Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-12-12

clple than under mans most careful
tuition.
From the Pacific Rural Press
TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS.
The proof-reader has the floor. 1t
is so seldom that this much abused
individual has an opportunity to
speak for himself, that he may per-
haps be forgiven if for once he be-
comes garrulous, and even a little
spiteful. Any one who is acquaint-
ed with newspaper work under
stand the peculiar and not over
comfortable position occupied by
the proof reader, but for the ben
eft of the uniniated the situation is
briefly reviewed. To describe it
geometrically, a square may be i'm
agined in the centre of which stands
the proof-reader; at each corner are
his natural enemies, the writers, the
printers, the great reading public,
and last and worst of all-himself.
A cross-fire is usually considered a
bad thing to get into; but when the
cross is doubled, so to speak, it be-
comes more than human nature can
well bear. Tie writers agonize if
word or comma of their precious
manuscript be altered; the compost
tors also row if "copy" is changed;
the great public wonder how the
stupid wretch of a proof-reader got
things so mixed; and his own con-
science troubles him because he has
not been more relentless, even at
the risk of the first two classes of
critics. He stands alone, in the CEN
tire of never ceasing fire. Truly it
needs a marty's courage, or stoic's
indifference, to maintain a calm
front. But then, if he is thus as
sailed, he has also just grounds of
complaint against at least two OF
ders of foes. The writers perse-
verely say what they evidently don't
mean in a language that might as
well be Syriac, or do their worst in
covering errors of sense and of
grammar underillegible chirography-
And the printers are not much bet
ter. Time is money to them, if to
any and, the first Interpretation to
the oftentimes cabalistic hieroglyph-
les they are called upon to ':'set' is
accepted and acted on, regardless of
the frenzy of the horror-stricken
author, or the bewilderment of the
long-suffering reader.
But as the contributors are gener-
ally the least merciful. Our proof
reader proceeds to accuse them
first. The most direct mode of con-
viction is to give a few instances of
the manner in which they perplex
and overwhelm both printer and
proof-reader by carelessness in con-
struction of sentences, ETC., which
have required only moments time,
perhaps, to put upon paper; bu5
which call for careful study or lucky
guess work, occupying much time,
before they became Ineligible to
the reader. Such slips are most
frequently owing mere to the want
of care, but sometimes, are not due
to a perverse contempt for the sim
plest rules of speech. To begin at |
home:
An attache of this Office, whose |
manuscript unfortunately came to
our proof-reader's notice, in single |
article. was guilty of the following: |
"Hats are manufactured in dozen |
establishments, not more than three,
however, being of any size =.
Two powder factories, or rather, we
should say, explosive factories"
Pretty rough on the hats and !
the powder factories, that. 1t IS
hardly necessary to specify which
particular section of the ould coun-
thry this editor halls from.
Another gentlemen VINO writes
for the Press is sometimes little
careless about his spelling. Inns
don't matter much ii ordinary cases,
but when it copes to "stageerer,
for staggerer. and almost lliegl6le
at that If becomes a matter for FIVE
minntes' .prayerful consideration, not
aIwavs rewarded by success. In
this Connection, it must be remem-
bered that Andrew Jackson was &C
cGsed of bad spelling, but John
Randolph, defended him by declar-
ing "that a man must be fool who
could not spell words more ways
than one"
In the Press office all the editors
would not be absolutely certain of
carrying off prizes for penmanship;
but so long as there is English at
the bottom of the obscure bothooks
and hangers, there is always a fair
chance of getting at it, and nobody
complains.
Occasionally, however, there is a
muss; as when, for instance, a cor
respondent in writing of the wonder
full restoration of Chicago, since the
fire, grows classical and speaks OF
"Neptsne rising from the ashes;
or when a reporting committeeman
deliberately says: "Visiting mem
bers were invited to take seats on
the .foOr."
On the whole, it isn't bad idea,
after all, to write moderately plain
Iy. This conclusion is reached on
reading a sentence of one Of our
Grange friends, which should have
read: "We are not taking the ragtags