Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-10-10
One Hundred and Fifty Skilled Op-
eratives-An Interview With
the State Printer.


employees, the number of operators being
limited only by the crowded condition of the
building. California is a great and growing
State, and the State officials and men,
bers of commissions evidently believe in
keeping up with the times by having
printed extensive and exhaustive reports,
which takes much time to compose, vast
amount of paper to print and the great
number keeps the force in the bindery at
work about half the time on official re-
ports. The report of the Bank Commits
sioners, which was issued few days ago,
contains 624 pages, and IS by no means the
largest report that has been filed.
A visit to the press-room found the
operators in that department all busily
engaged in running off forms for the report
of the Napa Insane Asylum. Of this report
$500 copies will be printed and bound
The annual report of the Secretary of
the Board of Regents of the University of
California has just been printed and bound.
copies were printed.
In the composing they have just
finished setting-up the report of the Sec
rotary of the State Board of Horticulture.
This is a mammoth volume and 10000
copies will be printed.
The composition for the report of the
State Normal Schools for the year 1887 is
completed, but the copy for 1888 has not
been furnished. Of this report 900 copies
will be printed.
The composition on the report of the
Labor Bureau Statistics Commission is more
than half completed. 1t will contain over
400 pages, and 5000 copies will be printed.
The report of the State Harbor Commits
! sioners is all in type, and l, 200 copies will
be printed.
The Fish Commissioners report is also
set-up, and will go to the press in few
days. of this report 1,500 copies will be
issued
The composition on the report of the
Adjutant-General is pretty well advanced
and will be completed in few DAYS, when
1000 copies will be printed.
The report of the State Board of Equali-
cation is also in hand and the composition
about half done for 1000 copies
The State Controllers report also
voluminous document, is nearly ready for
the press and 1000 copies will be printed.
| OF the Surveyor Generals report, the
copy of which is now in hand, $500 copies
will be printed.
The report of the Railroad Commission
ers is also in hand and the composition
well advanced. OF this report 500 copies
will be printed.
All of the proofs of this State work are
sent back to the different officials and COM
missions for correction and revision, and
sometimes this causes weeks of needless
delay as the parties to whom they are sent
do not act with promptness. Captain
Young says if the proof-shee.s are returned
within reasonable time after they are sent
out, all the public documents will be
printed, bound, properly distributed and
placed upon the members desks on the
opening of the Legislature. In many in
stances the officials rewrite large portions
of their reports, make so many changes
and interlineations that the whole matter
almost has to be reset.
SCHOOL BOOKS.
Many people are under the impression
that about all the work that is being done
! at the State Printing Office is the making
of school textbooks. While over 100000
school books have been made and sold, and
still quite large stock is on hand it will
be readily seen by the above statement that
the entire force is employed large portion
of the time on official reports. A large
number of unimportant Commissions are
yet to be heard from, and the less import
ant the larger and more verbose the report.
The Marshall monument report, for in
stance, will come along in few days, Civ
ing history of early California, the dis
coYery of gold, etc, and a biographical
sketch of j. W, Marshall.
In the school book line 10000 copies of
the Advanced Arithmetic have Just been
worked off the presses, and are stored for
binding. They were none too soon, for the
stock of books had run down to %. A few
thousand will be bound Immediately to
supply the demand, and the remainder
will be bound at intervals as the rush of
work permits.
They are now working off an edition of
the Grammar in the same way, binding
only enough to supply the demand.
The spelling books are running little
short and ii is more than likely a small
edition of that book will be printed to tide
over the rush. 1t was thought that the
rush for school books would end with DC
tober LIST, but so far this month the orders
have aggregated So, 800, and they are still
coming in daily.
The State Printer has received the copy
for the greater portion of the Primary
Grammar, or Language Lessons, as it will
be called. The copy in hand is being put
into type and portion of the engravings
have been made. This book may possibly
be issued by January LIST, if the copy is
furnished. For the present it will take all
the spare time during the balance of the
year 10 replenish the stock of books now in
use.
The State engraver is working on the cuts
for the physiology, of which there will be
thirty or forty This book will not be in
stock much before the LIST of July next.
1t will be book of 800 pages, probably the
size of the Advanced Arithmetic.
Professor Raymond is engaged on the
Primary Geography preparing the reading
matter for it, and also arranging for maps
and engravings.
~. II. A !
Geography need not be looked for, for one
year. The Legislature meets in January,
which will make large amount of addi-
uonal work, and for the next six months
things will be rushed. They cannot do
full work on books now in hand and addi-
tional ones will have poor show for some
months TO come. Books will be made to
replace those that have been sold, so that
at the beginning of next school year q COM
plete stock will be on hand ready for the
trade. The amount of work now on hand,
the prospective work made necessary by
the Legislature, etc, puzzles the State
Printer to know how he is going to handle
II all and at the same time complete all
within the time required.
He says he may be able to get out the
Physiology and Elementary Grammar by
the first of July, and if possible will do so.
he says he needs very badly another book
, | plcoS. IASy nave TWO SOOu OHeSI Out
often in changing the forms a press
) will have TO lay idle a day and
: half, sometimes two days. With
three presses, two could be running con-
stantly, and three most of the time. The
greatest and most pressing need. however,
is more room. One hundred and fifty
! operatives in that small building is about
as thick as they can stand and do any work.
Anyone who has visited the bindery can
readily see the great need of more room in
that department With his limited space
and the immense amount of machinery
used, it is a wonder that the foreman, Mr.
Crossman, is able to turn out so much
work, and that he turns out as good as is
done in any bindery in the United States is
conceded on every hand.
PROPOSED IMPROVEMENT.
State Printer Young proposes to ask the
Legislature for an appropriation sufficient
to enlarge the premises to accommodate the
necessary workmen and at the same time
not to destroy the architectural beauty of
the building. He said to the reporter
could work twenty more men, and per-
haps as many more women, had / the
room, machinery and tools requisite. At
present the employees are so numerous in