Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-28

responding length of life of the carbon
impression once placed upon the linen.
Samples Are Shown.
Other exhibits in THE Testimony of
Linen include. sample pages of the jour-
nal Of the Senate printed upon bleached
and unbleached linen fabric precisely the
same as a sheet of paper, and a sample
page, containing pictures Of President
Roosevelt and of the Capitol. showing
that even such fine work as half tones
reproduce perfectly on linen.
The manner of receiving ink impressions
as obt aimed on paper or even upon linen In
all printing, is made up of a mechanical
and a chemical union, the latter being
serves as vehicle of the carbon. carries
certain proportion of the carbon into
the agent printed upon. thus staining the
cellulose cells The mechanical union con-
upon the surface of the agent printed
upon solely by virtue of its adhesiveness.
Bibliophiles and historians have long
viewed with concern the danger of OBJ
liberation and substitution of printed rec
ords from paper. Similarly, paper books
and manuscripts are subject to the raw
ages of insects, and 1t has frequently been
stated that more volumes are destroyed by
book lice" bread bOrers," "silver fish
and reaches than by the ravages Of time,
fire. water, rats and mice combined.
All paper is composed of short fibers
held together by glue or "size," and the
initial pressure given by the heated cyl
inders on the paper making machine, and
1t Is subject to more or less rapid dis
Indignation due to the action Of the moist
ure in the atmosphere. And 1t is In the
glue or size of the paper and in the
paste used to bind paper books that the
insect destroyers find the food which at
tracts them.
Serves Every Purpose.
AS opposed to these weaknesses Of paper
it is pointed out that finely woven linen
not only affords equally as good a sur
face to receive the printed impressions
but it is not affected by moisture, and
If the linen pages of a volume are sewed
together with thread of the same fiber
and bound in heavy ply covers of linen
the danger from insects is practically nil
So far as the item of cost is concerned
the cause of linen Is not urged for the
printing of the proceedings of Congress
or the messages Of Presidents or Of gov
eminent reports for general distribution
1t is not proposed to curtail at all the
use of paper, but solely to have printed
after the regular editions Of publications
on paper have been run off on the presses
ticular value for preservation-the two or
more copies on linen.
AS an actual illustration Of the COM
p1rative cheapness of this method of
preserving documents. it was estimated
that two linen copies of the revised edition
of the Congressional Record for 1897. con-
shutting altogether about 5000 pages,
could have been printed on linen at a
cost of not more than S65 for the fabric
SO utilized. And no change in printing
machinery would be necessary while 1t
would be the work Of few moments to
produce the printed linen sheets
In the proposition to print government
publications upon linen. it was also con-
templated that each volume might be so
prepared that 1t might be encased in a
bath of paEafin wax and thus further
guarded against extraneous or atmos-
pheric influences.