Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1886-07-22
THE PROOF-READER.
Valiant Member of Il Long-Abused Pro-
fessiOn Rises to Protest.

AValiant Member of LongAbused Pro-
fessiOn Rises to Protest.
The proof-reader has long shared
with the Intelligent compositor' the
reputation for that total depravity which
has made writer say ..see the pale
martyr with shirt on fire. when he
wrote in, ..sheet of fire. and to ask
sis there no barn in Guilford," when he
meant sis there no balm in Gilead;" to
speak of his love of ''alum water"
when he wrote .'Alma Mater" and to
speak of "a mysterious dspensation of
Providence" as "a mysterious disap-
pearance of provisions"
The silence of the proof-reader has
been taken as evidence of his guilt, or
that he was proof against reproof and
as ndisposed to correct his own errors
as those of the types. But he has evil
IDENTITY borne contumely long enough,
and he rises to .'hurl back the charges,
and TO mail lies to the counter" and to
"thrust the base falsehoods down the
throats of his cowardly vituperators,
as the contributors to that popular peri
odical-the Congressional RecOrd-are
in the habit of saying. The worm has
turned ut last, and a rather lively turn
it is.
He expresses his wonder to the editor
of the Boston Literary World that moth
ing has ever been said in praise of
proof-readers. OF course this might
surprise proOf-reader, but any eXpe-
rienced writer for the press will not be
astonished at it at all. The writer will
know that he has time and time again
written the most glowing eulogies of
proof-readers and their assistants; trib-
utes that statesmen might envy and
good men crave. But the proof-reader
has never allowed them to appear in
print. Where the writer has said that
the proof-reader was "a benefactor to
his race" it has appeared ''as benight-
ed scape-grace; when he has called
him the "salt of the EARTH it comes to
when he has spoken of the lease and
comfort a good proof-reader gives
him, he is made to say an escaped con-
vict," and when he has referred to the
proof-reader' ''saintly grace, the pub
lie first learns of him as a "snake-ln-
the-grass." That is why nothing has
ever appeared in print in praise of the
proOf-reader.
This protesting proof-reader is not
willing to believe that every one of his
species is full of malice toward au-
,thors and hates the whole world. And
then the man actually goes on to speak
"a good word for himself and his kind.
At this rate the barber will be defend
ing his talking; the mother-in-law will
,clamor for hearing; the plumber will
be piping up in his own behalf; the
Chinese laundryman claiming "a right to
live an honest and clearly life; and tur-
KEYS speak their mind about Thanks
hot &C. l< TOP
However, since the proof-reader has
been graciously allowed to say that his
souls his own, it is perhaps worth
while, as mild amusement, to hear
how he puts the case. In the first place
he says that an sslthor intent on what
he is writing, is necessarily careless
about hiss handwriting. He can not
break the flow of his thoughts to dot his
ais" and cross his".t's" Each author
mas his own peculiar permanship. The
proof-reader takes mp his manuscript
and tries to catch the purport of the
authors thought. He has scarcely done
so. when in comes another mass of proof
and manuscript of an entirely diff
ferent character and an entirely diff
ferent pen: and Il new thread has
to be picked up until another INTERRUPT
ton This is not for a moment but all
DAY, all the week, All the year, al HIS !
life. After puzzling himself until he is
half blind, his brain weary. and work |
pushing upon him necessarily. letter |
may be left out or a comma inserted in |
the wrong place, when slam-bang goes /
a volley at the proof-reader. He has
seen conscientious, patient, worthy |
proof-readers shrink and cringe when
an author visits a printing office, lest
something might have escaped their no.
tice. He has seen an author scold
nroof-reader for some trifiing oversight