The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-07-26
PRINTING FOR WAR
THE STATE JRNAL
INFORMATION BUREAU
BY Frederic j. Haskin, Director,
Washington, d. G.

menL PrlntlnS Office. 4ACiC "a
ployes here who, having successfully
weathered two wars, know just as
much about war as Sherman did, ana
they are certain that so far as print
ing goes there has never been war
like this one. At present they are
struggling with the contract or print
ing 100000 blank forms and affl-
davits in connection with the draft
A few days after the sinking OF the
Maine, which precipitated our last
war, a report concerning the disaster
was sent to the Government frlhlii1 u
office and ordered to be printed. II
contained 800 pages of text and re-
ouired twenty-four full page engrav-
ings Altho the rough draft OF inc
report was not received until o CLOCK
one afternoon, it was printed, bound
and engraved and on the desks Of
senators and representatives at
o'clock the next morning
The printing office was rather
proud of this record in 1898 Today
it is ashamed of it. why, we coulo
do ten times that amount of printing,
binding and engraving in twenty-four
hours nowadays" boosted one en-
ploye the other day. In fact, there
really amt no limit to -. hat we can
do" he added modestl--
Apparently, this is no exaggeration
There is practically no limit to the
activities of the United States print
ery today. In times of peace it is one
of the busiest departments or the gov
| ernment-a government winch is a
vigilant advocate of the American
! speech But the amount of work pro-
| duced in the government printing Of
| flee during the past two months has
established record never peiore
equalled in the history of the plant
With the declaration of war came
| hundreds of rush orders from the va
rious departments. Every bureau
| wanted it's bulletins first. Also, con-
| gress started on legislation which re-
! quired whole books of hearings and
| a formidable size. Then on the tenth
| of May, the first number of the Off
| cial Bulletin, published by the COM
| mittee on public information, was re-
! ceived. This bulletin makes eight
pages and S2,100 copies must be
printed each day and mailed out di-
rect from the printing office. So the
! office, in addition to all its other null
| hilarious duties, now gets out a daily
newspaper on the side.
The law requiring registration for
the draft called for immense quanti-
ties of job printing, always at a mo-
| ment's notice. The majority of this
printing had to be mailed from the
office. There were 25,000,000 regis
tration cards, for instance, and 49,
istration, while the other necessary
equipment, including blanks, vouch-
ers, kilograms and instructions, total
ed approximately 100000 pieces.
| The next rush order was for liberty
| bond posters. The government want
ed one million posters, printed in two
colors, within three days and as soon
as these were finished an additional
| order was placed for four million Boy
! Scout posters. The Boy Scouts
l
latter case, a number of boys coming
to the printing office and mailing the
posters.
From the war and navy depart
ments at this time came a perfect
deluge of reports which they insisted
must be printed Immediately. Most
of these took the form of regular
| bound volumes. The first order was
for ten thousand copies of the Hand
| Book for Enlisted Men; next, twenty
thousand copies of the Soldiers De-
post Book; then 100000 copies of the
Manual of Interior Guard Duty; 20,-
| 900 Provisional Drill and Service
Regulations; 100000 Manuals for
Court Martial; 100000 Small Arms
| Firing Manual; 26, 900 copies of Rules
Infantry Drill Regulations These are
only a few of them.
The department of agriculture has
placed some enormous orders since
war broke out. Over 100000 copies
of the 50-page book on the home vege-
table garden were printed and deliv-
cred to the departments division of
publications. Probably as many OF
the bulletins on home canning will be
printed before long, and the edition
of the booklet describing the process
for home vegetable drying will crowd
the million mark. All these booklets
are profusely illustrated and must be
turned out by presses suitable for
half-tone work. Such a volume as the
presidents draft regulations, contain
ing seventy-eight pages, is a much
| simpler contract. The printing office
turned out over 100000 copies of the
regulations without delaying any 9TH
er branch of its varied activities.
All this extra work required larger
force and additional equipment. The
paper cost alone rose to 100000 q
month, or 81, 200 day New presses
had to be installed, and $50 new en-
ployes were required. Formerly, the
army and navy had taken care of theil
own printing in a branch office locat.
ed in the state, war and navy building
but this branch was abolished tbree
months ago in order to make room
for the increased activities of the two
departments.
The regular work of the printing
office must be continued, of course
no matter how many rush order:
come in on the side. Every day i
must print the Congressional Record
daily consular reports and financia
statements issued by the United State:
treasury. The size of the Congress
sional Record varies in size, but no
owing to any consideration for thu
scarcity of white paper and of labol
in the printing office. Not only d.
our legislators say all they want t,
say on the floor OF the senate, blu
they often extend their reno rks il
? the Record for twenty or thirty pages
Any small book or bit of poetry, mu
sic or statistics that a member par
| ticularly fancies he may have printe,
in the Record for the edification o
his colleagues.
But then the printing office belong
to congress. When these Unite,
States first set up a national govern
ment no provision was made for pub
lie printing. When Washington hat
a message he wished to deliver t,
congress he wrote it laboriously b,