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!THE EVENING STAB. With Snada? Morning Mittoi. WASHINGTON. SUNDAY September 1, 1912 THEODORE W. NO YES Editor *"*? STtalas Star Cti|iT. ?uhm Office. 11th St. and r?nnsyTmnia Aeeaua. Kew York Office: Tribune CWc*|o Offlce: Flint VtOoul Buk ltlUtaf. fawm* Office: I Bafint St., Mn. Faglaad T?? Evening Star, with tue Snnday morula* aiftloB. ta drilTmd by carriers within th? city at M caats per mnath; dally only. 25 eeataper ?Math; Sunday only. 2u crati per month. Own* awy be sent by 'mall, or telephone Main SMO. Collection la made by carrier at the awl ot each ?oath. dBy Ban. pontage prepaid: ... way Included, one month. GO ceata. Dally, Sunday excepted, one month. 40 eenta. . Saturday Star. $1 year. Sunday Star. 92.40 year. Entered aa seeond-clss* mall matter at the poet ?On at Waahlngton. D. O. 171a order to avoid delay* en account of acraoaal ahaonee lettora to THZ STAB should not ho addressed to any Individual connected arltb the offlce: but simply ta THE STAB, ar ta the Editorial ar Buainoaa Department, aooordiag to toaor or purpose. Striking at an Important Work. The "Jokers" inserted !n the legislative Appropriation bill, cutting down the salaries of the men composing the so called economies commission now study ing administrative methods with a view to ?neater efficiency and less expense, and furthermore curtailing Its powers of in vestigation. are merely examples of the, obstructive spirit with which Congress has persistently during the past session acted toward this important work of rendering the government service busi nesslike. The President has sent several messages to Congress setting forth the findings of the commission as far as it has proceeded. Including recommendations looking to a very material saving of money ar.d Increase In effectiveness, but tliese reports have been treated with in difference. and save In one instance noth ing has been accomplished. One bill was passed providing for the consolidation at the government printing office of the mail ing of all documents sent forth by the various departments and bureaus of the government, entailing a very considerable reduction in time and cost of handling. Otherwise, the commission might have been writing its reports in Invisible ink and the President transmitting them to Congress in blank paper. It Is apparent to everybody who has to do with government affairs in Washing ton that there is a great amount of super fluous machinery, that much of the equip ment is obsolete and some of It a heavy handicap upon the effectiveness of the ad ministration. This is not the fault of those in charge of the work itself, but It is a reflection of the tendency of Congress to ignore the businesslike requirements of the government. It is with the great est difficulty that a practical reform is put through both houses. An Instance appeared in the last days of the session, when as a result of opposition In the Senate to the abolition of all the pension agencies outside of Washington, abso lutely superfluous offices, the enactment of the pension appropriation bill was de layed for many weeks and serious dis tress was occasioned among those depend ent upon this measure for their livelihood. The desire for patronage Is responsible for much of this, procrastination in the treatment of the government service as a business organization. It would be pos sible to go through the departments and i ut out scores of places and to save hun dreds of thousands of dollars annually, if the legislators were willing to have In dividuals sacrificed here and there and op portunities for the pleasing of partisan triends cut off permanently. The ob struction to such reforms comes not from the administration, but from the legis lature. it was the thought of those who tramed the provision for the economy and efficiency commission to work out a scheme of condensation and curtailment that would in no wise lessen the effective ness of the government's work, but, on the contrary, to increase it. The Presi dent's recommendations have been aimed at this point. Now comes Congress with provisions of law that strike at the very agency of reform created by itself and threaten to render it useless by making it virtually impossible to tind and keep in this vitally important work the men w ho are qualified to conduct this study and develop a system of changes that will give the government its best results. The Parcels Post System. It will doubtless take some time to work out satisfactorily the arrangements for carrying into effect the new parcels post law. but the public may rest as sured that the time thus occupied will be well spent in putting the system upon a practical working basis. The Post master General has already indicated his great satisfaction with the enact ment of this law and the opportunity it affords to increase the usefulness of the postal service to the people. He has named a committee of department offi cials to prepare the working details of the system, and it is to be expected that the public will shortly begin to obtain the full benefit of this oppor tunity to send packages over the country at a much cheaper rate than it has been subjected to heretofore- by the express < ompanies. The United States has been slow in this matter of postal development. Most Kuropean countries have perfected sys tems of this kind to the great advan tage of the people and without ad ditional cost to the governments, but In this country opposition by the corpo rations which enjoyed a virtual monopoly of the business served to prevent legis lation until the session Just closed, when. In response to a constantly growing public demand. Congress adopted a parcels post project as part of the annual post office appropriation bill. So now it will be pos sible to send articles through the mails tip to eleven pounds in weight at reasonable rates, which vary according to the distance. ..fter expenses have reached the billion dollar mark there is always a mad rush to "economize" bv saving small change. Only a few more months will elapse be fore a dissatisfied voice is lifted to de mand the recall of the electoral college. Reformers and Trusts. "What is jour opinion about this Arch bold-Penrose-RoOhevelt racket?" asked the young politician of the old. "Well, it is very clear that Archbold, for the Standard Oil Company, forked over a goodly sum of money upon solici tation, and that Roosevelt as candidate got the benefit of It." "Do you think Roosevelt was consulted ahout the request?" "He may not have been. Such matters ar* .seldom referred to the candidate. When campaign managers need coin they go after It on their own initiative and where they feel the most certain of find ing It." 'Cornelius Bliss was square, wasn't he?" "Absolutely so. No man ever more so." "As experienced In politics as Cortel you?" "Much more so. He was old enough to beet^ Cortelyou'a father, and was retarded as a presidential quantity when Cortelyou wu a stenographer In the Peet Office Department.