The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1871-01-07
What We Know About Printing.

regularly since InaL Mnle. we pro
pose after Il little over three Years
experience, to say what we know
about printing and though it may
not be as much as IT. g. knows
about farming, we will be able tt
say it in fewer words.
In the Autumn of 1860, Mr.. 7. G
Compton, who had published thu
Southern Sentinel at Alexandria, be
fore the war, and at Alexandria an(
Shreveport, during the war, remoy
ed his Office to this place, and re
sumed publication in the same
building formerly occupied by the
old Opelousas Patriot newspaper
and now used by us In January
1868, we purchase one-half of his
Office, and became his partner. We
remained with him until October Of
the same year, 1866, when the part
nership was dissolved by mutual
consent, he leasing our half of the
materials, &C., and retaining the
privilege of publishing the paper
under the name of the previous firm
Up to this time we had scarcely
learned anything about the mechan.
ical department of the printing
business. In July, 1867, MI. Comp
ton suspended the publication OF
the Sentinel, and was employed as
editor of the Opelousas Courier In
slowing away the materials of the
office, which was done by unskilled
persons, nearly all the type was re-
duced to pi. We found it in this
condition, when we purchased Mr..
Compton's half of the office about
the first of October, 1867. The APP
pearance of yellow fever here during
that month, prevented our putting
the office in order and commencing
publication Immediately. We had
associated with us Mr.. j. NJ. Gale,
who was an apprentice in the Pa
b1ot office just before and during
the first year of the wa2, and after
wards worked in New Orleans, and
III the Sentinel Office since the a
at this place. He was a first class
practical printer. We issued the
first number of the Sentinel, revived,
on Saturday, November sd, 1867;
and afterwards changed the name
to JOURNAL, the first number ap-
pearing, as already stated, on Sat
urday, January s4th, 1868. The
partnership was dissolved in No
Vember, 1868, about one year from
its formation, when Mr.. Gale ceased
to work in the office. At this time
we simply knew how to set reading
matter for the paper; that is we
had never done anything else, ex-
cept press work. Mr.. Gale had al
ways done the job work, set the adj
ye~rtlsenents, aud made and locked
UP the forms and prepared them for
press. We were suddenly thrown
upon u own resources, and had
either "make or break Wei
had no one but tile Dec5 to assist
rs. The first form we made, we
think was locked rather tight, out
abundant caution that it would
not fall into pi. Since that time we
nave set many a stick, by day and
oy night, and made UP many a form.
IN fact, the making Of all the forms,
but few exceptions, and nearly
i'll the job work, and it has been
considerable, in this office during
last two years, has been done
,y us. We have been assisted most
# that time by those who knew less
lbotrt the business than ourseH.
We have never been in any city
printing office, and never saw
paper pressed in any office
nut our own. The limited knowl
dge we have of the business, has
'een obtained from seeing and read
ng other papers, and with but very
title positive instruction from more
printers.
What measure of skill we have at
aimed as a printer, we owe to labor
nd application. A good portion
f the time we have been oyer-work-
and compelled to leave undone
aany things that we had not the
ime to attend to. But altogether
have managed to acquire such
eneral knowledge of the printing
usiness as to be able to make our
useful in any ordinary country !
flee; andin the event of other re-
Ources failing, We would not des- {
air Of making q living by means I