Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-18
GREAT SAVING POSSIBLE
Duplication of Documents May Be
-.--s --... Avoided.
CONGRESS NOT WITHOUT BLAME
Bill Embodying Recommendations Of
the Commission Submitted
to the Senate.

A report Of the printing Investigation
commission was today submitted to the
Senate It embodies the conclusions Of this
commission, composed Of senators and rep
resentatives, in relation to the general mat
ter Of the public printing. A bill embody-
ing these ideas was also submitted to the
Senate.
Much Of the proposed act is a re-enact-
ment of the existing law. The report,
among other things. proposes to print COM
mittee hearings as Senate or House docu-
ments, except in cases where the commit
tees desire to withhold such matter. Much
of the report relates to details Of the law
in relation to printing government docu-
ments.
By the publication Of committee hearings
as Senate or House documents it is argued
that they Will be preserved in the principal
libraries OF the country. whereas they are
now obtained by libraries only by chance.
The report says:
Criticism Of Congress.
I'm the general investigation of the prob
lens of the public printing and binding &C.
cusations Of extravaganza against Congress
itself were freely made by those familiar
with the general subject.
THE commission is free to admit that
much of this criticism is well founded and
that the efforts of the commission to re-
form extravagances in the departments can
be more consistently, If not more success
fully, prosecuted when Congress shall have
first applied the remedial measures to its
own operation"
In order to carry out this suggestion the
bill approved by the commission contains
a paragraph providing that when a docu-
ment Is ordered by either House. when not
already provided for by existing law 1t shall
be accompanied by an estimate from the
public printer as to it's probable cost.
The report continues:
1.-The commission in its investigation
found that one Of the chief sources of ex-
travagances lay in the fact that the original
cost of departmental printing had been
chargeable to the congressional allotment
instead Of the departmental allotment the
congressional allotment serving as gen.
eral fund to which all departments had
The commission is disposed to recognize
the necessity for some equitable provision
societies of auasi-public character which
under their charters are required to report
to Congress, but no appropriation or allot-
ment of appropriation for printing is made.
Avoiding Implications.
A provision for avoiding duplication in
publications and for more clearness in IT,
ties of government publications Is in
cluded.
The printing of many departmental pub
locations first for the department and Sec
ond for Congress is also to be corrected.
The report refers to the charge that the
cost of production in the government print
ing office exceeds that which obtains in
commercial printing establishments.
ut would be. just as equitable the re-
port says, "to charge to the expense of
printing and binding the administration of
the publication offices of the various execu-
tive departments, as to charge against the
departmental allotment for printing and
binding the administration of the office of
the Superintendent of documents. which Is
now actually done. The expense of the
public printing and binding can be more
Justly computed by the elimination of so
irreyelant an item as that to which al
fusion has been made.
Great Saving Possible.
''The appropriation for the public print
ing and binding has grown from $3,774.-
1888 in the fiscal year 1896 to 1908, 255.S2
in the fiscal year 1908. Under this rapid
growth the. appropriation for the current
fiscal year would have been in the neigh
borhood of $7.5OO.O0O. instead Of which 1t
was considerably under 900, including
specific appropriations. and the needs of
the government in this respect will have
been amply supplied
The commission is convinced that great
saving can be made by simplifying meth
DDS, by reforms in distribution and by
avoiding costly Implications Of documents.