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The Atomic Age
The nineth in a series of articles
commemorating GPO's
125th Anniversary, by Daniel R. MacGilvray.
The men who led the Government Printing Office into the "atomic
age" were four vigorous
Public Printers: John J. Deviny, a Washingtonian; Raymond
Blattenberger, a Philadelphian;
James L. Harrison, born in Greer, SC; and Adolphus N. Spence II,
a native of Alexandria, VA.
In 1948, President Harry S. Truman appointed Public Printer
Deviny on March 15. He was
confirmed by the Senate on April 30, and sworn in by DC Municipal
Court of Appeals judge
Andrew M. Hood on May 6 in the Public Printer's office.
Born June 19, 1882, the future Public Printer lived in the
neighborhood of the Government
Printing Office and was a graduate of nearby Gonzaga High School.
He also graduated from
Josephinum College in Columbus, OH, and later from the Washington
College of Law in the
Nation's Capital. His work career began at the Bureau of
Engraving as an apprentice
platemaker. There he spent his journeyman years and rose to
Production Manager during World
War I. In 1925, he left to become Director of Research and
Publicity for the Miller Saw
Trimmer Company of Pittsburgh, PA. During the Roosevelt years,
he served as National Code
Director for the Relief Printing Industry, and as judicial member
of the Appeals Council for the
Social Security Board's Bureau of Old Age Insurance. Early in
his career, in 1919, he was
cofounder of the Craftsmen's Movement, and served two terms as
President of the International
Association of Printing House Craftsmen. Well-versed in law, he
was a member of the Bar of
the Supreme Court and the DC Court of Appeals.
After his swearing in before the assembled members of the Joint
Committee on Printing,
officers of local and international unions, representatives of
printing trade groups, and others, he
observed: "I hope and expect to carry on the very successful
policies and methods developed by
my distinguished predecessor. It shall be my aim to continue the
production of public printing
and binding in the most efficient, expeditious, and economical
manner and to adopt new and
improved methods as they can be developed. In this endeavor I
shall need the full cooperation
of the GPO's 6,500 loyal and competent employees. Since they
have never failed in this before I
have every reason for believing that I shall have such
cooperation now."
John J. Deviny already had 7 years of experience as Deputy
Public Printer when he was chosen
to succeed Augustus E. Giegengack in 1948. With great
understanding he pursued policies and
procedures that were well-established. This meant that he
regularly met with the Joint
Committee on Printing to review the purchase of quantities of
paper. It also meant that he met
with trade union representatives during periods of wage
negotiations. Very successfully he
carried on the day-to-day operations of Public Printer. When he
finally retired on February 28,
1953, at the age of 70, it was with 41 years of Government
service. Reflecting on his youthful
beginnings as a platemaker, he remarked: "Back in my apprentice
days, I would have traded my
chance of becoming Public Printer for 10 cents."
The Korean War occurred during his term and with it an upsurge
of Defense printing. Related
to this was a concern with civil defense which touched the lives
of employees. The Production
Manager reported in 1953: "Civil Defense shelter areas have been
marked off in the four central
buildings and the day force joined in a city-wide Government
buildings alert on December 12,
1952. All employees reached shelter without incident in less
than 5 minutes, the goal set by
Federal Civil Defense. Night employees have all been led to the
shelter areas provided for them
and will participate in the next city-wide alert."
The ongoing concern with safety was reflected in the report of
the Superintendent of Binding
for 1953: "I am happy to report that the lost time accidents in
the Bindery for the year just ended
shows a decrease of nineteen percent. We will make every effort
to show a greater decrease in
accidents with an eye to their complete elimination in the coming
year. The Bindery uses many
potentially dangerous machines. We must be ever vigilant and
alert, we must constantly check
our machinery for new safety devices, and we must be sure that
all safety features and rules are
followed to the letter. Supervisors have been cautioned to see
that their Sections follow safety
regulations." The Medical Director observed some preventive
measures: "The health service for
the Office of Civil Defense Program is now in progress.
Approximately 50 people on the day
shift have been trained in first-aid. Classes for the night
shifts will commence in the fall and a
number of employees will also be trained in light rescue work by
the Federal Civil Defense
Administration."
Other tasks went along as usual. There were improvements, as
the Foreman of the Main Press
Section observed in 1953: "The new and modern lighting system in
use in Main Press for the last
six months has proven very satisfactory, especially on the night
shifts, as the system enables the
pressmen and supervisors to see the work clearly without shadows,
having also tendency to help
produce a better grade of printing with less eye strain. There
were also visitors, as the Foreman
of the Main Press Section noted that same year: "In the past
fiscal year, we have had several
visitors from abroad and also from our own country connected with
the art of printing. In each
instance, we were pleased with their remarks as to production,
quality of work, cleanliness of our
pressroom, and the orderly manner in which our method of
procedure is handled."