** "And Biles knew Roosevelt?" "He must hare thought he did. Both New Yorkers." "And yet Roosevelt did not redeem Bliss' alleged assurance to Archbold?" "That sort of thing has happened be fore." "When?" "Do you remember the campaign of 1W2, and the racket that resulted from Mr. Cleveland's repudiation of the assur ances that had been made by some of his friends to the sugar trust for a cam paign subscription ?** "Only dimly." "Well, the sugar trust had, upon solici tation. put up for Mr. Cleveland, with a view of reaping advantage In the new su gar schedule which was a part of the democratic tariff program. When the tariff was taken up for revision two years later the trust presented its claims to consideration and Mr. Cleveland balked. He was reminded of the trust's subscrip tion when his party was In need, but he could not be moved. The row with Mr. Gorman followed, and the trust, through Mr. Gorman, Mr. Whitney* and others, triumphed. The new schedule was to its liking, and some believed was of its own drafting." "Gorman would not be made the goat?" "He most positively objected. He brought down on himself a good deal of abuse, but he showed up his democratic critics vigorously. So vigorously, he de cided to revise for the Congressional Rec ord the speech he had made in the Sen ate In reply to them. He suppressed some of the tartest things he had uttered while on his feet." "The sugar trust was the great bugaboo then?" "Yes. There's a fashion In political bugaboos. Every bugaboo has Its day." "Difficult and dangerous business man aging campaigns for reformers?" "Very. Have a care, my dear boy, of the candidate who Is better than his party, and particularly of the one who is better than all the rest of mankind." Mr. Wilson and the Speakership. The story is printed that Mr. Henry of Texas will oppose Mr. Clark for Speaker of the next House, and is expecting the support of President Wilson. At Bal timore Mr. Henry was a Wilson man. and his idea in the speakership matter seems to be that as a return favor Mr. Wilson should be a Henry man. There are three good reasons why Mr. Wilson, if he lands in the presidency, should not, and probably will not, meddle in the organization of the next House. (1) It would be highly Improper. It would be beyond the range of his duties. Propriety and precedent require a Presi dent to shinny on his own side. He hears of the organisation of the House through a committee of that body ap pointed to notify him. and not until then doeB his connection with the body begin. Some of Mr. Cannon's republican oppo nents In the SIxty-flrat House wanted Mr. Taft to throw his influence against Mr Cannon when the latter offered for the speakership again, but Mr. Taft wisely declined, on the ground that the matter was outside of his province. (2) Such interference by Mr. Wilson would be most ungracious as well as im proper. His victory over Mr. Clark at Baltimore was by a denial of the right of majority rule, and on that account ww the harder on the loser. Still, Mr. Clark accepted the result becomingly, and Is engaged in strenuous work on the stump in Mr. Wilson's behalf. Mr. Wil son's sympathies should be with Mr. Clark in the matter of a second term in the speakership. (3) Mr. Wilson as President will have his hands full of his own affairs at the time the next House organizes. An extra session of the new Congress is expected, and between those who will come to town in the interests of legislation, and those seeking office, Washington will be crowd ed for months; and Mr. Wilson will be kept busy with his legitimate duties. Not since Mr. Cleveland took the reins In March. 18S3, have such scenes been wit nessed here as will be presented If Mr. Wilson takes the reins in March of next year. F\jr sixteen years, to the month, the republicans will have been on the Inside enjoying the good things, and the democrats on the outside suffering hun ger and thirst for their party's sake. It is not at all likely, therefore, that Mr. Wilson will go hunting trouble In order to please Air. Henry or any other man who supported him and opposed Mr. Clark at Baltimore last June. Far like lier Is it that when the time comes Mr. Clark will have no opposition as a canr didate for a second term as Speaker, but will secure the second nomination as he did the first, by acclamation. ? > i The enormous corn crop might be utilized as a means of getting back at the Standard Oil people. If the moon shine method of manufacture oould be modified and developed so as to turn out pure gasoline. Allusions which appear in current litera ture develop the fact that numerous statesmen and editors who make no cspecial professions of piety are never theless close students of the Bible. The publication of a list of gambling places in New York should save the police a great deal of the trouble they have answering the questions of stran gers In the city. Senator La Follette shows how a really dextrous political athlete can perform marvelous feats without drop ping any of the votes out of bis vest pocket. Educators who think that the mod ern youth does not keep up with cur rent events should ask him some ques tions from the sporting page. Possibly England may yet be per suaded to refer the question of Panama canal tolls to the London board of trade and let it sleep. Central Amerlcca is referred to as "the neck" of this hemisphere. At present Nicaragua Is the boil on it. The Lawrence Dynamite Case. Proceedings at Boston looking to a dis closure of the persons responsible for dis tributing dynamite at Lawrence during the textile strike In that city last winter have resulted thus far in the arrest of a wealthy mill operator, who is accused of conspiring to throw discredit upon the worklngmen by this means. It is of the most vital importance that the truth in this case be laid bare. If W. M. Wood has been guilty of the offense charged against him he has committed a gigantic blunder, the consequences of which will be far-reaching. Not alone has he. In this event, endangered life, but he has thrown discredit upon capital and has armed its opponents in the Industrial warfare that Is now waging. It Is not difficult to imagine the attitude of the leaders of organized labor In this case, for they have heretofore been prone to charge the "planting" of dynamite by employers as a criminal enterprise to be attributed to their organizations and to overzealous members of the unions. If Wood has con spired as Is now charged he has made it difficult f<^ an/ capitalist or corporation. hiring wwiw In numbers to gain cred ence In future labor disturbance. Every dynamite outrage committed in tbe course of a strike will by many people be attributed to the employers rather than to the strikers and under the cloak of this suspicion shocking crimes msy be committed by misguided leaders of the worklngmen. Wood's accusation comes In explicit form and Is accompanied by evi dence that seems at this stage of the case to give It substantial support. At the same time It Is necessary to with hold judgment In order to be certain that this man has in truth offended so griev ously