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names stamped on the backs of the books, and these were returned to the Government Printing Office by those Members. They probably had no further use for the documents, and no doubt desired to make room on their library shelves for more valuable material.

Mr. JOHNSON. If there should be no extra session of Congress, would you be able to live within your appropriation?

Mr. DONNELLY. Not for this fiscal year. My expenditures for this fiscal year up to and including November 15 amounted to the same amount as my expenditures during the preceding fiscal year; that is, during the same period of the preceding fiscal year. My appropriation for this fiscal year is about $200,000 less than for the preceding fiscal year; and up to the 15th of November the output of the office was a little greater than for the same period in the preceding fiscal year, so that for the first six months of the fiscal year there is a deficiency apparent of $100,000, plus the amount expended for the wrapping and mailing of publications, which will raise the amount, say, about $12,000. Then my expenditures for this year have been increased to the amount of about $30,000 over last year on account of defaults on the part of certain contractors, who defaulted on orders placed during the last fiscal year. The defaults of the contractors resulted in the cancellation of the orders, and the effect of it was to compel me to make similar purchases in this fiscal year and turn back $30,000 of the appropriation for the last fiscal year. Unless the volume of the work greatly falls off, I will be compelled to ask for a deficiency appropriation in about the amount which you reduced the appropriation for this fiscal year. However, I do not want at this present time to give any definite figures as to what that shall be. Congress may not make much printing this session. The law requires the Public Printer to submit a statement of the equipment turned over and to furnish certain other information in regard to the distribution of publications. If you wish, I will look it up in the law.

Mr. JOHNSON. To whom is that statement to be made?

Mr. DONNELLY. I do not remember whether it is to be made to a committee or to Congress. It is a special report.

Mr. JOHNSON. I suggest that you examine the statute. It is probably required to be transmitted to the Speaker of the House.

How many of the departments, when they get a letter asking that a document be sent, send that letter over to you?

Mr. DONNELLY. Well, I do not think any of them send the letter over. They send over the addressed frank-label, with the number or title of the document on the back of it. There is a lack of system in that regard. I have suggested to the Department of Agriculture that they send out some instructions in this matter explaining to Members of Congress how the matter should be handled. As it stands now, a Member of Congress will write to the Public Printer and ask us to "Send so-and-so the following publications," I must transmit that to the Department of Agriculture, and they send me an addressed frank-label with the number or title of the publication written on the back. These come over to us in bundles, and we have an employee there to handle the orders.

Mr. JOHNSON. You say that when you receive a letter of that kind you send it to the Department of Agriculture. Would it not

be very much better for the Department of Agriculture to have one man detailed to your office, so that instead of sending the letters back to the department they could be turned over to that man for attention right then and there?

Mr. DONNELLY. That might work, but really some better system ought to be devised for handling these congressional distributions. Many Members will write a letter inclosing a letter from some person requesting the publication. Others will make out a frank and transmit the frank, and still others will address an envelope. There is a woeful lack of system in the matter. When letters go to the department, I suppose, as the usual thing,. they acknowledge receipt of the letters. It seems to me that it is unnecessary for a Congressman to write a letter requesting a document to which he is clearly entitled, and that the only thing necessary would be to send a frank-label with the title or number of the document indicated upon it. I see no reason why all that clerical work incident to the writing of letters for these documents should be performed. The Congressman is plainly entitled to the documents to his credit, and there is no question involved that anyone would be called upon to exercise any judgment about.

Mr. JOHNSON. If I should order Farmers' Bulletin No. 268 instead of writing a formal note, would you go to the trouble of answering? Is it only necessary that an addressed frank-label with the number of that document indicated on its back should be transmitted? Mr. DONNELLY. That is all that is necessary. We would like to see this system adopted of supplying Congressmen with the envelopes and having them send the envelope with the document desired marked on it. That, of course, would give the clerks more work, but the writing of letters is really unnecessary, and the plan you suggest leaves no clerical work to be performed anywhere.

NOVEMBER 26, 1912.

DEAR SIR: In accordance with your verbal request for a statement showing the number of publications turned over to this office under section 8 of the legislative bill and also the number of publications that are yet to be turned over, together with a statement showing the number of mailing lists and equipment delivered to this office under the same act, I beg to report as follows:

We have received up to date from the departments publications as enumerated below:

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The following have been received but not yet shelved, and therefore we are only able to approximate the number, which is as follows:

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As to the publications yet to be turned over to this office, I am only able to give the figures approximately, and I am therefore giving below the number of publications as far as I have been able to ascertain from the departments, as well as the number of sacks in which they are now being held awaiting available space to be made in this office, so that they may be taken over.

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The following represents the number of mailing lists turned over to this office by the different departments:

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The above does not include the mailing lists for the annual reports of the various departments, for the reason that they are sent out only once a year. It is our intention to have the labels typewritten.

I have received the following equipment: One No. 3 Belknap mailing machine, one No. 1 cutter for same, and one No. 3 cutter for same.

Very respectfully,

Hon. SAMUEL B. DONNELLY,

AUGUST DONATH, Superintendent of Documents.

Public Printer, Government Printing Office.

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Britt, J. J., statement of.

243

Buildings and grounds in and around Washington (see Public)

96

Bureau of Construction and Repair_.

137

Bureau of Education.

208

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Traveling expenses for attendance on meetings_.

Claxton, P. P., statement of_.

Commerce and Labor:

Admeasurement of vessels__.

29

25

19, 37

36

18

31

208

286

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Census Office. (See detailed index under this caption.)

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