The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1872-01-18
NEWSPAPER ERRORS.
Laughablo BIunders of Writers ana Ty=
pos


The amusement afforded by ludicrous
BILE while printers are fallible and edi-
tors write with abominable indifference
to legibility. One of the most astonish-
ing blunders of this kind was committed
some years ago in an editorial in the
Bulletin. The writer, who had cautioned
his readers against " casting their pearls
before swine," was amazed and grieved
to perceive that the compositor had
warned the public against "eating pills
before sunrise" This was corrected in
the proof, but the reporter who declared
of certain new store that it had "sixty
fancy windows" was even more indig-
nant than the storekeeper when he saw
in his paper the statement that the estab-
ishlnent contained "sixty faded win
dows." And then there was the poet, in
Muncy, who sought to smooth the
wounded feelings OF bereaved family
by publishing in the local paper poet
ical tribute to the deceased daughter,
Emily, in which he declared that 1--WE
will hallow her grave with our tears"
He was pursued next morning by Emil
ly's exasperated brother because the
printers insisted that ave will harrow
her grave with our steers"
The poets suffer most deeply. Moth
ing could be worse, for instance, than
the misery to the bard who asserted, in
his copy, that he kissed her under the
silent stars" only to find that the COM
positor compelled him to "kick her un-
der the cellar stairs" A certain Jen-
kins, also, was the victim of an aggra-
waited assault, because when, in his re-
port of wedding, he declared that the
bride was accompanied to the altar by
eight bridesmaids" the types made it
that " the bride was accompanied to the
altar by tight bridesmaids" These
things are peculiarly unpleasant when
they occur in remarks upon death; as in
the case of the editor, while writing q
sympathetic paragraph observed that
Mr. Smith could hardly bear the loss
of his wife," only to find that the printer
had made it Mr.. Smith could hardly
bear such boss for q wife"
Even more deplorable is the injury to
the journalist who complimented cer-
tain candidate with the observation that
he was "a noble old burgher, proudly
loving his native State" Imagine the
horror of the editor, when the paper the
next day contained the assertion that the
said burgher was " q nobby old burglar,
prowling around in a naked state"
But the printers do not make all the
mistakes. We remember the laughter
and comment provoked by the statement
of a provincial reporter, who called the
attention of the constable to the fact
that "on Sunday last some twenty or
thirty men collected IN the holl0p-bdck OF
Thomas NcGinnis and engaged in fight
ing during the whole morning" Mr..
McGinnis' back must have been uncom-
monty large.
During the Franco-Prussian war q
great deal OF fun was poked at the New
Jersey editor who read in the cable dis
patches that Bazaine has moved twen-
ty kilometres out of Metz" He there
upon sat down and wrote an editorial, in
which he said he was delighted to hear
that all the kilometres had been removed
and the innocent people of Metz were no
longer endangered by the presence OF
those devilish engines of war--sleeping
upon volcano, as it were. And then he
went on to describe some experiments
luuuC Wlth hilOulcplco III lue SIllutu, Al
which one of them exploded and blew {
frigate out of the water.
Another editor clipped from an ex
change an obituary poem, which he sem
to the composing room with some intro
ductory remarks. He said: 1--WE pub
ish below very touching production
from the pen of Miss M. 1t wa
written by her at the death-bed of he
sainted mother, and it overfows will
those expressions of filial affection whicl
are the natural outgrowth of pure untu
tored genius that has developed beneath
the sheltering influence of mother
love. The reader will observe how eacl
line glows with ardent affection and ten
derest regret"
Somehow, in attaching this introduc
ton to the poem, the editor turned u
the wrong side of the clipping, and tn
consequence was that the editors line
led the reader gently into an article up
on Hog Cholera in Tennessee"
was rumored that the relatives of Mis-
M was seen prowling around tn
Office the next day, armed with shot
guns, but this has not been traced t
any reliable authority.-Philadelphi
B1,llet;n