not merely against the laws of the state but against the highest Interests of his own business. If he is guilty he de serves the severest punishment tbe law. can administer. Facing the World. "William Burke, the Philadelphia coun cilman who, when blackmailed by a former prison associate, lost his nerve and fled* leaving behind a confession of his former misdeeds, has returned to "face the music" and try to live an honest life with everybody aware of tbe fact that he was once a professional thief and that he has served time for Ms crimes. A business man in Philadelphia has offered to set him up in a oigar stand and to aid him otherwise. It was wise for the man to make this new start. There is undoubtedly a disposition on the part of a good many people to believe the worst of a man who has been once caught by the law and punished, and they make tt hard for released prisoners to start anew. But there are many others Who look on the matter as does the good Samaritan who has now come forward with substantial tenders of help, and doubtless Burke will find the pros perity that is deserved by the man who leads an honest, sober, helpful existence and obeys the laws. He has no occasion now to fear exposure. He will have to fight his own sensitiveness and dread of doubt In the minds of other people. If he can master himself In this crisis he will pull through all right. It Is a severe test for a man to faoe the world after a sudden exposure of a past which he him self recognizes* as shameful, and It Is at the same time a test of the civilfzatlon of the community in which he endeavors to live. The Fish Wharf. There can be no question that sanitary conditions in "Washington will be im proved by the removal of the old sheds now used as a fish wharf and market on the riverside, as recommended by the board for the condemnation of insanitary buildings. Any one who has visited that place will recognize its undesirabllity with reference to local health. A fish wharf is of a nature to demand the most careful construction, permitting its thor ough cleansing. On the contrary, it ap pears to be the practice In most cities to relegate to this use old buildings that are given a minimum of repair, seemingly on the ground that it is a waste of money to keep such establishments in good or der. "Washington's fish wharf and mar ket should be so constructed that the premises can be scoured dally in the most thorough manner, preferably built of con crete and permitting its complete flush ing. Thus constructed and managed, the fish market need not be an Insanitary place. The board's recommendation may not be susceptible of immediate adop tion because of legdl complications In the way, but If by any measure the District can put itself in a position to carry the report into effect it should by all means do so and thus carry the standard of local sanitation higher. Some of the people who were Inclined to take Col. Roosevelt rather seriously as a lftlH possibility have now jumped away back to 1904. It Is hoped that the Archbold letters will not be the means of putting more work on the overburdened shoulders of Detective Burns. The responsibilities of "Vermont are greater than ever as the straw showing the direction of the political wind. Senator Penrose has decided to throw his cash book, ledger and all the rest of the five-foot shelf into the ring. Complete comprehension of the merits of a case is often rendered difficult by the fact that an accusation Is always more Interesting than an explanation. It cannot be said that Mayor Gaynor has been idle. Often, in a spirit of pray erful patriotism, he has asked himself what he was going to do about it. It must be a satisfaction to President Taft to note that in all the storm of In discriminate accusation he has at least escaped the charge of being a demagogue. SHOOTING STABS. BT PHIUANDKR JOHNSON. Preserves. "Of course, you believe in preserving the woods?" "Nope," replied Farmer Corntossel; they're puttin' enough things into pre serves without introducin' bark an' sawdust." Merely an Informant. Oh. do not blame the candid friend. Who speaks the truth and does not spare. It isn't the thermometer That makes the heat so hard to bear. Self-Sacrifice. "De man dat reaches foh de biggest of everything." said Philosopher Sam, "alius gets left." "AH right," replied Mr. Erastus Pink ley, "I'll take de worst of it. You kin hab dis small cucumber an' I'll take de big watermelon." Simplified Celebration. "I have given the people something to think about," remarked the energetic orator. "That is something." "Yes, and I have gone further to help them. I have told them exactly what to think." Righteous Wrath. "And did you contribute to that candi date's campaign fund?" "I did," replied Mr. Dustin Stax, "and he became very Indignant." "Why?" "Because the contribution wasn't larger." The General Impulse. The man out in the country Says he wants to live In town. The dweller In the city Views the sidewalks with a frown And says the life that's rural Is the life of joy profound. So they read the ads that tell them How to change their homes around. The man in the apartment Wants a dwelling house so neat; The man who has a dwelling Wants a furnished flat complete. And so we'll fondly hasten Our conditions to Improve, Whsn the autumn leaves are falling i And 4t's OT?cyl>odx'? movjt THE GOVERNHEST PUBLICATIONS Between the various branches of tue United States government and the coon try stands an in Medium of termedtary which ? . -works ceaselessly. Communication. It l9 ready at aii times, day and night, to send forth the words of the government to the multi tude, to give them proof of what Is be ing done at Washington or at other point where some federal office throbs like the pulse of a gigantic monster. That Intermediary Is the government printing office^ which every year sends out al most a billion documents, ranging from single-sheet announcements to thousand page books, all dealing with the govern ment and Its work. Commercially speaking, the govern ment printing office Is not a money-mak ing enterprise. It is. In fact, far from that. Each year Congress makes an appropriation for Its maintenance. In addition each department has so much appropriated each year for the print ing of public documents. That money eventually gets to the printing office, but is only enough in each case to defray the actual expenses of production. In other words, Uncle ?Sam gives each of the departments a credit slip for so much at the printing office. Its equivalent to be received In printing. * * Each branch of the government has more or less printed matter, from merely an annual re Fonr Thousand port up to the output of the department of JHlgagea. Agriculture. which annually sends out hundreds of thou sands of leaflets and books on a multi- | tude of subjects. And these are all printed at the government printing office, where approximately 4.000 peo ple constitute this well regulated ma chine. Aside from printing the Congressional Record, the bills, resolutions and other ? congressional material, the