Evening journal., 1899-11-03
Observation-Disclosures.

Observation-Disclosures
In the life Of the inventor of thel
linotype, which came to a close the
other day, were incidents and diffi-
culties so much like those with which
his great predecessor, Johannes Guten-
berg. the inventor OF the art of print
I ing with separate types, had to con-
tend, that it may be Of some interest
/ to draw a comparison, If only to point
out that the inventor of 400 years ago,
4 if he did not happen to be a practical
/ business man Of some means, was as
much at the mercy of the capitalist and
dependent on his aid to develop his
ideas into living form as the inventive
genius of our day is in need OF the
modern promoter and money lender to
bring his inventions to a profitable ac-
count.
Then, as now, the man who held the
,pursestrings was likely to drive a sharp
bargain and secure the lions share Of
the profits, leaving but scanty reward
to the man of brains. who made the
discovery and spent his time and often
ruined his health in his endeavors to
perfect it.
What difficulties Mergenthaler had
to overcome are too well known to be
recited here in detail. Suffice it to
state that under the stress of repeat
led disappoinments and failures he al
most succumbed, finally succeeding in
his great work only through sheer per-
severance. The price Of his success,
however, was shattered health and a
premature death in the prime Of life.
, Ottmar Mergenthaler was born
forty-five years ago at Bietigheim, on
the Neckar, within a hundred miles Of
Gutenberg's birthplace, the city Of
Mainz, or Mentz, situated on the left
b bank Of the Rhine, near the confluence
= of the Main. from which it de-
d rived its name.
1t was just about four hundred years
, after Gutenberg, who was then about
- the age at which Mergenthaler died,
had established his printing house in
Mainz, and published his first books.
I Gutenberg had likewise been Obliged to
Z seek financial aid by entering repeated
ly into partnerships and some of these
men tried to get the better of him even
to the extent Of depriving him Of the
: credit of his invention. In this, how
ever they did not succeed, as the fine
statuary monuments erected to his
memory and fame in Mainz. Strasburg
Idnu II IdMhlOll amply testify
Gutenberg's invention had a most far
reaching influence almost Immediately
, Like the invention of glinpowder by
Z Berthold Schwarz it upset and revolu.
s ltionized social and political conditions
s throughout Europe Gunpowder broke
Z THE power of the medieval lords ant
#, lfeudal barons by raising the common
y man to their level as a soldier anC
Fighter, and in the course of time
I brought personal liberty and civi
= rights. The art of printing gave secu
4 lar rule the control of affairs through
/ the efficiency Of a free and more uni
versal diffusion of knowledge amongs
) the people,
: It is true Mergenthalers invention
4 lacks the halo OF such historical conse
p lquences. but it has become the medium
= of a marked improvement in the pro
duction of the modern newspaper, at tn
same time cheapening materially il
cost which is certainly. considering
!. the great Importance and influence o
z the newspaper as an educator and guild
lin public matters, OF much advantag
and gain.
II is a pity that the man who spen
the best part OF his life, and often tn
4 last dollar he had or could raise &
carry out his ideas. when at last sue
Y lcess crowned his efforts should sue
-, cumb to i'll health brought about b
Z lardent labor constant care and anx
? iety.
2 How different. on the other hand
lGutenbergs closing days The las
v three years of his life he spent honor
ed and IN comparative affiuence at tn
~ splendid court of his patron. the Arch
- bishop Adolph. at Mainz, where h
= died in l46S. and was buried in grea
state Baltimore American.