Sharp County record., 1885-02-19
GOVERNMENT PRINTING.
The Largest Printing Establish
ment in the World.
The Hands Employed, the Work Done,
and the Expense of Running It-HoW
the Proceedings are Prepared,
Printed and Distributed.

The late discussion in the Senate as
to the publication of its debates led me
into the Government Printing-office,
where the Congressional Record is
printed. 1t is an immense, prison
like building, covering about an acre of
ground, and looking more like great
factory than Government establish
ment. Its material is brick, its color a
dirty white. and its form that of hol-
low square. 1t has many windows and
numerous entrance doors. At each OF
the latter stands a guard with a silver
badge on his breast, and over the chief
entrance door is a little stOny-eyed
marble bust of Ben Franklin, which
looks quite stunted under the four
stories of dreary white which rise above
it. In this building nearly y the whole of
the printing for the Government is
done. 1t is said to be the largest print
inc establishment in the world, and it
turns out some of the worlds finest
work. 1t employs within its walls
more than 1000 men all the year round,
and it makes the blank books used in
all the Government offices of the
United States, not only in Washing
ton. but in the custom and post
offices from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
It's daily payroll averages $4,000, and
it's total expenditures during the past
wear aggregated nearly three millions.
F'F Sg ;s&ssss'sssaaA ; & ss p4sS &sesse i II i5ssI
last session of Congress cost in rounT
numbers S194,000. This is $4,000 more
than the Record has cost at any session
since it has gone by the name of Con-
QreSsiOndI Record, which first occurred
in 1873, and it is on the average over
$4,000 more than its ordinary cost.
Congress seems to grow more and more
verbose from year to year, and the de-
bates and speeches Of the last session
fill seven large volumes twice as big as
the largest Of family Bibles, and con-
tanning more than seven thoTsand
pages, each filled with two columns of
type the size of that of the ordinary
newspaper. This Congressional Record
is supposed to contain every word ut
tered on the floors of Congress. 1t does
contain much more. Many men never
deliver their speeches at all. They
merely say Mr.. Speaker! " and then
ask leave to print. This Congress
generally gives, and this talk, which
has never been uttered in Congress,
appears in the Record, and the con-
gressman sends his great speech broad
east over his district.
The Record appears every morning,
and that Of to-day always contains the
full proceedings of the House and Sen
ate of Yesterday. These are taken
down in shorthand, and it costs about
S25, 900 a year for each House to pay
its photographers. The shorthand
men take turns at taking notes, and
when they have written their work out
into long-hand it comes down to the
Government Printing-oflice in long
foolscap sheets, with every second line
written upon, 50 that there is ample
room for interlineation. Some of the
speeches which the congressman write
out themselves are sent to the printers
in their own handwriting, and the
most of this is rather illegible and some
of it very poorly spelled. | saw the
TWO piles of copy from which yester-
DAYS Record was set up, and that be-
ongingito the congressman themselves,
would have frightened Horace Greeley's
ghost.
The Record eats up a greater amount
of manuscript, | suppose, than any
other newspaper in the United States,
and, as we have the largest of news
papers, consequently in the world.
Each of its pages contains about the
same amount of reading matter as four
pages of an octave novel, and many
nights over 100 pages have to be gotten
out. This would be equal to closely
printed book of over 400 pages, and it
will often, contain as many as million
ems. Sometimes there are one hundred
pages uf nonpaf-eeiiii &c &c be be set M and it
should be remembered that this, like
the ordinary daily paper, has to be done
at night, and be ready for the press
early in the morning.
1t takes eight proof-readers to look
over the proof OF the Record. Each
piece is read twice, and is also sent to
the congressman who made the speech
for correction. 1t is again read before
it goes into the bound volume, and the
best men of the kind in the country are