The Washington herald., 1906-11-23

Tired, as he says. of the internecine
troubles in the Government Printing
Office, Public Printer Charles A. stIIings
is preparing a report on tae whole trou-
bled situation. He intends 10 present IT 70
/ Congress at the earliest opportunity and
at the same time 70 demand comnissicn
of inquiry.
4 want TO present my side" he sava.
I court the fullest Investigation. and I
want the commission to examine thor
oughIy al the flying rumors. the dis
/ content and the complaints. and 10 listen
without prejudice to what have to say
and 10 what the employees will testify
to-"
This action on the part Of Mr.. stIlings
is the outcome Of condition which.
whatever the cause. is unparalleled in the
Government Printing Office Ever since
he took tie ofice Of Public Printer. in
November. 1895. there has been a steady
growth Of iii-feeling and uneasiness On
the part of number Of the employees.
and this has come 10 such a pass that
Jhe work Of the Office threatens to be-
come demorolized.
On his side Public Printer Suilings
/ claims TO have dore nothing that was not
necessary for discipline and to the better
ment Of the public service. but on their
side there are certain Of the employees
who maintain that Mr. SuIings lacks
| executive ability; has been unnecessarily
/ harsh and arbitrary in his rulings. aid
that he has so reduced the pay Of many
Of them by means Of enforced furIougts
and by arbitrary cuts in wages. that they
md it difficult TO support their families.
So great has the discomfort grown that
the men from the various departments
OF the work have been holding secret
meetings OF protest, and there has been
more than "a little talk Of a strike which.
while TIE men realized II could do them
I little direct good. would, they think. cdH
the attention Of the higher authorities.
/ perhaps OF the President to a condition
which they consider has become intoler-
able
VIII Tend 10 quiet Agitation.
1 Il is probable that the avowed purpose
OF Mr.. Stillings 10 ask for a commission
OF inquiry into all the affairs OF the Gov
/ eminent Printing Office viii forestaH any
/ further action OF the employees and IT
may, perhaps. stop. for the tine being,
the many and various complaints against
the Public Printer. which have been ind
/ ing their way into the newspapers.
But it is also foregone conclusion
/ that the workings Of any such. commits
sion Of inquiry viii not be allowed 20 stop
at investigating the reasons for the dis
content OF the employees So bitter have
the charges pro and con been. so far as
they have gone, that once an investige-
ton begins it will have TO include inquiry
| into the waste OF type and machinery,
which even A casual observer can
note is very great: inquiry into allega-
tions by Mr. Stillings that certain politi-
cal and labor union influences have been
used unfairly against him, and VIII prob
ably be made comprehensive enough 90
take W certain rather loud scandalous
charges affecting the Public Printer
Whatever the charges against Mr. Still
ings may be. they will not take him at
all Unawares- he is pretty well advised
on his own showing Of what viii be al
legged against him and he has-before any
public charges are made-pTepared q de
fense, which ne deems impregnabIe. HIS
life, ne says. from boyhood on is open 70
the fullest investigation and inspection
and TO further the work Of any commits
sion OF inquiry he has already in his pes
session certificates from BOstOn-hIs hGale
city-and from the police in certain dis
tricts Of Washington. where allegations
of misconduct have been charged against
him.
Wants WOrkmanIIke Work
Mr.. Stillings himself attributes the rum
pUs among the large proportion Of the 4.eoo
people whom he governs to his efforts
10 put the Government Printing Ofice On
a workmanlike and paying basis.
There is no reason, he declares. why
the Government Printing Office should
not be run with the same care in its ad-
ministTatiOn and the same economy. as a
private establishment. This has never
been done. Into this busy hive OF indus
try many drones have cTept, and for the
good cf the service / have been trying
TO weed them out. Everything I have
done has been for the purpose Of finding
out the good men. and keeping them in
the service, finding out the bad men. and
admonishins them 70 DO better, or fore
ing them TO make way for useful public
servants.
one of the things most citicised recent
ly was his confidential order. No. eSa.
which directed the fOremen Of the vari-
Gus departments TO report on the health.
ability, and moral character of the en-
ployes in each department Says Mr.
SuIings:
This order was misunderstood at first.
and there was talk of some Of the fore
men resigning rather than obey IT, As
matter of fact. no foreman has risgned
on that account. and all are making the
reports ] required"
Some of the reports were seen They
are made up IL tabulated form. and they
comprise, IN effect q daily record OF each
cmploye; his capacity Tor work. the state
OF his health, his moral character. &c
Thus, II a man is a drinking man. the re-
port shows il; IL the man IS IN debt the
report shows it,. II a man is habituaily
late 70 work. the reports shows H.
Thus say the Public Printer when
il IS necessary on account OF slackness
of work to lay men Of, I am enabled %
lay off. without hesitation, the men WHO
have proved themselves the least useful
70 the department"
His Corps of Inspectors.
criticism that has been often leveled
against the Public Printer is his establish
CONTINUED on SECOND PAGE