The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-02-28

its history and we in our lives have
reached one of delightful opportunity.
We are certainly glad to be here on this
rare occasion and we appreciate tne cor
diality of our welcome. We have renk-
oned among our friends many members
of this famous Society whom we have
priced for their manliness, respected, or
their loyalty to the city from which their
ships have sailed and honored for their
patriotism to the country whose nag they
nave carried one every ocean aud sea.
Few probably of your guests under fav-
orable conditions would have been eligi-
bic to membership in your Society, but
environment and Limitation have dis
qualified us all.
] remember long ago an ancient lady
predicted that the sprightly little village
OF my home at the foot of the White
Mountains would become seaport but
as the years went by and rs the sea did
not come to the mountains l found my
way to the sea, but stopped at the shore.
| WAS prevented from being q sailor by
the tardy fulfillment of prophecy. but l
have always regarded those as heroes
who made voyages of discovery, whether
of continents or Of treasure islands, and
have had a profound admiration for those
whose successful enterprises in foreign
commerce have built up cities and made
prosperous communities.
I know how much this city is indebted
to the men who have united it's business
with that of other lands. The early his
tory of Portland is linked with honored
names borne on the rolls of this Society,
and while great changes during the hun
dred years have been made in ocean
transportation and individuals have in
some degree been merged in corporations
and great business houses, yet men of the
dame character lead and direct in our
| ink sr.& t~1I~ To-.
huence confined to foreign enterprises.
They are leaders Of public action.
The experience which has broadened
their business horizon and made them
able promoters of new undertakings has
aided In the conspicuous growth of great
81 Portland. happened lately to see q
certificate of mem bership in the Portland
Marine Society issued in 1907. The
realistic pictures engraved upon it show.
ing the building of the ship, the harbor
from which it sailed. it's encounter with
the perils of the sea, its successful return,
and the home to which the mariner re-
tired. were object lessons which taught
me how strong must be the fellowship of
men whose lives were illustrated by these
scenes, and | can understand how liberal
the hands which throw into life's sunset
Of a comrades life the golden rays OF
charity.
Aside from the good deeds of charity
and perfeoting the knowledge of naviga-
tion I do not know what specific work
this Society has had for It's mission, but
am sure that Its influence which has
been by Intelligent association ooncen-
trated In the lines Of progress for hun
bred years has achieved for it history
worthy of concentration; and as 1T en-
tiers upon new century may the mem
bers OF this noble Society be "many as
the pillows yet one as the sea.
The Press-A business that everybody
except the Editor-knows oil about.
Response by Col. John M. Adams.
COL. ADAMS'S REMARKS.
Mr.. President-The subject which has
been suggested for me to say something
upon Is one I confess / know little
about. I can affirm, however. that il
expresses the truth. Nor is it confined
to one kind Of business. Only the Other
day an expert contractor engaged in {
difficult undertaking. A numerous side
| walk committee as usual took great in
terest in the job and offered no end o
advice as to just how it would be bes
| to proceed. One unexpected obstacle af
ter another interposed to perplex ant
ause delay. Thus the day passed ant
t he work was hardly begun which wa
| exp ected to be finished in less time, ant
q second day also passed with very littl'
pr ogress. On the morning of the thir(
| day til contractor announced that b,
WIS boss Of that job and that he would
knock down the first man who attempted
to bother him with advice. In less thai
half day the work was completed. The
| multitude of advisers had evidently
ratified him, as is often the case.
came to Portland upwards of 30 years
ago to study law. had passed yeal
in Canada and had written letters tt
the Portland Transcript descriptive o.
French Canadian incidents and customs
and was not long in seeking its Office ant
| witnessing the making Of paper. The
press was run by staiwart man, with
a boy to feed the sheets one at a time
Afterward I saw the Argus run in the
| same way In consequence of an accident
| but it's press was usually run by steam
Since that time inventive genius an6
| mechanical skill have developed an6
| made practical marvellous improv ements
| Self-feeding presses now turn out papers
| folded and all complete at tine rate Of
many thousands per hour. Instead
| metropolitan journals are tunred aut bJ
the hundred thousand per hour, contain
| ing from ~ 10 on pages each ana arG1stf-
cally embellished with portraits, which
| if not individually recognizable, at leas
disprove satisfactorily the Darwlnian the
DRY that the monkey is the ancestor o.
man.
But the most marvellous machine Of
all is tbs type-setter, whiuh sets and dis
tributes type, which only human fingers
had done before, and docs it much more
rapidly. In another respect in many
states the newspaper business has made
a marked advance. In 1854 the Main,
Press Association was organized, which
| with its annual banquet every winter
| it's excursions in summer, enables on
editors and publishers to become ac
quainted with each other; and acQuain
| tance ripens into respect and friendship
and very decided improvement
in the social professional ameni
ties OF members. They may and some
times do, have wordy warfare but lik
lawyers it Is without the personal bitter
ness which formerly often characterize
such differences while the parties wer
strangers tn each other.
But while the newspaper industry ha
made astonishing advances in every re
| spect there is another industry whicl
was formerly one Of the glories of on