One of the more lasting contributions of the Deviny years was
the addition of three Cottrell
presses. In 1953, the Production Manager expressed his pleasure
with the result: "In 1949 when
authority for the purchase of 3 new presses for the production of
the Congressional Record was
requested by the Public Printer from the Joint Committee on
Printing certain economics in
production were anticipated. Our experience with these machines
to date indicates that the
savings over the years will greatly exceed original estimates.
This is made possible by the savings
on income-tax printing which alone is exceeding our original
yearly estimate of economics." But
if the Deviny years were undramatic in their pattern of gradual
improvements, there was
excitement on the horizon.
Occasionally, a new Public Printer takes office amid winds of
change. Public Printer
Blattenberger was swept into the Government Printing Office
during a raging storm. To his
great credit, he rode it out and guided the Office into more
peaceful waters.
The fall of 1952 had witnessed the first Presidential election
in two decades which brought a
Republican into the White House: former Supreme Commander of the
Allied Expeditionary
Force in Western Europe, General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The new
President looked for
successful men in the business community to direct Government
agencies. He found one in
Raymond Blattenberger. Born in Philadelphia on January 19, 1892,
he had begun working as a
press feeder at the age of 14. In 1917 he joined the Edward
Stern Printing Company, of that
city, and rose to become executive vice-president. He was also a
founder of the Printing Industry
of America, Inc.
No sooner had Public Printer Blattenberger gone on the payroll
April 28, 1953, than his phone
started ringing. Surely he would want to fire a lot of people
and appoint the caller, or the
caller's son, or friend, or brother, to a fine job with the
Government Printing Office? The new
Public Printer chose not to be hasty. Although his Deputy Public
Printer, Philip L. Cole,
happened to be a Democrat, and even though a very prominent
Republican Senator from
Indiana had a friend who wanted Mr. Cole's position, the Public
Printer showed he had a mind
of his own.
He told a reporter on August 8, 1953: "They don't like me
because I won't take out certain key
people. But what I'm trying to do is cut costs, to run an
efficient shop as economically as
possible. That's what I understood I was to do when the
President appointed me. I didn't seek
the job and I didn't want it. Now that I've got it, I'm going to
concentrate first on saving money.
When I came into this shop I had to have someone who knew
something about it. Mr. Cole has
made a career of the GPO. He's been here almost 30 years and is
eligible for retirement in
September."
Needless to say, this did not endear the Public Printer to the
Senator from Indiana, who
happened to be Chairman of the Senate Rules Committee which had
recommended his
confirmation. Nor did the appointment of his Superintendent of
Documents, Roy B. Eastin, Jr.,
to the position of Executive Assistant to the Public Printer, win
friends, except at the
Government Printing Office. Rumors flew that Mr. Eastin was the
nephew of former
Democratic Vice President Alben W. Barkley, and a Democrat to
boot. Mr. Eastin told the
same reporter: "I am not a relative of Mr. Barkley. I am not a
Democrat. I have never attended
a Democratic meeting. If anyone says I'm a Democrat, I'll sue."
The Public Printer stuck to his guns-and to a long-standing GPO
tradition that says Public
Printers have a "Big Shop" to look after, and not a political
plum tree to shake. It was not
surprising, however, that by so doing Public Printer
Blattenberger made some powerful enemies.
It was not long before a very well-publicized Wisconsin Senator
was directing his attention to the
Government Printing Office.
This turn of events began on August 10, 1953, in a closed-door
session of the Government
Operations subcommittee which questioned ten witnesses. The
subcommittee was down to two,
some being out of town, and three Democrats having resigned in
protest of the methods of
Chairman Senator Joseph R. McCarthy (Republican-Wisconsin). With
his colleague, Senator
Everett M. Dirksen (Republican-Illinois), a bookbinder's
political beliefs were questioned. The
bookbinder had brought his own attorney and answered all
questions.
Later, Public Printer Blattenberger and Deputy Public Printer
Cole were called in for
questioning. Senator Dirksen commented to a reporter on this:
"We are now quite certain that a
substantial amount of confidential and secret and top secret work
has been processed and
published in the main Government Printing Office. We spent the
whole time exploring the
possibility of any persons so inclined of purloining a secret
document and transmitting it to hands
where they should not be." The reporter asked of both Senators
if there was any evidence that
any documents had actually been improperly removed? "I can't
answer that," replied Senator
McCarthy. "It is the wrong time to ask," echoed Senator Dirksen.
Shortly thereafter, on October 5, 1953, the Public Printer
touched on these events as he
addressed a convention of the Printing Industry of America: "I
have been on this job as Public
Printer just about five months, and in many ways it seems more
than five years. In fact, it seems
so long that I have difficulty remembering those happy carefree
days when I attended meetings
such as this as the representative of a private printing firm.
