Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-12-23
LET MEN PITY HIM.

rhe ssPrints,, Think the Proof
Reader Knows u Thing or Two.
The proof reader is to blame for it all
Where the writer has said that the proof
reader was "a benefactor to his race" it
has appeared as "a benighted scape-
grace" when he has called him the
'salt of the earth" it comes to the sur
face as "scum Of the EARTH" when he
has spoken of the lease and comfort" q
good proof reader gives him, he is made
to say an ESCAPED convict" and when
he has referred to the proof readers
"saintly grace" the public first learns
of it as q "snake in the grass"
That is why nothing has ever appeared
in print in praise OF the proof reader.
And if the proof reader desires to speak
a good word for himself and his kind
the editor says: cat this rate the barber
will be defending his talking; the
mother-in-law will clamor for hearing;
the plumber will be piping up, in his
own behalf; the Chinese laundryman1
claiming right to live an honest and
cleanly life, and turkeys speak their
mind about Thanksgiving. What is the
world coming to ?" However, since the
proof reader has been graciously allowed
to have his say, it is perhaps worth
while, as a mild amusement, to hear
how he puts his case. In the first place
he SAYS that an editor intent upon his
work is almost always stupidity careless
about his handwriting. He cannot
break the flow of his magnificent thought
to dot his CPS" and cross his "t's."
hn
tinental. His grammar he makes
himself. Each editor on the staff
has a peculiar penmanship. Some
have a sprawling fist that the devil
couldn't decipher, let alone his represen-
tative, the maligned proof reader. The
proof reader takes piece OF manuscript
and proof and tries to catch the purport
of the editors thought. He has scarcely
done so when in comes another mass OF
proof and manuscript of an entirely diff
ferent character, and new thread has
to be picked up. This is not for mo-
ment. but all night, all the week, ali the
year. After puzzling himself until he is
half blind, his brain weary and work
pushing upon him necessarily, a let
ter may be left out or a comma
inserted in the wrong place, when
proof reader An editor will scold a
proof reader for some trifing oversight,
when that same night the proof reader
had corrected an historical blunder
which would have covered the editor
with confusion if the error had seen the
light. The proof reader has heard many
an editor brag of his penmanship, and
when his manuscript has been sent to him
do ho1 h calf
unable to readily decipher it. 1t would
be we'll to have proof readers union
formed, the members of which should
agree to ruin editors by letting the world
see their blunders and inaccuracies. And
then the intelligent compositor He
guesses at spelling and his figures boxes
are always dirty. He will follow copy
yea! follow it out of the window-rather
on his part, would be crime; as for
using the least judgment, God forbid is
his motto. Hinc ille lacrym@ of long
suffering proof reader.
Our proof reader evidently thinks
he knows what he is talking about.
What he says at the beginning and the
end Of his defense is probably true. The
rest of his remonstrance is open to ar
Rum0nG.-EQS. HERALD.
NoTE.-The proof reader was much
surprised when the proof of his ''plaint"
came in to find this addendum, which
some compositor had with forethought
followed the text.
DEAR PRooF READER-I have read
your plant with great deal of interest,
for know that next to us (the COM
poeitors) you are the most abused person
connected with newspaper office. But
Judge of my surprise to find in your
closing sentences that instead of taking
up the cudgel in our defense, you use it
to belabor US. admit as gospel truth
all you say Of the editors, and add that the
half has not been told, but think your
arguments in your own defense are bet
ter used in defense of the compositors.
When the copy and proof reach your
desk, the former has passed through the
hands of the Intelligent compositor,"
and The has not succeeded in getting the
magnificent flow" through his head,
he has at least made manly struggle to
master it. If you encounter difficulties
in Catching the purport of the editors
thoughts" when you have proof and
the copy of the article complete
before you, please consider the difficulties
of the 81. c." who gets about three pages
Of it at a time, and frequently COM
mences at the middle of q sentence, or
worse, the middle of word (our fore
man always cuts copy on divided words),
and is compelled to hunt up the preced-
ing "take" to assist him in deciphering
the first few characters. To you the story
Is complete, but the 81. c." may dump"
q "pan" Of real estate transfers, and
then plunge into the midst of leader;
next, a criticism of some event at
the opera house, the names of
the performers and characters as fa-
miliar to him as Gaelic. and
written 80 carefully that the writer would
have to refer to the printed programme
to name them. Next might come score
or more lines from the Tariff bill, "begin
even and end even," and then scrap of
local, and he will perhaps discover when
the proof comes back that the reporter
has spelled the proper names as many
different ways as the article is divided
into stakes." "This is not for moment,
but all night. all the week all the wear u