Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-08-25

The particular features of the business
which illustrate its progress most furci-
bly, to the general public are of course
not found in the country Offices, but have
to do with the production of the great
daily newspapers. The mammoth
machines which turn out 100000 com.
plete newspapers in an hour, or which
take in roll of paper at one end and
turn out bound books at the other, are
marvellous demonstrations of the posi-
bilities of invention, but they are in quite
another class than the equipment of the
country Office.
If my recollection is correct, when
began my work as printer, every paper
in Maine, daily and weekly, was printed
on single sheets of paper, one side at a
time, from type forms on flat bed press
of the same type rs that on which the
Democrat is printed. Now it is only the
local daily of limited circulation which
is printed otherwise than from stereotype
plates, on fast perfecting press, which
devours roll of paper at one end and
turns out folded papers at the other.
Perhaps no other one thing is more
eloquent of the changed conditions than
the type setting or type casting machine.
presume the average printer of 1878
would have laughed to scorn the proph-
ecy that in the early part of the
twentieth century the bulk of the type
setting in the country would be done by
machines; yet such is the case to-day,
in practically all except the country Of
fees. beg pardon. There is another
exception, which forgot-that magni-
ficent establishment, so well equipped
that it's official head is longing to have
its capacity tested by some apparently
job-the government print
ing office at Washington. No machines
are used there, because there wouldn't
be jobs enough if there were.
There are two methods of machine
composition which are in common use
one by machine which actually sets
types, though the lines have to
be spaced by hand; the other by the
linotype, which sets, not type, but the
matrices for type, and then casts it,
line at time, as fast as the matrices are
This last named machine is
in use in all the larger offices, and with
it fairly expert operator can do the
work of eight or ten hand compositors
machine which is used some
casts each character separately as its key
is depressed, and has what appears to be
some sort of thinking attachment which
the number and kind of spaces
necessary to fill the line evenly, and puts
them in. Several machines which actu-
ally set type have been manufactured,
but some of them have never got beyond
the experimental model, and only one of
them has yet succeeded in gaining a
recognized standing among printers.
Possibly there may be among them some
one which embodies so simple a princi-
pie that it will yet displace it's now sue
cessful rivals, but it has not yet come to
public notice.
All this has little to do with the coun-
try Office. Machine type.setting is now
employed in some establishments which,
from the metropolitan standpoint, are
country offices, and the day may come
when the "truly rurar' paper will include
a machine in it's outfit; but in most
country offices the news will he prepared
for publication by the slow process of
hand composition, for good many
years yet.