The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1903-06-03
new PRINTING OFFICE.
Government Building In Wash
ington Greatest IN the World.
TWICE THE SIZE OF ANY OTHER.

Feet and 1900 Windows-walIs Of
Rooms Lined with White EnameIed
BrlcISs-ventiIating system a Nov
city.
The government Of the United States
has in Washington the greatest print
ing Office in the world, double the Size
Of any other, says William e. Curtis in
the Chicago Record Herald. 1t Is un-
der the management Of Frank w. Pal
mer, formerly editor OF the Chicago
Inter Ocean and for four years post
master at Chicago. 1t has been housed
in a dangerous and dllapidated old
barracks for many years, which was
condemned as unsafe by the building
inspectors and sanitary authorities.
Mr.. Palmer has been compelled to prop
up the walls with timbers and place
heavy beams at frequent intervals to
support the floors. but finally congress
became sensible of its requirements
and appropriated 81, 100000, which has
been expended during the last four
years in the erection of what is almost
a perfect building for its purpose. The
work of construction is nearly COM
pleted. New oak cases for type and
'.sorts1 and the thousand and one lit
tie tricks essential to the printers
trade are being put in place, and be-
fore congress again assemblies this
great branch of the governments bust
ness will be well established in its new
home, with conveniences, equipments
and machinery surprising everything
that was ever provided for printing
office before.
The new printing Office will have a
floor space Of 619,T00 square feet which
Is equivalent to about fourteen acres,
Or four ordinary city blocks, which IS
divided into seven floors almost with
out partitions. Printers need a good
deal Of light, and 1t is provided for
them by 1900 windows. One-third Of
all the wall space is glass, and in or
der that this light may not be lost the
walls Of the rooms are lined with white
enameIed bricks which can be washed
like a bathtub or the marble steps Of
the houses in Philadelphia. The build
Ing is absolutely freproof, or as near
freproof as any building can be. 1t is
also as substantial as possible, and its
walls are built like those Of the fortress,
because type is heavy and printing
| presses cause considerable vibration,
and 1t would be unfortunate to have
/ the roof and the walls cave in and
+ bury 1857 American citizens under
material and machinery that are in
tended only for the dissemination Of
/ intelligence.
/ The engineers provided for floors to
sustain load of s5,000.000 pounds, il
/ any one can comprehend what that
means, and it is of course very much
/ in excess Of any weight that could pos
sibly be placed upon it. The outside
walls are three feet thick and to con
struct thcm 100000 bricks were re
CURED. Inelosed within them is a steel
framework weighing about 12.000000
pounds. which is heavier perhaps than
the frame Of any other building In the
country. Every care was taken TO Sc
cure the greatest possible solidity Of
construction The columns, beams,
girders. channels and plates were not
made Of ordinary stock steel, but We're
forged to order, and the steel work is
30 protected that in case Of heat being
| generated BY the burning Of any ma
terial that might be placed in the build
ing IFS strength viii not be affected by
warping
There Is no shafting. All the ma
chinery IS run BY electric power, and
three Of the largest Croker Wheeler
/ dynamos In the country. each Of 800
horse power. Will run the 300 presses,
| IL elevators. 1000 incandescent lights
/ and 4 system Of ventilating fans
which are quite novel These fans are
/ placed in loft and will draw the air
/ from the floors through shafts and ex-
! pei ii through the roof with such force
! that there will be an entire change of
atmosphere in the building every seven
minutes. and each employee viii have
5000 cubic feet of pure fresh air per
hour. Another novelty win be sew
enty-fve drinking fountains placed at
convenient locations. fed from pumps
in the basement, and the water passes
through an ammonia freezing plant
which reduces it to a temperature OF
45 degrees in all parts Of the building,
A complete system of telephones has
been installed, so that the foreman OF
every department can communicate
with the chiefs of his division, and by
lifting receiver to his ear Mr.. Pal
mer may know instantly what is going
on in any part of his establishment
In order to provide for all this sew
eral miles of wire have been used
enough, they tell, to 90 twice around
the city OF Washington. Vaults have
been constructed at convenient places
on the different floors for the storage
Of standing type, stereotype plates and
printed documents Of a secret and con
fidentlal character, such as messages
Of the president, reports Of his secre
tafies, treaties, conventions, reports Of