Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1883-04-19

traces tnaC mf0tlOneO 10M nlUuleS
ago, and by that means enable them
selves to furnish their constituents a
large number of books that are really
valuable to them"
"How many volumes each do mem
bers get?''
"That depends altogether on the
number ordered by the act of Congress.
Now this year each member gets some
thing over seven hundred agricultural
reports. That is the largest number of
any one publication
How many different publications
are there?"
"Some of the members sent out this
year as many as two hundred and twen-
ty-five different works, not all of them
publications of this year, however,
"You keep the publications of former
years on hand, then, do you?"
"Yes: some of them. Some run as
far back as twenty years; of others we
have none more than year or two
back. The more valuable ones, of
course, are picked up rapidly by the
members for themselves and their
friends
Are many of them so valuable,
then?'
eyes; some run as high as twenty
five dollars for set. OF course, that is
exceptional; but there are few cases
where they run that high"
"How many volumes do you think
you send out a year:?''
Il think about seven hundred thou
, sand. l have no definite record of the
number, but think that it must run up
to that number"
"Then adding one-third for the Sen
ate. and some more for the depart
ments, it makes million volumes a
year, does it?"
"About that, | suppose-and that,
you know, is exclusive of the speeches
of members, in pamphlet form, of which
they send us great many to fold and
NALL
"How many?''
"Well, all the way from one thou
sand to one million apiece
Zone million! You don't mean to
say that any one member has sent out
a million copies of his speeches?''
Eyes. and more than that. One
member Of this Congress has sent out
million and quarter OF his speeches. :"
"And does the Government pay for
| these million and quarter of speeches
for political purposes?"
"Oh, dear, no. The gentleman has
paid nearly fifteen thousand dollars
! more than his entire salary in both ses-
sions of Congress-for speeches alone.
The Government furnishes the envel-
opes, folds them, and sends them
through the mail. We have sent off
more than five million speeches in en-
velopes. But our envelopes don't cost
much when we buy them by the mill
ion, as we do here. We get them at
less than dollar a thousand
How does he get the addresses of
enough people to send out these speech
es in such large numbers?'
"Well, he furnishes each member as
many as he chooses to send, and keeps
four or five clerks busy sending them
out besides
1.-The number of pounds of this mat
ter transported through the mails free
of charge must be something enor-
mous?'
Yes it is. 1t would be impossible
to estimate it, except by the general
fact that we average hundred bags
day the year round, and that they prob
ably average one hundred and twenty
five pounds apiece, making some five or
six million pounds, or say twenty-five
hundred to three thousand tons, or two
hundred and fifty carloads
land how many men do the work of
preparing this for the people?"
''Here, in the folding-room, where
the books are. wrapped and addressed,
we have thirty men, beside those in the
office. But we ought to have twice the
number. Then that number is small
compared with the force at the Govern
ment Printing Office, where these books
are printed. There are between 1000
and 5000 employed there. Think of it