Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-12
Careless Preparation Of Copy
for the Public Printer.
MANY CHANGES NEEDED
REPORTS IN SOME CASES HAVE TO
BE ENTIRELY RESET.
A Matter Which May Be Taken Up by
the Keep Observation-Disclosures
In Business Life.

Before the work of cutting down the ex-
penses Of the government printing Office adj
vances very far there will probably be a
great change in the method used by the va
rious departments In submitting copy to
the public printer. All sorts Of peo-
pie in the government service. including
many who are inexperienced in the prep
aration OF copy. write reports and send
them to the government printing office.
They receive back the proofs. and proceed
to do what capable writer's would have done
before they sent their copy forward. They
make what they designate as Corrections"
but their work consists of such vast num-
Der of changes that the compositors do not
undertake to correct the proof at all. but
reset the entire matter
1t Is stated by men who are familiar with
the manner in which copy Is prepared for
the government printing office that the gov
eminent is paying at least 100000 annually
for carelessness on the part Of government
officials who do not prepare their reports
SO that they will not have to be practically
rewritten.
1t is not known whether the Keep COM
mission Will eventually take up that phase
OF the governments expenses, but it Is like
ly that Congress will look into it and devise
some plan by which the government may
De saved the enormous expense that Is
caused by the inefficiency of men who pre-
pare copy for the government printing Of
flee. 1t has been suggested that when the
report of an official of the government Is
passed to his superior officer 1t should be
complete and beyond the necessity of
change. The idea of using the compostors
of the government printing office merely as
typewriters in order to whip a report into
shape is regarded as wholly unwarranted.
An Editing Committee.
cd hot
department there should be a committee
consisting of men experienced in the prep
aration of copy to instruct those who have
to write reports so that they may be able
to do so without burdening the government
printing office with large expense which
has resulted in criticism of that office when
the total cost of printing Is considered. AS
IL Is now, the government could employ 300
typeWriters at xlGoO per annum to recopy
the reports of government officials in order
to get them in proper shape for the printing
once and the expense incurred would be no
greater than 1t is at present.
But II Is stated that 1t is not the lack of
amount of poorly prepared copy to go to
the printing office. 1t Is said in the de-
partments. by officials who are thorouehly
familiar with these matters, that the cost
must be charged to mere carelessness and
ineticiency In the preparation of CODY
1t is not at all uncommon for officials in
preparing reports to have their COPY reset
because of the great amount of changes
and to make additional changes on several
proofs that follow. Largely these changes
are said to be merely of phraseology, the
correction of badly constructed sentences
and forms of expression, work which might
better have been done before the copy was
sent to the printing office. In only a few
cases are the changes the result of any ad-
ditional information the writers have re-
ceived.
Practice in Business Life,
In private establishments but limited
amount of correction of copy Is permitted
without extra charge. Charges are made
for all unusual correction of copy, the re-
suit of which practice is that as a rule
when copy is submitted to the printer it Is
made as near perfection as the author 10
able to make it. In private establishments
in which large amount of printing Is done
the men employed to prepare copy for the
printers are selected with a view to their
fitness for such work.
1t is declared that 1t Is only under the
government that no objection Is made to
poorly prepared copy, the government
printing office being popularity supposed to
need lot of work to keep its force busy,
while the expense of the corrections does
not appear against anybody In particular.
But In the aggregate the government has
to appropriate about $500 900 annually to
pay for that carelessness or inefficiency Of
it's employees.
Considering the Replies.