Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1891-05-20
STO Err is Human"

Some years ago, an editor of bl-
weekly paper published by the students
of Yale College was astonished, and
even more scandaliZed, to learn that an
editorial which he had regarded with
fond pride referred to old maids who
served as pudding for dinner party.
Turning the page he scanned another
product of his pen, a thrilling romance,
and discovered that the batiied villain
had fired three ballets into himself.
The said editor had written in the
first article:
g. old maids who served as padding for a
dinner party"
In the second article he had written:
"- fired three bullets into himself"
1t is often asked with virtuous in
, dignation why such typographical 81
rors as these occur. The explanation,
aside from the total depravity OF in
animate things, can readily be given.
In fact, the wonder grows that such
mistakes do not far oftener occur.
Immediately before written article
/ is given TO compositors to be ''set,"
the "copy," as the manuscript is
termed by printers, is scissored into
'.takes," or portions of ten or twenty
lines. Sometimes, slight attention is
paid to the Daragraphing and the pune
tuation of the written page when tine
article is thus cut up, and consequently
the last line of a "take" may often
end in the middle of q sentence. When
such is the case, the ''take" is said to
''end even"
After manuscript is cut up, the
"takcs" are commonly put on copy
hook, and indicated by letter of the
alphabet, followed by consecutive
figures. For instance, the editorial
which brought such CONSERVATION to
the student-editor was cut up into three
"takes, - indicated as f |, + and + 3.
The first s.ended even" with the word
l"as," and the second "began even
with the words padding for dinner
party" The compositor who took
from the hook the first '.take" set il
according to copy, while the compost
tor who took the second ''take" made
the error Ga very common one) of mis-
taking for a, and so converted ''pGd-
ding into s'pudding" The first COM
positor finished his ''take" quickly,
and a proof of it was Immediately
read by the proof-reader.
The other compositor was slow, and
did not finish his ''take" until several
minutes after composition No. had
finished his. In the meantime, the
proof-reader, having been busted with
important and pressing statistics, had
forgotten the exact ending of + l See
ing that + , began with ''pudding fol
dinner party" and believing that
pudding was proper and desirable al
dinner party, he did not detect the
7 compositOr's error. This error, in fact
should have been detected by the
.'copy-holder. or person who followed
with his eye the wording in the copy
as the proof-reH6c: read aloud from
e the proof; but in this case, the "copy'
holder" duplicating tie mistake of the
: compositor, also mistock q for a.
A similar mistake WIS made in the
case of the scheming villain who ''firet
G three ballets into h;mself''-with tn,
1 exception that was mistaken for a
e The first ''take" ''ended even" will
e the word '.three," and the next ''begaI
0 even" with obullets." The compost
: tor who set the second ".take" subse
t quently observed that he didn't hav'
e time to make sense of the '"take," anC
v thought he had done his duty in fol
lowing (as he believed at the time
5 the copy"
o The same editor who experienced tn
f two narrowing surprises referred to
Q subsequently wrote, in reporting al
!. evening address by Chauncey Nj. De
h pew. the sentence: ''We do not thu
r suIly our arms" In reading the print
: ed account next morning he saw to hi
n horror: "We do not thus Sally Ou
: arms" The considerate composite
f had mistaken the in "sully" for an a
n and, TO make sense, had made the frs
o letter in the word "upper case" or
!, capital.
q MORAL: Write your us and your a
g in such wise that type-setters canEo
II mistake them.