San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-06-11
SET UP BY GHosTLY FINGERS.
A Typesetter's Story of News Get
ting That Beat the Telegraph.

"In the summer of 1884," said q
compositor, ~ was running paper
in little backwoOds town in Penn
syIvania." The paper was not so
metropolitan in it's make up but that
I was able to do all the work myself
with the exception of the printing.
Publication days 1 called in the
services of half-witted fellow, who,
under my instruction had developed
into an expert roller. l was
the only man within radius or
twenty miles who knew how to set
type, and if I had fallen sick the
paper would not have come out until
I was we'll again. Naturally, l am
not superstitious man, but an in
cident occurred while had charge of
that paper which 1 cannot explain,
and until it is explained, 1 shall be-
lieve that anything is possible In the
way of ghosts, spoOks, wraiths, etc.
"It was the morning of June 10. l
had locken up my forms the night
before 80 that could begin printing
early in the morning. was pulling
the old lever promptly at 7 and at 8
the local list was in the postoffice.
Soon after the delivery had begun one
OF the merchants of the hamiet-a
very intimate friend-came into the
office.
"'How did you come to hear of the
death of your brother so soon?" said
he. There was no telegraph station
within fifteen miles,
"'What do yon meanH said 1.
"'Mean?' said he. You ought to
know what is in your own paper.
Have you forgotten that you heard
this morning that your brother is
dead? Have you forgotten that you
set up notice of it an hour or two
ago?'
"Are you crazy?' said 1. 'Iswear
that I do not know what you are
driving at
"At this juncture he opened the
damp sheet that had SO recently
printed and folded, and pointed me
to the following item at the bot
tom of the third column of the local
page:
"'John Jones, brother of William
Jones, was killed at Peoria, ILL.,, at s
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.
"'Yout are right said I, but this
is the first I have known of 1t. If
there ever was q mystery this is it,
ST went over to the form There
was this three line item. The mo-
ment 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.
could tell his work from that of q
thousand. He was q marvel0usly
even spacer and he carried his taste
80 far that he always put less space
after 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 q great stickler for good looks
in page, and was very fastidious as
to where he pulled his leads. 1t
struck me right away that the notice
of the death would not have been 80
short, would have gone into details
more, but for the fact that my brother
did not wish to remove any of my
matter, nor any lead which could not
be spared as well as not.
Though utterly skeptical about
supernatural visitations, from that
moment I believed that my brothers
disembodied soul had made itss way
hundreds of miles, had entered my
Office in the early dawn, had set up
the notice Of his death and put 1t II
the form, ....
"Late that afternoon q dispatch
came to the effect that William
Jones was killed at Peoria, ILL.,, at 5
O'Clock that morning"