The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-06-27
SET UP BIZ enosTLY FINGERS.
A Typesettcr's story OF News Getting
That Beat the Telegraph.

A Typesetter's story of News Getting
That Beat the Telegraph.
ssTn the summer Of 1851" said o CON-
positor. II was running paper in little
backwoods town in Pennsylvania The
paper was not so metropolitan In its make
mp but that was able TO do all the work
myself with the exception of the printing.
Publication DAYS called in the services Of
a half witted fellow, who, under my in
struction, had developed into an expert
roller. was the only man within radius
of twenty miles who knew how to set type,
and il l had fallen sick the paper would
no. have come out until was well again.
Naturally am not a superstitious man,
but an incident occurred while had charge
of that paper which cannot explain, and
until it is explained shall believe that
anything IS possible in the way OF ghosts.
spooks, wraiths, etc.
ut was the morning OF June 10. had
locked up my forms the night before so
that I could begin printing early In the
morning | was pulling the old lever
promptly at 2, and at o the local list was In
the pos0offiee Soon after the delivery had
begun one OF the merchants of the hamlet
IA very intimate frlend-came into tho
Office.
allow did you come to hear Of the death
OF your brother so soonS said he. Cfhers
was no telegraph station within fifteen
miles.)
"'Whet do you meant said 1.
"'Meanf 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 deadl Have you forgotten
! that you set up notice Of it An hour or
two agos'
"'Are you crazyg said !. 4 swear that
| 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 60 the following
item at the bottom OF the third column OF
the local page:
"'John Jones. brother Of William Jones,
was killed at Peoria, Ills, at 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 l had not set it up nor
heard Of it.
You are right said I, but this is the
first that have known Of It. II there ever
was a mystery this Is it,
II went over to the form There was
| the three line item. the moment / saw
! the type / was more amazed than ever. 1t
was the type setting of my brother who,
like me, had been bred TO the printers
trade. l could tell his work from that of
a thousand He was a maryelouSly even
spacer, and he carried has taste SO far thas
he always put less space after a comma
But how were the lines put into the
locked forInP No item had been taken out.
/ 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 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 so short, would have
gone into details more. bat for the facs
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 skeptieal about super
natural yisitations, from that moment
believed that my brothers disembodied
soul had made its way hundreds OF miles,
had entered my Office in the early dawn,
had set up the notice OF his death and put
it in the form
Late that afternoon dispatch came 10
the effect that William Jones was killed at
Peoria, ms, at 5 o'clock that morning. -
Cleveland World.