The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-05-28
AN ENORMOUS PRINTING PLANT.
Extent of THE work Now Done by the
Government at Washington.


From the New, York Evening Post.
Washington, May PA huge building
which attracts the attention of visitors TO
Washington is the new government print
ing office. When completed the structure
alone will represent a cost of more than
$60O0,00O, of which the work now under
way counts for about half. This will be
the largest, and in many respects the fin
est, printing establishment in the world.
Between 5000 and 1000 persons now find
employment there, and the work is grow
ing rapidly The volume of the public
printing has reached proportions than can
hardy be realized. Free transmission by
mail of government publications, coinci-
dent with the fiction that whatever is
done at the government shop is done
without cost has resulted in a tremendous
amount of printing. Every bureau chief
DESTROYS Of obtaining fame seeks his end
by printing books. The larger they are
the more important seem his services. As
q result, almost everything is now print
ed by the government, from architectural
manuals to directions for making bread
and cooking sweet potatoes. The works
issued by the scientific bureaus almost
compete in attractiveness with the books
Of travel and adventure sold I'm the Christ
mas shops. The recently issued report on
the agricultural investigation Of Alaska
is case in point. 1t Is the fourth re-
port on that subject, and contains eighty
three pages, large part OF which are de-
voted to beautiful half-tone cuts. Alas
ka is not very much OF a country for ag-
riculture. and that is the substance of
the four annual reports, but II is a good
place to make pictures.
There are some interesting incidents
connected with the Federal printing plant.
Although the building Is provided by the
government without rental, and large or
ders and cash payments comamnd the
lowest prices for material, every piece of
work costs considerably more than II done
by private contract outside. Mr.. Duell,
when Commissioner of Patents, once call
cd to the attention OF Congress a piece of
work for which the government printing
Office wanted $4,000 on the allowance plan
by which each department is charged for
its own work. whereas a private concern
In the city stood ready 10 bring II out for
$4,000. Congress characseristicaly appro-
priated the $4,000 for II. but specified that
the government printing Office should do
the work-an obvious impossibility-and so
che publication has never appeared.
No one can look at the mass OF matter
coming every day out Of this enormous
printing office without being impressed
with the small part OF II which really does
anybody good. An obvious remedy would
be within easy reach; the government
might sell its publications instead OF
giving them away IL made partial at
tempt 10 do this In 1895, when. after a
Congressional Investigation OF the subject
the Office of Superintendent OF Documents
was created. and certain large lines Of
publication were put on sale, but this only
after the Congressional quota has been
supplied The difficulty In the govern
ment's selling It's wares is It's apparent in