Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-17


| Under the appropriation for public
printing and binding. 1905. the available
funds amounted to $3.50, 1908. and the
expenditures to February 10, 1905 were
from February 10 to June 80, 1903. has
| been estimated to be S2.OO6.O41 30. The
apparent deficit. therefore. Is 1868 1893 30
In addition to this deficit should. per-
| haps. be reckoned contracts calling for
an expenditure of $4,000. which have
been signed but for which orders have
| not been drawn.
Extravaganza in Purchases.
1.-THE committee. composed of representa-
tives of the departments of Agriculture.
Commerce and Labor and the Interior,
| have submitted report concerning the
purchases and supplies Of the printing
| Office. They state that it is evident that
| there has been great extravaganza in the
| purchasing of furnishings and equipment
| of all kinds. and that the purpose or the
| public printer seems to have been to
make the Office the best equipped printing
/ Office in the world mechanically, and at
| the same time the most ornate.
| The system of purchase and issue or
supplies has become very complicated,
and irregularity In the bids is noted
| MANY purchases were made from the
| Audit System without any competition.
| and in some cases supplies were 1ur-
| nished at a price much greater than that
charged by other companies for similar
material. Data are furnished to snow
| that in some instances larger supplies
| have been laid in than were required.
| There was considerable criticism of Mr..
| Stllings for allowing large travelling ex-
penses to the employees. amounting to as
high. as Sc day for subsistence While
| travelling. The report continues:
| There is now a larger official and cleri-
cal force than is needed. and in many
cases compensation allowed Is out Of pro,
portion to that of the grades. established
by Congress for the executive depart
ments.
"A large majority of the employees would
| be pleased to see change in the admin,
| lstrat1On, while many of the older ana
more conservative men would like to see
the public printer indicated. Most OF
| the minor employees never came In con-
tact with him and have no knowledge OF
him except from hearsay. but their i'm
preston is decidedly unfavorable.
NO one whom l have consulted, who
is acquainted with the public printer. will
admit the probability of any intentional
wrongdoing on his part.
| The employees agree in the statement
| that few men are better acquainted than
its various branches. Having a strong
constitution and unbounded energy. he
appears to have spared neither strength
nor time in his devotion to the work of the
HE introduced rigid discipline where
little had existed. and endeavored TO weed
out incompetent persons and to secure a
| larger per capita product
Mr. RosSiter was assisted in making his
| investigations by S. r. Burch, W. w.
Fowler, L; F. Schmeckebier e. A. Gong
wer and F. c. Getzendanner. Mr.. Rossiter
| mentions particularly the assistance which
he received from Representative Lands
and from Victor l.. Ricketts,. clerk of the
Joint congressional commission on print
| ing investigation.
Mr.. stillings' Reply.
In his reply to the Rossiter report, Mr..
Stiilings declares that the Investigating
committee has not grasped the situation
that it has picked upon certain features
Of his administration. which, separated
from the general whole. must seem UNI
wise, whereas considered as part of q
| general scheme they are not to be CEN
sured at all. He says that within eight
m 3ha ne could have made a model place
| cussing the Audit System. he saws:
| You committee has severity criticised
my policy In allowing the Audit System
10 pa upon any supplies for the office;
while endeavoring to cover this point in
the appended specific statements 1 may
say 6rle1y that my action has been gov
erned by desire to expedite the work
the least expense to the government and
that such purchases As were made of
them. outside of loose-leaf ledger sheets,
n o,nnfrs ca ana o possibly few emergency
L
me service. have been subject to compe-
ution and L have no knowledge Of any
ih!1n 1;,. done to other bidders thereby.
ne majority of the purchases made
or the Suffolk Distributing Company have
oeen FOR paper for which they submitted
Did and upon which they were awarded
contract by the joint committee on print
ing In January. 1907, covering the annual
period commencing March l, 1907, and
terminating February -. 1908. This is a
| matter outside of my Jurisdiction and of
which had no knowledge until the bids
| were opened and awards made: any other
purchases !1 nave been for minor supplies.
II am inclined to agree with the COM
mlttee tnat. IN view Of the recent events.
| II would have been much better not to
nave purchased anything whatever of the
Audlt system; but my actions in all these
cases have been governed entirely by
| what l believed to be for the best in
| terests of the office and without Injustice
| to other concerns or individuals.
In the selection of the necessary per-
sons to undertake the installation OF cost
ana audit systems | was governed by my
| personal knowledge Of what Mr. Raynor
! had done during two years prior to his
| undertaking the contract with the gov
| eminent printing office, and l found that
| his work was reliable and thorough
| 1t Is gratifying to note that the gem
eral attitude OF the employees Is not one
| of complaint and fault finding, and
| believe that to be the general feeling in
the once, and nave always believed SO.
| In force Of employees aggresating fully
1900 people. per cent. while relatively
small In itself is very considera BILE when
| II starts to make noise and 200 dssatis-
| fed employees with unlimited capacity for
| complaining may very easily give the i'm
preston of chaos whereas their complain
| ing is only result OF strict adminfstra-
ton which has forced the inefficient out
and made way for better conditions"
Mr. Stillings defends the expenditure of
| large amounts for travelling expenses on
| the ground that by this travelling the
| employees Of the printing office have been
| able TO save the government large sums
on the purchase of supplies Particularly
was this true In the matter of printing
| ink.
Labor Leaders Elated.
The labor leaders of Washington who
were interviewed today by Star reporter
| were much elated over the resignation
| of Charles A. Stillings as public printer.
| They are also concerned over the appoint
| ment of his successor. 1t was the Opin-
| ion of all that the place should go to a
member of organized labor One of the
| principal reasons advanced for this is
| that MIR. StillinSs was the candidate OF
the United Typothetae of America, COM
posed of employing printers, and they be-
! lieve that as he failed to make good,
as one of them expressed it. a member
of the typographical, the bookbinders' or
the pressmen's unions should be given a
trial at the public Partnership.
| These leaders have without exception
said that the final resignation of Mr..
| Stillings and the ousting Of the Audit Sys-
! tenn was brought about by The Stars