The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1890-04-12
TOM IN THE PRESS.
How n philadelphia Evening Paper Los
One of Its Editions.

How n philadelphia Evening Paper Lost
One of Its Editions.
Newspaper Office rats have boon
tabled for their voracity and misoicf-
making propensity of getting into for
hidden places. '%Iion," tho brindlo
mouser OF the Evening Bulletin, outdid
any of his predecessors, however, by
stopping tho press tho other afternoon,
saws the Philadelphia Public Ledger.
Unluckily, for himself, he accomplished
this feat only by sacrificing his wi
life. There was no four-o'clock edition
of the Bulletin, and, instead, subscrtb-
I ers received the hvc-o'clock edition. 1t
all came about through a frightened
cats ~escapadc. BEN was just n year
old. He Is said to have been named
after one of the presSmcn. ben" ttho
cat) was a noted rattor, and kept no
press-room cleared of the vcrmin which
might otherwise ave prcycd on tho
paste and tho glue used In making tho
press rollers. His f~avorito spot for an
afternoon nap, ''between editions"
was on a foot-board alongside Of tho
~four-cylindcr Hoe press.
The forms were lifted on the press
and locked securely. Pressmen Thomas
McSorley, John Conner, Frank Conner,
BENJAMIN Eslcr and Thomas IIopson
took their places prepared to feed tho
sheets" to tho press, and Engineer
Jacob Lodge started tho machinery at
ton minutes to four O'Clock. "Ben,"
startled from his dreams OF possible en-
counters with myriads Of rats, sprang
to his feet and attempted TO make Il
short cut across the lower fOot-boardo OF
the press to reach he opposite side.
Voracious tapes carried cat and sheets
of imprinted paper together downward, |
and then upward. There was a quick, |
sddden jar that shook the press; tho ink
rollers appeared to spring from their
Journals, and wore bent by tho obstacle
they had encountered, and then n hard
or Jar followed as n mass of paper
emerged between the main and smaller
cylinders, and there was flung out by
the flies on tho opposite side Of the
press a very much nattened-out edition
of Ben" about a yard long and resem-
bling q small fioor-rug. The shock |
threw off the driving belt and the press
stopped.
The forms had to be lifted from the |
cylinder and carefully scrubbed to re-
move the adhering fur and fragments of
''Ben." 1t was also found that the ink |
rollers had got bent. As n result, alto
gether, the Bulletin lost an edition.
This il not the first cat that lost its
life I'm that press" remarked Business
Manager w. +. McCully, after enduring
a cloud Of puns about catastrophe"
''cataclysm," and the like. Twenty
years ago another cat went to sleep In
side Of that big cylinder, and awoke
after the press began running. She at
tempted to escape and was beheaded.
Her gore ran over the paper and spoiled
the whole edition. Our Mr.. Peacock
had q rat-terrier which chased q rat
under the press one day and got on the
belt. The dog was carried around tho
belt and killed.
During tho war l worked as night
pressman on the Inquirer. We used to
print off one side and then walt q couple
Of hours to print off the second. During
the interval between running of the
first and second sides a rat got into the
big cylinder to gnaw a bone. When the
press started he tried to get out, but
was caught by the tapes and carried
around the cylinder and mashed a.
fiat as a pancake. He spoiled any guam
tity Of sheets of paper. We had to pick
out the remains from the type with
needles, and 1t was a trightfully tedious
job, / remember.