Cheyenne transporter. [volume] (Darlington, Indian Terr.) 1879-1886, 1885-02-28
THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
The Largest Establishment Of Its Kind I'm the
World-How "The Congressional Rec
ord" Is Prepared, Printed, and

to the publication of it's debates led me
into the government printing office,
where The Congressional Record is
printed, says correspondent to The
Cleveland Leader. 1t is an immense
prison-like building, covering about
an acre of ground, and looking more
like great factory than a govern
ment establishment. It's material is
brick. its color dirty white. and its
form that of hollow square. 1t has
many windows and numerous entrance
doors. At each of the latter stands
guard with a silver badge on his
breast, and over the chief entrance
door is little, stony-eyed marble bust
of Ben Franklin, which looks stunted
under the four stories of drearv white
which rise above it. In this building
nearly the whole of the printing for
the government is done. 1t is said to
be the largest printing establishment
in the world, and it turns out some of
the worlds finest work. 1t employs
within its walls more than two thou
sand men all the year round, and it
makes the blank-books used in all the
govern ment offices in the United
States, not only in Washington, but in
the custom and post Offices from the
Atlantic to the Pacific. Its daily pay
roll averages $4,000, and its total ex-
penditures during the past year aggre-
gated nearly three millions. The Con-
greSSiOnaL Record is in itself a big Job,
and its printing dnring the last session
OF congress cost in round numbers
1894 900. This is $4,000 more than
The Record has cost at any session
since it has gone by the name of Con-
greSStOndt Record, which first occurred
in 1873, and it is on the average over
$4,000 more than It's ordinary cost.
Congress seems to grow more and
more verbose from year to year, and
the debates and speeches of the last
session fill seven large volumes twice
as big as the largest of family bibles,
and containing more than seven thou
sand pages, each filled with two col
umns of type the size of that of the
ordinary newspaper. This Congress-
ional Record is supposed to contain
every word uttered on the floors of
congress. 1t does contain much more.
Many men never deliver their speeches
at all. They merely say "Mr. Speak
er J" 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 congressman sends his great
speech broadcast 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 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 1t comes down to the gov
ernment printing Office in long fools
cap sheets with every second line
written upon, SO 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 ille9ible, and some of it
very poorly spelled. ! saw two piles
of copy from which Yesterdays record
was set up, and that belonging to the
congressman themselves would have
frightened Horace Greelcy's ghost.
The Record eats up 4 greater amount
VI iHduuSCilPl, SuPpoSe, ludu any
other newspaper published in the
United States, and, as we nave the
largest of newspapers, 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 one hun
dred pages have to be gotten out. This
would be equal to closely printed
book of over four hundred pages, and
it will often contain as many as mil
lion ems. Sometimes there are one
hundred naWeS of nonnaroil To he