The Washington times., 1914-12-08
j. s. PRINTER ASKS
FOR NEW BUILDING
Urges 100000 Structure,
100000 for Machinery,
and Wage Increase.

Recommendations for a general in
crease in wages for printers and book
binders, and bookbinder machine OPP
orators at the Government Printing Of
fec, affecting thousands of workers; for
Inc erection of new building to cost
s-Goo00O on the site Of the old structure
at North Capitol and + streets, and for
The purchase of new machinery TO cost
Upward of S2.0O0,0OO. arc made by Public
Irinter Cornelius Ford. in his annual
report to Congress.
With respect to increased CoTnpenSa-
ton for the thousands OF printers and
bookbinders employed at the big Gov
'rnment shop, Public Printer Ford
S@Ns:
In view of the technical nature of
!lost of the work handled in this office
and the knowledge and skill required on
iHe part of the employees, / recommend
authority be given me to increase the
ay of printers and bookbinders from
q" cents to - cents per hour and book
Under machine operators from IS cents
10 50 cents per hour This would in
olive an Increase of about $50. 600 per
year
Old Machinery In Use.
With respect to new machinery. and
he necessity for a new building and
larger quarters the Public Printer de-
Ciares that one of the most important
problems to be dealt with is that of
equipment for the productive divisions.
The life of ordinary machinery is"
ne says. at most. twenty years. that
IS. after that time the cost of repairs
D Jus the d SadVantage of working with
obsolete machinery makes il advisable
10 discard old machines and install new
ones.
The cost of machinery now in the
Office { a Tttr-
siderable Of il has benin use twenty
ears, and IN some cases even thirty
years. A large amount of il is obso-
lcte and should be Immediately re-
placed by more modern equipment The
demands for work from this office are
simply enormous, and on a constant
increase, and more and improved equip
ment is imperauvely needed.
Some Of the principal items needed
are new monotype keyboards with go
en- scale and equipment for combina-
tons OF Roman and Elack-letter: new
linotype machines 10 replace some thai
have been running about sixteen hours
daily for eight or nine years and which
IRE no longer up-to-date; new presses
TO take places of some that have been
In Use twenty-five to thirty years and
are obsolete; new press to handle the
Congressional Record in a more salts
factory manner, and also one offset
press, such press being peculiarly
adapted TO some work: also additional
machinery for the bindery
New Demands To Be Met.
The increasing demand Tor electro
type ana stereotype work will require
additional machines: those most urgent
- needed for this purpose are q wax
stripping, refining, and casting ap-
Daratus with automatic temperature
control, an electrically heated metal /
pot for electrotype work, and an ad-
= nal nat ont 10
chine. |
This question OF equipment has been |
thoroughly Investigated BY the various I
foremen in direct charge OF the WORK.
and they unanimously concur IN my
opinion that in order to produce the
work N manner satisfactory to Con-
Gress and TO the executive departments
new equipment is badly needed.
TO serve the purposes Of economy
and safety, the four old boilers 1.-TWO of
which are sixteen years old and two are
seventeen years old now in use in the
boiler house should be at once replaced
oy new ones. The present condition of
TWO kinds of boilers requires the use Of
both bituminous and anthracite coal. at
an increased expense. It is recon- ;
mended that $1,000 be appropriated for
the purchase Of new boilers and other
necessary equipment in boiler house, in
Guiding modern mechanical coal and
ash handling system. If the plant is
nodernized by the purchase above sug-
=ested. it is estimated $1,000 can be
saved yearly. This is an urgent matter
and should receive consideration.
Need For Building.
Attention is again invited to the need
If new building TO replace old one
coated at II and North Capitol streets.
That building is used for storage, postal
card production. and mailing forces OF
Iperintendent OF documents, and a
arge number Of employees are engaged
therein.
The building has been condemned a
number Of times. is in need Of constant
nd expensive repairs, and by reason Of
Is almost entirely wooden interior con-
struction would offer but little resist
ence to fire, and in such event would be
serious menace to new building on
account Of its close proximity.
Walls are not strong enough 10
-tand the strain of heavy machinery !
nd il is thus impossible to extend pro- |
Guctive divisions into that building, no
matter how badly room is needed. For
'hese reasons. and also the fact that /:
increase I'm work will in q few years
make space in present new building IN .