chief work of this office Is the production of de partment publications. This phase of the work Is. in fact, the one most ap parent, as It Is only in the wee sma hours of the morning that the Con gressional Record is printed. When material is received at the office from a department it Is first "jacketed." in order that its future progress may be noted. The nature of the work determines the next step. Two classes of typesetting machines are used, the linotype and the mono type. The former, applied almost en tirely to congressional work, is used in all cases where the matter Is what might be termed "straight" composi tion. The monotype is used for tabu lar work or other Intricate matter. Eightv-four linotype machines are In stalled at the printing office and 126 casting machines, that section of the monotvpe which produces the finished type. "The other part of this machine is called the keyboard and is similar to a typewriter, with the exception that, instead of writing the words by letters, perforations are employed. The perforated paper Is then fed Into the casting machine, where, in somewhat the same manner as a pianola works, the type Is made. One hundred and sixty of these machines are used. The average day's work on the linotj pe machines is about 1.000 pages of the usual government publication size. The nature of the work done on the mono type machines makes /the output vary. * * * In both the linotype and monotype ma chines hot metal Is wed in forming the type, and this is one of the Melting most important items used __ . | in the printing office. On Metal, seventh floor is a small room in which metal is meKed and re cast into the small cakes used in both machines. The capacity of the two melt ing pots la fifteen tons. Each day this room is kept busy melting and pasting, as an average of S.000 pounds of metal Is recast for the monotype machines and 14,000 pounds for the linotype. Some idea of the enormous amount of work done can be gained when it Is realized that in a single year 1,881.721.000 ems of type were set. The tspe set, proofs are then taken. When this point has been reached there is probably some delay in the progress of the work at the printing office, as the proofs have to be sent to the department from which the matter came, to be cor rected. Returned to the printing office, any necessary corrections are made in the type and the work proceeds. Proof is, however, also read at the printing office, a large force of proofreaders being kept constantly busy. The type set and corrected, the forms are then made up and sent to the found ry. where either stereotypes or electro types are made. Each month about 50, 000 square inches of stereotypes and elec trotypes are produced, while the material required to do this reaches 100,000 pounds. For instance, almost 1,500.000 pounds of metal are used in a year, while 3,000 pounds of wax are nwesra.ry during the same length of time in the electrotyplng process. Almost 1,500 reams of paper, each ream containing 350 sheets 19 by 24, are used in making the matrices. * * * The work of setting up type, making the matrixes or electrotypes is done on the seventh floor, while PreSS the presses are on the , first floor. The presses WOrK. used at the government! printing office number 13?>, and cover as wide a range as is possible, there being one small hand press and several presses which are hand fed, besides the large presses which turn out 30,000 sheets an hour, and on up to the gigantic monster press used exclusively In printing the Congressional Record. These presses consume about 100 tons of paper every day. as from forty to fifty tons are during each eight-hour shift. The presses represent the highest point >et reached by Invention. For instance, there Is one press which in a single hour prints 7 ooo documents of thirty-two pages each, folds and cuts them, and finally drives the staples through which Sold each together. Another press prints 50,000 cards an hour on both sides, and cuts them- The capacity of some presses is 000.000 pages an hour Following the actual printing of- a publication there are still several stages to be passed through before it comes out a finished document. In some instances the process is longer than in others, as some are to be merely paper-covered pamphlets, while others are to be leather bound books, perhaps of several hundred PThe3 first step after the printed "signa tures" come off the presses is to assemble them in their proper order. Each sig nature" represents eight pages. The clkines which do this v/orR look like miniature trolleys; a series of po1"* Dartments. each filed with a P*ifo? the newly printed signatures, along which runs a device which takes up one signature from each compartment and deposits it in a receptacle at the end REFLECTIONS ON POUT From the GreenTllle Xewa. Roosevelt says he is willing to teH al be knows. We don't object to that, but he always Insists on telling what he doesn't know. Prom the Birminpbam News. The colonel is a B. A. and an and the Penrose charges promise to give him the third degree. From the Knoxrllle Sentinel. Considering that the bull ?he Cortelyou letter on his travels, Wll SS. Loefc jr.. may not his while to rummage In the letter nies left at Oyster Bay. From the Philadelphia Preaa. Now. of course, nobody would lie about a little thing like a campaign contribu tion. From the Baltimore Sun. The liarblrds at Sagamore Hill are still making a lot of bull moo^ic. From the St. Loui* roat-Dispatoh. No man is a hero to his valet, but T. R. I ll? & great hero to Jjia former private I ?the assembled book. The capacity of these machines 1? seventy-six books a minute. . , If the books are thick they are taken to machines and run through, signature by signature, and stitched together, and sometimes even strips of cloth are added to the stitching. A girl at the back of the machine stands ready to cut e*cn book apart as it comes out. After this the books are taken to a trimming ma chine. The more modern of these ma chines are ciroular. having four points of operation. Fed on one side, the machine gives a quarter turn, the knives descend, and as the top and bottom of one book are trimmed the side* of another are trimmed simultaneously. Prom 8.000 to 10,000 books are sewed onva single ma chine a day. while the capacity of the trimming machines is about the same. The book is now ready for the bindery. The first step In binding a book Is plac ing it in a machine which gives it curved sides. Prom here it usually goes to a machine known as the heading, binding and lining machine. At this machine the small bit of cloth found at the top and bottom on the back of book is ap plied and the back otherwise made ready for the final stage-the placing of the cloth or leather cover on It. A single machine makes the cloth cov ers for books, cardboard, cloth and glue entering In their ordinary atatt^aod is suing a completed cover, with rounded back, well turned covers and all. Another machine placeB these covers on the books, and they are then ready to go to the lettering1 