At that time, I thought there were
many problems facing my firm, myself, and the printing industry,
but now I look upon those days
as the 'good old days.'
"As you know, I have been busy, among other things, in placing
the Government Printing Office
under tight security regulations and checking into the
backgrounds of the employees in search of
possible Communists and other security risks. I want to say
right here and now that my
experience has been that the vast majority of Government
employees are loyal, hardworking
citizens who, as a group, are greatly abused. It is indeed
unfortunate that the great body of our
public servants must suffer because of the actions of a tiny
minority.
"I must confess that my respect for the Government employee has
greatly increased in the last
five months. The Government has done a great deal in the way of
training its own key people,
and in my estimation, it will need to do even more in this
direction in the future. The
Government lags far behind industry in the payment of salaries to
key supervisors and officials,
and with conditions as they are, it will soon be virtually
impossible to get people in private life to
give up their private jobs to come to Washington to work for the
Government."
The Public Printer had ample opportunity to work with people at
the Government Printing
Office and on Capitol Hill. Together, they were able to achieve
through modernization a 5
percent reduction in the cost of printing--the first such in 20
years. That was in 1954. The
following year there was added good news: "Increases have been
given to all craftsmen and a 7 1/2 percent upward adjustment has been made in the salary of all
administrative employees." At the
end of his term in 1961, Public Printer Blattenberger and his
team of administrators had been
able to return $13 million dollars to the United States Treasury.
A revolving fund had been
established and a business-type budget made a part of the fabric
of the Government Printing
Office. Offset and letterpress divisions had been reorganized,
and faster, more efficient
equipment installed. Having come into office with winds of
change, and noting the election of
President John F. Kennedy, the Public Printer raised his sail and
resigned on January 20, 1961.
At a Harding Hall Testimonial Dinner on February 8, 1961, he was
given a fond farewell.
During 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Public Printer
Harrison on March 15. He
was confirmed by the Senate on the next day; and he was sworn in
on March 17, Saint Patrick's
Day.
Born June 3, 1906, the Public Printer passed his youth in Greer,
SC, and Gastonia, NC. His
father was supervisor in a textile factory. Majoring in
journalism, young Harrison had as his
hobbies both photography and printing. When he came to
Washington, DC, at the age of 22, his
first work was as a draftsman at Fort Belvoir. Later, he started
as a clerk with a grocery chain
and soon became a manager. In the 1930's, he worked for the
Census Bureau as a mapmaker,
then as supervisor for the agricultural census. In 1938, he was
a Monopoly Investigator for the
Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. During the Second World
War he served with the
Office of Price Administration. His experience as a Government
administrator was brought to
the attention of Senator Carl Hayden who was looking for a new
staff director for the Joint
Committee on Printing. In 1949, Harrison was chosen and served
for 12 years in that capacity
before being appointed to be Public Printer of the United States.
James L. Harrison brought with him a dozen years of invaluable
experience with the Joint
Committee on Printing. He had known the two previous Public
Printers quite well and was
acquainted with many of the problems relating to the Government
Printing Office which had
been discussed in Committee meetings. He had a good sense of
where the Government Printing
Office was going, as well as where the Committee wanted it to go.
To this knowledge, he was
soon to add insight of his own.
Ongoing modernization of printing equipment and procedures runs
like a theme through the
history of the Office. Not surprisingly, Public Printer Harrison
carried this forward with the
installation in 1967 of the Linotron system. It produced page
photocomposition at high speed
under control of a magnetic tape which was computer generated.
Exposed film pages were
treated in an automatic film processor which used chemicals to
reverse the image into a film
negative suitable for offset platemaking. It was the heart of a
system of keyboards, photo units,
input and output converters, which was placed in production on
October 2, 1967, and later
augmented.
Such technical modernization coupled with internal
reorganizations helped the Public Printer to
raise the volume of annual business from $97 million when he
began his term, to over $203
million when he ended it. His accomplishments were recognized
widely and he was the recipient
of awards. In 1962, the White House called upon him to carry
greetings from President Kennedy
to the Second Asian Printers' Conference held in Kyoto, Japan.
During 1965 and 1968, he
carried President Johnson's greetings to the Third Asian
Printers' Conference held in Manila,
Philippine Republic, and to the Fourth Asian Printers' Conference
held in Taipei, Taiwan. In a
tribute to his abilities, one writer said of him in 1970: "He has
deliberately fashioned channels of
communication directly into his office--channels available to
every employee. Never in the
history of the GPO has the agency head been so accessible."
It was his concern for modernization that led Public Printer
Harrison to seriously consider a
new site and modern structure for the Government Printing Office.
