El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-05-09
EPRESENTING an .

~ EPkESENIlNC an expenditure OF
X more than S16.OOO.0OO for con-
~ struction and equipment. and an
annual expenditure Of more than So
600. 600 for maintenance and operation,
the printing office OF the United States
is the finest and largest printing or
! flee in the world.
/ A thousand different important books
/ and pamphlets are published BY II eV-
I cry year. to say nothing Of the large
| number and variety Of circulars, bllls
I and other small Jobs which go 10 max Z
/ I'D the years work OF the government
/ prihtius office. IL issues daily and
l wee ky io;.r.al=. Ia; t.thiy period -alas
I and Ia.g- uSlnbCr ot yearly publICa-
/ tiOns. These range In frequency ana
/ Importance from the daily COMPRESSION
] al Record TO the annual report OF
I small bureau officials. and in subject
J matter from an abstract report of the
Z bureau Of Standards upon the stand
/ sTdiZaUiOC OF pyl cmeters TO morse
! book by the department of agricul-
| ture or a JoffcrseHs bible by the au-
| thOrity Of congress
The aggregate work of the govern
ment printing office during a single
/ year is vast in its proportions In
! 1910 fl set up more than million
Z pages OF type, and printed nearly B.
] O0O,OOOOOO pages Of matter, TO say
nothing of nearly 100000 900 blanks
heads and envelopes, and other things
in proportion Nearly a million and
! half copies of various publications
I were bound. The composition costs
Wage Bill S4.OOO,OOO Annually.
In spite Of the fact that every known
practical laborsaving device is used at
the government printing office, more
than 100000 year is paid out in
wages. and IL requires more than
100000 year TO pay for the
force goes on its vacation. 1t requires
more than $1,000. 600 worth Of paper
ana upward Of 100000 worth of other
material for years operation at the
big printing office. In a single month
IL was able TO turn out l56,OOO,OOO pos
tai cards one begins TO appreciate the
immensely Of the plant when he con-
siders how great are the little things
On its bill of expense The annual
soap supply costs $1,000. while S23
worth Of screw drivers, $50 worth Of
pens $500 worth of lead pencils, $1,000
worth of machine oil. "A tons of print
er's ink. and other things in proper
ton are used Waste paper is reduced /
to a minimum. every possible piece
being utilized in the operations OF the Z
big print shop. and yet 100000 worth [
Of 10 is sold annually. Simply by /
changing the style of the Congressional /
Record index, saving OF $4,000 was I
effected By changing from egg Goa! I
tc pea coal a saving of $4,000 was ef- 8
fccted. The printing OF the Sunday !
eulogy editions OF the Congressional I
Record on Monday morning represents I
ar outlay nearly $4,000 greater than 7
would be required If this edition Of 4
the Record could be released on Tues /
day.
When one goes through the big print +
shop he finds many wonderful things
One room contains about so linotype {
machines. the largest number 10 bs
found in a single room anywhere in 4
the world In another room are melt
ing pots with a capacity of Is tons OF D.
molten metal. In another room is a
series OF presses whose combined OUT
put is more than a million impressions
every hour Although there are 81
presses In this room there Is not
pulley nor a belt In sight. each ma
chine being driven by its Individual
electric motor. Printers ink is applied
70 40 tons OF paper every eight hours
There are card presses which turn out
100000 cards each day The job Of
flee Is one of the most remarkable In
existence II turns out more work in
flee OF the commercial world could turn
out in q full week The most perfect
equipment that money. can buy is 20
be found throughout the entire plant
Can Meet Emergencies.
The public printer is able TO give
good account Of himself with this sU-
perb equipment when heavy demands
are made upon him When the naval
court Of inquiry into the destruction
of the Maine made its report. president
transmitted the document TO
congress one afternoon. The next
morning it was printed and in the
hands OF every member Of the senate
ana mousse and OF the various members
OF the press 1t contained p full page
one lithograph in cOlOrs
and nearly 500 pages of printed matter.
When a congressional committee was
making an investigation into the mat
ter OF haZing at West Point, the gov
eminent printing office was able IN
80 hours. to print and deliver TO con-
gress the 2.000 page report of that IN
mands upon the government printing
office than any Of the other branches
Of the government Its annual print
Ing Dill amounts 10 more than $1,000
600. The congressional Record and the
printing Of hearings, committee re-
ports. and bills cover the major portion
Of this amount During a single year
the government printing office print
ed for congress more than 1000. 900
copies of octave publications. $1,000
copies of the Congressional Record ev-
cry DAY. some 500 copies each Of mora I
than $4,000 bills, and other things in
The next most liberal patron of the
government printing office is the pat
ent office The very large expense at
tached TO the issuance of the Patent
office Gazette is responsible for this Z
This publication is issued weekly. each Z
Issue containing the drawings and
specifications Of all patents issued dur !
Ing the preceding week. and also con-
tanning list Of trade marks granted. I
The department OF Agriculture ranks
third Its most important publication I
8 the annual Yearbook. of which 500
iNv copies are puD4lo4tQ- Eacn book
weighs about three pounds and the
.Otal edition would require more than
% freight cars TO transport it.
Nothing Too EXacting.
Nothing is too eNacting for the gov
.rument printing office to undertake.
'he war Of the rebellion records. pub
lshed in 12S volumes, and requiring q J
200 page index, perhaps for genera
ions viii remain the worlds greatest
in the printing line These (
ecOrds contain more than 100 900 pages
II printed matter and required in their ]
publication $4,000 reams of white pa E
er and more than 5000. 600, 600 ems OF I
ype The whole edition COMPRISES ! 7
bout 1900, 600 volumes. Not only large y
asks are undertaken. but eXactfng / ]
mes as we'll When congress wanted ,
D publish history of the capitol IL q
emauded that the completed volume Z =
hould he one Of the finest examples :
Z the printers art anywhere to be !
ound The resulting volume is 7
plendid example Of fine printing. 4
When congress offers to sell a publi- s.
alton. fl never counts in the cost of +
he manuscript. the cost Of composition. 2
T anything else except the cost of the / s
amer other mareria1s enrarf~e I l.