The herald., 1895-02-10

Some of the men on the evening details
have returned to their desks in the local
room and their efforts are put forth to fill
the yawning nav of the foreman of the
composing room. Proofs are coming in,
and they are being scanned carefully by
the editorial heads. All the editorial
proofs must pass through the Managing
Editors hands. 1t is he who dictates the
editorial policy of the journal The News
Editor is in touch with the policy of the
paper, and he must dictate the news pol
ICY 1t is his blue pencil that disigures
the feature proofs, and indeed all the
proofs, more or less. Truly, he is the
hyena. The City Editor is on hand, di-
recting his own department and consult
ing with the department heads. His copy
readers and himself must know every
word that goes in the paper-and they
must know it before the copy goes to the
printer. This is work enough for one
hour.
All the local copy should be in now
but sometimes it isn't. The unusual hap
pens very often in a well regulated Of
flee. Murderers and suicides have no
consideration for the exegencies of the
editorial rooms. This is by rights the
Telegraph Editors supreme hour. Now
the special kilograms begin to roll in
upon him. He is in touch with every
| quarter of the globe. Now, too, the
Night Editor begins his prowlings. He
wants to know how many columns of
editorial there are going to be. He
wants to know how much local stuff
there is and what its nature may be- He
must handle all the proofs and direct the
mechanical makeup of the pages. His
work is largely a matter of taste-good or
bad, as it may be. You can Judge for
yourself when you see how he has ar
ranged the news in the morning paper.
Now all the rest of the world is asleep,
but this is the great hour in the editorial
and mechanical departments of great
morning newspaper. Now or never is the
word, and the tension is stretched to the
utmost, but it never snaps. There may
have been jests banded, and useless words
spoken earlier in the evening. Now no
one speaks unless he has something of
| importance to say The printers are set
ting small ''takes"-whether they be hui
man or man-made machines. The proof
readers have stacks of work before them.
The copy readers sweat under a pile
OF copy that must yet be edited The
Telegraph Editor is an overworked man,
but he doesn't realize it until the last
form has gone to press. The foreman of
the composing room has ceased his cry
for copy. For once in his life he has
enough, and is content to "get up'' what
he has. More, he scowls when the office
boy brings him more copy. 81 can't set
another line, ~ he says. But he does-and
he does it on time, too.
Now there are lights in the press room.
| The foreman is not down vet but the
pressmen are beginning to uncover the
great machine, to oil and cleanse its del
icate mechanism. In the composing
room the first forms are being pounded
by the foreman or by the makeup. 1t
makes deal of racket, but it rattles no
one. The excitement is at it's highest
pitch in all departments, above the press
room, yet no one is "rattled." No one
looses his head or gets nervous. That
er at the very moment of moments when
there is no time to waste. Try as the
editors may, and invariably do, to get
all work done as early in the evening as
possible, there is always great deal of
work to do at the last moment.
The foreman of the pressroom is in at
tendance. He is directing the preparatory
work. There is paper to wet, the rollers
to clean, this, that, and the other thing
to be done. Now the stereotypers are at
their work. The editorial rooms are de-
serted save for the late police man and
the Telegraph Editor. This is the last
hour of the days struggle for the COM
posing room. The forms are rapidly
being put together under the guidance of
the Night Editor, and as rapidly going
down through the foor-like the dissolv-
ing fairy on the stage-to the hot regions
of the stereotyping department. Matrices
are made of each page. The process is to
lay damp sheets of fine grained, thin pa
per over the type surface and then ham,
mer the paper into the interstices with
heavy hair brushes. Layer after layer OF
paper is put on and hammered down.
When the last layer has been duly ham,
mered the type form and it's love-fitting
matrix goes under high pressure in a
steam heated oven.
By three o'clock the last form should
have gone to the stereotypers and the mat
riccs OF the first forms should be nodded
and placed on the cylinders of the press.
The matrices are bent into half circles
when they come dry from the ovens.
Then they are fitted to half circle iron
molds, leaving perhaps half an inch space
between the iron receptacles and the
matrix. Into this space molten type
metal is poured. In less time almost
than it takes to tell it, the work is done
and the finished stereotype plate is ready
for the press. All of them are finished
before this hour is up and the great print
ing machine is beginning to turn out
printed, pasted and folded copies of The
Herald at the rate of 10000 an hour.
! The press ii hupmins me41-ily. What