Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-05-31
v, S, WILL USE APPROXIMATE
" 100000 POUNDS OF
PRINT URING YEAR.
100000 POUNDS OF
THIS AMOUNT WASTED
Senate Committee Seeking to Secure
Complete Jurisdiction of Public
Printing in Effort to Stop Extrav-
agance - Humorous Inytanoes of
Waste by Various Departments.
IBy e. G. Dougherty.l

[By T.. G. Dougherty.l
Washington, May 31.---The federal
government will use approximately
Ito, 600 900 pounds of newsprint pa
per during the present year. accord
ing to the estimates of the joint COM
mittee on printing of congress, which
has charge Of the publication Of the
Congressional Record, department of
reports and othe. government pub
LEGATIONS.
These figures place Uncle Sam
among the largest users of print
paper. and provide reason why
efforts have been made by Senator
Kenyon and other members of the
upper house toward economy In pa
per by abolishins n number of what
is declared by them to be useless
publications"
The joint committee on printing
has recently opened bids on 100000
pounds of newsprint, which is the
committees estimate Of the amount
OF paper that viii be needed at the
government printing office during the
year ending March i, 1920.
The needs of the government print
ing office. however. amount to only
paper used by the federal govern
meht every year under present
methods. The various departments.
under the present administration.
contract for great quantities Of
printing by private printers, and also
use millions of pounds of paper an
nually for mlmeographing. state
ments and other documents.
Most Of the 100000 pounds Of
newsprint that II Is estimated gov
eminent departments win use in
dependently of tho printing that will
be done for the departments by the
government printing office will be
wasted, according to the charge of
Senator Reed Smoot. OF Utah. chair
man Of the Joint committee on print
ing. Senator Smoot urged that the
committee be given complete super
vision Of all government printing.
IF that were done, he said, most Of
the 65.000D00 pounds Of newsprint
that will be used by the departments
and bureaus for their outside print
Ing and mimeographing could be
turned over to help relieve the news
print shortage. Shoots suggestion.
however. was rejected by President
Wilson. who vetoed the bill giving
the joint committee on printing au-
thority to supervise the paper supply
Of the government.
Humorous Instances Of Waste.
Humorous instances Of the waste
Of newsprint paper are given in the
annual report of the joint committee
Among them are cited the publica-
ton Of scores Of newspapers at army
ports and hospitals. the mimeograph-
ing Of great quantities Of government
work that could be printed at the
government printing office at less
cost and with great saving Of paper
consumed, and the careless ordering
4 of enormous quantities Of reports
and other departmental publications
OF which only comparatively small
number are distributed.
One recent example of the printing
OF an enormous quantity of docu-
ment when only very small proper
ton Of the number were ever used
occurred In the printing Of the last
| annual report Of the department OF
agriculture. About 100000 copie.
of this report were ordered printed
whereas Secretary of Agriculture
Meredith was quoted AZ saying that
only 10000 was all that he could
honestly use.
During the war paper cost the fed
eral government s. 500 900 annually
After the armistice when the news
print shortage became acute, the
Joint committee on printing abolished
a large number of publications and
cut down the amount Of printing
under its Jurisdiction. No restraint
was put upon the Congressional
Record, however, but the publication
Of congressional documents and the
! reprinting OF tens OF thousands of
copies Of speeches of members OF
congress for distribution in their
home districts was materially re-
duced.
In Its annual report the COMMITTEES
calls attention to the fact that III
Of the 266 government journals,
magazines and periodicals which the
committees ascertained were being
| published by various branches of the
government were abolished during
the year at a saving nj $1,000 600
The report set forth Mat govern
ment departments maintained eighty
eight mimeographing plants to turn
out work that the committee refused
to authorize. The salaries Of the
forces needed to operate these plants
totaied $33.Ass annually, the COM
mittee reported but it said there was
no way to estimate the amount of
| paper used.