Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-26
President Roosevelt to Take
Up Printing Office Affairs.
RETENTION OF RICKETTS,
GENERALLY BELIEVED THAT HE
WILL BECOME PUBLIC PRINTER.
Alleged Extravagant Methods-Two
Important Means by Which Money
Can Be Saved for Government.

After the President returns to this city
and disposes of his annual message to Con-
gress 1t is expected he will take up the af-
fairs of the government printing Office and
look into them as a business man might be
expected to investigate the conduct of one
of his enterprises. That at least Is the
view that Is expressed by many of the men
In Congress who from time to time have
been in close touch with the President In
relation to the big printery.
The opinion is generally expressed that
the President will also at that time appoint
Mr.. Ricketts, public printer, that official
now having the title of acting public
printer" Those who know Mr.. Ricketts,
best are confident that his ability and cor
rect conduct In trying circumstances will
result in his appointment permanently as
public printer. At the same time they ex-
pect the President to take an active in
terest in the manner in which the big print
ing Office is run.
Alleged Slack Business Methods.
There have been many stories current to
the effect that the government printing Of
flee has been run on an extravagant plan.
and that the government might save a
million or so of dollars annually If business
principles were introduced there. 1t is
known that the President has talked on this
matter with several senators and repre-
sentatfves and expressed the desire to have
an overhauling of that Office. He did not
care. however. to take such matters up
until new public printer should be placed
in charge of the office. and said practically
that to several of his visitors.
The developments connected with the Mil
Ter case directed the attention of the Presi-
dent to the government printing office, and
he heard much of the lack of business meth
4. 1T,
to time various stories of slack business
methods have been taken to him by differ
ent people. and he has always shown inter-
est in the correction of such unbuSinesslike
methods.
The Presidents Inquiry.
The President is not expected to take up
the matter of the administration Of the gov
eminent printing Office until he has got his
annual message off his hands, and then his
first effort, 1t Is stated by those who have
talked with him about that matter, will be
to learn exactly what abuses. If any. exist
there Whether he will do that through the
Keep commission or through personal in
terviews with those who are informed on
the conduct of the Office in the past few
years Is not known. The Keep commission
has not yet gone fully into the methods of
the government printing office. The inves-
tigation carried on by that commission re-
purchase of the seventy-two Lanston type
setting machines which are now being in
stalled in the office.
Public Printer Ricketts,. as told In The
Star. has already begun some important re-
forms in the Office over which he presides.
He has taken steps to effectually do away
with the "symposiums.' which are usurious
money-lending institutions which have ex-
listed in the Office for some years. BY the
operation of these symposiums quite a num-
Der of the employees of the office were able
to loan their savings to others less provi-
dent than themselves at high rates of in
terest All that will be done away with in
the near future. It may take several
months to wind up the affairs of these In
situations in an orderly way, but the be-
ginning has been made. with the under
standing that they are all to be terminated
as soon as possible.
Two Important Reforms.
There are two important means by which
money may be saved for the government
in the matter of Its printing One which
has been pointed out in The Star, and
which, 1t is understood. the President will
look into carefully. relates to the careless
manner in which much of the copy that
reaches the office is prepared. That. it is
said, can be corrected in a large degree by
an order of the President prescribing some
method by which this copy shall be In
opeCtSu IL Is sent TO the once. That,
it is claimed. would save thousands of dol
lars In proofread!ng and in the necessary
resetting of a vast amount of matter in
addition to the extensive corrections that
have to be made.
That Is economy for the office to be
effected outside of the office. But there
are also economies within the shop which,
1t is believed. can be effected They relate
to the methods in vogue there for many
years, and are the result of practices that
have grown up with the Office In order
TO reach that class of abuses it is said that
only men thoroughly acquainted with the
office, its men and methods can successfully
cope with the situation. 1t Is asserted that
mere theories of business MANAGEMENT
would be futile in dealing with the situa-
ton that Is presented in the government
printing office.
In some of the branches of the office it Is
known that men do not consider it to be
their duty to do all the work they can per-
form throughout the entire day. That was
developed in part when the trouble over
the retention of Miller, the non-union fore
man of the bindery, was being discussed
1t was declared that a practice had grown
up by which men considered that their
days work was done when they had ac-
complished what was regarded as an aver
age days work. But that is said to be the
condition in some other branches of the
service. but not in all of them These are
all matters that will be considered by the
President when he looks into the methods
that prevail at the Office.