Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-06-19
The Printing 0ffice.
1ne FK1nt1mg Qf1lCes
ONE CLASS OF MEN WHO WE'RE NEVER KNOWN 10
BKTRAY PROFESSIONAL CONFIDENCE

BkTRAY PROFESSIONAL CONFIDENCE
(London Printer and Statoner.l
PIlnterS nave never, we think, received due
appreciation for the honorable confidence which
tney nave preserved In regard to the secrets
Win which they have necessarily been intrust-
ed. such case as this often happens. An
aIt ns u newspaper or magazine makes what
nous, and public curiosity Is excited to the
utmost 20 discover the name of its author. The
writer may be Cabinet Minister. high OIL
persons who. If he was suspected of writing for
me press, would at once lose his position, his
omce--perhaps his reputation. On the other
nand, the writer may be struggling author a
ateur. In any case his secret is preserved. his
anonymity is safe as long as it is confided to the
Some years ago there was great stir made
cleyer work. and had an unexampled success.
VINO Is the author" was the question on
evefypodys lips Some scores OF persons were
named, and they repudiated their participation
In IL. All sorts Of conjecture were hazarded,
and no doubt large sums would have been paid
oy several conductors of journals for a,-
t t Information as to the name OF the au-
thor: Yet that name was known to master
printer, bis overseer, and at least some OF the
cOmpositofs, but 1t was never revealed. When
me name was published, 1t was not through
independent OF them. They had faithfully
Kept their secret.
Going back few years, the authorship Of the
'Waverley Novels" may be referred to at re-
marhable incident of literary history. Sir
Walter Scott's authorship, although known by
twenty persons, including a number OF printers
was so wen concealed that the great novelist
lid words of praise sufficient to express the
sense OF his grateful acknowledgment and Won
deling admiration for the matchless fidelity
with which the mystery had been preserved.
There is another species OF secrecy-that re-
lating to the careful supervision of confidential
pubic documents books printed for secret So
pses ana s Of a
most honorably maintained. When treaties
are prematurely published In newspapers the
copy Is obtained from some leaky or venal Of
nc1al, and not from any OF the printers who set
up or work off the original A case of this kind
occurred year or two ago, wherein cOnven-
tfon between this country and another power
In the Foreign Office, at Whitehall. there is a
regular staff Of printers always at work, and If
these men liked they might let out secrets of
the most momentous kind, any one of which
would, perhaps, In these days of journalistic
competition, be worth a few hundred pounds
But such derel1ction of duty has never yet oc.
Cured; 1t was clerk, and not a compositOr
who betrayed his trust.
Most honorable to the profession is the story
OF Harding, the printer, who bravely bore i'm
pr1Sonment rather than reveal the authorship
OF the celebrated DRAPER letters. The printer
sat In his cell calmly refusing the entreaties Of
his friends to divulge the name OF the writer,
Dean Swift, church magnate, and great wit,
who dressed himself in the disguise Of low
Irish peasant, and sat by, listening to the noble
refusal and the tender opportunities, only
anxious that no word or glance from the unfor-
tuDate printer should reveal the secret. Swift
was bent SO ely upon securing his own safety at
the expense of the other; he covered before the
legal danger which Harding boldly confronted.
The world has unequally allotted the need Of
fame to the two cOmbatantS. The wit and the
printer both fought the battle for the liberty of
the press until the sense OF an outraged COM
munity released the typographer from the peril
so nObly encountered.
In thousands of other instances similar fidel-
ity has been exhibited In short, it is part OF
the professional honor OF a printer not to dis
close, either wantonly or from venal motives,
the secrets OF any Office In which he Is en-
ployed.
There is also the allegiance which printers
pay to their Chief in not divulg1ng important
intelligence. In some cases compositOr is
necessarily intrusted with an item of news
which would be negotiable Immediately, and
worth pounds to him. Seldom or ever Is there
q betrayal OF trust in this way. The eXamina-
ton papers, printed so extensively in London,
are OF the most tremendous Importance to cor
tain classes, who would pay almost any sum to
obtain the toughest proof the night before. An
instance Of this kind occurred quite recently. A
printer was ''got at" and promised a consider
able amount OF money for a rough proof What
was his course OF action? He simply informed
the authorities and the tempter was punished.
1t was another and creditable example of how
well and honorably kept are the secrets OF the
printing Office