Connecticut western news., 1881-04-13

is sober as the men bend steadily over their cases, for there are wives and ba- bies depending on the money to be earned.
 The compositor does not often look up. He is intent on the work before him. He finishes his "take and gets another. He seldom speaks. Thirty or forty in room, all intent on the work which requires their thoughts as we'll as their eyes and fingers have no time for looking up. The man just be- fore us has just finished what he took, 1 through peculiar fancy of his own, puts his copy between his teeth and goes to the "galley bank" Three or four more come at the same time by fortuitous coincidence. They say noth- ing. They hardly look at each other. Their respective sticks full are emptied. The galleys on the bank begin to fill. Each man adds little, and when it is in it's place, with pencil and paper he designates it with mark to correspond with mark already on the page of copy. No man takes precedence here, or elsewhere, either except by numbers when " time D is called, and by fnish" during the rest of the night.
 Social standing in the outside world of daylight counts for little here. The man is known by his number, and when his bit of copy is done and the type de- posted on the bank, if there is no more on the desk he writes his number on a slate or paper, and marks down oppo- site to it the hour and minute.
 The galIeys are filling fast now. 1 Here is an editorial. It will take a whole column of the paper tomorrow. Here is letter from foreign core spondent. It will occupy nearly two 4 columns.
 T Fifteen men each put up little, and in twenty minutes the whole thing will be put in type. Each man takes page of manuscript copy. Each man knows the contents of the fragment he has. He can read the balance in the paper I tomorrow, if he chooses. He rarely takes the trouble to do it before. That he may know the part he sets, he puts at it's head "slug"-a piece of metal of peculiar shape, but it bears his num- Der, and when the proofs are taken, the s.ugs are drawn and put on the '' bank for further use, leaving the type solid and compact, in column form, each ar, ) ticle complete. - ll--Oat of the way. Here oomes black y eyed, b1ack-haired maH. With twist j of the finger and g. turn of the wrist he % has drawn from secret recess long marrow stick It drops into its place in the galley beside the type, the quoins } fly up tke narrowing passage, the locked galley slips on to the press with ; a click, the proofs are taken one, two, J three, one for the compositors to claim :, their matter with tomorrow, one for the final revision and polishing by the i proof reader, and one for free and easy slip, which goes to the editorial J room to show what has already been I done. I Things are getting lively now. Copy lies in abundance on the desk; the
 "bank is recefving deposits by hand fu1ls and g;<fng out by galley -fulls. The com1ositor's fingers have grown timber >As he warns to the work, and fairlyfies over the case. A type here, alDype there, adjusting one line and l4ying another. !
 The associate press telegrams are hurrying in on their transparent paper toss sheet of it in the air and it floats like delicate silk. The "specials " race along with them news items, police reports, court calendar, come bounding in like school-boys: the proofs are being passed to the reader, long white ribbons with dark centres. Gaily and r brightly they enter the room, but the spider-work of the proof-reader crawls over them before they go out, and they are not so clean.
 Out they fly rapid comparison of numbers takes plaoe-cliok-on to a correcting case where every fault is rectifed-all that are found-and away it rushes for the turtle"
 But-there is talking in all directions. A dozen men are standing idle. Some are going toward the desk. They put their number on the slate, look at the clock, reckon all fractions in their own favor, and join the group of those who are talking, chatting, lounging, slash ing wooden swords, or whirling Indian clubs. There is no copy on the desk, and they are "only waiting"
 A sharp strike of the bell, rattling of the box as it dashes along it's narrow passage-way from the editorial rooms announces 8 fresh arrival of copy. There is utter silence, "fve, twelve, nine, seventeen, twenty-seven, etc., is the order of numbers on the slate, and as each number is called each man takes his slip of copy, goes to the slate, looks at the clock, counts the fractions in his own favor again, dots down the num-
 Der of minutes he has been away from his case, and is standing in his place again as sober as judge, and working like steam.
 Steadily the hours roll on. One o'clock strikes, two, three, four there are rapid movements now men begin to run with their galleys and thei sticks of type; some late news has come and it must go in the paper. Al given moment a signal comes ant , there must be nothing left. The me1 are tired, excited, eager. Away in th' . basement score of men are waiting a , the presses, and their work must b.
 done that the mails may close and tn