It was estimated that $850,000 would be sufficient to cover the cost of approximately 18,750 pages of the Federal Register and for the printing of the United States Government Organization Manual in the fiscal year 1953. It is estimated that $675,000 will be required in the fiscal year 1954 for an estimated 13,500 pages of the Federal Register and for the printing of the United States Government Organization Manual as a supplemental edition of the Federal Register.

(1) Supplements to Code of Federal Regulations.-The cost of printing the Supplements to the Code of Federal Regulations amounted to $200,000 for 12,235 pages in the fiscal year 1952. It was estimated that $400,000 would be sufficient for printing 26,000 pages of the supplements during the fiscal year 1953. It is estimated $475,000 will be required to print 27,000 pages of the supplements during the fiscal year 1954.

(m) Additional working capital.-The appropriation for additional working capital was $10 million in the fiscal year 1952. It was estimated that $15 million would be necessary in the fiscal year 1953. It is believed necessary to request $15 million for the fiscal year 1954 in order for the Office to meet the payroll, liquidate other obligations as they become due, take advantage of cash discounts in liquidation of obligations, and minimize advance billngs to the departments.

SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS

Mr. HORAN. We approach now the matter of documents.

Mr. EASTIN. If you wish, Mr. Chairman, I would be glad to insert this statement into the record and then summarize it.

Mr. HORAN. That may be done.

(The statement referred to is as follows:)

GENERAL STATEMENT BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS

The Office of the Superintendent of Documents is a division of the Government Printing Office which operates under a separate appropriation.

Five primary functions

Our budget provides funds for the five primary functions which the Office of the Superintendent of Documents is required by law to perform. The principal function and the only one which produces revenue is the sale of Government publications.

Purchase and sale of documents

The Superintendent of Documents is authorized by law to sell copies of Government publications purchased from the Public Printer and originated by the various Government departments and agencies. This Office has absolutely no control over or responsibility for the subject matter of any Government publication issued by a Federal department or agency. Acquisition costs are paid from sales receipts, so no appropriation is required for printing sales copies. By provision of law, the sale price is set at the cost of manufacture, plus 50 percent. At the end of each fiscal year, excess receipts not required for purchasing additional publications are turned in to the Treasury Department as miscellaneous receipts, Last year the revenue from this source reached an all-time high point of $1,762,752 and in every year since 1944 miscellaneous receipts have amounted to more than $1 million.

The past fiscal year was another record-breaking year for the Office of the Superintendent of Documents, which received during the year an all-high total of 1,984,580 orders for publications and 1,379,918 letters of inquiry about publications. The dollar value of sales exceeded $5 million, which was also greater than that for any previous fiscal year. The number of orders for publications for this year is running ahead of the figure for a comparable period last year. One feature of our sales function is an exchange account service offered to Members of Congress. The Members transfer to us publications which have been supplied to them on a quota basis and which have a sales value through the facilities of our Office. We accept only publications which we can sell. The money value of these publications is credited to the Member of Congress, who can then

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order from us any publications which they need or which they desire to furnish to constituents.

Non-revenue-producing functions

None of the other functions which we are required by law to perform produces any revenue, and we have no control over the volume of work with which our Office, which is entirely a service agency, will be faced.

Distribution for Members of Congress

The first of these non-revenue-producing functions is the distribution for Members of Congress of their quotas of publications, such as Farmers' Bulletins, Children's Bureau publications, Soil Survey Reports, and copies of the Congressional Record. Last year we handled 636,654 requests and mailed 12,973,076 Department of Agriculture publications as a part of this function.

Distribution to depository libraries

The Superintendent of Documents is required by law to purchase and bear the total cost of distributing to the 550 designated depository libraries throughout the United States copies of all Government publications which these libraries request. We distributed more than 4 million copies of publications to these libraries during the last fiscal year.

Compilation and issuance of official catalogs and indexes

The law also imposes on the Superintendent of Documents the duty of compiling and issuing certain official catalogs and indexes of Government publications, the principal one of which is the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications. Paid subscribers to this catalog are now at an all-time high of 11,648 at a subscription price of $3 a year. We believe the Monthly Catalog to be issued more currently and with greater speed than any other comparable cataloging service, Government or non-Government.

Distribution for other Government agencies

The last of our primary functions is the distribution of publications for other agencies of the United States Government, all of the expense being borne by our appropriation. We are, of course, well equipped to perform a publication-mailing service within the limits of the resources and facilities provided to us by Congress, but I feel that the Government agency for which this mailing service is performed should bear the cost out of its appropriation rather than having that appropriation actually increased as it is under the present system under which we bear all of the cost of the labor, supplies, and materials which this operation requires. Last year we mailed for other Government agencies more than 82 million publications, which was an increase of 29 percent over the previous year.

