West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1885-02-27
GOVERNMENT PRINTING.
The Largest Printing Establish
mont in the World.
The Hands Employed, the Work Done.
and tho Expense OF Running It-How
the Proceedings are Prepared,
Printed aud DIstributcd

'"''N "hN distributed.
The late discussion in the Senate ss
To the publication of its debates led me
into the Government Printinr-onice.
where the Congressional Record is
printed 1t is an immense. prison
Ike building, covering about an acre of
ground and looking more like great
factory than a Government establish
menL It's 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
ihe latter stands "A guard with "A silver
badge ON his breast, and over the chief
entrance door is a little stony-cvrd
marble bust of Ben Franklin. which
looks quite Stuntcd under the four
stories of drcary white which rise aboy.
It, In this building nearly the whole of
the printing for the Government i
done. II Is said 10 be the largest print
ing establishment in the world. and IL
turds out somc of the worlds finest
work. II employs within its wall.
more than 1000 men all the year round.
ami IL makes the blank books used in
al the Government offices of the
United states. not only in Washing
ton, but in the custom and post
0lhces from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
lis daily payroll averages -, 900. and
ITS total expenditures during the past
year aggregated nearly three millions.
Inc congressional RccOyd is i'm itself
a big job, and It's printing during the
last SO son of Congress cost in round
numbers Sl9I, 300 This is $4,000 more
than the HCcCrd has cost at any session
since II has gone 10y the name of COR-
gFCSvtOHW Rc"Drd. which first occurred
IN 1873. and IL is on the average over
SJO,OJO more than its ordinary cost.
Congress seems To- grow more and more
verbose from year to year and the de
bates and spccchr, of the lasl session
iiil seven large volumes twice "a, bio a.
the largest OF family Bibles, and con
tanning more than seven thousand
pages, each filed with two columns of
type the size of that Of the ordinary
newspaper TIL, Congressional RccOyd
is supposed TO contain every word ut
tered ON the floor OF Congress. II docs
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 i'm Congress.
appears in the RcOW, and the con
gresham ends his great speech broad
cast over his d. trict
The HcrDrd appears every morning.
and that Of to-day always contains the
full proc cding, OF the House and Sen
ate Of yesterday These are taken
| down in shorthand. and il costs about
@23,uO) year for each House TO pay
1t, photographers The shorthand
men take turns at taking notes. and
when they have written their work out
into lOng-hand it come, down 10 the
Government Printing-olcc in long
toOl-cap sheets. with every second line
written upon. SO that there j. ample
room for iutcrliucatiOu Some of thc
speeches which the congressman write
ont themselves are sent 10 the printers
in their own handwriting, and the
most Oi this is rather illcgiblc and some
OF it very poorly spelled saw the
two pile, Of copy from which yr-iar-
day. Rcrord was set up, and that bee
longing to the congressman thcm-clyo-.
would have frightened Horace Grcc'cy's
ghost
The He'0W cat, up q greatci. amount
OF manuscript ] suppose. than any
other newspaper in The United State.
and. as we have the largest Of news
papers. consequently u the world.
Each OF is pages contains about the
same ampuus Of reading matter as four
.pH"r- OF an O.tatO novel. aud many
nights over 200 pages have to- Dee COTTON
ont This would bee equal to 90 closely
printed book OF over 800 pages. and if
will often contain a- many as million
ems ~Om.timr there are ono hundred
pages Of uouDarcO fo be- set up. and ii
should Dee remembered that tnis. like
tHo ordinary daily paper hl- to- Do. JD.c
q. night, and bc ready for thc pres.
carly u the morning
II fakes eight prODfrc1Icr- to look
over thr proof of ihe M oyH Each
piece Is read twice and i- also sent fo
the cDugro- ~Wau who made lhc -re.ch
for correction. IL i- again read before
be goes into the bound volume. aud thc
best men of the kind in the country are
employed Ou This work ~ requires
about eighty printers to put the Re.ord
in type. and oli night long they ar.
busy u' their C0sc- under the electric
light The room where the trpc is -rt
is large enough for market garden.
IL i- made up off three long halls -.pa-
rated from ouolanother by pillars uuJ
brick arches The central haII cont iu-
marble tables where thc forms are made
up and boo tho others are thc type cases
ranged iu double rows from One end ui
thc ball 20 tine other. and over each ca-c
% bright soft electric light with 20 china
shade over no. These men arc paid Boo
proportion o. the amount of wor tEer
do. aud the rate established b., lav is
fits coats per thou nd ems
Ih. Ht.0rd must go To- ue- ot
twenty minutes t0 five n order o be
ready for the Six O'Clock mails. and
when 10 s unusually large th.. uc,c--
sity makes tbe Government Printing