machine?. Gold leaf and platinum are used In lettering books, and the greatest care possible ?s taken in order not to waste any of the precious metal. The wide range of the books and pamphlets produced at the printing office makes the method of their production equally as varied. Consequently while the foregoing is the process by which books are produced, still other processes are used, each necessary to produce some class of work. In the case of paper-bound books they are sent to the finishing machine directly after they have been assembled and stitched or stapled together This ma chine picks up a book and a cover at the same time, applies paste to the back of the book, slides the cover Into place and then presses the back down firmly and the sides into position. Several thousand books are thus finished every hour. * * * Still other publications must have their sides marbled- This process occurs Just after the assembled signa Marbling tures hav~ been trimmed. In such books the sides are marbled, as well as the In side page of the front and back. These Inside pages, however, are purchased ready for use and have simply to be in serted tn the book when It is bound. The work before the "marbler" is to match the inside sheet. For this purpose a large, shallow trough is used which con tains a gumlike substance On the top of this is sprinkled water-color paint, red, blue and yellow being the colors used. Then, by the use of a set of comblike ar rangements, the colors are brought to gether In a design similar to that of the sheet just inside the cover. The book Is then held tightly and dipped into the paint. The gum holds the paint up, while in pressing the book down the colors are forced upon the hook. The marbled books are then set aside to dry. The designs possible in marbling are limitless, al though comparatively few are standard. Aside from printing department publi cations, blank books and blank forms are also printed by the hundred thousand. In printing these the numbers have to be put on by a separate machine, while another adds the ruling. Only by figures can the real magnitude of the work of this office be fully grasp ed. For instance, during 1911 12,419,416 square inches of work were produced In the foundry, while the number of forms sent to press was 171,410. There were 91,533,833 signatures gathered by ma chine: and 7tS.496.21G signatures were folded; 23.409,410 copies were wlre-stitch ed; 25.206,607 sheets of paper were ruled: 83.075,988 signatures were stitched; 1.900, 421 tablets were made: 19,265,490 cards and sheets were punched and drilled, and 2,014,514 cas<eB were made. * * * As to the production of bonks, etc., the figures are even greater in some in stances. There were 56,393, Statjonery 550 letterheads, noteheads , , and envelopes printed In Product. 1911. while the number of these articles embossed reached 10,364, 554; 804,107,525 blanks, notices, sched ules and cards were printed; 10,121 blank books with patent backs, and 105,809 without the patent backs. Of the publi cations, there were 6,674,579 of these smaller than octavo, while of the octavo publications there were 44,764.501: ^*>1, 115 of the royal octavo, and 3,679,156 quarto publications. The miscellaneous publications amounted to 1,748,367. Another Insight into the real magni tude of the office can be obtained from a glance at an itemized account of the various Important things used in the production of department work. The paper used each year costs about $287,000, while the amount reaches thousands of tons. The leather represents about $20,000, with the gold leaf costing a sim ilar amount and the cloth used In binding about $18,000. Then there is the item of glue and paste. This is of such im portance that a room with special ma chinery Is set aside for Its preparation. The number of barrels of flour used in a year is about 175, while 50,000 pounds of animal glue are necessary. Each time a batch of paste is made an entire barrel of flour Is tised, which, when finished makes five large buckets of paste, weigh ing 196 pounds. Eighty pounds of glue are made up each time. As for the other items; 100,000 pounds of pigiron; 10,000 pounds of tin and the same amount of tinfoil, 25.000 pounds of copper battery plates, 15,000 pounds of cast iron filines, 25,000 skins for leathtr bandings. 3,000 rolls of book cloth, each roll containing thirty-eight yards; 800,000 pounds of binders 'board and 150,000 pounds of straw board, 80,000 yards of buckram, and 125,000 yards of cotton. The amount of gold leaf used Is about 1,800 packs. There are twenty books to a pack, and twenty-five sheets to a book, each sheet being three and three-eighths Inches square. The gold leaf Is atao used in rolls, of which there are 6,000 used annually. Each roll is from rii to seven feet long, and varies in width from one-fourth to two and one-half inches. The list of Items might be stretched out almost Indefinitely, inasmuch as there are some 10,000 in all, each neces sary to some process in the production of books and publications, %pd each of which must be kept track of in order that the supply may not run out. Be sides that nearly 4.000 employes, a pay roll amounting to more than $4,400,000, or about $14,000 a day; hundreds of ma chines to be kept in running order, and last but by no means least, copy coming in incessantly, all of which must be turn ed into neatly printed, correctly bound books?that Is what 'he government printing office stands for, and what is being done there all the time by the glare of sunlight and under the rays of artificial light. 1CAL-PREVARICATION. secretaries. A few more Loebs and Cortelyous might clear him. From the Duluth Herald. Col Roosevelt ate sixteen hard-boiled eggs for breakfast this morning and drank nine cups of coffeyoulle!?Ah ha, that's the time we beat him to it. Prom the Brooklyn Eagle. Tar pftch and turpentine as Standard Otl^byproducts will be applied thick and hot and rubbed Into old sores from now until election day. Later on feathers will be mixed Tn and several varieties of rare birds will be added to our fauna. From the Chattanooga Times. The colonel admits that he may have said he was writing the Standard Oil let ter "for the record." Whether he said it or not, that was what he did., From the Cumberland Times. Having designated as liars all those whose opinions fail to ajfree with his, the third termer now stands in grave danger of exposure as the Dr. Ooofc ot American politics. I FIFTY TEARS AGO IH THE STAR During th? cWl war the problem of what to do wfth the people held In slav ery, who were eventually Colonization to be emancipated, was ? . . seriously studied by a *T0J6Ct? / number of public men, who recognized In the wholesale libera tion of the slaves a possible cause of dis turbance. In The Star o^ August 26. 