The Washington times., 1907-03-04
COMMITTEE CUT
H PRINTING COSTS
Investigation Resulted in
Expose of Wild EX-
trdVagance.
Department Appropriation
Relieved by One Item
of 100000.
Ten Thousand Tons of Pa
pers, Now Worthless,
Found in Warehouses.

A review of the printing legislation
during the Congress which has Just
closed. together with the reports Of the
Printing investigation Commission, will
furnish highly entertaining reading mat
ter few years hence on what would
ordinarily be a very prosy subjed.
The commission is identical I'm its
membership with the joint Committee
on Printing composed of Senators Plat,
Ilkins and Whyte and Representatives
lands. Perkins and Griggs. The COM
mission found, early in its investiga-
tons. warehouses and Easements filed
with documents that We're obsolete, and
n careful calculation made by competent
engineers showed nearly 1900 tons, or
what would fill a solid train of freight
ears three miles long. This was due
10 the fact that an equal number Of
every document printed for Congress
was printed for every district regardless
Of whether Il contained anything of in
Ierest to the people Of the district This
was the first thing stopped.
Padded Annual Reports.
Another thing which was stopped at
the same time was the practice OF many
of the departments and bureaus of pad
ding their annual reports. printed at the
expense Of Congress. with irrelevant
matter. in order TO get il into type that
il might be reprinted in the depart
mental editions without cost TO the de-
detrimental appropriations for typeset-
ting and illustrations.
The two joint resolutions which re-
suited in these economies were passed
az the first session. and not only saved
the printing of more than a million
volumes during the current year. but
reduced the size OF many of the Govern
ment reports by fully one-half' without
iriuriously affecting their value.
The commission started in al the be-
ginning Of the session which has just
closed to work out other problems.
The law. as il stood, was Impossible OF
any reasonable Observance without tying
the hands of the ministerial officers OF
the Senate and the House, as well as
MANY Of the more important commit
tees. For instance. the law provided
that no hearing of any committee should
be printed IN excess of $500 I'm cost The
Railroad Rate Hearings were printed
under this Limitation at an actual cost
OF nearly 5000. other instances We're
cited by the commission In which the
cost exceeded $1,000 all under 2 500
limitation Tho limitation to cost
having been disregarded. committees
felt equally free 90 disregard entirely
any limitation as 70 numbers, and,
whereas the law implied limlta ton 10
fiftV copies. In some instances more than
10000 were ordered and printed, many
OF them 10 be subsequently, carted out
% the committee rooms and sold for
Junk.
II was also found that no officer of
Congress had authority TO order the re-
printing OF bill pending before Con
Eress. no matter how important tire
legislation There was a provision I'M
der which the Joint Committee on
Printing could authorize a reprint To
the number of 300 copies. and in the
cnse of tho McCumber pension bill. fif-
teen reprints were ordered to the full
number In four days. thus sending the
forms hack 10 press fifteen times. when.
under airy policy of common sense. once
would have been enough.