The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-06-10
THE PRINTING OFFICE.
Men who Never Befray Profess
siOnal Confidence.
London Printer and Stationer.

celvea que appreciation OF tne nonor-
able confidence which they have pre-
served in regard to the secrets with
which they have necessarily been in
trusted. Such a case as this often
happens. An article in a newspaper
or magazine makes what is called
sensation" 1t is entirely anony-
nous, and public curiosity is excited
to the utmost TO discover the name of
its author. The writer may be cab
met minister, a high official, a courier
or any of the thousand and one per-
sens, who, if he was suspected of writ
ing for the press, would at once lose
his position, his ofice-perhaps his
reputation. On the other hand, the
writer may be struggling journalist,
or mere literary amateur. In any
case his secret is preserved; his anony.
mitv is safe as long as 1t is confded to
the printers.
Some years ago there was n great
.tir made about book entitled Ecce
Homo 1t was clever work, and
had an unexampled success. "Who
is the author?" was the question on
everybody's ips. Some scores of per-
SONS were named, and they repudiated
their participation in it. All sorts of
conjectures were hazarded, and 10
doubt large sums would have been
paid by several conductors Of journals
for authentic information as to the
name of the author. Yet that name
was known to master printer, his
overseer, and at least some of the COM
positOrs. but it was never revealed.
When the name was published, it was
not through the instrumentality of
them. They had faithfully kept their
secret.
Going back Il few years, the author
ship of the Waverly novels may be
referred to as remarkable incident of
literary history. Sir Walter SCOTS
secret, although known by twenty
persons, including IL number of prln-
ters, was so well concealed that the
great novelist could not, even IN his
matchless vocabulary. find words of
praise sufficient to express the sense of
his grateful acknowledgements and
wondering admiration for the match
less fidelity with which the mystery
had been preserved.
There is another species of secrecy
that relating to the careful super
vision of confidential public docu>
ments, books printed for secret socie
ties, and the authorship of articles or !
pamphlets, us already referred to,
which has been most hcnorlbly mains
tained. When treatises are prema-
turely published in newspapers the
copy is obtained from some leaky or
venal official and not from any of the !
printers who set up or worked off the |
original. A'case of this kind occur
red Il year or two ago, wherein Il con-
vention between this country and an /
other power was revealed to one of
the evening Newspapers. In the for
eign office, at Whitehall, there is Il
regular staff of printers always ut
work, and if these men liked they
might let out secrets of the most mo-
mentous kind, any one of which would !
perhaps he wsrth few hundred !
pounds. But sech Il dereIiction of du- |
ty has never yet occurred; it was Il
clerk, and not q compositor who be-
trayed his trust.
Most honorable to the profession is |
the story of Harding, the printer, who |
bravely bore imprisonment rather !
than reveal the authorship Of the cell |
ebrated ''Dapier" letters. The prin-
ter sat in his cell calmly refusing the !
entreaties of his friends to divulge the |
name of the writer. Dean Swift, a
church magnate, and a great>wit, who
dressed himself in the disguise of u
low Irish peasant, and sat by, listen
ing to the noble refusal and the tell
der opportunities, only anxious that |
no word or glance from the untortun-
ate printer should reveal the secret. |
Swift was bent solely upon securing
his own safety at the expense of the
other; he covered before the legal
danger which Harding boldly con-
fronted. The world has unequally !
allotted the need of fame to the COM /
batants. The wit and the printer
both fought the battle for the liberty |
of the press until the sense IF an out
ragged community released the typo |
grapher from the peril so nobly en-
countered.
In thousands of other Instances sim
liar fidelity has been exhibited. In
short, it is part of the professional
honor of printer not to disclose, eth
er wantonly or from venal motives,
the secrets of any office in which he
is employed.
There is also the allegiance which |
printels pay to their chief in not di- |
vulging important intelligence. In
some cases compositer is necessarily |
iutrusted with an item of news which |
would be negotiable Immediately, and
worth pounds to him. Seldom or ev-
er is there betrayal of trust in this
way. The examination papers, prin-
ted so extensively in London, ARE of the |
most tremendous Importance to cer-
tain classes, who would pay almost !
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