BIENNIAL REPORT

OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF STATE PRINTING,

CARSON CITY, NEVADA, December 31, 1912.

To His Excellency, TASKER L. ODDIE, Governor of Nevada.

SIR: In obedience to law, the report of the transactions of the State Printing Office of Nevada for the two years ending on the above date, together with a detailed statement of the work performed during the same period, are herewith submitted:

INCREASING WORK

The State Printing Office, during the last two years, has turned out more work than ever before in the history of the office for the same length of time. It was necessary during the first four months of 1911 to place two shifts of men upon the work. It had been the custom in the past to bring back the regular day force to work evenings when necessary. For this work the office was compelled to pay time and one-half. The legislative work of 1911 was greatly increased by the Code Commission revising all the laws of the State, and a good many of the biennial reports being larger than ever before. By placing two shifts of men on the work we not only kept up to the legislative printing, but succeeded in placing before the members of the Twenty-fifth Session each and every state officer's report, elective and appointive, as well as the reports of all state institutions and commissions, before adjournment.

There were several offices and commissions created during the session of 1911 which added materially to the work of the office, notably the State Board of Health, Public Service Commission, Bureau of Industry, Agriculture and Irrigation, as well as an almost complete change in the laws concerning banks and banking. Each and every new commission or office includes in its laws a clause requiring all necessary printing to be done at the State Printing Office, which makes it apparent that the work is constantly increasing.

CHANGE OF FISCAL YEAR

The proposition passed at the 1909 session to make the fiscal year commence on the first day of September, although it did not meet with the approval of the session of 1911, was a good one. It has been stated a good many times since by the various members of the 1911 session that the proposition, being a constitutional amendment, was not well enough understood at the time of voting, and there has been a great deal said recently of the 1913 session again taking up the matter. It would give all state officers an opportunity to present their reports to the Governor for his inspection long before the Legislature met, and would also permit the State Printing Office to print all these reports and have them ready for the Legislature when it convenes. The whole printing plant would then be at the service of the Legislature during the session.

NEW EQUIPMENT

The Legislature of 1911 made an appropriation of $2,000 for new material and repairs. Of this amount three-fourths was expended for new type, which was placed in the office just previous to the printing of the Revised Laws. An itemized statement of the rest of the expenditures of this appropriation can be found elsewhere in this report. At the present time the office is well equipped and up-to-date in every respect and an appropriation of one-half that amount would be all that is necessary for the coming two years, unless some other line of printing is to be turned out of the office. I speak of this from the fact that if Nevada is to spread much literature at the coming Panama Exposition 'to be held in San Francisco, and the State looks to this office to do the printing, a stereotyping outfit will be necessary. I presume, however, that the cost of printing of that nature would be provided as a separate fund, and will have no connection with the regular appropriation made every two years for the maintenance of this office.

A Chandler & Price job press, taking a form 12x18 inches, was installed in May 1911. The old job press had been in the office since 1882, and was in poor condition for some time. It was of a pattern rendered obsolete by the supply houses, and not having any use for the same or any place to store it, with permission of the Board of Examiners, the press was sold for $45. The money was turned over to the State Treasurer and his receipt for the same filed with the Clerk of the Board of Examiners.

The new individual motors installed by my predecessor have already paid for themselves. Shafting of every description has been eliminated and no power goes to waste.

What is known as a bundling press is in use in the office. After a 16-page form is folded it is placed in this press and tied in a bundle and carried to the Bindery. The law in regard to session laws compels the State Printer to bind so many volumes and hold so many, the latter to be bound as needed by the Secretary of State. The same law also applies to the Supreme Court reports. With the aid of a bundling press all editions can be folded and gathered and placed in bundles and held for any length of time without injury to the books.

A Smyth New Model book-sewing machine has been installed in the Bindery. This was made necessary from the fact that the Revised Laws of Nevada were so voluminous. The machine was sold to the State by the coast agents and it is my desire to make the same pay for itself as far as possible. What saving is made on the sewing of an edition is paid on the machine. The entire cost of the machine installed in the office and fully equipped was $1,407. Of this total $707 has been paid, the machine having saved that amount since it has been in use. Instead of depending entirely on thread this machine sews every section onto two or more tapes, the ends of the tapes being inserted in the board covers of the book. It makes a book twice as strong and renders it almost an impossibility to tear apart. Under the hand-sewing system a book with a stitch broken would tend to slowly unravel. Should this machine miss a stitch the next stitch picks it up. The machine is not only a necessary adjunct to the Bindery, but an asset to the State which will pay for itself in two more years.

A ruling machine is the only piece of machinery lacking in the office. Owing to the fact that ruled books of every description can be pur

chased cheaply and that the ruling in this State is limited, a machine. of this kind is unnecessary.

LACK OF ROOM

As the office has grown, the lack of room has daily become more apparent. There is great need of additional store room for paper and material. It was the prevailing opinion during the 1911 session that the Capitol would be enlarged or additional buildings purchased. Had such action been taken I would have asked for the remaining portion of the printing building and placed the composing room on the second floor and installed all the machinery on the ground floor. At the present time the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Mining Inspector are occupying the upper floor with the exception of one small room, where I have three or four tons of printed matter stored. I have been forced to store paper in the woodshed, which is a wooden building and not insured.

BEAUTIFYING GROUNDS

During the spring of 1912 the Board of Capitol Commissioners allowed me enough money from an appropriation for that purpose to plow the ground around the building and plant grass seed. This winter loam has been placed on the same and we hope to have the grounds more presentable during the summer of 1913.

APPROPRIATIONS

The appropriation for this office for the years 1909 and 1910 was $40,000, and an additional appropriation, known as a Reserve Fund, to be spent under the direction of the Board of Examiners, of $5,000 was also made. The same appropriation, with the exception that $42,500 was given to the office and $2,500 placed in the Reserve Fund, was made for the years 1911 and 1912. By cutting legislative bills to a standard size, installing a job press which cut the number of impressions on a large amount of work one-half,. using individual motors, using coal stoves instead of wood, and eliminating overtime by placing two straight shifts of men upon the work, the office finds itself with a balance the 1st of January, 1913. It is my desire at this time to credit my force from the foreman down for the efficient manner in which they have performed their labors. Every employee is hired only from day to day, and the force has ranged from six to forty during the last two years. The office has often received letters from state officers and heads of commissions and state institutions for the neat appearance of its work, all of which is due, nine times out of ten, to the workmen in the office. Efficiency in a printing office is essential. The work in this office is of an intricate nature, and it is readily understood that law and figure-work takes more time than the ordinary daily run of a newspaper or commercial plant. The slower the work the higher the price of composition, and when I state that the office has been run with all the additional work on the same appropriation and money to spare I want it understood that the men under me are as much responsible for it as myself.

I am of the opinion that, unless a very great amount of additional work is placed upon me by the Legislature of 1913, that the same appropriation in each department will be ample, with the exception of the