On supporting science journalism
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The Patent Office Gazette, as published during recent years, has fairiy ranked as a model for the world. In its printing, illustrating,perfect and complete indexing and general character it has excelled both in typography and in clerical accuracy. When it is considered that each week the claims of some 500 patents had to be printed within its pages, with illustrations of very many of them, it will be seen that the work of doing this satisfactorily and up to date was no slight one. It is questionable if the government received better service from any of its contractors or employes than from those concerned in the publication of the Gazette. Incidental to its publication was the printing of half a million full copies of the patents of the week and the photolithographic reproduction of the drawings for them. The amount of the most difficult kind of supervision and proof reading involved in all this work was very great, and the expensive adequate plant for doing the mechanical work had to be supplemented by trained employes at high salaries. Recently, as our readers know, a change has taken place in the administration of the Patent Office, a new commissioner has been appointed, and for some reason the work of printing has been given to some other printer. Apparently this has been done without makingproper arrangements for satisfactorily doing the work on time. Consequently, we find the production of the Gazette, the production of the copies of patents and drawings, all are delayed, and complaints about the matter are pouring into the Patent OfQce from all quarters. This is not creditable to the new administration of the Patent OfBce, and we hope a remedy will be applied quickly. There is nothing to be said about the expediency of changing the printer, but there is a great deal to be said about the inexpediency of making the change before sure and adequate facilities had been provided for effectively keeping up the work.
