Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-03-11
UNCLE SANS VOLUMES.
NUMBER OF DOCUMENTS PRINTED
ANNUALLY BY THE GOVERNMENT.
Seventy-Five thousand District Works
Published-The Most Complete Col
lection-Dccuments of All Sorts
and Sizes-The Annual Output.

There are 6, J1j3 titles in Maj. Ben: Perley
PORES recently published descriptive Cat
alogue Of Government publications" And
it is estimated there are at least 10000 titles
not included in this compilation 1t is
pretty safe to say, therefore, that the gov
ernmert has published since its organization
s5,G0o distinct works; so that the "Pub.
Docs as they are irreverently called, would
alone make library that would rank among
the largest in the country.
The most complete collection Of these doc
uInents is that in the Boston Public library;
the next in fullness is found in the Congress
sional library, and the third largest collec-
ton is probably owned by the antiquarian
book firm of Anglim & Co. of this city.
These dealers are now completing full set
of public documents from the Twenty-third
congress Only few volumes are missing,
and these they expect TO find, and when the
collection is finished they estimate it will
contain GO, 600 titles. The price Of this IL
brary is set at 5000, and, as all the vol
umes which compose it were printed at the
public expense and distributed gratuitously,
this sum should represent a good profit to
middlenien.
OF ALL SORTS AND SIZES.
The documents are of all Sizes and relate
to every imaginable topic. Some are great
thick quartos, like the census volt mes or the
Medical History of the War" And at the
othar extreme are thousands Of pamphlet
reports on small matters. But it should be
noted that the bills introduced in the con-
crosses are not included in the titles If they
were the total would be high in the hundreds
of thousands The largest single publication
ever undertaken by the government is the
tenth Census which, if completed, would
fill about twenty -four large quarto volumes.
Only half of these have been issued or ever
Will be- but even as it Is the centennial CEN
s,Is is probably the most voluminous pubic
document, not counting as one serial the
various annual reports. No doubt the finest
and costlies: group of publications relate to
the government surveys. Many Of these
reports are superbly gotten up, copiously IL
Illustrated, and accompanied by maps Of the
highest scientific and mechanical excellence.
One special series of twenty separate titles
relates TO the canal routes Of the Isthmus of
Panama Then there are reports Of expedi-
tons to the Arctic and TO the Amazon,
reports on the cholera, on birds and bugs
and grasses on various branches Of political
economy on the Indian from every stand
point; many elaborate reports on patents,
the learned volumes put forth under the
auspices of the Smithsonian institution, such
bulky documents rs the stenographic reports
of the star route trials and the Gui,eau trial,
Qualifications of tie land laws, and the many
publications relating 10 the civil war. These
are all executive documents, put out, that IS,
by the departments Then in addition there
are the congressional documents, which in
ciude the Record which alone has now
swollen to seven or ten thick quartos for
each congress; the great volumes full OF
tedious and int-srrlinable testimony in COM
mittse Investigations and the thousands Of
smaller committee reports
ANNUAL OUTPUT AND EXPENSES.
The pace of the government press has kept
up with the rapid progress Of the country in
all directions According TO the index the
documents for the frs. quarter of a CENTURY
were :, 800; for the next quarter, o,s11; for
the third quarter, y, GO: for the fourth, -
so: and the annual output DOW runs up TO
about 4.o10 titles annually. Then II must be
remembered that the e.litious are much
larger than in the early days. Rarely are
less than 500 copies Of document printed
and frequently the edition is many times
that size. OF the annual report Of the conn
missioner Of agriculture So. go copies are Is
sued and distributed
The United States government i IN Short
the greatest publishing house in the world
By tine side Of IFS resources such an stab
lishment as the Hampers becomes quite small
In the book Of estimates for the next fiscal
wear Just sent to congress. 81. 81, ST. e i
asked for wages alone There are on the
pay roll 100 compositors, besides a large force
OF slir.erinfsnden:s fore-sen, etc Fifty
proof readers are steadily employed, and
fortv-five y~eSssnen, lis p,=~-f-eierS. and
thirty o:Ir ruling machine fesders The a.
tirsstes call Tor 100. 600 rearns Of printing pa
Der OF $4,000 sheets. each stsst making
eight or sixteen paget-NeS York Sun
The London Fireman OF sos.
Each fire insurance company hst
its hedge o. oosniance, whict
was stamped cot IN shes< l-a.s
painted and silicd. and then raihd onto ID
ho-se inSurei-frobAbiy s. en- advertise
men. Of the company. There was No fir'
brigade. properly soczis-t-thsf did 10
come I'll lssss-but each Company kept &
SAT- of fireman and engines We have sessr
TIA. ;hese mn ACTED - co.Sest5es sben 81
Francis BurJirss was released from F-isrn
| Although the dress was Of somewhat sarz11lai
pattern, Is color, etc, was EFF 10 The iaIiiT
s,al fancy Of each company.
The coaf. wsiss-coat, and t-eerbez were Z.
dark biue eicsh. with hras tGtt.sss, Wiki
| b-zx badge ssio<n~t beth his k=ff .rra an
| as helnes- This lstssr Vas rnsse q hnr>
| hide, serenS.hezed by crcss has a nsesai; u
| izssie Was OF l-a;har, qriited and sru1es
with wool. to rrrsers TIE bad s-csn fAll,zs;
| brscks OF s,arS Ths erS.se vere mammals
ana CARED with them sy,a-s ss=o 20 rei,ev'
slsose pumping when ts~y we're or~t III
mot powerful, engine Il Ia. tszns could OIL,
! throw q ton Of water pr minute ;hrruxA
| 3. inch hrancA o. nozzie, ADD the dr~yans
\ xnS ssrx,x,fy rx,ij<-i M nd tbr vas<x ~