With support from the Joint
Committee on Printing, an area of Bolling Air Force Base in
Anacostia was inspected-but the Air
Force decided not to relinquish the property. Next, on March 2,
1966. joint Committee
Chairman Carl Hayden authorized $2 1/2 million to be available from
the General Services
Administration "for necessary expenses, for site selection and
general plans and designs of
buildings for the Government Printing Office, pursuant to the
Public Building Act of 1959."
Committee members present voted 4 to 1 and "approved the proposal
of the Public Printer that a
portion of the National Training School property be used as a
relocation site for the Government
Printing Office." This, too, became unavailable. A third site
was then considered, some 82 acres
of Penn Central Railroad land off the Beltway at the John Hansen
Highway. When land values
suddenly rose, that possibility also vanished. The final site
considered was located between T
Street and Rhode Island Avenue, NE, adjacent to what is now the
Rhode Island Avenue Metro
Stop.
The Public Printer spelled out his reasoning for the move in a
letter to District of Columbia
Commissioner Walter E. Washington:
"Our output consists of finished printing, blank paper, scrap
paper, documents, and the usual
waste materials. Recently we surveyed truck traffic here and
learned that in excess of 200 trucks
were handled in a 24-hour period--chiefly during peak traffic
periods. Conducting such an
activity in the heart of a crowded urban location is
inconvenient, costly, and difficult.
"But this is only a minor part of our problem. Only half of the
18 to 20 freight carloads of
paper can be accommodated at our warehouse across North Capitol
Street from the main
building.
The Washington Terminal track elevation is at our third floor
level. Here skids of paper are
offloaded and dropped to interim storage locations by elevator.
When ready for use, they are
again elevator-dropped to the sub-basement of this warehouse,
power-trucked through a tunnel
under North Capitol Street and again raised by elevator as many
as six floors to production
areas.
"The other half of our rail paper receipts must be taken 17
miles away in Franconia, Virginia,
where warehouse space is rented from General Services
Administration. After being unloaded
and temporarily warehoused there, the paper is reshipped by
contract motor carrier in order to
place it in the Government Printing Office proper where it, too,
is yo-yoed until it arrives at the
floor level where it is needed.
"Our paper inventory averaged from 50 to 60 million pounds last
year. Obviously, repeated
handling and rehandling this enormous amount of paper causes a
great deal of unnecessary
expense."
Despite the many reasons for it, opposition to the proposed move
mounted. District of
Columbia officials saw a possible loss of jobs. Many employees
set in their ways were reluctant
to see a change. Columbia Typographical Union No. 101 went on
record against the move.
Suddenly, the Public Printer announced that he intended to retire
in March 1970, and would
leave the matter to his successor. Somewhat wearily, he told the
members of the Joint
Committee on Printing that "the Government Printing Office was a
manufacturing concern and
he was not envious of the man who would be selected."
On February 18, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon appointed
Public Printer Spence. He was
confirmed on March 13 and liked to recall that he was sworn in on
April 1, "April Fool's Day."
Born November 24, 1916, Spence worked during his teens as an
apprentice in a small print
shop. He was journeyman at age 18 and went on to work in a wide
variety of commercial and
governmental printing and binding operations. During 1942, he
was commissioned in the Navy
and served 2 years with Admiral Halsey as his Photo Intelligence
Officer in the South Pacific.
He was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V, the Navy Unit
Commendation, and the World
War II Victory Medal. The years 1945-46 found him
Officer-in-Charge of establishing and
operating the Naval School of Printers and Lithographers.
Afterwards, he worked with the
Department of the Navy in organizing a central service to manage
its publications and printing
program. He shaped this into the Navy Publications and Printing
Service with 36 offices
worldwide. He was then asked to consolidate printing services
for the Defense Department,
where he implemented a uniform scale of prices for in-house
production, a standard system of
cost accounting, and production control. He became a recognized
authority on modern printing
management and graphic communications techniques before being
chosen as Public Printer.
Public Printer Spence wasted no time in addressing what had
become a newsworthy issue. His
first press release of April 1, 1970, spoke of establishing
"immediately an Office of Congressional
and Community Affairs," which he said would be responsive to
Congress, the local community,
and the press. He went on to say that the Joint Committee on
Printing had recently conducted
an extensive Federal Printing Study. "Out of this has come a
major decision to place the impetus
in Government on the commercial procurement of printing... So.
before I make any decision on
new or improved facilities, I feel that we must determine what
effect increasing the percentage of
printing done commercially will have on GPO's operations." In a
second press release, on April
3, 1970, he added, "Before any change is made in the location, or
the size, and in fact, of the
concept of this office, I am arranging that a study be made
jointly by the Industry and
Government, of the requirements of this office."
