Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1918-01-04
Friday, IAN. 4. 1913.
THE UTAH STATE PRINTERY

IT HERE are lew OF the western States OF the
Union where less encouragement is given to
the newspaper fraternity than in Utah. News
papers and printers seem to be a favorite target
for the arrows of would-be lawmakers, and APP
parantly it has almost come to be a recognized
motto that anything that can be kept from the
newspapers is just that much clear gain. Pub
fishers who have had experience in any of the
surrounding states-Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, Cal
iforna and Arizona state without hesitation that
conditions in these states much more favorable
for the newspapers The residents of those states
seem to look upon newspapers as more of neces-
sty and less of an extravaganza than they do here
in Utah, and the laws consequently are framed to
require the publication of many matters that are
permitted to be posted on trees and buildings in
this state and they have laws regulating the price
to be charged for such publications, instead of
requiring comparative bids for nearly everything.
That is why in these other states town of five
ter town to publish newspaper in than one two
to three times the size in Utah.
At the last session of the State Legislature a
law was passed creating the Office of Public Print
er" at a considerable expense to the state whose
special province seems to be to take just as much
joy out of the lives of the printers who receive
state patronage as possible.
Up in Blackfoot, Idaho, there lives an editor by
the name of Byrd Trego. He is a man who is not
Salt Lake City, and naturally wanted to see the
State Capitol, and so stroed up there. What he
saw and what his thoughts were on the subject
of the State Printery were expressed in a subse-
quent issue of the Idaho Republican as follows
Much has been said by various reformers
about having state printer and cutting out graft
and certainly anything that will cut out grating
is desirable. The State of Utah has recently in
stalled state printer, and supplied him suite
of rooms in the capitol building. The editor
of The Idaho Republican recently visited the
building, and noticed on the official directory at
the main entrance emblazoned the words,
State Printer, third floor room 326. Press room,
328."
The editor was pleased and decided to
go up and study the furniture and equipment in
stalled by and progressive state in new
and magnificent marble building He espec-
tally interested in seeing what kind of presses
were in that press room, what kind Of foundations
they rested on, and if they had individual motors.
On arriving at the press Room it proved to
be an office room containing large table desk
or two, some chairs and some litter. The room
was in disorder, and looked like it might be the
office of press agent or somebody's campaign
manager. There was nobody in The next door,
labeled State Printer" opened into a similar
room, and door led from it into still another
room. man came out smoking cigarette He
looked presentable as the rooms, but they were
not in keeping with the rest of the building. A
couple OF mutgraphs were on the tables, and type
forms lay around in disorder. A multgraph is
about the cheapest and imsiest Of all printing de-
vices and, next to the Monograph, prints the
worst 1t bears about the same relation to real
printing that spit-gun does to rife
An eXprcssman entered with big budget of
printed matter from printing house IN Ogden,
and the printer man was asked to sign and pay ex-
press charges, but he sucked the cigarette and
said NAV, don't pay nuthin'. The state would
Mt repay me if did"
The budget was about to fall to pieces it was
50 badly packed. 1t consisted OF legal forms put
up in pasteboard boxes, and everything looked
ready to spill. The printer man wanted to sec
what the printed forms were, 50 he pulled one out