Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1896-06-19

MOI long since, business man of
London, England, brought an action
for damages against the proprietors
of Lloyd's paper, because an adveI-
tisement had been inserted incor-
rectly. But the jury promptly
brought in a verdict for the news
paper, on the ground of illegibility
in the writing of the copy given
to the printer.
tits probably true that nine tenths
of the mistakes of the printer" are
owing to somebody's illegible writ
ing Certain it is that printers sell
dom make errors, s,-espically errors
in verbage, when they set up print
ed copy
"Pens and types, a recent publi-
cation, recites a number of ludicr-
Gus typographical blunders, origina-
ting in that execrable scrawling that
some people reel off under the mis-
taken impression that they are writ
ing.
An enthusiastic Epworthian want
ed to write something about "brigh-
ter days of the League" but the
printer could only see it, Fighter
dogs of the Seine.
An editor with a penchant for La
!
tin phrases wished TO state that the
opinions of a rival should be taken
scum granum Sails" but the un-
classic printer made it "cure gran
ME rats"
A reporter complimented a lect-
urer's knowledge of "sinaitic antia
quities, but when the paper came
out, the leaned traveller was sur
prised to learn that he was removed
for his familiarity with Satanic
antiquities "
After puzzling over the illegible
title of a manuscript essay, the
printer finally set it up, "Theologi-
cal Investigations on the Motive
Power of Heat" The paper did not
deal with the punishment of here.
tics but treated of the steam engine,
and the writer had tried to write
Theoretical Investigations, cts. ~
The editor of an out west paper
thought he had written, "Dr. Jor-
dan will tell how he assembled the
Matterhorn," but the people who
read the paper fiocked to the town
hall the next morning to hear how
DR.. Jordan had assaulted the Rat
tleprain. "
The reporter of mask ball re-
corded in his notes that "Miss B.
carried an odorous bouquet. Ina
gine the horror of the young lady
when she read in the Society Col
umn" that she had carried an eau
dacious bug-net !"
But these grotesque and self-evi-
dent blunders are more endurable
than those that belittle or obscure
the writer's thought, and which car
ry no suggestion of typographical
error. The following is a case in
point =
A paragraph in published essay
read Mature intended man for a
social being. Alone and isolated,
man would become impatient and
peevish. "
This is true, no doubt, but how
weak How could the poor printer
know that the author had intended
to end his sentence with the words,
''impoteut and perish?"
1t is common to place the burden
of blame for these and similar blum
ders, upon the broad shoulders of
the 'intelligent compositor, but
nine times in ten the Intelligent
compositor, takes more pains to give
the idea of the author Ineligible ex-
preston than does the author him
self. 1t is not the printers bust
ness to expert the devious chirogra-
ply of the careless quill driver, "
but nevertheless, he often suffers a
personal loss of valuable time in do
ing so. If people could see the sort
of slovenly hieroglyphics that so Of
ten makes up the take" of the poor
typo, they would wonder that mis-
takes are not more frequent than
they are.
The moral of all this is When
you write for other people to read,
write plainly. Individualize your
letters, dot your DIS" cross your
"t's, and punctuate your copy as
you want it to appear.
"CalVin Echoes"
James Edwin Campbell, negro,
poet, who recently died in Ohio, was
] horn and aducafad in Viro-iria