The next problem the Public Printer addressed was a thorny one.
During the weeks preceding
his being sworn in, a major shift had occurred in labor
relations. As the 1970 Annual Report put
it: "The point at contention was revision of the formula used for
nearly 23 years to determine
craft wages. Activism took the form of composing craftsmen
refusing overtime work at the
outset. As steps were taken by the Office to buy composition
from commercial sources in order
to meet Congressional requirements, a full-scale 'sick-out' among
compositors developed. Pickets
and sympathizers appeared at GPO's entrances. The incidents were
brought to an early end after
a personal appeal by the Public Printer who pledged a complete
review of the existing wage
formula." One observer of these dramatic events vividly recalled
the throngs of marching workers
carrying informational signs to the Capitol steps, and returning
for a mass meeting which filled to
overflowing the basement of nearby Saint Aloysius Church. There,
like a scene out of Frank
Capra's film, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," a small balding man
entered the basement, waded
through the crowd, and spoke to the workers. He told them he was
their new Public Printer,
Nick Spence, and he would appreciate it if they would give him a
hearing. Quiet descended. He
told them he knew they were angry, perhaps rightfully so. But,
he was new on the job as Public
Printer and would like them to give him an opportunity to bring
to their concerns his fullest
consideration. Now, would they join their Public Printer in
walking back over North Capitol
Street to the Government Printing Office and helping to get out
the Congressional Record? A
roar of cheers went up and the compositors and their coworkers,
every one. escorted "their"
Public Printer back into the Office.
Almost at once the new Public Printer set about restructuring
the internal management
organization of the Government Printing Office. As he did so,
and positions became available,
he recruited from Naval printing colleagues who brought an
enthusiastic perspective to getting
tasks accomplished. On December 15, 1970, he announced a major
reorganization which was to
have lasting effects. It involved the appointment of two
Assistant Public Printers, for Operations
and for Management/Administration, with a regrouping of functions
in a chain of command
structure. It also involved having the following report directly
to the Public Printer: the Special
Assistant for Systems Analysis, the General Counsel, the
Assistant for Community Affairs, the
Director of Equal Employment Opportunity, and the Director of
Audits. Considerable
reorganization took place in almost all other areas. The central
purpose was that "Changes were
made to bring into usage modern managerial and systems approaches
and to bring related
activities under common supervision." This was to prove to be a
far-reaching contribution of the
Public Printer.
On June 8, 1970, speaking before the 84th annual convention of
the Printing Industries of
America, Public Printer Spence announced the make-up of the new
Government-Industry Study
Group. It consisted of eight well-known printing industry people
and four representatives from
Government. The group's charge was twofold: (1) "To determine
what production now done at
the GPO is susceptible to commercial procurement;" and (2) "to
align the GPO equipment,
production methods, and physical plant to do best that work which
must be done in-house." The
outcome of this effort was a report of March 15, 1972, entitled:
"Report to the Public Printer by
the Joint Government-Industry Study Group." Some 41
recommendations were made covering
eight key areas: (1) Space; (2) Equipment; (3) Materials
Handling; (4) Procurement-General; (5)
Procurement-Specific Items; (6) Procedures; (7) Organization &
Training; (8) Public Documents
Department. This report was also to have a far-reaching effect
as a point of departure for future
plans and developments.
Tragically, the sudden and unexpected death of Public Printer
Spence on January 11, 1972, did
not allow him opportunity to guide his many far-sighted efforts
to their fullest realization. But,
as one writer wisely observed in the 1972 annual report: "Having
served less than two years as
head of this agency, Mr. Spence had made his professionalism and
personality felt in every
operation of the Government Printing Office. He brought a new
management style to the
Government Printing Office and while he fell before many of the
programs he had instituted
reached fruition, his redefinition of management and production
objectives will serve the
Government Printing Office well in the years ahead."
Between 1948 and 1972, many changes had taken place in the
Government Printing Office.
One, which began in a small way with a new type of machine which
itself kept changing, was to
give its name to the coming era, "The Computer Age."
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The Computer Age
The tenth in a series of articles
commemorating GPO's
125th Anniversary, by Daniel R. MacGilvray.
The two men who guided the Government Printing Office into "the
computer age" and new
technologies were concerned Public Printers of Irish background:
Thomas F. McCormick, from
Massachusetts; and John J. Boyle, from Pennsylvania. Because
Public Printer McCormick quickly
chose his Production Manager, John J. Boyle, to be Deputy Public
Printer, both were to work
together to bring technological change into the Government
Printing Office.
It was on January 16, 1973, during the trial of the Watergate
defendants, that President Richard
M. Nixon appointed Public Printer McCormick. The Senate
Committee on Rules and
Administration held its hearing on the nominee January 31. He
was then confirmed by the
Senate on February 8; and he was sworn in at the Government
Printing Office March 1, 1973.
