Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1892-12-30

country and holds u record of something
like 1900 ems in an hour. With a few
days practice he would make it warm for
Mr.. Butler or any other congressman who
dared to enter the lists. There are other
rapid compositors on Newspaper row. II.
L. Merrick, the brilliant editorial para
grapher OF the Washington Post, is an old
"hoss" with u stick and rule in his hand.
Frank Hatton, the editor of The Post, is
an all round printer. Though rich and
lazy now, he has not forgotten y, tricks
learned in the days of hustling Necessity,
before he was postmaster general in Ar
thurs cabinet n before he had dreamed
of becoming one of the most prosperous
and certainly the most popular newspaper
editor in Washington.
Twice since he became editor of The
Post Hatton has alone and unaided gotten
out extra editions of his paper. Once was
when the defalcation of Silcott, clerk to
the sergeant-at-arms of the house of repre-
sentatives, was discovered. Silcott had run
away with a lot of the money belonging to
members of congress, and of course the
town was in an uproar as soon as the ru-
NOR began to travel around. Hatton was
one of the first to hear of it, and he jumped
into a cab and gave the driver a dollar ex-
ira to run his horse all the way to the Of
flee of The Post. On arriving there he
found there wasn't a printer, editor or
reporter in sight. He telephoned for
the pressman, sent the business Of
fee clerk out after newsboys and
then threw off his coat In thirty
minutes he had set more type than either
Cummings or Wellman set in the same
length of time in their contest, not stop
ping to write out copy, but setting up IN
type just what he had heard about the SEN
sation of the morning. AS soon as he had
finished this part of his task he made up''
the forms, stereotyped the page with the
aid of the %janitor, who had had a little ex-
perience as helper to the boss of the metal
pot, n within an hour of the moment at
which he heard of Silcott's flight had the
newsboys on the street selling papers. This
was a remarkable feat for one man to per-
form, but it only shows what an all round
printer can do when he sees an opportunity
to beat all rivals.
OF course Hatton will have to go into
the proposed typesetting contest. So will
Senator Hansbrough, Of North Dakota. In
Washington Hansbrough is Il dignified
statesman. handsome and rather debonair.
But if you want to see him in his element
go out to DEVILS Lake, in his state, and
call at his printing Office. There you will
find him in the act of getting out the
weekly issue. He not only sets type, but
makes up the forms, lifts them with great
care upon the bed of an old Wash.
ington hand press (what a world OF
romance the very mention of an old
Washington hand press calls to mind;
how one is reminded of the lever tina!
moves the world when he thinks of the
huge wooden handled fulcrum of that old
style but honorable and honored printing
machineD, inks the form with a black and
shining roller or works the press, washes
himself with the typical printing Office
towel, and then folds the damp and smelly
sheets and puts them up in wrappers, and
sits down with his little red subscription
book and writes the names and addresses
of all his subscribers and exchanges