Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-18
WASTE CAUSED BY LAW
DOCUMENTS SENT TO CONGRESS-
MEN WHO DON'T WANT THEM.
It Would Be More Economical if the
Departments Distributed Their
Own Publications.

II there is any one thing more than an
other which rouses the ustfaiIy mld-man-
nered Secretary of Agriculture, it Is to re-
Ter to him as the most prolific producer of
literature in the cabinet. This charge In a
way Is true. for the Department of Agricul-
ture Goes get out more printed matter in
the course of the year than any other de-
partment OF the government but it Is not
generally realized that this production is
largely In compliance with existing laws
many OF theme obsolete and ridiculous, and
the department itself gets very minor
snare OF Its own publications for distri-
button. Therefore the Secretary is COM
peiieo oy law to put out an ocean of printed
sheets and although 1t Is quite true that
iot OF IL proves to be waste matter, it is
largely because the department mas no con-
troi over Its destination and cannot send
II 10 the people who would use 1t.
AS general proposition, there are at
!east I,VU persons In the S00O0,GO0 of the
United states who are interested in some
one OF the numerous publica lions issued by
the government, and if the interested neo-
pie could only be reached in the distrjb,I-
ton. not only of the Agricultural DEPART
ment's matter. but other matter put out by
the government printing office, there would
be less complaint of waste ana lot more
people would be satisfied.
Must Send Them to Congress.
One thing that the Secretary of Agricui-
lure complains of Is that the law forces
him to send ai per cent of his publications
to the Capitol. and although there may be
3O per cent of these publications wasted by
being piled in the storage rooms in the
basement, there are people all over the
United States writing to the department.
inSi CT tlVr
their requests for certain publications have
not been complied with.
The answer is simple. The Government
prints enough to meet the average demand
ana there are provisions in the law for re-
prints when these obviously necessary
But the great bulk OF the publications of
the government have to be sent to Con-
gress. and of course the constituents OF a
are not interested in all the
works that the government, In this case
the Department of Agriculture
turns out The best method of stamping
out Texas fever and the ravages Of the
Doll wevil are of no particular interest to
farmers In Wisconsin and North Dakota,
and the best methods of cider making and
the culture of cranberries are not of vit-l
interest to residents of Florida. But the
law is infiexible. The representative gets
so many pounds or tons, as the case may
be. of each publication each year. He dis
tributes such his people are interested
in, so far as his allowance W GO and then
runs short on what he wants and has a lot
of surplus documents that he does not want
rotting in the basement of the Capitol.
Unused Bulletins.
There is now provision for turning back
to the department such farmers bulletins
as are sot called for by representative up
to the end of May in any year. These pub
LEGATIONS are used in making up congress
sional quotas for the next year. But it Is
pointed out that it would be better for
every one concerned if this species of re
version were extended to all pu~ cations of
the department that go to Congress and if
the date for their reversion We're made the
first of April instead of the last of May
There Is an enormous waste In the distri-
button of printed matter that does not seem
as yet to have been touched by any of the
several committees that have inyestiga ted
the printing system of the government But
ii will have TO be remedied by law, and al
though it is strictly true that Secretary
Wilson's department produces more lite
allure than any other department of tie
government, he is wasteful only because
the law compels him to be So 1t is case
of don't shoot the pianist, doing
the best he can