The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1886-03-02
MARK TWAIN A CUB PRINTER.
He Delights the Typ0thetsg with
Composing Room Memories.
From the Nsx York Sun, Jan. ss.

From the New York Sun. Jan ss.
Typothe'a, a. association OF New
Yorkers having more or less to do with
types, commemorated the birthday o.
Benjamin Frankiin by q dinner 81 Def]
monico'a, which was enjoyed by over
200 guests.
Mark Twain's text was aThe Compos.
itor." This is what be said:
III am staggered by the compliments
which have been lavished and poured
out on me by mp friend on my right
(Mr. Bsile, am as proud OF this
compliment as am stsggered. Il Is
% sdsy Experiences > n b tl1s
irst time shst anvb body in my experience
has stood up in the presepce OF large
and respectable assemblage OF gentle
men like this, and confessed that have
told the truth once. II l could return
the compliment would do it. Laugh
ter at Mr.. BaiIey's expense.
"The chairman's historical remiuis-
cences OF Gutenberg have caused me to
fall into "reminiscences, for myself am
something of al antiquity. Laughter.
All things change IN the procession OF
years, and it nay be that l am among
strangers. It may be that the printer OF
to-day is not the printer Of thirty y-hve
years ago. was no stranger to him.
| knew him well. ] built his fire for him
in the winter mornings; ! brought his
water from the village pump; l swept
out his Office; picked up his type from
under his stand and, Il be was there to
see. put the good type in his case and
the broken ones among the hell matter,
and If he wasn't there 10 see, dumped
it all with the 'pi' on the imposing stone
-tor that was the furtive fashion OF the
cub, and was cub. I wetted down
the paper Saturdays, turned it Sundays
for this was country weekly; l roll
ed, washed the rollers, washed the
forms, l folded the papers, carried
them around at dawn Thursday morn
ings, I enveloped the papers that wer'
Tor the mail-we had a hundred towr
subscribers and three hundred and ffty
country ones the town subscribers paiG
in groceries and the country ones 10 cab
bages and cordwood-waen they paid q
all, which was merely sometimes, anC
then we always stated the fact in the pa
per, and gave them a puff; and If VIC
forgot it they stopped the paper. Ev
erv man on the town list helped edit thu
thing; that is, he gave orders as to how
it was to be edited dictated it's opinions
marked out its course for It, and every
time the boss failed to connect, be- stop
ped bis paper. We were Just infested
with critics, and we tried to satisfy then
all over. We had one subscriber wht
paid cash, and he was more trouble t
US than all the rest. He bought US, onc'
a year, body and soul, for two dollars
He used to modify our politics ever,
which way, and he made Us change on
religion four times in five years. II W
ever tried to reason with him, be woult
threaten to stop his paper, and.of course
that meant bankruptcy and destruction
That man used to write articles col
umn and half long, loaded long prim
er, and sign them 'Junius' or 'veritas' o
Nv, K Populi.' or some other high-sound
ing rot; and then, after it was set up, b
would come in and say be bad cbange'
his mind-which was gilded figure q
speech, because he hadn't any-and OF
dered it to be left out. We couldn'
| stand such waste as that; we couldn'
afford bogus in that Office; so we al
ways took the leads out, altered the sig
nature, credited the article TO the riss
paper in the next village. and pnt It 10
Well, we did have one or two kinds G
bogus Whenever there was a barbe
cue, or circus, or baptizipg, We knock
ed of for half day aud then to max
up for short matter we would turn owe
ads'-turn over the whole psge and du
plicate it,. The other bogus was dee
philosophical stuff, which we judged nc
body ever read; 80 We kept q gslley G
Int standing and kept on slapping th
same old matches OF il in, every nov an
then. till 1t got dangerous. Also, in th
early days the telegraph We used I
economic on the news. We picked OF
the items tha. we're pointless and barre
Of information and stood them on ga
lev, and changed the dates and locslitie
and used them over AMI over again III
the public interest in them was worn t
the hone. sfF
i We marked the ads. but We seldoI
paid anv attention to the marks afte
ward so the life OF 81 ad and a It
ad was eqnallv eternal ] have seen
ia pc tice OF sheriti's sale It'll boon
ing serenely along two years after th
sale was over, the sheriff dead, and tb
whole circumstance become ancient biz
tory. Most Of the YEARLY ads were pa
ent me1icine stereotypes, and We used I
fence with them. Life was easy with US
if we pied form we suspended till mex
week, and we. always suspended ever
now and then when fishing was goot
and explained u by the lines OF th