classes OF work adj
yertised. The bidding for the printing
was very spirited, which resulted advan-
| tareousy for the State, as the whole OF the
printing is done at prices ranging at twenty
| five per cent. less than under the preceding
contracts, and [ have been unable to dis
cover In my researches in the annals Of
printing scale OF prices comparable to the
present in point OF economy.
THESE CONTRACTS SHOW
in the most decided manner the many ad-
yantages in the point Of economy and re-
| trenchment over the old system which was
abolished by the Legislature OF 1S65-'G.
The old was always 4 heavy draft upon the
Treasury, particularly so previous to the
session OF 1878. At that time the State
was paving G23 cents per 1000 ems. G25
cents per token OF eight pages, and S1.25
per 1000 ems for rule and figure work. In
addition to this compensation, the Public
Printer received annually S4,S00. But at
tbis session extraordinary efforts were made
TO reduce the great cost OF printing, and
thev were crowned with success. L have
REPRODUCED some papers bearing upon this
subject at that time, which will give you a
yery good idea how the public printing was
conducted and how paid for. They are made
an addenda to this report. You will see
that as far back as twenty years ago some
of the most industrious, responsible, ana
sklful printers OF this city, with large es-
Establishments thoroughly equipped, with
every facility that could be named for the
execution OF the work, Offering to take
it for t,gentyfUe per cent. less than the State
was then paying, and their proposals met
with such decided favor that the General
Assembly passed an act at this session re-
ducine the scale of prices as follows: ::
" Forty-siy and haIF cents per thousand
ems for plain work, forty-siX and hal!
cents per token for press-work, and sixty
nine and thrce-fourths cents (bcing price
and O hali) for rnLe or figure work. and
ninety-three cents per thousand ems for
rule and figure work; and all blanks, cir-
culars, hand-biils, advertisements, ana
other kinds OF printing, except book and
pamphlet work. shall be paid for at the Gus
tomary rates Of printing for private lnd;-
viduals or concerns. All Of which prices
are not TO include paper, but the Public
Printer is to furnish the paper at The en-
pense OF the State, charging ten per cent.
above cost for waste and trouble in procur-
ing the same. And for book-bindinS the
Public Printer is to be paid the usual price
or rates established among other book bind
ers in the city OF Richmond"
This act took effect on the 1st day OF jan
uary, 1859.
THE SALARY OF THE PUBLIC PRINTER
was also abolished at this session OF the Gen
eral Assembly. With these thorough and
radical changes in the old system, it appears,
from the following statement clipped from
q report of Mr.. G.. a. Schafiter, q former
Superintendent, rather increased than di-
minished the expenses. He says:
During the winters OF 1853 and 1859
there was no session Of the General Assem-
bly,, and yet We find the cost OF public
printing during that fiscal year to have been
S49.170 60. During the year ending Sep
tcmber 80. 1860. the expenses were S61,-
36O.93; for the years 1860 and 1861, $780,
GAS. 45-making for three years, discarding
the difference in currency and labor, S161,-
191, ,O7, or an annual average Of $53, 730. .35.
In this statement neither the printing Of
the Code OF 1860 nor the proceedings Of
the Constitutional Convention OF 1861 is
included"
| Now, it must be beapparent to all that il the
Dresent system had been then in existence