Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-03-20
A SERIOUS SITUATION.

The Old Fight Over Plate Printing Is Com
plicatinS Matters in the Treasury De-
partment-An the Work Is Behind
Probable Trouble Over Steam Presses.
,sPEuIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH:
WASHINGTON, March l9-The Government
has difficult task to handle Just now in the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where all
the paper money and internal revenue stamps
are manufactured. The work of the bureau
has fallen dreadfully behind and great outcry
is raised by internal revenue collectors all over
the country in letters TO the Commissioner of
Internal Revenue over the scarcity and even
dearth of stamps. Captain W. NJ. Meredith,
Chief of the Bureau, is working his force
of plate printers 2k hours overtime
every day and still he is unable to keep up with
the demand. The law requires that three
months supply of stamps shall be kept on
hand. AS 4 result. the notes have to be issued
green and uncured, and after brief ciIcula-
ton are returned to the Treasury As unfit for
use. Accordingly Chief Meredith is contem-
plating the adv1sability of starting up some
steam presses in order to get d stock of stamps
ahead and thus contrive also to lay up stock
of notes for future use.
Should this be DONE violent outbreak on
the part of the plate printers is expected.
These steam presses were invented and patent
ed by man named Milligan, an employe Of
labor and study Their use is strenuously op-
posed by the Plate Printers Assembly. knights
of Labor, from motives of self-preservation,
since the steam presses, if used would largely
dlscontinuance of the steam presses that the
present difficulty in the bureau has arisen.
AFormer Fight Recalled
After the memorable fight in Congress dur
ing the Fiftieth Congress against the steam
presses, a clause was placed In the sundry civil
appropriation bill prohibiting the Secretary
from using the Milllgan machine after June 90
1889, unless the owners and patentees would ac-
cept a royalty Of only l cent per 1000 i'm
pressons for the use of it. The royalty previ-
ousy paid was 81 per 1000 impressions, and the
patentees didn't accept the l-cent rate. There
upon the presses were thrown out. IL is
claimed that for every dollar paid for the use
of the steam presses the Government saved S..
and that each of the machines formerly in use
saved the Government IS, ,00O a year. The cost
of doing the same work by hand is said to be
"a times as great as the cost of steam press
work.
Objection is made to the quality of the work
executed on the steam presses, but Chief Mere
dith thinks the steam press work is good
enough for tobacco and liquor stamps. which
are simply pasted upon packages and used but
once, and then only by authorized agents OF
the Government in the internal revenue ser
prefers hand presses, for the reason that they
produce more careful and perfect results. The
bureau annually prints about A, ,O00, 900 impress
sions, of which g, ,OOO,O0o are revenue stamps.
Cost of the Work.
The hand press work costs the Government
Sl4 per 1,0O0 sheets, while the machine work
COSTS s4 per LOCO, a difference of $40 per 1000.
The report of the Commissioner of Internal
Revenue last year shows that the printing of
stamps cost the Government S3 95 per 1000
sheets more than in any other year during the
Cleveland administration. Captain Meredith
believes that a saving OF $4,000 could be
affected by printing the revenue stamps on the
steam presses.
AT the last session of the late Congress the
Federal Manufacturing and Printing Company
of New York, owing to the steam plate presses,
offered to enter into contract with the Gov
ernment to do all the printing and engraving
now done by the bureau and furnish all the
materials tor 5000 year less than it now
costs. the contract to continue not less than
four years. The company further offered to
take and use the Government building and
plant at fair price. to work their employees
only eight hours a day, ard to give bond for
the faithful performance OF the contract, in
accordance with the specifications prepared by
the Government.
Congress declined, however. to reopen the
old fight of 1888, and this offer was not acted
pursued. Provision for the expenses of the
bureau for the coming fiscal year. ending June
90 1892. exclusive of clerical expenses aud dis
tinctive paper. was made to the amount OF
SLOTS, Goo OF this sum, s53O,OOO IS to pay the
plate printers and their assistants.
ADeficiency Is Certain.
Each plate printer is provided with one as
sistant, usually a girl who hands him the
sheets while he prints them. For the year
ending June 80 next, 81, ,253. 900 was allowed. of
which S525, 600 went to the plate printers and
their assistants. A large deficiency will certainly
have to be supplied by the next Congress.
Three months after Chief Meredith took charge
of the bureau in 1889, he had to put in AZ
additional hand presses to do the work re-
quired. Recently he had to adj 4S more. Now
he finds that he will be obliged to add l25
more in order to catch up with back work.
The presses cost $50. The PriiAers receive
on piece work average Of $50 week, and
the girls get 81 o. a day. There are 200 people
in all employed in the bureau. OF these 296
are plate printers. From next week on, an
other hour will be added to the days work.
making 31S hours overtime, for which extra pay
Is gwen. This will be continued until July L
After that as many more hand presses as are
needed will have To be added. This can be
done the more readily since the new addition TO
the bureau building will then be ready.
If any accidental stoppage Of work should oc-
cur now, however. the bureau will be in a de-
cidedly bad predicament and both the Treasury
and the Internal Revenue Bureau will be
seriously embarrassed for lack of notes and
stamps. The President and the Secretary of |
the Treasury are very anxious and uneasy over |