The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1901-1901, 1901-05-24
"reminiscences Of the Roadsters
Who Made Montana
NO MACHINES THEN
The Boys Had a Chance at Plat Take
and Could Always Garry the
Banner.

There is big difference between
the old time Gutenberg compositor
and the modern Mergenthaler opera.
tor" said J. S. Couch, an old time
newspaper man, who visited Helena
the other day. 'In the days when I
worked on the case, and travelled all
over the country. there were a lot of
men on the road as we called it,
whose like do not think we will ever
see again in the business. Some of
them went to the bad, but there was a
big proportion of capable fellows
among them. Many of them could do
anything about newspaper office,
from writing leaders to wrapping pa
pers, and wherever they could find a
printing Office they could make them
selves useful. Many of them were
not dependable people, but they had
the ability, and they had to know the
business more thoroughly than the
boy who goes into a newspaper COM
posing room. In those days the ma
jority Of the editorial force graduated
from the composing room, and | be-
lieve they made as good editors and
newspaper men as we have today.
"I was not of the brilliant Sort"
continued the former compositOr,
"and I guess that is the reason l fl
nally settled down on ranch, and am
now considered well-to-do stockman.
But there were a dozen of the men I
fused to meet all over the country, from
Maine to California. and from the
Canadian line to the gulf, who are
still in the business, some of them on
the big dailies in the highest positions.
and others running more or less lu-
crative papers of their own. Some
drifted into politics, and have held
high positions in Washington, and
been senators and members of con-
gress. l guess the present day ma
chine men are more quiet lot, and
more dependence can be placed on
their being on hand when their SER
vices are required, but the old-timer.
who had his nose in the space box
for years, to go into an up-to-date
printing Office now, it seems like a
machine shop, and not like place
where they are getting out news
paper. Somehow or other it makes me
feel as though all the news was ma
chine made too, and as for a "hOt"
editorial, l doubt if machine man
can turn out one as sizzling as the
old time comp used to.
"Since have been in town I have
been asking the old timers have met
for news of the old time printers, but
they appear to have lost track of
them. Among those inquired about
was w. r. Luddy, who has probably
travelled over more miles of these
United States as a printer than any
other man in the business. They tell
me that Luddy is now at Tombstone,
Arizona, where he is running paper.
1 hope he is making money, because
he was a good fellow and a brilliant
one. l remember once when l was
working in southern city Luddy
came into the Office. He had evident
ly been on the road for some time, and
he did not have any money He bor-
rowed two dollars from the men, and
went out to get something to eat and
to get cleaned up. He stopped In
saloon on his way to eat, and saw
game of poker was going on. After
watching it for little while, he was
asked to take hand. He did so. and
he was lucky He played all that
night, all the next day, and the follow
ing night until daylight, when he had
all the money in the crowd.
ut was more money than Luddy
had had for years at one time, and he
did not know what to do with it. He
told me his after experience.
thought would take walk and / did
so. The sun never appeared more
beautiful, nor the air more balmy. l
walked out of the town, into the coun-
try, and thought it was good to be liv-
ing. did not feel hungry nor sleepy.
though l had not slept for three
nights, and had only eaten a little.