1862, Is an article telling of a plan for the emi gration of colored persons to Central America. It states that at the request of President Lincoln Senator S. C. Pomeroy had consented to organise emigration parties of free colored persons for set tlement In Central America. He had been active previously In organizing emigrant expeditions for the settlement of Kansas and Colorado, and was therefore familiar wKh this work. It was proposed to send the emigrants oat In steamships, and pro vide them with all necessary implements of labor, and also with subsistence until they could gather a harvest. Senator Pomeroy prepared an address to the free colored people of the United States, which received the sanction of the President, and calling attention to an act of Congress designed to facilitate emigration. He an nounced that he proposed on the first of the following October to take with him 100 colored men and their families, the whole party to number about BOO, and to settle this colony at Chirlqul, In New Granada. Those who desired to Join this expedition were requested to send their names and addresses and the numbers of their respective families. It was announced that no white person would be allowed as a member of the colony. Mechanics and laborers were especially Invited to join. Senator Pomeroy closed his address thus: "The Interests of a generation, it may be, of mankind, are involved In the suc cess of this experiment And with the approbation of the American people, and under the blessing of Almighty God, it cannot?it shall not fall." * a * Seventh street road, long afterward known as Brlghtwood avenue and now as Georgia avenue, was Seventh Street during the war the 1% * most Important artery ?BOW* leading Into Washing ton from the country to the north. It was of material use to the government in the handling of troops in this neigh borhood. That it was not In as good condition as its value as a thoroughfare warranted Is Indicated by the following paragraph In The Star of August ifts 1862: "The corporation of Washington, at an expense of about $3,000, has Improved 7th street and put It in excellent con dition. to connect with the road in the country. Mayor Wallach and the mem bers of the councils, who took great interest in the Improvement and hasten ed its completion, were led to expect an immediate improvement of the road cor responding with that of the street. In deed, it was promised, but the road im provement has not been commenced and the persons who use the road and pay the high tolls for keeping it in repair complain Justly of Its present condition. Was It Intended by the company that the road should be repaired? In other words, was the promise to repair made in good faith or was it only made to induce the corporation to expend money for the benefit of the road corporation? The road ought to be put In good order im mediately, In Justice to the city." * * a That a clean-up committee was urgent ly needed in Washington fifty years ago Is Indicated by the fol Pig Stye lowing news item In The ?m. . Star of August 28, 1862, .NUlS&nce which discloses a state of affairs that now would cause a tremen dous outcry of indignation: "Yesterday morning Officer J. C. Cook arrested Margaret Pearce and Margaret Holland, who are neighbors, on the charge of creating a nuisance by keep ing hogs. The officer found that the yards attached to the houses were each about six by four feet and that nine hogs were kept in one and six in the other. The parties were taken before Justice Clayton, who fined each $1.58." * * * The following paragraph, printed in The Star of August 29, 1862, Is an il lustration of the fact that Soldier's a high standard of lion esty was maintained in money, war times between mem bers of the military service: "At the battle near Savage station, on the 30th of June last, Private Wil liam Hall of the 62d Regiment of New York Volunteers, who was wounded and was then lying on the field, handed to Capt. William Heine, Topographical Engineers, volunteer service, $25 for safe keeping. Capt. Heine was a short time afterward captured by tne 1st Virginia Cavalry and was subsequently exchanged, but has managed to keep safe Private Hall's money. If any offi cer of the 63d or other parties know Hall's whereabouts th-sy will please address Capt. Heine at Fortress Mon ?oe. In the event of Hall's not being found, it is proposed to put the money in the bounty fund of the 63d." m * *' During the early part of the civil war it was the habit of a good many officers to run to Wash Visits Here ington on slight provo , cation and with slender Stopped. excuse for the purpose of exercising influence to obtain pro motion or transfer. This practice came to be such a nuisance that finally the following orders were issued from the adjutant general's office under date of August 21, 1862, and reproduced in The Star of August 29: "No officer of the regular army or of volunteers will hereafter visit the city of Washington without special permis sion. Leaves of absence will not be considered aa including the city of Washington, unless so stated, and leaves for that purpose can only be Klven by the authority of the War De partment, through the adjutant gej^" eraL Officers on leawe of absence will not leave the limits of their military department without special permis sion." m * * The session of Congress which closed last Monday resulted In the ap propriation for all purposes of 11,019,636,143.66. It is Appropriation interesting to note rr that according to a Totals, summary printed In The Star of August 30, 1862, the total appropriations made during the imme diately preceding session were $894, 904.972.34. Of this sum $238,548,438.77 had been appropriated for the support of the army for 1862 and $542,346, 346 55 for 1862 and 1863. The aPPr?~ priations for the support of the navy in 1862 were $30,486,294. and for the same purpose for 1862-6v> were $42,741, 338.42. THE LAST STRAW. The motor balked, m ? ?otwiH, And we ?topped S?r ?ood still, aarsrStZn ? ?? * ?? And a'heart that was full of wrath. He coaxed and cussed and he fumed and fussed. Of the motorists passing Dy. It wasn't the dust that made Die sore Or the trouble that we werein. But the motorists passed us by the score And eiorj of a Unker wot? A. bread and delightful grin ?Milwaukee ^jptineL FRANCO-RUSSIAN CONVENTION. The storm clouds that have hnvwrfl1 over Constantinople for some time have drifted northwest and now Menacing threaten to burst over Vlen _. na. The announcement of a Vienna. pyanco-Rusgian naval con vention, followed by the visit of M. Ray mond Poineare, the FYench premier, to St. Petersburg are events that have con tributed largely to the fall In the political barometers as Indicated In the German and Austro-Hune:arlan press. The attitude of the German press by Its persistent affirmation that the Franco Russian alliance was not a bona tide and effective alliance has had much to do with provoking the visit to St. Peters burg. It was necessary to reassure Eu ropean public opinion as well as public opinion In France. M. Poineare has ac complished the visit and, following the meeting of the czar and the kaiser at Port Baltic, It la both a manifestation and a lesson. It appears that the visit of the French premier was decided upon when M Ko kovtzof, premier of Russia, caused