The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1897-08-25
EDITOR HAS NO HANDS
He Manages to Write Copy All the
same.


Same.
Alabama can boast of an editor of 4
daily newspaper who is minus both
hands. yet writes practically all of the
original copy that is printed in the
paper.
The march of science and invention
and the energy of William j. Blan, ed
itor of the Troy (Ala.) Daily Messen-
ger, have combined to produce this APP
parent phenomenon. Mr.. Blan is not
only a very energetic but very able
man, and his paper exerts a powerful
influence in the southeastern quarter
of the state, it being the only daily that
is published in that section. Mr.. Blan
Is a great favorite with the editors of
Alabama, and has served several terms
as treasurer of the Alabama Press as
ISOLATION. He has also held the offices
of city councilman and county treas
urer.
Mr.. Blan served in the confederate
army, and came through without a
veterans reunion was held in Troy,
and among other things the old ex-
soldiers INDUCED in sham battle. Mr..
Blan was detailed to load and fire one
of the cannon. During the mock bat
tie the cannon exploded prematurely.
The heavy charge of powder and wad-
ding blew both of his hands off-the
left just above the wrist, the other sew
eral inches further up the arm.
AT this time Mr.. Blan was the owner
of the Weekly Messenger, which he had
bought in 1873, and had succeeded in
putting on its feet by hard work. He
had large family of young children
and, like all other newspaper people in
this part of the land, he had lived pretty
well up to his income. He knew no line
of business excepting newspaper work,
and a man without either hand is ordi-
narily not very available about news
paper Office. He determined not to al
low his usefulness to depart with the
loss of his hands, however, and as soon
as he had recovered sufficiently from his
injuries to give the matter his atten-
ton, he had made an artificial right
hand and forearm.
It is a simple but ingenious con-
trivance. The artificial part of the arm
is arranged so as to be securely fas-
tened to the stump of the right arm left
by the explosion. The hand, which is
covered by glove, appears perfectly
natural in shape and holds a pen or
pencil as gracefully as any editors nat
ural hand. A stranger seeing Mr.. Blan
at work at his desk would never i'm
agine that the hand was not a real one,
with blood circulating through it, SO
thoroughly has the editor gotten its
operations under his control
By means of a cord, which passes
from his artificial hand up his right
coat sleeve, then across his back, then
down his left coat sleeve, to the end OF
the remainder of his left arm, Mr. Blan
is enabled to close the fingers on his
artificial hand and grasp his pen. By
keeping his left elbow bent the tension
on the string is continued and the arti-
fetal fingers hold the pen tightly, while
the editor controls its courses over the
white paper by a movement of the up
per arm and shoulder. By this means
Mr.. Blan has learned to write with the
greatest ease, and more rapidly and
legibly than the average man of his age
W it'll his two good hands. For ten years
he has written with his mechanical!
hand practically all the editorials and a
very large amount of the local and adj
vertising matter that has gone into his
paper. About six years ago Mr.. Blan
developed his weekly into daily and
has been successful beyond his expecta-
tons. The daily entailed more work,
but the editor and the artificial hand
proved equal to the emergency.-Chi-
eago Times-Herald.