Service nature of the work

We deeply appreciate the recognition by the Appropriation Committees of the service nature of our functions and our complete inability to control the workload which we are called on to perform. We also appreciate the assistance which members of this committee have given to our efforts to improve the methods of discharging our function. The request approved by the committee during the 80th Congress for funds to make possible the installation of mechanical belt conveyor and pneumatic-tube equipment has virtually revolutionized the transfer of publications and orders to the various points in our order-filling system, and the purchase and installation of metal shelving and pallets authorized by the 81st Congress to replace the wooden storage equipment previously used has made possible a more efficient and systematic arrangement of publications storage areas and has also removed the serious fire hazard which existed with the equipment previously used.

We

We must be prepared to meet the demands made for the service we offer. More and more persons constantly write to us, and we have no way of regulating the number who do so. We cannot regulate the number of publications issued by the various agencies of the Government, but we are required by law to include every Government publication in our catalogs and indexes, and to distribute to 550 depository libraries every Government publication which they request. have no control over the number of mailing lists that we must prepare and maintain for use in mailing without reimbursement from other Government agencies all Government publications printed at the Government Printing Office, or over the number of publications that we shall be called on to distribute for Members of Congress.

In addition to the mechanical-conveyor belt and pneumatic-tube systems, we make extensive use of automatic sealing and inserting, tying and wrapping machines, electric-labeling machines, and automatic gummed tape dispensers. With the cooperation of the various Government agencies, we are increasing as rapidly as possible the flat mailing of publications without envelope or wrapper, the franked label being printed on the outside cover of the publication. This effects a saving of time and the cost of envelopes and wrapping materials. Improved procedures and mechanical aids have made it possible for us to handle up to now the great increase in our workload without corresponding increases in personnel. In the last 5 years the number of sales orders has increased by 37 percent and the dollar value of sales has increased 58 percent, while the number of our employees has decreased by 32 percent. The personnel cost o handling each order has been reduced by 6 percent during the last 5 years despite the fact that our employees along with all other civil-service employees have received salary increases. As our volume of work continues to increase, we must request additional resources to handle it, and in the past increased investments in our program have always resulted in more than proportionate increases in the revenue which we have returned to the Treasury.

Personnel increases

The number of orders and letters of inquiry about Government publications that we received last year set a new record. For the first 10 months of the current year orders are running ahead of the figure for the same period last year. We estimate an increase of 100,000 sales orders and 200,000 letters of inquiry during the fiscal year 1954, with an additional $500,000 in receipts from sales. For the fiscal year 1954, we are requesting an additional $180,930 over our personnel appropriation for 1953. Of the additional amount requested, $27,065 is to cover the cost of within-grade salary increases provided by law for those employees whose compensation is fixed by the Classification Act. We are providing for 26 additional positions at a total cost of $82,811 to handle this estimated increase. These positions include 6 printing and publications clerks GS-4, 15 clerk-typists GS-3, 5 clerk-typists GS-2, and necessary part-time help.

To handle an anticipated increase of 2 million publications that we will be required to distribute for Members of Congress and other Government agencies, and an estimated increase of 300,000 publications that will be distributed to depository libraries during 1954, we are providing for 26 additional positions at a total cost of $71,054. These positions include 6 wrappers and stockkeepers paid at the hourly rate grade 2, 15 wrappers and stock keepers paid at the hourly rate grade 1, 5 clerk-typists GS-2, and necessary part-time help.

General expenses

We are requesting an increase of $14,000 over last year for printing and reproduction. This amount is to cover an estimated increase in printing costs. Funds for this purpose are principally used for supplying publications to depository libraries as required by law. This is a volume of work which we cannot control, as we are unable to govern the number of publications that will be issued by the Government or the number of libraries which request them. The number of depository libraries has increased from 543 to 550 in the last year. To provide mailing supplies and materials for the expected increase in both the volume of sales and mailings for other agencies and Members of Congress, we are requesting an additional amount of $1,100.

We are asking for an increase of $25,000 for modern metal equipment to replace present wooden shelving for the storage of publications in our library to reduce a fire hazard.

An increase of $2,000 is requested for other contractual services to cover increased costs of necessary repairs and alterations, sanitation, and maintenance. Increased rates for telephone and telegraph services and additional postage required in the handling of a greater volume of orders are responsible for the additional $500 in our estimate for communication services.

An estimated increase of $400 for transportation of things is due primarily to the increased rates of pay received by skilled labor performing these services. Outlets for the sale of Government publications

We are continuing our cooperation with public libraries and with certain newspapers and commercial bookstores to encourage a more widespread sale of Government publications through these outlets. A greater number of libraries in particular is displaying an interest in such sales than ever before, and this increased

interest is furthering the distribution and use of Government publications, especially in areas removed from Washington, D. C.

