Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-25
LARGE AMOUNT OFPAPER USED
FORTY TONS DAILY AT GOV
ERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
An Average of Three Hundred Req
uisitions Drawn Each Calendar
Day-other Statistics.

The government printing office uses each
calendar day, the year around forty tons
of paper, and in consumption of this
paper an average of 300 acquisitions is
drawn daily. There is no indication when
the order Is first thrown on the counter
whether it is for one quire of fine writ
ing paper or 500 reanls of ordinary print
ing paper.
The first floor of the olu building and
the basement of the new structure are
filled with every possible description of
papers, the large fiat packages and rolls
OF ordinary printing paper predominating
About 800 varieties of paper are kept in
STOCK, and yet there will occasionally
arise a variety of work requiring special
makes to meet the requirements of the
isuing offices. A trip through the base
ment of the big printing Office would be
an eye-opener the average proprietor
Ior lowering on every side are mountains
OF paper with lanes leading this way and
that for the convenience of handling.
Every sheet of paper in this largest
printing office in the world has to be &C.
counted for by Supt. Harry F. Ashton
and the Chief of the paper ware
house, Mr.. William H. Kervin. An in
stance is cited of the mysterious d;sap-
pearance of a sheet of parchment used
for printing enrolled bills when an inven-
tory was taken several months ago and
after long and patient search the little
lS-cent sheepskin was found and the &C
count checked o. X 1t was case of re-
son.
Other Sections.
But the work of the supply division does
not stop at the issuance of printing pa
per, the general storehouse and the bind
cry supplies being under his supervision,
with Mr.. George Lamb in charge of the
former and Mr.. Henry Rieseberg as head
Of the latter section
Storekeeper Lamb is sometimes "ioshed''
by his friends for running a country
store nut when credit IS given for the
multiplicity of articles and the filling of
an average of $50 acquisitions daily for
every conceivable article, from a paper
OF pms to ton of COAL a Typewriter
RIBBON and barrel of glue, a dozen
1resh eggs and a carload of white paint,
the country store suddenly develops into
slzable proposition. And here, too, a
properly signeo requisition must be flied
Ior even a lead pencil, and with the nee
essary credentials it is just as easy to
get 800 tons of coal for the office boilers
as to obtain the aforesaid lead pencil
Up on the second floor of the old build
ing VIII be found the bindery storeroom,
the peculiar odor of tanned leather.
About 10000 square feet of cowhide buff
ing, 5000 dozen sheepskins. excluding
600 dozen "feshers'' and a side line of a
few carloads Of title leather roans.
skivers, etc, give one years supply of
the main items, though $4,000 worth of
Soldleaf might in some offices be con-
sldered major item Every possible
variety Of material may be found in the
oindery storeroom, and you may well
Imagine that the list is too long for
enumeration when about 800 people are
exertfng every nerve for eight hours a
day TO use up as much material as Dos
sible and thus put in a good days work.
The government printing office has been
hkened to small city. and the amount
of material and supplies required and
the trades represented strengthen this
simile. The electricians and engineers
divisions alone furnish more energy than
is used in small manufacturing center
While the carpenters. painters, cabinet
makers and machinists could supply pro-
portionate demands for their services
While the supplies used are not supposed
to be edible. those required for the
binders art often resemble a free lunch
It IS said. for syrup. vinegar. fresh eggs
flour and milk look 'spicious'' to the un.
initiated.