The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-01-26
UNCLE SANS PRINT
SHOP IS ENORMOUS
REPRESENTS A MONEY OUTLAY OF
REPRESENTS A MONEY OUTLAY OF
s1s,ooo,0oo AND GETS ss,oOo,O0O
ANNUALLY.
GREATEST IN WORLD
TURNS OUT QUANTITY OF WORK
IN SHORT TIME AND con-
GREssMEN ARE NEVER
DELAYED.
BY VICTOR ELLIOTT.


secretary of the treasury, the govern
ment printing Office has cost the
United States Government TO Gate
SIG .000. 600. This outlay simply rep
resents the construction of the I'M
mense building and its equipment
Approximately s6,ooo,ooO Is ap-
propriated every year Aor lts iiaAh-
tenance and operation.
Its work consists of printing ana
binding government publications and
suuplving congress with various pun
Hcations called for by members or the
House of Representatives ana tne
Senate. A thousand different I'M
portant books and pamphlets are pup
lished by the big printery, to say notn-
IT,, ~ the large number and variety
RI circulars. bills and other small JOBS
which go to make up its WORK every
day in the year. " H. .ho or1v,
one of its kind in the world, ana sa5a
10 be the finest. turns out an hiile@
of work for the Varlou$ sg these
fees as we'll as congress. neSJ
range from the daily Congressloi,ta l
- enorf1 Of the House and Senate 70 the
annual reports of the CABINET olhCtls
and many bulletins on various SUI
iects under investigation oy the ue-
partment of agriculture.
From the report Of Pubic lr1hLer
ronneIIv. II is shown that during the
mast wear, the printery set up more
than i 600. 900 pages of type ana
nrinted 1000, 900, 900 pages OF matter
II issued 100000 blanks, schedules,
cards, etc, and 100000 lettefheaos
and envelopes. Nearly a million and
a half publications were bouhu' ZIG
com position cost 81, 0oo.0eo.
IN the building, O seven story barn
like structure a block long and nan
a block wide are all the latest iaDor
saving devices known TO the pruning
and binding trade. Yet the govern
ment must appropriate each seas
about $4,000, 900 for salaries ana
snand in addition from s25o,00O TO
ssB0 00o n year for additional labor.
ii 600 zoe In spent annually for paper
and $4,000 a year for other mater
iais. Judging from the expenditures
for small necessities, an idea Is gotten
/ ~ the immensely of the government
niant as 000 is spent for soap, s23
for screw drivers $50 for pens, 5000
for lead pencils. $4,000 for machine
oil. and so ON down the list for the
year,
Although the expenditures are re
gardcd as large. congressman loon
,lnon the government printing once
as one Of their principal assets Ior. re ,
election. Senators as wen as mem per ,
IF the House of Representatives, nho
that IL PAYS TO advertise and they lose
no opportunity OF having all OF lheit
actions in congress spread extensively
in the Congressional Record. All
sorts OF literature printed at tH"1t re
quest that would in any sense ada 10
I their prestige at home under the
nnanfrI1r,3s consent rule OF both houses
4 If congress, is authorized TO be printed
at government expense. 1t IS dissent
mated through the mail to all con-
stituents at no cost to the legislator
Bulletins from the department or
agriculture that are printed at the
printing office by the hundreas 81
thousands are sent 10 constituents. SO
the government printing office Is con-
s{dere.i an absolute necessity TO- all
members of congress, although 1t cost
three times as much to maintain II as
any other governmental printing
abroad.
1 Going through the plant which Is
second to none In the world. accord-
! ing to experts. eighty linotype ma
4 chimes are placed in one room and ad-
tniuing II In another room are melt
/ Ing pots with a capacity of nfteen
tons of molten metal
( The press room contains eight ma
chimes. but unlike any other press
7 room there are no belts or pniieys IN
sight Each machine has direct feed
from an individual electric motor
! IhkS expensive IRSttiiAhhipAA "0N 1N's
s!..asae -aaceasar y-h9 reason ot~~fne
fact that the work of the plant must
! be kept up TO its highest efficiency
at All times No breakdown in the
machinery must occur, for If 1t does
and congressman cannot OBTAIN thelr
/ supply of bills and resolutions i'm
mediately, the public printer viii In
all probability lose MS Joo LOT IN
Z efficiency
I In the job printing department, the
/ highest state of efficiency Is seen. IL
I turns out in one day more work than
/ the job office in commercial lines
/ could turn out in a week. although
I il has been remarked on the floor or
| the house of representatives that
there were some pretty big job print
! ers in this country outside OF the gov
I eminent printing office.
/ The high state of efficiency that is
apparent In the Office Is demonstrated
! by actual facts A record for any Of
1 fee on special printing matter would
/ be one day. Vet the government print
I ing office nearly every day turns out
many documents Ia eight hours The
/ quickest work, ever ksar Ss;ffsss :. was
] the printing of the report or the naval
court of inquiry into the destruction
I of the Maine. President Mckinley
/ turned over the document to congress
one afternoon at about o'clock. 1t
was sent to the government printing
office at 6. The next morning at 10
O'Clock II was on the desk of every
representative and senator. 1t con-
tanned twenty -four full-page illustra-
tons. one Autograph in colors and
nearly 800 pages of printed matter.
This kind of work is constantly be-
ing presented to the public printer,
/ and ii is up to him to turn 1t out
as quickly as human and mechanical
! ingenuity is capable.
! The report closes with the remarks
that the public printer is of the opin-
ion that there is much useless expen-
diture of money in connection with
the distribution of public documents.
1 It is thought that IL the congressional,
as we'll as the executive, matter
/ could be gone over and "cut down
appropriations for the government
printing office could be pared one
half.
Regular Rebate.
| Corse Peyton, the Brooklyn actor
manager, was sitting in New York
e. 1yx..x xvr3T h 49,. "a