The record-union., 1897-02-10

!
is illustrated by a late experience in
| the office, and may be recounted as
follows:
| This is the off fiscal year in print
| ing for the State-no reports. no legis-
| lative work, etc. Pending the recent
canvas OF the election of Mayor, etc,
in Sacramento, it was thought neces-
sary to give employment to about 100
girls in the bindery. These girls We're
paid SO to S12 per week. These fig
ures may be verified by the Controllers
and Treasurer's books. The office con-
| tanned seven presses, which do the
printing to keep these girls employed
Ghe remaining four presses are for
small job work.. The capacity of
these presses is about 6,oO0 impressions
per day of eight hours; total, $4,000
per day. MeSsrs Phillips and Whelan,
boOkbinders here, state that these
| girls fold 5000 in nine hours each; for
eight hours this is about 26oU. From
the 100 girls deduct ten for miscella-
neous work, leaving ninety folders,
which multiplied by 2,6o0, makes to-
tai of 23S, 800 sheets, which they should
fold per day, against $4,000 printed per
day.
"Presses-Capacity. $500 sheets per
day. Number of presses, Z. Total ca
pacity, $4,000 sheets per day
"Girls-Capacity,2 ,. $50 sheets per day.
Number Of girls. 80. Total capacity,
23S, 500 sheets per day.
'Forty-five thousand sheets divided
among 80 girls equals 800 sheets per
day each. Forty-five thousand sheets
divided by $3.50 Ga fair days work for
one girD equals II, the actual number
of girls required, showing the employ
| ment of five and one third times too
| many Seventeen girls from 30 girls,
Is, at an average wage of Sll per
week, equals a waste of SS03 per week.
AS a matter of fact the presses do not
| average $4,000 per day. l make no
pretense that these figures are abso-
lutely exact"
According to the report of Hon. L..
H. Brown on the printing of State text
books (page ID the State printing has
increased biennially for general print
ing since 1887. from $1S4, ,519 - to
S3OT441 o.. costing during the years
1SS7-S9 S22S 1872 SO, and increasing to
S3O7 AL % for the years 1S93-90.
There is no reason why the printing
VI IIlFS toldL u SilDulu CDSl IIltlN II lllCL :
| than it does in other States. nor why
the price of ink and material in the
State Printing Office should be so much
| greater than at the Public Printing
Office at Washington, D. c. In Indiana
the public printing is let by contract
and costs about 800, 600 annually; in
| Illinois the last BIENNIAL expenditure
for that purpose was printing So2, 600,
| binding S2S, 600, book and cover paper
$4,000. In Wisconsin and Michigan
the public printing is bet by contract.
| In the latter State the cost for 1S949o
was for printing and binding S119,0O0,
stationery 500 900 additional, including
stock. In Wisconsin the cost was for
two years printing, including stock and
printing OF Blue Book and census,
Sill 241. The three States, Wisconsin,
Michigan and Illinois, with a census
population of over seven and one-half
millions Of people, pay but little more
for their biennial printing than does
the State Of California with a census
population of less than one million
and quarter.
The table of expenditures issued by
the University of New York for the
years 1S90-91 the cost of the public
printing Of every State in the Union is
given, and it shows that in California
the cost for that purpose is many,
many times greater than in other
States. | append that table
| / believe that a bill should be passed
appropriate sufficient money for the
printing required by the Lagisla ture,
that in the meantime we may consider
what, if any, changes should be made
in the system of the State Printing
Office, or in the regulation of it's ex-
penditures. L believe that provision
should be made for the employment of
an experienced and capable person as a
printing expert, with such power and
authority as would enable him to ex-
anime or investigate all work done or
expenditures made on account of our
public printing, and to report to the
Board of Examiners upon all claims for
printing presented to them for allow
| ance. I would suggest that for the
next two years specific appropriations
be made to each department or office of
the State requiring printing, of an
amount equal to one-hal of the yearly
average amount charged against them
for work done during the preceding
four years. and that they be permitted
to procure such printing as they re-
Quire at establishments owned by pri-
vate parties by contract or otherwise,
as you may require; their claims to
| be subject to the allowance of the
Board of Examiners.
/ would recommend no interference
with the authority of the Superintend-
| emit of State Printing, other than as
above stated, but at the expiration Of
| his term | believe, as l stated in my
recent message, that great economy
| would result from the letting of our
public printing by contract to the low
est bidder A striking instance of the
lax methods pursued in the State
Printing Office came to my attention
| while considering the bill under discus
sion. In response TO a request to the
Superintendent of State Printing to
furnish me with a statement of the
items of charge against my predecessor
and myself for printing I received a
statement of date of January -, 1897.
| Every article which I have ever or
dered from this office is carefully
charged. AS to the account of my pre-
decesSOr / have little data from which
to verify it. but few expenses for lith-
ogra phing are charged against him. We
commenced our orders on No. p of the
orders of his order book, there being
eighteen preceding orders for printing
given during the last few months of
his administration, of which but one
order is charged to his account in the
statement made me. When the meager
data at my command shows such ex-
traordnary irregularities I cannot
| when coupling the same with other
facts herein set forth, approve a bill