Thomas Francis McCormick was born February 20, 1929, in Gardner,
MA. He attended
schools in his hometown, and went on to Worcester, MA, where he
graduated from Holy Cross
College with a B.S. "cum laude" in business administration.
Following this, he served as a
commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy from June 1950 to July
1953. While there, he graduated
from Naval Intelligence School and served as Division Officer,
Deck Watch Officer, Air
Controller on an escort carrier, and Intelligence Officer of a
Tactical Air Control Squadron.
Released as a lieutenant (jg.), he began his business career with
the General Electric Company as
a Financial Management Trainee. He served in a wide variety of
corporate positions and, in
December 1967, was appointed General Manager of the Maqua
Company, a 400-employee, $6.5
million dollar printing firm owned by General Electric. Two
facets of his business experience
were especially noted during the hearing on his nomination:
"Expansion of a training and
development program for personnel from minority groups leading to
the development of
journeymen status personnel and improvement in the minority
employment percentage;" as well
as his being deeply involved "in the fields of computer and
electronic technology, both of which
are currently bringing about many changes in the printing
industry."
Problems were in the air even as Public Printer McCormick
approached his confirmation. At
the hearing, Committee Chairman Howard W. Cannon of Nevada
observed, "I have received a
letter from Senator Javits on this matter, and it contains a lot
of complaints that have been filed
with him, letters of complaint against the Government Printing
Office, so if Mr. McCormick is
confirmed as the Public Printer, I shall send these over to him,
and let him respond to them, and
see if he can correct whatever conditions brought about those
complaints." Some of the
problems were mentioned to Senator Cannon in a letter from the
President of the Special
Libraries Association: "The Association's Government Information
Service Committee reports
that complaints have been received from individual members across
the country regarding GPO
delays and errors in handling orders, claims and credits,
subscription problems, recent material
being out of print, quality of indexing in the Monthly
Catalog,
and the availability of depository
libraries as well as bookstore services." As if this were not
enough to warn away a nominee from
the post Senator Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. of Connecticut described
as "a very difficult job, and a
thankless one," another critic was heard. The Executive Director
of the Information Industry
Association went on record regarding involvement with the new
space-saving technology of
microforms: "We feel that microform technology has a great deal
to offer the government in the
dissemination of government information. We encourage the Public
Printer to begin
experimenting with applications appropriate to specific areas of
government materials. But we
do not believe the Government Printing Office should
microrepublish anything it has already
published in paper, nor do we believe it should republish in
paper anything it has already
published on film." These, and other problems would be addressed
by the Public Printer and the
employees of the Government Printing Office in days to come.
The "computer revolution" at the Government Printing Office was
already underway when
Public Printer McCormick took the helm in 1973. Indeed, the
first annual report to mention
"electronic printing" had been published 10 years earlier and
noted: "On March 11, 1963, two
Linofilm keyboards and a photo unit were placed in experimental
production. Seven operators
were placed in training in maintenance at the factory. Some
480,000 ems of composition were
keyboarded and processed on the photo unit by the end of the
fiscal year." Behind this simple
statement lay a model agreement between labor and management for
the retraining of hot metal
workers in the new technology without loss of status or salary.
By 1973 the Linotron system, installed in 1967, was rolling on.
A superintendent of the
Electronic Photocomposition Division singled out a particularly
outstanding job: "Linotron
photocomposition for the U.S. Patent Office totaled 299,135 pages
for fiscal year 1973. This
total includes 280,299 pages of Patent Specifications,
16,086
pages of Official Gazette, and 2,750
pages for the Annual Index of Patents. An average
production of
5,700 pages per week or 1,140
pages per day was required to accomplish this workload."
Meanwhile, in 1973, the new Data Systems Service, which had
pioneered a decade earlier in
computer applications as a part of Finance and Accounts,
announced that it had processed 61,316
computer jobs, had completed 120 new computer programs and had
275 more in process, along
with many other computer related tasks. Its workforce numbered
142, including 28 computer
programmers.
Later, when the Public Printer was succeeded by his Deputy on
November 1, 1977, the total
conversion of the daily Federal Register from hot metal to
photocomposition was taking place.
On January 9, 1978, the first issue entirely printed from
photocomposed text was produced. At
about the same time, the entire text of the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR), approximately
70,500 pages in 141 volumes, was converted to an electronic data
base. Besides these milestones,
another was noted: "The Linofilm machines were removed from
service after 15 years of
productive use, having been made excess to our needs by the
acquisition of more advanced
equipment." This was reported by the then Superintendent,
Electronic Photocomposition
Division, Joseph E. Jenifer. New technology was being replaced
by still newer technology.
