Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-07-10
SET UP BY GHosTLY FINGERS.
A Typesetsar's Story of News Getting 1 that Beat the Telegraph.

that Beat the Telegraph.
 "In the summer of 1884," said com- positor, "I was running a paper in a little backwoods town in Pennsylvania. The paper was not so metropolitan in it's makeup but that I was able to do all the work myself with the exception of the printing. Publication days called In the services of half-witted fellow, who, under my instruction, had developed into an ex- pert roller. I was the only man within a radius of twenty miles who knew how to set type, and if had fallen sick the paper would not have come out until was well again. Naturally am not expectations man, but an incident occurred while I had charge of that paper which cannot ex- plain, and until it is explained, I shall be- lieve that anything is possible in the way of ghosts, spooks, wraiths, &c. "1t was the morning of June 10. 1 had locked up my forms the night before so that could begin printing early in the morning. I was pulling the old lever list was in the Post Office. Soon after the delivery had begun one of the merchants | of the hamlet-a very intimate friend | came into the office.
 "How did you come to hear of the death | of your brother so soonY said he. There | was no telegraph station within fifteen | miles).
 
 "' Mean| said he. You ought to know what is in your own paper. Have you for gotten that you heard this morning that your brother is dead? Have you forgotten that you set up a notice of it an hour or two ago?'
 "' Are you crazy?' said I. I swear do not know what you are driving at (" At this junction he opened the damp sheet that had so recently printed and folded, and pointed me to the following 1 item at the bottom of the third column of the local page:
 "' John Jones, brother of William Jones, was killed at Peoria, H., at five o'clock this morning.
 My breath was fairly taken away from me. The merchant was right. There was the notice of my brothers death in my own paper, and had not set it up nor heard of it.
 "'You are. right said I, but this is the first that have known of it. If there ever was mystery this is it.
 "I went over to the form There was the three-line item. The moment I saw the type was more amazed than ever It | was the type-setting of my brother, who, like me, had been bred to the printers trade. I could tell his work from that of a | thousand. He was @ marveIously even spacer and he carried his taste SC far that he always put less space after a comma.
 But how were the lines put into the locked form? No item had been taken out I examined the form closely. Yes, there was some more of my brothers work. To gain the space, leads had been taken from here and there just as he used to take them. He was a great stickler for good looks In 8 page, and was very fastidous as to where he pulled his leads It struck me right away that the notice of the death would not have been so short, would have gone into details more, but for the fact that my brother did not wist to remove any of my matter nor any lead which could not be spared as well as not.
 Though utterly skeptical about super. natural visitations. from that moment believed that my brothers disembodieC soul had made it's way hundreds of miles had entered my office in the early dawn had set up the notice of his death and put 1t in the form
 Late that afternoon despatch came tc the effect that William Jones was killed al Peoria, H., at five o'clock that morning."- Cleveland World.