Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1881-03-24
"Press" is not regular toast. This Is
seen on every programme
Al Every BANQUET.

| "Press" is not regular toast This Is
seen on every programme
At Every Banquet.
I,i,a stereotyped acknowledgment OF
the power and influence OF the newspa'
per. The general public has no means
OF knowing the details connected with
the publication of newspaper.
| There comes to them, here, each day,
their Enquirer, which contains as much
nrinted matter as an ordinary book and
thew little suspect the labor required to
nrocure this result. The amount ol
work involved is colossal in its dlmen'
sions: and it is only systematizing 1t un-
III it has the compaclness, regularity
and swiitness OF a machine that II can
be accomplished. How all this WORK ID
done is a matter worth knowing, anu,
fancying that your readers would hke
the information, / will give the details oi
one DAVIS occurrences, the space In your
paper permitting
Wakenlng 10 Life.
| Att o'clock in the morning the IN,
| oiir,r building may be tiguratiyely said
| to be buried in slumber. 1t IS silent
and deserted, except in the case OF the
| NIGHT watchman, who, red-eyed and
sleepy, waits impatiently to be relieved,
and the grimy engineer, who keeps tue
fires blazing beneath the boilers. First
come the janitors who penetrate every
room in the building and commence the
work OF sweeping, dusting and remov'
| ing the debris OF yesterdays work. AT
40 some of the clerical force make
| an appearance, and the counting room
| or business olIice-is opened. A hall
| hour later the business manager arrives,
and thenceforth the business depart
,nent ia in full blast. The heavy morn
ing mails are opened and their contents
| marked tor distribution TO mailing
clerks, cashier. editorial departments
&c, according to their nature. AT A.
NJ. the morning local writers begin to
appear. They glance over the files oil
morning papers and they are OF on
their Grounds" Next comes the man
aging editor and the chief OF the news
department. The former looks over the
morning issue TO see whether or not
everything is ship shape, and glances
over the other morning papers with
yigilant eye in order TO discover
whether they have any news which the
Engiirer does not have. Looking over
the broad field of the world he learns
that this event or that is about to occur;
and at once kilograms are sent 10 resi-
dent correspondents directing them to
send a given number OF words in regard
to
A Given Occurrence.
He has letters to write blessing this cor.
RESPONDENT for sending too much IN
regard to trivial event, or too little IN
regard TO one of importance. lie Is the
hardest working man on the paper.
He is the sdjutant or executive DIN,
Ger of the force, and upon him depend
the details of carrying out the designs
OF the proprietors. His duties include
an oversight OF every department, save
that OF the counting and press rooms.
He appoints and instructs, assisted by
the telegraph editors and the vast
army OF correspondents: reads every
line before il goes into the paper. He
il nearly the first to reach the office and
the last to leave it before the paper goes
TO press. His work is that Of about
three men--including the brain work OF
two and the manual labor OF one. The
present managing editor OF the Enquirer
is John McLain, q young man OF about
81 wears. Although owning control
ling interest in the paper and being
worth a million, he does more work
than any two men on the paper. lie Is
the motive power and
Pushing Spirit
OF the great concern and has been s.nce
his first connection with the paper about
ten wears ayo. When he first took hold
of the concern with his iron hand, the
paper was q meek and sickly one, COM
paratively speaking, much inferior to
the other journals here. Now It's
circulation is more than equal
the combined circulation OF the CONNER
cial and Gazette. In Mr.. McLain's ab.
sence from the editorial chair, Sam
Johnson takes the helm. Mr.. Johnson
was foreman OF the Wheeling REGISTER
composing room in its earlier days and
his rise from that position to the manag-
lug editorship OF the EnYuireris IN short
the history OF man OF extraordinary
ability and ambition. The news editor
and his assistants are working away at
vast pile OF exchanges, which litter an
immense table. These include about
one hundred and fifty daily newspapers
OF American origin and a score, or more,
German, French and English. Every
one Of these must be looked through
and everything in the way OF novelties,
not already known by telegraph, cut
out. Nor is this all. They must be "cut
down".that is to say, reconstructed 80
as to give their vital points in the least
possible space. BY noon all the editors
are at their posts. The literary editor
is i'm the library going through vast
pile OF new books. two assistants In the
commercial department, having been
abroad since early in the morning., are
at their desks writing up the prices OF
produce and general markets. Soon
after one O'Clock the city editor arrives,
and one by one his assistants drop in
to
Get Their Assign m:nts.
The law reporters, whose business il
is to visit all the courts and get copies OF
cases entered and disposed OF, are al
ready at their work, but a small army
vet remain whose labor for the day Is
not vet given them. In a
hook the city editor enters
the name OF each reporter, and opposite
each the work which he is to perform.
Between noon and two o'clock the
great room devoted TO type setting be.
gins to wake up. The compositors COM
mence the work OF filling up their cases
by distributing type from matter that
has been used. This department is
small world by itself, and is governed
by special rules, which would bs very
curious To one not familiar with them.
The manner in which type is set, put on
galleys, proved, and then placed in the
forms, ready to be s:ereotyped, as well
az the system in which copy Is given
out, are all Of interest, hut cannot be
given in details ia this article. This de.
part,nent employees from sixty TO sew
enty. five men, OF whom two are lore
men, two are assistant foremon, five are
proof readers, and the remainder type
settlers. Between six and eight O'Clock
the printers all re-assemhle IN
The Composition Room;
the telegraph editor and his assistants
have arrived; the corps OF proof-readers