Another "revolution" had been slowly taking place at the
Government Printing Office. It
involved the upward mobility of men and women of differing ethnic
backgrounds, and some with
physical handicaps. This social change was accelerated during
the administration of President
Lyndon B. Johnson who felt the Federal Government was not moving
quickly enough. His policy
was reaffirmed on August 8, 1969, by President Richard M. Nixon
who signed into law Executive
order No. 11478 which outlined areas of responsibility for
affirmative action to achieve equal
employment opportunity. The Government Printing Office already
had a "Plan of Action" which
it now revised to "insure equal opportunity in employment to all
qualified persons; to prohibit
discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion,
sex, or national origin; and to
promote full utilization of work force. The 'Plan of Action'
establishes and implements
procedures for recruitment, maximum utilization, training,
promotion, and supervisory
performance which will help make a reality of this policy."
An outgrowth of this effort was the appointment of the first
Equal Opportunity Officer and the
beginning of EEO counseling services. Shortly thereafter, in
1971, the first Federal Women's
Program Coordinator was appointed; and in 1973 a Spanish Program
Coordinator also became a
part of EEO. Many special employee educational programs were
sponsored by EEO to help
implement the "Plan of Action' and to convey awareness of
opportunities for upward mobility at
the Government Printing Office. Good community relations were
also a part of EEO's mission.
A memorable manifestation of this took place in 1973 when the EEO
staff took part for the first
time in a joint effort with the GPO Cafeteria, Recreation, and
Welfare Association to sponsor "A
Community Children's Day" for some 350 local children. This was
to become a traditional part
of GPO's annual Christmas Program.
Public Printer McCormick lost no time in addressing the problem
areas cited at his hearing by
Senators Cannon and Weicker, Jr. For the most part, these fell
under the management of the
Assistant Public Printer (Superintendent of Documents). They
involved the Depository Library
Program and the Documents Sales Service. The heart of the matter
was a lack of modernization
in the face of an increasing demand for services.
For a starter, the appropriation of funds for Documents which in
fiscal year 1972 had been
$14,829,900 was boosted in 1973 to $29,762,000. The number of
full-time employees went from
700 in 1972 to 1,247 in 1973. Review of the proposal to sell and
distribute publications in
microform was begun. An "office-excellence" program was started
which involved renovation and
new furnishings. Bookstore site selection criteria were
developed and new fixtures secured.
Design studies were undertaken aimed at an automated order
processing system. Steps were
taken to automate production of the Monthly Catalog.
Data
Systems Service joined in support
of these efforts and brought the computer to bear in the creation
of a Publications Reference
File on-line and in microfiche. Stenciled mail lists were
automated. The Depository Library
Council to the Public Printer, consisting of 15 documents
librarians, was formalized. This was
done "in response to the need for contributions from the library
community in the effective
implementation of the Depository Library Program, and the need
for a consulting source on such
subjects as micropublishing and legislation." The capstone was a
Systems Task Force established
by the Public Printer "to promote a total, integrated, automated
administrative/operational system
capable of handling incoming mail, order taking, order
processing, order dispatching, subscription
services, deposit accounting, bookstore operations and sales
analysis, along with their related
financial activities and inventory data and controls."
To further implement these and other changes, on July 20, 1975,
Public Printer McCormick
appointed his Director of Materials Management, Carl A. LaBarre,
as the new Superintendent of
Documents. A retired Navy captain, with a "can do" reputation,
the new Superintendent brought
a wealth of experience in managing large, complicated activities.
Another key appointment by the Public Printer was his prompt
selection of a new Deputy
Public Printer. On July 24, 1973, he chose John Joseph Boyle, a
native of Honesdale, PA, where
he had been born January 25, 1919. As a young man he had worked
in a job shop and on a rural
weekly newspaper. During World War II he served in the U.S.
Army's First Armored Division in
the North African Campaign. He was captured in North Africa and
spent 2 1/2 years in German
prison camps. Following the war, he worked in the composing room
of a city daily and in a large
printing plant. His GPO career began in 1952 as Proofreader. He
was then 33 years old. From
there he was chosen as Technical Assistant to the Superintendent
of Composition. He gained
valuable experience as the Production Manager's representative on
the Scheduling Committee
where he obtained a broad picture of the production capabilities
of the Government Printing
Office. He became Superintendent of Photocomposition Division.
He was next made Deputy
Production Manager and then Production Manager with total
responsibility for management of
production operations. It was at this point in his 21-year GPO
career of ever widening
experience that he was chosen for the Office's number two
position.
During the McCormick years, not only were problems being
addressed but employees noticed
many visible changes. Congestion in the main buildings was
relieved by leasing space elsewhere.
