The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1880-06-01

re. II. COngdon in New York Tribune.

&c. T. Congdon in New York Tribune.]
OF the toll which a newspaper demands, of
the unceasing attention which 1t exactS, OF
the judicious care which it requires, the great
public of readers take no account. Those who
com to the breakfast-table more or less bill
ious, expect to find in their morning sheet
something like perfection, and l do not mean
to say that they are not right IN expecting it.
But when they glance hastily over the col
umns, and then judicially declare that there
is nothing in them, they may often forget that
there is everything in them that has happened
in the whole world during the last twenty
four hours-that so, 70, 100, maybe $50, men
tolled all night while these snap critics we're
sleeping, their heads, as Carlyle SAYS, full
Of the foolishest dreams worked to make
up this great compendium, this map, this pic
ture of a day, {" its fluctuations and its vast
concerns" 1t might lead the dissatisfied pur-
chaser to revise his judgment, if he could
stand, between / and 2 o'clock in the morn
ing, in the composing room of a great jour-
nal, and witness the intense excitement, all
kept we'll under in well regulated offices,
which charcterizes the "make-up" of the
sheet which he sometimes dismisses so con-
teInptously. The night editor, if then in a
state to speak to anybody nationally, might
tell him that his great point was not SO much
what should 60 in as what should be left out.
For there never was a morning paper yet
which was big enough for all the matter pre-
pared for it, and there never can be. The
larger the sheet the more new will come to
it-for every additional column, three col
umns of intelligence, or of matter of some
sort, will demand admission. Again, the rule
is that there shall be no mistakes. 1t is mex
Orable, yet thrice happy is the journal in which
it is never violated. There are more mistakes
than the sagacious public ever finds out. No
where is a ne newspaper so criticised as in its
own office.
The other day Mr.. Thomas n. Rocker, who
was long foreman OF the Tribune, and who
| still serves 1t in another capacity, told Inc that
he has been connected with it ever since the
first day Of its publication. In fact, l hope
he will not mind my mentioning that who
laid the first type in the cases has grown
white in the service, and has NO end Of rem
iniscences of his W under his "frosty PROV"
How many "forms' he has 'made up it
would be a great arithmetical job to compute,
as we'll as how many miles of copy he has cut
up, pasted and distributed. He has stored
away more anecdotes of Mr.. Greeley than any
other man living. Gone of the srrangest
things is that there should so many printers,
no longer On the newspaper, who know ne
anu whose names and faces have entirely
passed out OF my memory. | meet them on
the cars and in the street, and they come up
. to me and put out their hands and hope that
[ am well. and begin to talk of the old times
in a genial way which quite upsets me. They
remember all about the character of the copy
the astonishing and to eyes unfamiliar With
it. altogether illegible ch!rogrphy of Mr..
Greeley: the almost equally difficult hand
writing Of Mr.. Hilirctii the beautiful man
usclipt which they got from this member OF
the staff or the other, These men were inter-
Al, ,,itins If ,,nv n,ntllb,,N lhpir lIauti aud
butter. the money they wrr" to receive a the
! end of the week depended Il good deal upon
its excellence. This is a consideration Wh.cli
| am afraid does not often enough occur 10
literary people, who seem to fancy that a
cOmpositor can read anything. According to
ira ltiou, the very Wors, MS. ever sent into a
clearinghouse was that of Sharon Iurnrr'S
Sacred History OF the Wurtd." Either from
motives OF economy or from Sheer whlm. he
wrote upnn everything HAT calne TO band
wrapping paper i'll which lis muttuu-rh0ps
. had been sent home; Old letter backs mar
ginal bits cut from the newspapers; the fly
leaves torn from odd volumes. Having GOV
cred them with AicrUglyphic> which were
handy hannah, and pasted the fragments to.
"~etltr as hes he could he cave the lnrsteriou;
mess Gf | may call il So 10 HE printer
Composition after ~colnp0sitor prnf&lelF !"
belled again~. the j." Sacred His w. and flee
lali tfaEN nom tI' OII't. Il IL d NNtNlci MA
the work. which is one of great merit, eve
cot into type at all. ] give this a~nrcIotr il
The ~intprrS, , E my old friends, the printers
and imp!u!r all WHO lav" OCCASION to "tiC,
any m,anuS.rIp, t." newspaper net 10 TAX
money out OF TIE pockets of honest artisans
by induiging in a sIoyenly, and, | NAV say
irl0nlOus handwriting.
An early betrothal is ]chrnnicled by HE FL
mira (N. W Free Press. Two young coup
les were married within a few months Of eacl
other, and from families that had been yer!
intimate. In JANUARY la>l / hoy was born l.
one of them. and he was welcomed as heart
lily as though he had been a prince OF a reign
ing house. Last month a girl appeared To tn
other Young couple. One evening last wee
the mother of the boy visited the mother q
The Eirl. ,akin.- he child with her. Most Il
the members Of both families were also pres
ent. Tie mother of the boy took a lathc
diminiiivc but costly rinG iiOm 4 case, anc
placing it on the finger Of the gin scarcely
month old. solmulv engaged her son I" III
child. the matter to be ratified in The fUuur'
-~--
4 rrrIlr IN Ne DackWOoGs Il M}rl!iGs
desired 10 Many. rNt they woIs not within
reach Of = ,}r!o,urHIl Cr Justice. There W.
not, IN fat. il ! u1gau hrlla within l"rul
miles. =, l4"H Wrnle GA - murlI Of a utl
riage nlrmuuN IS II ry g ult urmrm'" 1t
tiultn% affirmative assumes. ,:"a"d u! e
names Ia liz. d} uWcIt, AMI r3"'. O"r