Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-08
Lanston to Have an Inning.

AdAStOA " 4AdNC
1t is said the Lanston attorneys will have
their inning Monday and will seek Dy facts
and figures" to justify the action of Pablic
Printer Palmer in purchasing seventy:wo
Lanston machines.
1t is said also that John r. Berg, foreman
Of the Record division ard president of CO.
luinbia Typographical Union, testified that
some time last autumn he purchased 100
shares of the stock OF an f street broker
at ,. He disposed of the entire block about
election time for II.
When the commission adjourned yester-
day Foreman L. c. Hay OF the job divi-
sion of the printing office was on the
stand. He Will continue his testimony Mon
day.
The Mergenthaler lawyers worked ener-
getically to confound Chief Engineer W.
H Tapley and Auditor f. Z. Bushnell who
signed Special Report No. D." 1t is
claimed that the lawyers succeeded and
that they involved both those witnesses,
who told Public Printer Palmer that the
Lanston machines were far and away su-
perior in a bad tangle.
Messrs. Tap,ey and Bushnell testified, II
Is said, that the cost of work on the Lans-
ton machine was little more than "a
cents per thousand ems That is in the
main body of their report and is used for
comparison with work on the Mergenthaler
machines, which cost "a cents a thousand
ems. and with hand composition, which cost
81 cents per thousand ems.
The investigators questioned the wit
nesses about certain sets of figures very
sharply. One of the commissioners re-
marked during Thursday: Those figures
in that pamphlet do not rise to the dignity
of approximation" The testimony also de-
veloped that the "A cents work was what
printers call "phat." This was chiefly
tabular work, as it was done on two vol
umes, one, Commerce in the Philippine
Islands," and a volume on exports The
Lanston experts have been claiming that
such work should be paid at double price
| Ir,.I 10 ,Nrfa nd =
that they secured a big record for the
Lanston machines. Experts who testified
yesterday among them Foreman Berg, de-
clared that a good comrositor could sci by
hand about 10000 ems of that kind or
.phat" matter per diem, where he could set
only about 5000 ems of straight matter
per diem.
Lanston people that the Mergs cannot set
tabular work Foreman Hay of the job
room was requested to show the commits
sion some of that class of work that they
had accomplished in the job room. His
exhibit 1t Is said. included one very PLAT
Job, on which machine had averaged over
300. 900 ems during a working day of eight
hours He also exhibited tabular and blank
work. with box headings, set by Mergen-
thaler for the Treasury. War, Navy, Post
Office and Commerce and Labor depart
ments Mr.. Hay told the commission that
the saving to the government much of
this tabular work done on Mergenthaler
machines compared with The cost of
hand work was from one-half to one-third.
He presented to the commission an impress
sive array of samples of work DONE that
covered the desks, tables and even the
floor in the room where the hearing was
conducted.
Comparative Statement.
Considerable interest was taken by the
commission In one sentence on page 0 of
Special Report No. o., under the heading
Comparative statement of output of ma
Chimes" Although the report was supposed
to furnish an accurate statement to guide
the public Y1nter in the big purchase he
was about 10 make, 1t stated that ION the
basis of an equal number of machines work
ing an equal number of hours the mono
type would set CIT per cent more than the
linotype" but in the very last sentence of
a long paragraph 1t concluded: 1T is the
Intention of your commission to report in
full with regard to branch offices and the
job room. at which time machine compost
ton win be thoroughly investigated and re-
ports rendered of same.
This report was dated June IA, and Pub
lie Printer Palmer signed the contract for
seventy-two Lanston monotypes June 10.
Foreman Hay of the job division. who had
seven Mergenthaler iinotypes at work In