The purchase and installation of charging panels and charging circuits in the new garage to accommodate the automobiles cost $1,289.56.

During this fiscal year six electric trucks were purchased at a cost of $17,373.

A greater part of the old traffic equipment was sold, six horses and two trucks being kept. During the first six months that these automobiles were in service the total cost of the combined garage, delivery, and stable sections was $18,145.60, indicating an estimated saving per annum of $12,196.90 over the cost of operating the delivery and stable sections in the previous year.

The walls of the foundry section, which had become badly soiled, due to the use of the old dry black-leading process, were cleaned and painted at a cost of $560.29.

During this year and the year previous a number of experiments were made to determine the proper lighting system for the new building, and as a result of these experiments Tungsten lights were installed in the press room, first floor, G Street side, at a cost of $233.39; accounting division, at a cost of $102.16; foundry, seventh floor, at a cost of $659.39; and job composing section, second floor, G Street side, in each alternate bay, at a cost of $205.93.

The wiring in the old building was becoming obsolete and defective, and as a protection against fire, conduits and new wiring were installed on the second floor, old building, at a cost of $456.53; fourth floor, old building, including the part occupied by the superintendent of documents, at a cost of $1,045.31; and fifth floor, old building, at a cost of $285.45.

The rewiring in the attic, new building, which was started during the previous year, was completed during this fiscal year at a cost of $611.19.

UPKEEP OF THE BUILDINGS.

In addition to the above statement of new work performed, I have the honor to submit herewith a tabular statement (facing this page) showing the cost of upkeep of the buildings for this fiscal year. The total cost of this upkeep, including steam heating, plumbing fixtures, lighting system, electrical inspection, etc., was $28,769.04, which was a decrease from the fiscal year 1911 of $4,991.61. This statement shows that the cost of upkeep of the buildings, including all fixtures, in spite of the fact that it is a manufacturing plant, is considerably less than 1 per cent of the original cost of the buildings.

OPERATION OF ELECTRIC POWER PLANT.

The following statement shows the cost of operating the electric power plant for this fiscal year:

OPERATION.

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This cost does not include the entire engineer's section, which employs plumbers, steamfitters, and their helpers, and a portion of whose time is charged against maintenance, repair, and new work in connection with buildings, but includes only those costs chargeable against the electric power plant proper. The total output of the plant for this year was 3,208,073.40 kilowatt hours, as against 3,287,584.65 for the previous year, a reduction of 79,511.25 kilowatt hours.

The total expense for this year was $39,514.13, as against $42,227.72 for the previous year, a reduction of $2,713.59.

The cost per kilowatt hour in this year was 1.2317 cents, as against 1.2850 cents in the previous year, or a reduction of 0.0533 cent per kilowatt hour:

The installation of stokers (machines) and coal and ash handling equipment was postponed on account of the consideration by the Treasury Department of a plan for supplying light and power for the new post-office building from the Government Printing Office and an alternative plan for supplying the Government Printing Office and the new post office from the Capitol power plant. It is recommended that the Government Printing Office power plant be modernized and that power and light for the new post-office building be supplied therefrom.

LAWS REGULATING PUBLIC PRINTING AND BINDING.

The Public Printer can not exercise any control over the volume of public printing and binding. He is responsible solely for the management of the Government Printing Office and the cost of producing the work. All printing executed in the Government Printing Office is authorized by law, and the volume of printing is controlled by Congress and the heads of the executive departments and Government establishments. An analysis of the cost of the printing authorized and ordered by Congress and the departments during the fiscal year is set forth in the chart facing this page.

In order that the Public Printer might adhere strictly to the provisions of law limiting the bindings to which each Member of Congress is entitled, a check system was inaugurated May 9, 1911, which has resulted in elimination of duplicate bindings. From May 9, 1911, to June 30, 1912, 3,900 publications (80 per cent volumes and 20 per cent pamphlets and maps) forwarded to this office for binding have been returned unbound because the Public Printer was without authority to bind them. The copies of bindings for Members of Congress during the past four years were as follows: 1909, 29,090; 1910, 52,068; 1911, 59,285; 1912, 24,900.

It is estimated that if each Member had ordered bound the entire quota of publications to which he was entitled, the total would have