The Washington critic., 1888-02-04

still, here Uncle Sam employs from
1000 to 5000 persons the year round,
and here are made the blank books
used in all the Government offices in
the United States, not only in Wash
ington, but i'm the custom houses and
postohices from the Atlantic to the
Pacific.
Uncle Sam always does his work in
the hardest way possible, and not
withstanding the Capitol is
THE CHIEF CUSTOMER
of this great establishment, the two
are wide apart, and these immense
loads of documents have to be car
ried from one to the other by hand,
or carted in wagons. Every one of
the millions of books which are de-
livered from this Office to Congress-
men yearly have to be handled by
three or four men, and there are
those who think that new Govern
ment Printing Office should be erected
near the Capitol, with an under
ground railroad between them, and
this would undoubtedly be saving
of money.
1t is said that there is great danger
from fire in this printing office, and If
it should be burned down it would
almost stop the Government for
time Tons upon tons of printed
blanks, bound and unbound, and
books which are necessary for imme-
diate use, would be lost, and Congress
would hardly be able to get force
Il sol, do. &c Nrtt, nr 20
after such fire had occurred, and
every department would feel the loss
for time.
There is no doubt, however, but the
amount of printing done here might
be cut down, and that money might be
saved by discriminating in the matter
here printed. AS sit is, every commit
tee-room at the Capitol, the Senate
| Library and numerous private build
ings about the Capitol, which have
been rented for the purpose, are
| packed full of Government docu-
ments, and down in the cellars Of the
Capitol are haystacks of printed paper,
few of which are of value, and some
of which correspond with the reasons
of Gratiano, in that they are like "two
grains of wheat hid in two bushels of
chaff you shall seek all day ere you
find them, and when you have found
them they are not worth the earch." !"
| DANGER OF FIRE.
Speaking of fire in the Government
Printing Office, its force is so organ
lied that it will be hard for the flames
to gather headway. There are good
fire escapes at some of the windows,
and good supply of water can be
turned on each floor at a moment $
notice from six standpipes which run
up near the ladders. Each floor has
fire extinguisher, and the force is
organized with captains and lieuten-
ants. An iron tramway runs entirely
around the building, with iron cages
secured by wire ropes, to add in con-
veying from the upper windows any
person who might be cut off by fire
below. Then there are canvas fire
escapes, and not long ago bows and
arrows were kept at the building for
the purpose Of shooting life lines
through the upper windows in case
hung as to open both in and out, and
in case Of panic they are bound to
give way.
| Under Public Printer Rounds the
female employees were organized, and
they were divided into companies Of
forty each, with captain. In case
of alarm these companies were to be
taken out in order into the frees
capes, and, on trial of the system,
rooms containing 500 women and 100
men were emptied in less than min.
ute.
A trip through the Government
Printing Office makes one as tired as
three-mile walk. 1t is like travel
ing through a big museum, or trotting
through one dancing hall after
another, with a continuous panorama
Of paper, type, printers and ma.
chinery, until your legs are tired out
with walking, and your eyes tired
with seeing new things. Take the
room where the patent specifications
are made, and where, at times,
twenty tons of type are left standing,
and where, each month, is turned out
a volume as big as two Webster's die
tionaries. Go into
THE DOCUMENT ROOM,
where hundreds of printers, in theil
shirt sleeves, looking black and al
most devilish against the walls of 6
glaring whiteness, and where over the
cases hundreds of little golden snakes
known as electric lamps, add to the
weirdness of the scene. Wade
through room after room, packed
high with piles of paper, each pile biz
enOuph almost To Garnet cOuntV anC
wonder at the amount of brains, oil
their lack, that Will soon be printed
upon them. Go into the press room
and have your ears deafened will
the din of many presses of al
shapes and sizes, and look a
the styles of work done. Here yol
may see seed envelopes as big a
visiting card, which these Con
gressmen will frank to their farmer
constituents, and at the next press arr
turned out the blank sheets of Il Gov
ernment document, with thirty-tw,
pages to the sheet. If you have al
eye TO he'beauties of nature you vii
notice that the feeders of these presses
are women, and that some of then
are very pretty young women, too
Your soul will rejoice in the glow o
their cheeks and the plumpness o
their round, white arms as they pusl
forward the white paper, sheet afte
sheet.
Go next to the floor above, ant
these same sheets will be folded int
book form by wonderful folding ma
chimes, and here again pretty girl
muscle directs the operation. Womel
! by bun1rade ora ON plnuad in I'm