The Washington herald., 1908-02-06
ROSSITER GETS BUSY
Takes Public Printers Chair
and Begins Work.
STARTS THE INVESTIGATION
Gives Brief Interview, in which lie
lie Says He Proposes tn Give Print
work the President Has Directed.
Complete Inquiry in Two Weeks.

/ Hardly had the suspended Public Print
/ er. Charles a. Stillings. gathered "A few
papers together and driven away from the
+ big priuteTy i'm Il closed carriage early
( yesterday afternoon, when William 5.
Rossiter alighted from car in front of
the building.
/ He was escorted 10 the handsomely
furnished Offices Of the Public Printer.
and entered Immediately upon his new
duties
Deputy Public Printer Henry T. Brian
met Mr. Rossiter, who removed his over
coat. seated himself in the Public Printer
chair-suU warm from contact with the
extensive frame of its late occupant
and began firing short, crisp pertinent
questions at the deputy printer and the
other heads of the office force.
lie Wasted No Time.
Mr.. Rossiter wasted no time ia getting
a line on the workings of the big depart
ment. BY 6 o'clock he felt that he was
entitled to a brief respite for dinner.
Before s o'clock he was back in the
traces. and did not leave The building FOR
several hours
A reporter for The Washington Herald
interrupted Mr. Rossiter IN the midst Of
his evenings labors at the printery, but
the Acting Public Printer found time
for "a brief interview.
you see I am already az work" he
said with a smile THE President has
seen fit to select me 10 act as Public
Printer while carrying on an investigation
o. the inside workings of the Printing
Office. AS ] understand the President
instructions. Mr.. StilIings has been sus-
pended pending the result OF certain in
designations / am to make along lines
l7'd down by the President aud OF the
nature OF which l am not permitted 10
81 lak further I am rapidly getting a
line on things here. and think 7 shall be
able 40 finish my Investigations inside OF
two weeks.
Expects No Friction.
ON the meantime, besides carrying on
this Investigation, we shall try To swing
the business Of this great department
along without friction. and as smoothly
as possible. To my mind, judging from
an outside view of the conditions here,
there has been altogether too much fric-
ton, i'll feeling, and fuss"
At the Census Bureau. the officials who
have worked with Mr.. Roesiter and know
him intimately, freely expressed the be-
lief that no better selection could be made
than that Of their chief clerk. n
was the unanimous sentiment that i'm Mt
Rossiter the President had hit upon a
public officer possessing just the neces-
sary qualifications TO bring order out of
chaos at the big printery, and TO carry
the administration Of that department
along honestly. without bitches and with
out friction. The feeling was general at
the Census Bureau that Mr.. Rossiter
would not return TO his former position.
but is due 10 step permanently into the
office of Public Printer, although it is
known that he has no such ambition
Born in Massachusetts.
Mr. Rossiter was born in Westfeld.
Mass, in 1861. lie came to Washington
IN 1874 and remained six years. lie then
entered Amherst College. where he was
graduated in 1854 Mr.. Rossiter tool, up
newspaper work, and later went into the
business office of the New York Tribune
In 1855 he left the Tribune 10 take charge
Of the circulation department OF the NJ
y ork Press
The following year he and some par
ners established a printing firm In NJ
York City lie remained in the print
business until 1900. when he was ask
to take charge of the mechanical pI
duction of the reports of the Tweu
Census, on which tire was a time lii
Of two years. At the completion of tn.
labor he became chief clerk Of the per /
nanent Census Bureau and its printing |
expert
Mr.. Rossiter lives at the Champlain /
apartment house 1924 X street He is /
married and has one daughter, Marjorie. |
thirteen years old His wife was Miss 1
Nellie pudd, of New York City.