The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-02-28
A. ]. BENT0NS WASHINGTON EDITORIAL
He Believes a Bid Panic Portends and Likewise
Revision of Tariff-..The Governments
Bee Hive, the Department of Printing

should receive attention, however, is
the fact that in the east a passenger
must have f1rst-class ticket in order
to purchase a Pullman berth, and then
In the morning be compelled to enter
the day coaches" unless you put up
another dollar for seat in the parlor
car. From Washington to Chicago the
first-class fare is 81 extra, 81 for a
berth, and 81 extra for a seat in the
parlor car-$7 for the privileges of the
Pullman service for twenty four hours.
The railroad compels you to ride in
the same car with the second-class
ticketers, unless you want to pay for
the Inequalities of the other public
service corporation. In other words,
the railroad renders you no extra serv-
ice whatever for the extra money.
The government printing Office is a
beehive during the sessions of con-
gress, there being necessity for quick
action during the closing hours of the
short session particularly. The acts IF
congress are printed from seven to
twenty times, the last impression be-
ing on parchment to receive the sigma
tufe of the president. All bills likely
to be reported are kept standing" by
the printing Office, and when they are
sent to the Office the type is quickly
placed in chases and sent to the press
room. The large appropriation bills
are printed in the enrolled form in adj
vance of the action of the conferees,
and a messenger conveys the copy
from the capitol in piecemeal and the
changes reprinted. In this way the
committee frequently receives the COM
pleted enrolled bill of several hundred
pages before the members of the con-
ference committee have left the room
after deciding upon the last paragraph.
The government printing service is
one of the most complete and satisfac-
tory in Washington. The rate of pay
Of employees is low compared to the
compensation of other governmental
workers, .but this matter will receive
attention of Public Printer Stillings
before he finishes his term of office.
He is placing the Office on CONNER
cial basis, installing cost and audit
system to ascertain any leaks" and
turning the manufacturing depart
ments into vast machine shops. With
in a few months practically all the
composition will be performed on the
Mergenthaler and Lanston typesetting
machines, the former taking care of
the straight composition and the for
mer handling all the tabular and in
tricate copy sent in by the scientific
sharps of the different bureaus. The
Lanston machine casts 140 perfect type
minute, and has a capacity of 225
different characters on the keyboard.
The main objection is that the govern
ment pays machine operators no more
than hand compositors, with result
of not getting the maximum product
of the machines. However, the en-
ployes detailed for machine compost
ton are turning out over 5000 ems CT
matter an hour-an advance over the
former "stint" of 6,400 ems per day
under hand composition.
What does congress thing about pro-
hibition? Last week the house voted
down proposition to provide prohi-
bition in the District of Columbia, and
a few hours later refused to allow the
establishment of canteens in soldiers
homes!
The number of two-cent-a-mile laws
passed by different state legislatures
would appear to prove that the average
politician did like his free transporta-
ton after ALL
The Infamous Thaw trial in New
York is followed closely by most
Westinghouse. There is altogether
too much of the same sort of thing go
ing on here at home, and it is to be
hoped that the exposes brought out at
: that trial will be the means of pro-
ducing some good results.
Was it premeditated or accidental
that employees of the government living
| in the home districts of members of
| congress received an increase in SAL
airy and those employed at Washington
received nothing? The cost of living
has increased over fifty per cent in the
last ten years in the capitol city. and
compensations have remained the
| same.