In 1974, the Library, Depository Distribution, and Statutory
Stock Distribution Divisions were
moved to Alexandria, VA. The following year, the 4th and 5th
floors of Union Center Plaza
were leased and occupied by Documents Sales, Documents Support,
and Data Systems Divisions,
along with the Superintendent of Documents. Sales documents
storage was moved to a 180,000
square foot warehouse in Laurel, MD that same year. The Systems
Task Force achieved the
consolidation of mail operations from 13 different locations in
1974 to one modern facility on the
ground floor of Building 1. And the passing of an era was noted
in 1977 when the oldest press in
the Government Printing Office, "GPO No, 1," was retired. It was
a web press purchased in 1897
from R. Hoe and Company for $15,940 and had been in continuous
use until 1974. Fortunately,
it found a home in Fairfield, NJ at the Horowitz Museum of
Bookbinding and Graphic Arts.
One of the smoothest transitions in GPO's history took place
following the election of President
James E. Carter. On September 28, 1977, the President announced
accepting Public Printer
McCormick's resignation and his nomination of John J. Boyle as
Public Printer. A hearing was
held October 19 and 26, and on October 27 the Senate confirmed
the new Public Printer. Mr.
McCormick noted that he had resigned "to accommodate the
transition to the new
administration." He also said, "I encouraged Jack Boyle to become
an active candidate for the
job, and I am pleased that he is President Carter's choice to
become the 17th Public Printer of
the United States. I am very proud of the accomplishments of the
Government Printing Office
during the past four years, and it is with great sadness that I
leave the fine people of the Office."
On November 1, 1977, Public Printer Boyle was sworn in by a GPO
employee, the Reverend
Floyd H. Gayles, of Personnel Service.
At his hearing, the future Public Printer shared some of his
concerns: "I plan to devote a major
portion of my management effort to reducing the cost of Federal
printing by applying new
technologies and increasing the productivity through better work
methods, better tools, better
training, and decreased administrative costs. I will continue to
make the Government Printing
Office a leader in the use of new technologies.
"I will strive for resolving the labor problems and improving
the working conditions for all
employees by improving our communications and dispelling fears of
being out of a job because of
technological improvements.
"We presently have an affirmative action plan for improving the
promotional opportunities of
our minority employees and women which I support and will strive
to improve. The GPO has
made many advances in the improvement of the position of
minorities and women as well as our
handicapped employees, but work remains to be done and we will
not rest on past performance.
"The Depository Library Program has been improved considerably
in recent years, and I believe
in complete support of this program because of its importance to
the Government and the public
in the dissemination of information."
One besetting question of new technology with which the Public
Printer grappled amid a welter
of conflicting advice concerned the use of microforms in Sales
and in the Depository Library
Program. Logically, this new technology promised savings to
taxpayers and to the Government
Printing Office. The community of Depository Librarians was
quick to perceive this and
advocated microform use through its representatives on the
Depository Library Council to the
Public Printer and through various Government Document Roundtable
groups. To gain further
advice, Public Printer Boyle authorized the formation of the
Public Printer's Council on
Micropublishing, with a membership from public and private
sectors. After listening carefully
and considering all ramifications of the microform question, and
with the backing of the Joint
Committee on Printing, the Public Printer proceeded to utilize
microfiche for Sales and the
Depository Library Program. One result of this was revealed by
Superintendent of Documents
LaBarre in 1979: "During this reporting period there has been a
total of 20,500 documents
converted to microfiche for a total of 5.7 million copies
distributed to Depository Libraries."
During the Boyle years computerization continued. 1977 saw the
construction of new plant
facilities for the Electronic Photocomposition Division. Some
50,000 square feet encompassing
most of the 7th floor of Building 1 was transformed by GPO work
crews. That same year
journeymen from the Composing Room took 13,142 hours of training
programs. The following
year the number of video keyboard operators tripled; and all were
obtained through internal
training classes. An Interactive Page Makeup System was
installed in 1978 which allowed an
operator to arrange text matter in complex page formats on a
video screen. After a page was
completed it was automatically merged with the rest of the text
data for the job. A report in
1979 noted, "The proportion of Congressional work diverted from
metal-type to
photocomposition processes increased sharply during the year.
The bulk of committee hearings
are now being photocomposed, and all Congressional bills have
been converted to electronic
processing."
When Public Printer Boyle chose to retire on February 29, 1980,
a Presidential election was in
prospect. At the Government Printing Office there was a general
feeling of moving into "the
computer age" and of being wisely guided. Jobs might change, but
workers would not be fired
because of new technology. Conditions seemed to be improving
quickly in some areas, too slowly
in other. More employees were hopeful than discouraged. Little
did anyone realize that "a time
of turmoil" was approaching.
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