Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1886-06-10
THE OLD HAND-PRESS.
A Type-Foundry Agents Futile Efforts t.
Bring 1t Into Disrepute.

HE OlD HAND-FnCS
A Type-Foundry Agents Futile Efforts to
Bring 1t Into Disrepute.
A large man with mustache BROOD
ing over his mouth like some great,
National sorrow visited the Bell Office
this week. He was travelling for an
Eastern house which makes specially
of printing materials and sight drafts.
He tried to sell us a large press with
wheels on it and strongly made and
binding chattel mortgage attachment.
He spoke very highly of this latter
feature and said their mortgages were
never known to break. He said the
mortgages they were now putting in
for printers in the Northwest were
alike satisfactory to themselves and
the sheriff. He also spoke incidentally
of the press itself and we gathered that
it was to be set up and fed with white
paper, which would come out nicely
printed with tariff editorials and origi-
nal clippings. We judged that either
a Democratic or Republican press
could be ordered, and that there was no
extra charge for an attachment to run
in an original poem.
Our first impulse was to seize pen
and write out check sufficiently able
bodied to cover the cost of recording
the mortgage. ! urning we caught a
reproachful glance from the dark, cast
iron countenance of the old Washing
ton hand-press and desisted Part of
the desist was caused by not being
able to call to mind the address of any
bank which had ever put in sealed pro-
posals for handling our checks.
To turn the matter off we asked the
man if he had a sample press with him.
He said he had not Then we said that
we did not believe that his house would
start him out on the road without one,
and that it was our opinion he had
pawned it. We told him that we pro-
posed to report him and that we had
no further use for him. He seemed
agitated, and after leaving bill for
some type we ordered of his firm last
week he went out.
One of the kind of presses he sells
doubtless has its advantages, especially
for use in daily offices in the larger
places like New York. Still, in many
New York offices where the circulation
is chiefly confined to the affidavit of
the business manager it would seem
that the old hand-press would not
be entirely out of place. When the
press peddler sad formally put on
Office we turned to the old hand.
press with sigh of relief. After
all that style of press seems to
give the greatest satisfaction. Nc
. one can write intelligently of the
power of the press who has not pulled
, it. 1t seems to have early in life or.
dered large consignment of choice
!, springy power and to still have mos
of it ON hand. 1t is all used in hold
, ing back. The man who said the press
: was the greatest power in the worlt
had pulled the Washington hand vari
ETY.. Some people may think tina
, Washington should have kept right OF
crossing the Delaware and freezing tt
death at Valley Forge instead of stop
ping to invent balky printing press
I The calm, dispassionate historian of the
future who is working by the day viii
have to decide this point.
. All this will 60 to explain why WI
still work off the paper on the station
, ary press when we might have ont
| which would be amply competent tt
! get up on the editorial tripod and pu
| its feet on the table. Some peopl,
| may prefer to have a press sitting
around the Office blowing about having
more brains than the editor but we dt
. not long for it. Give us rather th'
J simple society of the hand press whicl
: will not shy at the cars and was neve
| known to kick its hind feet through
the dashboard. .-EStelline Cd. T.) Bell