The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-12-25

Reader.
There is TO end to the stories that
might be told of the trouble. fun, acci-
dents and other complications that have
been culled by editorial writers and
Others who furnish the copy from which
printers, in all sorts of offices, earn
their livelihood. Proof-readers are the
court of last resort in the. premises. and
many bald and gray head and prema-
ture aged body are the results of hours
of struggle and days and years of as
ISOLATION with manuscript that puzzles
the author himself to read when it once
has become cold. The writer's expert
cnce extends over quite period of years
and with quite varied collection of
authors, and many a scene of trouble
and discOrd and stormy encounter has
come under his notice, brought about
by the positive inability to decipher
the writing, and consequent miscon-
struction of what the author intended to
write and what he undoubtedly did
write if it had been properly deciph-
cred.
John W. Forney, who was too well
known throughout the country to need
elaboration as to who he was. wrote a
terribly bad hand and he was made to
blush and worse many q time
when living. He was very willing
At all times to read the manu-
script of an editorial when the proof
reader appealed to him in his dire
extremity, but frequently he would sub
stitutc word, declaring he could not
read what he had originally written.
But, in the language Of the typo, the
fathers writing was cooper plate" in
comparison with the son's-John w.
Forney, Jr.'s He held for 3 long time
the position of managing editor on the
Philadelphia Press at the time his father
owned and edited it and he furnished
good deal of copy, for it used to be
said he could make copy" as fast as
any one was ever known to make it in
those days. He wrote dramatic criti-
cisms, theatrical notes, ETC., and his
manuscript was so horrible that the
compositors insisted on the payment of
fifteen cents thousand ems extra,
which made the price sixty-fiye cents
thousand for type-setting on this
particular manuscript, which, consid-
ering the fact that the proofs were
ALSO corrected for them, made a
pretty fair price. At one time there
came into the Press composing rooms
SO the story gOcs-a man who had tray-
eied much and whose knowledge of
manuscript was by no means limited,
and who was most excellent newspaper
printer. He carefully watched for Sub
bing," which in Philadelphia. as all prin-
tiers who have been there know, is no very
pleasant job, for there is not at any time q
very great amount of it given out, until
at last he was rewarded by .'regu-
lar" going off and putting him ON to
sub for him. Everything went along
nicely and smoothly for an hour or <wO,
when, upon going to the shook" he
struck '.take" of Young Johns"
manuscript. He took it to his frame,
put it upon his case, with his ..stick"
upon it, looked at it for a moment and
chen calculated, punctuating his re-
marks with words rather too strong to
print in full, and the dashes will be
omitted: well, that's writing, is it?
Business is too good in this country for
me to waste my time in trying to make
a living on that kind of stuff, and I'll
leave il. So saying he put on his coat
and walked out of the office.
Not a great while after the above oc-
CURED this same comp" was working
in Denver. The Pennsylvania Edito-
rial Association just about this time
went on a Western trip, with John w.
FOrney, j., as one of the number.
Stopping al Denver, John volunteered
to write for one of the journals there an
account of the associations trip. The
offer was thankfully accepted by the
editor, and John W., jr,. went to work.
Now, it SO happened that this was the
Office in which the aforementioned
printer was working, and, of course, as
soon as the manuscript reached the
copy hook ''take' of it fell to his lot.
He took it to his frame, and with arms
a-kimbO cried out, with language more
forcible than elegant: .'Weli, by George!
1 left Philadelphia for that, and TN
leave Denver too" And he did leave,
for he Immediately donned his coat and
left
Editor Bloss, who several wears ago
wrote the leading articles for the Gin
cinnati Enquirer, wrote a hand that no
one but four men who We're specially
employed upon it in the Office could
read. To one not accustomed to it, and
these four men are certainly the only
ones that could be excepted. it looked
the same whichever way you turned it.
Except for the folio mark at the top of
the page. it was impossible to tell when
you were holding the sheet upside down.
He has gone to bis grave carrying with
him the proud distinction of having been
the worst pcnman that America or any
other country ever produced, and the
manner of his death was cruelty refer
red to at the time by thoughtless type
settlers who knew his handwriting, as q
just retribution. He was struck by an
engine and instantly killed while walk
ing on the railroad track few years
ago.