Evening star., 1909-02-19
GREAT WASTE SHOWN GIVES 60 Gent GAS
Printing Commissions Report GaInqer Bill Favoraby Re-
Is Made Public. norted to the Senate
MANY TONS OF suRPL LUs WILL URGE ITS PASSAGE
Mu;ons of Printed p.oes Stored Success Mat
Away Worthless. ter OF DOUBT
o1uMrc prrusrn as GIFTS STOCK INCREASE REGULATED
1:l:o. p. os o,d Con. InchP at
denna Is
Recommended Raising
MANY TONS OF SURPLUS
Millions of Printed Pages Stored
Away as Worthless.
VOLUMES REFUSED AS GIFTS
Libraries Reject Offer and Con-
demnation Is Result-Remedy
Recommended.

The prjutiuc Investigation commission.
created at the close OF the session four
years ago submitted a report to Con-
greSs today covering the more important
branches of its rather extensive inquiry
into the public printing and binding. The
commission consists of the two commit
tees on printing Of the Senate and House
of Representatives These comnAttees
are composed as follows: In the Senate
Senators Platt Of New York. Elkins of
West Virginia and Milton of Florida, and
in the House. Representatives Lands of
Indiana Perkins of New York and Fin
ley of South Carolina Senator Piatt Is
chairman of the commission and Mr.
Landis is chairman of the subcommittee
of the commission.
The report includes many statements
50 interesting that they approach the
sensational For instance und II leSlsid-
tion secured in the last Congress 2i?,E
S:i1 printed pages. including such eX-
pens've publications as the Congressional
Record, the publications of the @eoloS1cal
survey aand the yearbook OF agriculture,
were, under supervisory authority. con-
ferTed upon the joint committee on PRINT
inc. eliminated from the surplus printing
which had formerly been pling up III
warehouses, to he finally condemned and
sold waste. The report makes ii clear
that this printing was entirely an und1s-
were equivalent to -J9. 19I volumes of to
pages each for the year 1907 The saving
on the Congressional Record alone was
nearly $4,000: the publications of the
geological survey. nearly ScdNef- and on
the yearbook over s:;I 600.
Immense Surplus Wasted.
These publications had been pilinG up
until. as stated in previous report of
the commission. detailed estimates by
measurements of engineers showed in
storage over 800 tons-enough to fill an
ordinary railroad train more than three
miles in length. and occupying rented
storage. in addition to buildings owned
by the government. exceeding $4,000
per year This surplus printing was
stopped under legislation recommended by
the commission two years ago. and APP
proXimately :,.N0 coo volumes of the pr1or
accumulation have already been proposed
for condemnation and sale as waste. after
having been offered to and rejected by
the offices of publication, the document
rooms of Congress, and more than 5000
libraries
1t was found that the various executive
departments and bureaus were submit
ting their reports to Congress. and having
them put in type at congressional ex-
pense. after which the departments used
the plates for their own publications
Reports costing in excess of S6ooh were
printed without the departments know
ing. or being required TO know, tue ol1si-
nal cost. The commission recommended
that this he changed, and. as result.
many of the department reports nave
been largely reduced in volume and others
have been recommended for dlscont1n-
udnCe
The cost of public printing is shown
TO have been in 1S40 approximately
S3nnpD and that q constant and unlnter-
rupted growth showed in 1865 expendi-
lures exceeding 81 1oOo,'sal. almost equal TO
those of the Department of Agriculture,
more than the federal funds approprlat-
ed for the maintenance of the District or
Columbia and double the amounts car
ried in the diplomatic and consular ap-
preparation acts. From 1870 to 1900 the
average increase by decennial years was
more than 40 per cent. The work OF the
commission heSan i'm 1903. ten years after
the last revision of the printing laws
and the growth of printing expenditures
in these ten years has been 1o2 per cent
or Si.I1I .oi:; This ratio of increase car
RED TO the last fiscal year. Wc",! have
brought the expenditures to S5.i9'. 451. or
S2.T12, 1gu more than they actually were
The report shows that this growth of ex-
penditureS has not only been stopped. but
driven backward until the expenditures
for the last three years. compared with
1905. show an average annual reduction of
lh per cent.
Many Congressional Inquiries.
II appears from the report that there
have been since these expenditures first
attracted congressional attention in 1910
no less than seventeen congressional in
vesdigations and four by the executive
branch of the government. I'm extract
from the debates in Congress in 1872 is
Incorporated in the report in which MI.
German. a representative from Indiana.
is quoted as follows:
Il hope. sir. that after having disposed
of tlis public printing | snail be per
mitted to withdraw from this vexed ques-
ton. | have never in my life had a
public duty TO perform in which had so
many conflicting elements to meet.
have never discharged a public duty
with more conscientious regard for the
public veal and the service. At
ter have discharged my duty and got
the public printing once fixed upon a
permanent basis | shall ask the kind
indulgence of the chair to discharge me
from further service on that committee
II is Il committee upon which any gentle
man who discharges his duty lays him
self open to the constant criticism ot
his kindeSt and best friends
The printing expenditures at that time
were approximately SiOO.OO
The conmiSSion adds that
Congress, instead of making such pro-
visions would insure efficient super
vision and bic its committees and the
public printer to carry forward a policy al
effect. left each new committee to take III
the subject for themselves not where the
work OF the r"tlrlnS committee ended
but where It began.
Present Law a Growth.
The commission cites the fact that the
present printing law is growth OF
seventy years. its various and conflicting
provisions embodying the recommenda
tions of officials viewing the subject solely
from their own standpoint without regarC
to the complicated machinery of distribu
+i-ff.
commission holds that thorough revision i.
necessary and cites the fact that while the
printing statutes cover probably fift,
pages the decisions of the controller o
the treasury and the opinions OF the
attorney general in relation thereto Woul,
fill a large volume. The decisions of tn,
controller alone. involving constructions
of the printing law in less that three
Years have been - in number. occupyin:
more than 2uo typewriter pages.
The report states that the policy of th'
t.rr lt..Gs 1.