Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-25

for printing last year by the annual and
deficiency bills for printing and binding for
Congress aud the departments, the commits
/ sion found hiatt 81 .H51 $50 was specifically
appropria ted for printing in connection with
o.her Items. The commission recommends
that In so far as is practicable all appropri-
aticns for printing hereafter be made coll
/ lectiveIy.
In closing the report suggests that
| the public printer lie placed in the same re-
iation 10 Congress and the departments that
commercial printer Is 10 his customers.
The report advecsi ties putting a large sum
OF money at the disposal of the. public
printer and requiring him to apply this
money 70 the specific purposes for which 1t
was appropriated.
Faulty Distribution.
Referring TO the faults In the distribution
pr public documents The report says:
As many copies of report on the beet
sugar industry Will be placed at the dis
posal of a member of Congress represent
ing a district in the heart of New York
city as are placed to the credit of MEM
per representing a beet sugar district in
California; member representing an agri-
cultural district In Kansas is called upon to
distribute as many copies of a report on
the marble industry of Vermont as a repre-
sentative of the latter-named state; the
member from North Dakota distributes but
small fraction of his documents relating
to the culture of citrus fruits and the
memner from Long Island district dis
poses of but a small fraction of the docu-
ments to which he is ent tied in relation to
the irrigation of arid lands
In the meantime the member from Cali
forn1a, the member from Vermont the
member from Florida and the member from
| somewhere else have exhausted their Quota
OF these reports and although their con-
sttuents want the documents the members
cannot gracefully ask Congress for re-
print while tons upon tons of undistributed
copies to which they have no access lie
document
houses of the government. Hence there
are piled up in the folding rooms and other
auxiliary warehouses vast quantities OF
literature for which no use can be found
under the present methods of distribution,
and under these methods there is no posi-
BILE relief that can be afforded without Il
too radical change of system.
Sent to Unwilling Recipients.
In many instances senator's and repre-
sentatives seeing upon the list of docu-
ments placed to their credit many which
would be of little or no interest to their
constituents, send them out with no In
centive to or opportunity for discrmina-
ton rather than permit them to rot or be-
come obsolete. The Kansas farmer who
receives report on the marble industry
of Vermont charges his senator or repre-
sentative with i'll Judgment and Congress
with extravaganza, thereby bringing the
entire question of public printing into dis
reDute.
The Now York dry goods merchant like
wise, who receives report on the Devona
paleontology, perchance, throws the docu-
ment into the waste basket and stands
READY to lndorse any proposition looking to
the adjustment of the government print
ing office. The alternative of this would be
that the document would fall to be sent
out, and would mold in the cellar of the
Capitol, for it would require a force OF
many clerks to effect intelligent dis
tribution of all the documents placed to
the credit of any single senator or repre-
sentative, as there is no state and no dis
| trict In which there exists legitimate de-
| mand for all the documents placed to the
| credit of their representatives.
| III a method can be devised whereby
| senator or representative may supply to his
| constituents the documents in which they
| are interested to the full extent contem-
| plated by Congress in the printing of such
| documents. and yet avoid the unnecessary
! print ng of documents for which his con-
| stituents have no use hardship will be
visited upon any one, and, at the same
| time. real saving in the cost OF printing
| can be effected
Method of Publishers.
| private publisher. anticipating a maxi
mum demand for 100, eco copies of a book to
| be printed, and minimum demand OF
| 10000 copies, would confine the first edi-
| ton to the requirements of the minimum
| rather than the possible maximum demand,
| fully aware that If his fondest ant cipat ions
were TO be realized he could meet the larger
demand by the printing of subsequent edl-
| lions. For this reason books printed al
! private expense often run through many
editions.
| The report claims that there is no valid
| reason why Congress cannot pursue the
| same policy especially in view of the cost
| ~ experience through which Congress naa
already passed and the exhibition 1t has
| witnessed of waste and extravaganza. haV-
| ing few parallels In the administration of
| public affairs.
! Tr1n no
| of document are ordered to be printed,
they are delivered to the folding rooms OF
| the Senate and House In bulk, and allotted
| under prevailing custom in the proportion
| of $1,000 to the Senate and 100000 to the
House. These are prorated among the
| senators and representatives and paced to
their credit accordingly on the books of the
| folding rooms. When member from Cali
| fornia orders copy 1t is taken from the
| same pile from which a copy would be de-
| Iivered to member from Maine. 1t Should
be distinctly borne in mind that the anot-
| ment to the individual member is simply a
| book record, and the pile is diminished only
| to the extent that individual members
draw therefrom. If. now, the pile be
| originally made smaller and replenished as
| the necessities of the folding room may re-
! quire. and the production of printed matter
in other words, kept more nearly on "a
| parity with the demand solution of the
/ problem Will be reached.
/ In Case of a Bank.
| All ANALOGY WOulQ De round In bank
| holding 100000 on deposit received from
| 5000 different depostors. The bank OF
| course, would not divide its 50 600 600 into
| 5000 parts and hold the whole sum intact
| to be drawn upon by its depositors, but
| would simply retain such proportion of the
| whole, based upon past experience as
| would satisfy the checks of debositors as
presented for collection. The book records
| of their depositors would show 5000 600 as
| being due them, while the bank actually
! would retain but a fraction for their de-
| positors' immediate use.
| The plan of the commission would con-
| template the delivery to the folding rooms
! of any given document In number SUI
| ficient to meet the calls of senator's and
| representatives. based upon the experience
| of the said folding rooms in meeting similar
| demands In the past. If the demands ex-
] coed the expectations of the folding rooms
| a means Is provided under the plan Of the
| commission whereby the supply could be
| made to approach these demands and at
| the same time, that the supply should cease