M. Isvolskl to say to M. Poineare: "If the political situation should keep you In France M. Kokovtzof will go to Paris." It was apparent to the Russian minister for the good of Europe as well as their own good that the Franco-Russian al liance should be made practical and posi tively effective. The manifestation has provoked a veritable howl of discontent and even anger in Germany and Austria Hungary. The Neue Frele Presse of Vienna echoes the sentiment of the Austrian press, and if, as it appears, this journal has been of ficially Inspired, It Is Important. If tho Franco-Russian convention ap plies to the Mediterranean, says the Presse, It signifies that France has aban doned her policy touching the Dar danelles. In effect the Russian fleet can be of no use to France If the present treaties relating to the Dardanelles re main In vigor. But If the powers of the triple alliance have chanced their point of view as to the straits they must rd dress themselves to the signatories of the treaty of Berlin In order to modify the status quo. "The powers, and particularly Austria Hungary," writes the Presse. "will have a word to say on a question which touches In the highest degree, not only Turkey, but the whole Balkanlc penin sula. Austria-Hungary will find herself obliged to decide whether or not she will not demand her entire freedom of action." m * * It may be recalled just here as a memorandum that, following Austria's violation of the treaty of Pact Of Berlin In the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, 191U. Russia swallowed that bitter pill with all the philosophy possi ble, but contracted a peace agreement with Austria. This was In the spring of 1910. The agreement could not be said to be a formal peace pact, but was more In the nature of a modus vlvendi. Many things have occurred since Russia first lft?* been making Blant strides In the perfection of her military and naval resources with the view of re suming the situation lost in thenorth Pacific and in Manchuria. In TO czar met the King of Italy at Racconlgl. There was rapprochement between Italy and Russia and between Jtaly a"d France and later the isli war and the Italian occupation the Tripolitan. No one doubts that Rus sia Is preparing the way toward the pa cific opening of the Straits of the Dar danelles to her Black sea fleet, and the consequent Junction of that fl^t with those of France and Italy in the ranean. The signing of the naVA* vention Is an act of Impor tance. Russia proposes to reconstitute an active fleet In the Baltic. What with Bosnia-Herzegovina on her | conscience. Austria may hesitate a lor.,, time before submitting her grievancesi to the signatories of the treaty of Berlin, because of the proposed formation 1n the MX?r"manyea?ermany complain of tbla changed situation logically. Hie lecent augmentation of the German army Is a distinct warning to the interested powers that they must meet that augmentation by all the means in their power. France | ind Russia have found it best to offset Germany's augmentation by the na\al COThenTaegliselie Rundschau is panger manist and writes: "After the interview at Potsdam it was officially declared that Russia and Germany would never par ticipate in a convention directed against one or the other. All of that is officially false. "Now thev were told that the new Franco-Russian convention was eminent ly defensive." According to the Journal it was the contrary that was true. It was not a Franco-Russian convention, out an Anglo-Franco-Russian convention, in spired by the spirit of King Edward \ II. * * * The Temps on the subject of the visit of the French premier says: "It was necessary to Improve Franco-Russian the solid instruments _ . j which the two coun Forces Joined, tries possessed to serve objects that have not varied." Of course, that means in simple language the crea tion of a powerful force on land, on the sea and in the air to insure the supremacy of France and Russia and, It may be add ed, likewise England and Italy. Italy has come into the entente, which has borne in turn the title of the "duplice, triple entente." but which may now be termed the "quadruplice." . The conclusion of the naval treaty be tween France and Russia is not a new' treaty, but simply the renewal of a treaty that dates from 1892 The Franco-Russian alliance dates from June '?>. 1891. and a military con vention was signed a year ?ater. The military convention of 1892 stipulated an annual exchange of views and an actual contact between the general staffs of tne respective armies. These meetings were strictly kept, but, singular to relate, nothing was done to include the naval forces Nor was the case so singular as It ap pears. The Russian navy, it is recalled, had met with a great d'^er at Tshu shlma and for a fact the Russian navy had ceased to exist. But twenty years have created wonders, and Russia has a powerful army and would create a Erea naval force, and the naval convention emphasizes the fact Admiral Prince de Lleven. chief of the general maritime staff, in a public dec laration recently defined Russia s ob ject* "If we would have a preponder ant voice In International questions we should prepare to support It by a strong army and by a strong fleet In the Bal tic. The program In the way of execu tion was Inspired by that Idea. It carried four dreadnoughts, which were launched in 1911, four other ships of a larger tjpe (30 000 tons. 9 cannon. 14-lnch and 2t> i knots speed), four cruisers eighteen sea going torpedo boats and twelve subma rlThe Zeit of Vienna contains an editorial ADJOURNMENT OF CONGRESS. From the Concord Monitor. ! Congress adjourns. Now for fence build ing extraordinary. From the Albany Evening Journal. Aren't you sorry that the Congress has adjourned? Neither is anybody else. 1 From the Providence Bulletin. The fact that the Speaker of the House had pounded a hole in the table with his j gavel will be accepted as an excuse for congressional adjournment. From the Jacksonville Times-Union. The billion-dollar Congress has had a I talk-fest not worth the money?yet. From the Des Moines Capital. Congress having adjourned, the people will remember the incident as one of the thir^gs to be thankful for along about the last Thursday in November. j From the Omaha Bee. Well, we will try to get along a little < while without Congress. From the Atlanta Conatltution. 