Importance of revenue

In concluding this statement, I should like to reiterate that we are entirely a service agency and that we must be prepared to fulfill the demands made for the service we offer. Our program of attempting to convince other Government agencies of the desirability of increasing the sale of Government publications and proportionally decreasing the number distributed free by these agencies is continual. Success in this program will not only increase our revenue but will assist the departments in reducing their printing costs. We are making progress along this line, and we feel that we must be equipped to offer as good service on sales as other Government agencies offer on free requests. We recognize the desirability of continually increasing the amount of revenue which we turn in to the Treasury. Our constant goal is to offer the best possible service to the public and to the agencies which we serve at the lowest possible cost, and at the same time to return to the Treasury as much revenue as we can. It is a matter of great pride to every employee in the Office of the Superintendent of Documents that we render a valuable public service through our sales program in distributing millions of valuable and interesting publications to the American public on a basis which results in no cost to the Government but actually increases the public revenue.

Mr. HORAN. I believe your department is self-sustaining; is that not true?

Mr. EASTIN. Our sales program is more than self-sustaining but we operate three other nonrevenue producing functions which are not self-sustaining. We distribute for Members of Congress their quotas of farmers' bulletins, soil surveys, Children's Bureau publications, and we maintain the mailing lists for the Congressional Record for the mailing of the copies that are allotted to Members of Congress.

Then we operate a system of depository libraries. There is provision in the law for the establishment of one library in every congressional district to be designated as an official depository for Federal Government publications. Two at large in each State. The ones in the districts are originally designated by the Member of Congress from the District. The two at large are designated by the Senators from the State. Each State library and each land-grant-college library is entitled to be an official Federal depository. That confers upon these libraries the privilege of receiving one copy of every publication issued by the Government Printing Office, nonconfidential in nature, free of charge. The cost is paid from our appropriation and, of course, there is no revenue.

Then we offer a very fine mailing service to the various Government agencies in the distribution of their material. We pay the entire cost from our appropriation, the labor, the cost of materials involved, and the agencies receive this very fine service free. We receive absolutely no revenue from that. The cost is paid from our appropriation but our sales program which is our big program and which occupies most of our time and effort is more than self-sustaining from the revenue that is returned to the Treasury. We are authorized to mark up the cost of every publication which we sell by 50 percent under the law and this 50 percent more than offsets the distribution

cost.

Mr. HORAN. Your income according to your statement was $1,762.752.

Mr. EASTIN. That is correct, sir.

Mr. HORAN. Any questions on the work of the Superintendent of Documents?

MAILING OF PUBLICATION LISTS

Mr. BUSBEY. Yes, I would like to ask a question, in behalf of a Chicago friend, who recently received these three pamphlets I hold, listing various publications for sale by the Superintendent of Documents. What is the reason for mailing these, and how widely are they circulated?

Mr. EASTIN. Mr. Busbey, that looks like a mailing made twice a month entitled "Selected List of United States Government Publications." One of our functions is to prepare and distribute information concerning publications available through our sales facilities. Our principal method of doing this is through that little yellow circular which you have in front of you which is called Selected List of United States Government Publications. We have no funds to advertise and we are roundly and soundly criticized quite often for not letting people know of the very valuable policy publications and interesting and useful publications available from the Federal Government. We do not send our list to anyone who has not requested it, and we regularly revise the list once a year to make a person send us back a penny post card telling us he wishes to stay on the list-2-cent post card. We do occasionally get a complaint from someone who says, how did my name get on your mailing list, and we have a very stringent and strict policy that no one can get on unless he asks. It usually develops that his secretary asked that he get on or his wife asked that he get on but we send these announcements only to people who are interested in keeping abreast of what the Government has issued. We have a sales catalog which is sold for $3 a year. We call that the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications. It lists everything issued by the Government during the month. It contains about 2,000 entries a month. We sell that to over 11,600 subscribers but that is too voluminous for a person who just wishes to keep in touch with the more popular issuances of the Government. It is used primarily by libraries and by business firms who need to know everything the Government has done in a particular field. So for the person who has a less intensive interest we issue this selected list and from time to time we prepare other lists such as the ones you have on special subjects which are sent out to the same people.

Mr. BUSBEY. Approximately how many names would you say are on this list?

Mr. EASTIN. Around 330,000.

COMPETITION WITH PRIVATE PRINTERS

Mr. BUSBEY. Mr. Horan brought up this matter of competition in envelopes. Numerous people in the printing business have complained to me about a lot of books and pamphlets printed by the Government Printing Office which they think should be handled through private taxpaying printers. In the case of some of the books listed, I am not sure but that there may be some justification for those complaints. Do you print whatever a department asks you to print? Mr. EASTIN. We take no responsibility for the content of anything we sell or the wisdom of issuing a publication. We serve merely as sales agency. If some one buys a publication from us and runs his small boat up on a rock, we refer him to the issuing agency. Similarly,