Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-03
An OLD WAR REVIVED.
The Fight Between Labor-Saving
Machinery and Labor to Be
CARRIED BEFORE THIS CONGRESS.
The Patentees of the Bank Note Presses
Now Idle at Washington
MAKE 4 NEW OFFER 10 UNCLE SAN
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE prsrArcH.l

ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DrspArcH.1
WASHINGTON, March 2.-The war that
ragged so hotlv in the summer of 1883 be-
tween the advocates and opponents Of
steam plate printing presses in the Govern
ment Bureau of Engraving and Printing
here is about to be renewed in this Con-
gress There are now in the bureau
not in operation IS of these steam
plate printing presses, invented by New
York man named Milligan, for which the
Government paid $21, 800. They were leg
islated out of use by clause inserted in
the sundry civil bill for the fiscal year 1890,
providing that the presses should not
be used in the bureau unless the
patentees would accept a royalty of
1 cent per 1000 impressions printed from
them. The Federal Manufacturing and
Printing Company, of New York, which
owns the presses, or rather the right to re-
ceive royalty from them, could not afford
to accept such a rate of royalty, and the re-
suit has been that the presses are
them the work Of printing the Governments 5
notes, revenue stamps and securities could
be done at less than half the cost incurred
with hand presses, or at saving Of over
$100, 1000 year.
Too Stroug for the Government.
The Plate Trinters' Assembly of the
Knights of Labor were able, notwithstand-
ing the combined opposition of the Chief of
the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the
Secretary of the Treasury, the Treasurer Of
tine United States and the Commissioner of
Internal Revenue, to secure the abandon
ment of the presses in favor of hand presses,
on the ground that the latter did better
work. and the Fifty-irst Congress did not
see fit to revoke the action of the previous
Congress in that regard
After the steam presses were discontinued
it was found necessary by the bureau to
employ over hundred new plate printers,
and little later they were obliged to work
two and three hours overtime and frequently
at night to keep up with the demand, and
then there was great dearth of stamps and
notes. This dearth has continued to date, and
now the bureau has been forced to adopt
letter presses in printing revenue stamps
from raised cuts instead of plate presses
from engraved plates. The typographical
presses each do the work of ten plate print
ers, and not one plate printer is needed to
run them, while one plate printer is re-
quired to run each steam plate printing
press.
To-day w. G. Gibson, of New York, act
ing as attorney for the Federal Manufactur-
ing and Printing Company, appeared before
the Committee on Appropriations of the
House and submitted a proposition asking
that provision be incorporated in the sun
dry civil bill for the coming fiscal year
whereby the Bureau Of Engraving and
Printing might use the presses now lying
idle. Under this proposed provision the
patentees would be free to
Make a Reasonable Contract
for ROYALTY or they would be willing, Mr..
Gibson declared, to confer all their royalty
rights to the Government for $4,000 an
nually for the 18 presses. Even with the
payment of this royalty the Government
would save over S100. 900 year.
Mr.. Gibson claims that the Fiftieth Con-
gress, in legislating these presses out of use
in obedience to the clamor of men opposed
to labor-saving machinery in any form,
Joined hands with the mob that used to de-
stroy power looms and break up moving
and reaping machines
He also called attention to the fact that
the American nation is about to hold
q great exposition at Chicago in honor of
the discovery of America by Columbus to
let the world witness the progress made by
our people, particularly in labor saving
machinery. Yet Congress has itself obliged
the Secretary of the Treasury to discon-
tinue the use of steam plate printing presses
and 60 back to mode of printing that was
in vogue before Columbus landed on our
shores