1 With Congress adjourned. La Follette will have more time to plant keep-off-the- ] grass signs in tho path of the bull moose. j 1 article entitled "A New A'gectm*** PrtnorvniiMliui ronvwtlon, it beltawaa. U intended ax a response to Potsdam attrt Port Baltic. Wlien the tralrrrr and the czar mert a few wanke ag*? thor?? ??j much dt^nonterjt manSfest ed In France. a positive result was awaited In Berlin as the outcome of the Interview at Tort Baltic. Thera waa nothing but ceremonies and Courtneies At Paris, however, a new policy was be gun against tha trlpllce. France wfll furnish tlie necessary funds for the Ru? flan fleet and will superintend Its reor ganization "Then when the great shook comes in the north the German float, which until now thought only of Eng land, will have three adversaries on the sea, Fn?rlanfl. France and Russia." And the Zelt adds the following reflec tion. which is reproduced because ea traordlnarlly fantastic: "The first results of the Franco-Rul sian convention will he after the Italn Turk peace action against Austria-Hun gary. Russia will obtain the liberty of the Dardanelles. If Austria should seek compensation In Albania. Russia. Itah and Franco will oppose Thus the Fran co-Russian convention Is a Balkanlc con vention. "France. Italy. Russia and England ara on one side, Austria-Hungary and Ger many on the other side, while, according to the Zelt, Turkey Is on the operating table." | This sad situation tha Zelt calla **A New Algeciras " This tlma !t Is not Oer many that requests Austria-Hungary to be her second, but it Is Austria-Hungmn that requests Germany to serve her. And thus, according to the Zelt. It Is under stood why Count Berchtold has not quit ted his ministry this summer?that Is. not than an hour by automobils ?vnat the Zeit writes Is generally In di rect opposition to the Mews of tha Aus trian ministry of foreign affairs. Never theless the Zelt may not be entirely out ?? ^r5. ,h,s t,m? w<tf? the opinions oT the Ballplatz. The news of the Franco-Russian naval convention In England, as might be e* pected, has received hearty welcome. Th? Daily Telegraph declares that It ralnis the fears due to Germany's efforts to un tie the bonds of the double alliance A secret ajrreement was concluded at Pots dam modifying the attitude of Germanv fow'arf1 th? Yo"?* Turks: thev recalled their ambassadors from Constan fill0?*congratulated, u 5 Indicated that Rdssla had renounced , called "her adventures In ths far Pa Sl> * * * The Telegraph adds that so long ss Russia was Immobilized by her Interior affairs no naval conven tondltions tlon was possible between Improved tl1" ,wo rmin,rl?' The signing of the n?*w con vention. the creation of a new fle^t |n the Baltic, are indications that times am changed. In Germany the impression made by the Franco-Russian convention Is distinctly disagreeable. The Berliner Tageblatt la ments that while Baron von Bethman Hollweg had long Interviews with Rus sian statesmen at Port Baltic, nothing came of them except that w>n Klderlei, Wachter pronounced them a "start ling success." A month later the news ws* received of the Franco-Russian conven tion with a view to a common action un the sea and against Germany: The Gazette de Voss. liberal, expresses the fear that the new Russian fle<?t will hold In check a great part of the Germsn fleet assigned to the protection of the eastern coast and prevent it from attack ing the English. The Post, pangermanlst. Is inconsolable and considers the convention a reply and a check to Germany because of tha visit to Port Baltic. The Gazette de la Crolc is disposed t?? philosophize. What had happened was natural. A military entente should In completed by a naval accord. No fault could be found with that. Besides, ttm i case was not so bad as represented. In [ the first place the Baltic fleet did not exist, but must be constructed. It was true the rumors of an Anglo-Ruasian a< - oord wore very disquieting. The Italian press greets the news of th* Franco-Russian naval convention wftli quiet restraint. It expresses the opinion that Italian Interests cannot but gain by the entry of the Russian fleet In th? Mediterranean, where It woflld be a new | element of equilibrium in the Mediter ranean, and. in the Balkanlc peninsula. Italy could count upon the friendly sen timents of Russia. a * * The Gazette de Koenigsburg remarks that it Is very curious that every mani festation of friendship Eemarkablc between Germany and Coincidence. lRu!^ial ls a,ways fo" lowed by a convention of the latter with another power. After Swinnemunde in 1907 It was the Anglo Russian agreement which closed the door of Persia In Germany's face; toda>, after Port Baltic it is tho Franco-Russia11 convention. The Gazette is of the opinion that Germany is reaping the fruits of th?? politics followed by Caprivi. who refused, as it is well known, a treaty of mutual friendship with Russia. For Germany the word of order, more than ever, was the same: "Place her ar mament as high as possible without oc cupying herself about other powers." The Reiclispost of Vienna indulges in re flections upon the Franco-Russian naval convention. It being understood that a. Russian fleet does not yet exist in the Baltic, a Franco-Russian convention is based upon the existence of the Black sea fleet and its eventual action In the east ern Mediterranean. If Russia succeeds during or after the Italo-Turkish war in obtaining the opening of the Dardanelles for her ships, the immediate consequence of that result would be the creation of a naval base in the Aegean sea and proba bly France and even Italy would adopt a like mcasuro. The co-operation of France. Russia and Italy in a sea where the latter by the oc cupation of the islands has prepared the way to future developments may lead to an entente of incalculable value. The Times of Ixtndon writes that in the actual state of International relations the best guarantee of peace is the close cohe sion between the members of each group That does not exclude the existence or the development of good relations?even cordial relations?between individual mem bers of different group*. The "firm and simple friendship" which Germany and Russia declared recently they wished to maintain toward each other was proof of that declaration. It was only when tiles* agreements furnished the occasion for in trigues against a gToup, or against the principle upon which the grouping wan formed, that these partial ententes might become dangerous, for then they tended to break up the entire system. So long as they do not lend themselves to such change they may lead up to and com plete larger combinations. The Daily Graphic is more precise and declares that M. Polncare's visit shows to the I-rench public the unbreakable char acter of the Franco-Russian alliance. The Graphic expresses regret, however, that M. Poincare in going to St. Petersburg did not pass by Berlin. CH. CHAILLB-LONG. THE NEW YORK FUGITIVES Prom the Syracuse Post Standard. All up-to-date barbers should know how to trim a patron's face so that It will look as little as possible like that of G> o the Blood. Krotn the Baltimore Kveaing Sun. "Gyp the Blood" and "Lefty Louie" must be twins several times over. From the Newark Star. Mr. Lefty Louie and Mr. Gyp the Blood certainly take a lot of taking. JYom the Syracuse Herald. It is a sad commentary on the human race that so many young men are being found who look like somebody's precon ceived notions of "Lefty Louie" and "Gyb the Blood." F>om the Birmingham Age-Herald. "Lefty Louie" and "Gyp the Blood" ara almost as sly and shy as the assassins of Hillsville. Va. Krom the New Tork Sun. At least the police can boast that thev had no share in the arrest of the suspect who turned out sot to bo Gyp