Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-30
TO REDUCE PRINTING
Decrease Thus Far of Nearly
1000, 900 Volumes.
IMPORTANT CHANGES MADE
Representative Lands Gives Outline
of Progress.
CONFESSIONS INVESTIGATION
Indiscriminate Distribution and Lack
OF Protection Of Appropriations
May Buy for Constituents

May Buy for Constituents
committees on printing. constituting the Joint
commission appointed by Congress to inves-
ugate the use and misuse of government
publications. have completed the first stage
OF ,heir work and are engaged on the de-
taiis relating TO the two moro important
branches OF the inquiry embodied In public
resolutions Nos. IS and IL The immediate
erect of the work OF the commission il q
reduction OF nearly 100000 volumes of
documents
The demands for public printing have
grown to such proportions in recent years
that department and bureau officials have
endeavored to transfer some OF the cost
onto tbs congressional allotment. but this
has been suspended by the application of
resolution No. H. By the provisions OF
this resolution the issuing Office must bear
the cost of Illustrations, composition stereo-
typing and other work involving the actual
preparation for printing apart from the
preparation OF manuscript; the balance of
cost shall be charged to Congress and the
issuing office in proportion 10 the rumber of
copies delivered 10 each. Provision is also
made that the issuing Offices shall obtain
from the public printer an estimate of the
CURED by law to be printed, and shall set
aside from their appropriations n sum suffi-
'clent TO cover the estimate. which sum is
not available for other work until the speci-
ned printing Is fully paid.
The other radical departure from past
practices liz set forth in resolution No. IA,
which provides that the joint committee
on printing shall establish rules and regula-
tions whereby public documents may be
printed In two or more editions. 1t Is this
provision In the printing laws which has
rendered possible the immense saving al
ready made, not only preventing the print
Ing of more copies than are required, but
reducing the number allotted to various
repositories and distributing offices in ex-
cess of the actual requirements.
Representative Landis' Views.
Representative c. B. Lands. chairman of
the House committee on printing, said re-
Gently regarding the actions of the commits
sion;
The printing investigation really began
early in the Fifty-eighth Congress, when
the committee began close scrutiny of the
various matters involving printing which
were referred to 1t. In this the House com
mittee met with cooperation the part
OF the Senate committee. There was a large
sum, representing In round numbers three
million dollars, and known as the allotment
for printing and binding for Congress. Out
CT that appropriation there seemed to have
been little difficulty in securing the printing
OF anything which anybody wanted to have
printed. The old government printing Office
and two or three warehouses were stored
with surplus documents and the committee
believed that there had been not only lack
of discrimination as to the size OF editions.
but lack Of discrimination to what they
contained.
Each department was given an allot-
nent for printing and binding But the de-
partuents also had access to the congress
sional allotment; out of which was paid
tho original cost OF most of the plates and
illustrations. The departments and bureaus
frequently endeavored to save their own
appropriations by asking Congress to print
documents which could have been paid for
out of their own allotments. The requests
for printing which were referred to the
House committee during the Fifty-eighth
Congress amount to fully 100000, but the
work actually recommended by the commit
tee amounted to about $4,000 That was
for printing ordered by simple joint con-
current resolution and In the two preceding
Congresses ii had amounted TO about $780,
600 each. This led the committee to be-
lieve that a similar scrutiny of the public
printing in general would result In much
wider economies and an investigation was
undertaken by q joint commission, consist
ing of the members of the Senate and
House committees on printing.
Subcommittee Appointed.
Senator Plat, the chairman of the Joint
commission, appointed a subcommittee con-
sisting of Mr.. Charles B. Lands, Senator
Arthur p. German and Mr.. James B. Per-
kins. Senator German, on account of Ill
health, was not able to give much atten-
ton to the investigation The subcommit-
tee made preliminary report to the full
commission In March, directing attention
to what seemed to be the two principal
abuses: First, the indiscriminate allotment
of documents and reports to representa-
tives and senators, regardless OF the needs
OF their constituencies; second. the utter
lack of protection of the congressional ap-
preparation for printing and binding
against the inroads OF departments and
bureaus whose publications were printed
at the expense of this fund. The printing
appropriation for department may be
protected by the head of the department
against encroachment by any Of its bu-
reaus at the expense of others. but there
was no one to protect the congressional
allotment against the encroachments OF
one department against another. and the
fund constituted sort of grab-bag to
which everybody had free access.
THE joint resolution which the commits
sion reported to cure this condition pro-
vides that after July 1 all cost of COM
position, illustration. etc. on any document
or report Will be charged against the de-
partment from which 1t emanates. Con-
gress and the departments will then share
the balance of cost on the basis of the
number OF copies delivered to each.
Indiscriminate Distribution.
1.-THE indiscriminate distribution was
remedied by delegating to the joint COM
mittee on printing authority to regulate
the size OF the editions OF public documents
and they win be printed only to the num-
Der actually required The regulations of the
joint committee were promulgated on May
Ii. 1905, and detailed calculation shows
that nearly one million volumes viii be
saved this year from what has heretofore
been purely surplus printing. the result OF
which is shown in three large warehouses
besides the old government printing office
and acres of space in the basement OF the
Capitol 1t had become purely a mathe-
NAUTICAL problem as to when every build
Ing In Washington would be filed with
these surplus documents, for there was no
escape from the printing of them. II was
shown by careful measurements taken un-
der the supervision of an engineer. that
these documents would fill more than 40
freight cars and constitute train three
miles long.
The committee IN recommending to Con-
gress the two joint resolutions which were
passed felt that IT was dealing with two of
the most important branches of the In
quiry and the matters which seemed to be
pressing for immediate correction. The In
lection into the prtnting law OF the two
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