Daily globe., 1883-06-17
THE PRINTER.

PSeAAo SA viz WIZ fbi1Ol bI1lttOOS tdhS,
"quoins," "proof, "" out of soris," ETC.,
and if we succeed we will be the first
who have written about the printer with
out distorting several languages to make
puns on the technical terms of his trade.
We would rather write of the moGesty,
diffidence and sobriety of the printer,
and of his unobtrusive piety and his
unostentatious domestic habits, but for
the fact that the printer has none Of
these vices. We would prefer describ-
ing him in the quiet retirement of the
family circle in his cozy parlor On win
ter night-the revered father OF nu-
merous offspring teaching his little
ones their catechism or as he sits in
the mellow twilight of summers even
ing, on the honeysuckle-covered porch
OF his modest cottage, earnestly reading,
by the fading light Of day, comforting
precepts from the inspired page. We
repeat, that is how we would love TO
write of him, but, alas we cannot do
such injustice to our reputation for ver-
acity as to describe him thus, as he is
not.
The printer begins life as a devil, and
remains in that chrysalis condition for
period of several years, during which
time his duties consist of distributing
type in wrong cases, harassing the edi-
tors for copy, falling down stairs with
galley full of type, and consuming
early and unripe apples, mammoth
watermelons, bottles OF homemade wine,
and such painful compliments that are
presented to the editor, and which, not
approaching himself, he sends to the
devil. When he ceases to be devil he
becomes a compositor, and assumes all
the rights and privileges of the craft,
especially that of raising the devil every
Saturday night when he gets paid off.
The printer is gregarious and con-
vival in his habits, but that is no
excuse for people who continually libel
him by representing him to be in con-
dition of inebriety from one years end
to the other. These people are preju-
diced, and they allow their prejudices to
overshadow their sense of justice. We
know the printer better than they Go,
and although he has treated us shame
fully at times in the matter of insisting
on having his wages paid more frequent
ly than once in while, and in declin-
ing to take our due bills in lieu of cash,
yet we propose to fairly represent him,
and we cheerfully bear testimony to the
fact that we know more than one printer
who has been sober for one consecutive
week at a tine. We could point to one
who, we are satisfied, has not been in
toxicated at any time during the last two
years, and we will answer for his sobrie-
ty for the next two years to come, if
Gov. Roberts does not pardon him out
before that time. The printer is nj
gratory and impecunious as a rule,
but he is usually honest and pays as he
goes. He has been slandered by writer's
him of building himself a $40, 600 home
stead and then compromising with his
creditors and paying 10 cents on the
dollar. It has been the habit Of writer's
to represent the printer as making extra
ordinary blunders in composition, sub
stituting one word for another, and thus
altering the sense of a whole article.
To those who are familiar with the sort
Of manuscript received in newspaper
offices, the wonder is that the printer
makes so few mistakes. II he had not
more than average intelligence and pa
tience, he would probably make as
many mistakes as he gels credit for.
He does occasionally try to improve on
/ what the editor has written. He thinks
that the editor certainly could not have
meant it that way, 50 lie drops in word
Ol LIS 9N4A SG1GCGlDIl ~ uIIlAC SCGSr,
as he expresses ii, which subsequently Y
causes the editor to use harsh and IN
feeling language, Sometimes the print
er really Goss improve On The editors
COPY. Not long since we lad occasion
to write of the old Texas veterans, and
we alluded to them as "battle- SCARED
heroes" It was printed "badly-scared
heroes" and when we said that "Gov.
Roberts was above being Influenced by
bribe," the printer got it that he was
"above being influenced by the Bible,
which would go to prove that OCCASION
ally the printer is inspired.
The printer is one of the Indispensable
! adjuncts of civilization and progress,
and in the United States, from the ranks
of the army of printers, have risen more
brilliant men in literature, and greater
number of statesmen, whose names will
be set up in large type in history's
pages, than have risen from the ranks
OF any other trade, calling OF profession.