Payette enterprise. (Payette, Canyon Co., Idaho) 1909-1935, 1910-08-04
MY EXPERIENCE IN
PRINTING BUSINESS


conducting country paper in this
neck of the woods.
Now If it were possible 20 link
mis- arm in mine and take him back
TO 'S3 and take him through eighteen
and half months of my newspaper
experience, the first and last. thank
you. he could come back TO his little
office in Payette where he has first
class motor-driven presses. type
setting machine. roll top desk. type
writer and more conveniences than
found on daily papers in some larger
towns than Payette, thinking he had
the Boise Meat Trust skinned nine
city blocks. My, father was living in
Iuka, Kans., and wrote me where
was working in dye house in Kans-
as City TO come home, that my broth
er was going out on a farm. So a
very few days after that found me
i'm Iuka, where | worked in the store
several months. In the meantime
couple of gentlemen had opened up
print shop there and were getting
out a small country paper Just be-
fore the departure of these two gent
/ lemen. they had given my father a
mortgage on the plant for a one hun
bred and fifty dollar grocery bill and
/ fifty dollars in money With the print
shop left on his hands and 10 know
ledge of running it, he gave it to
me. with the understanding that 4
would not draw on him for any
funds to run Il.
When l went in that printing office
didn't know a column rule from
six point riglet; but during m.
stay there, | learned the names
enough things, to tell you just abou
what the office was equipped witt
There was a Washington hand press
roller and ink stone. a Pearl jol
press. foot power, that was made be
fore the war, composing stone,
made of wood two and one half by
three and one half. mallet, shooting
stick, plane, a dozen wood coins
and just about enough other furniture,
tc make up form for a card press
in the front end of a city cigar store,
about 80 pounds of six point type
and about 70 pounds of eight point
that should have been in a hell box
many months before l took the paper,
six or seven very short fonts of job I
type, not more than five or six cross |
rules, and not a slug in the house /
wooden galleys with a pine table up
in the corner for a desk was just !
about all there was there except dirt.
/ had nevertheless, made up my mind
to overcome all difficulties, and was
not i'm the office more than couple
of weeks, until was figuring on the
that | would make ON
the New York Journal" or the est.
Louis Globe Democrat" when ] had
reached the top round of the ladder
of newspaper fame but it didn't take
me long to wake up out of that dream
for worked night and day the
first few months in that office to
get the paper out on time, until my
little store of money was exhausted
then l commenced rustling day times
for little wherewith to get my pat
ent out, which was printed in Tope-
ka. and cost three dollars and sew
enty five cents per week.
But Oh you tive first copies. The
''Bingeville Bugle" would look like il
was fresh from the pen of Theodore
in comparison.
My predecessors got very industri-
ous and collected up all subscriptions
md everything else that could be
without a gun, and the best
could get was sack of potatoes,
or sorghum that they
couldn't peddle to anyone else for
lalf the price l paid them on sub
;cription. A woman ran around one .
lay with two pounds of butter until \
when she brought it to me ! had to
,ut it in a bottle to take it home.
My first order was for 500 Jack
Bills | Immediately hustled into my {
ather's store to get Manila paper
o print this job on. Manila paper {
icing pretty scarce at that time,
merchants using straw paper, could I
II get enough there so | had to go
O another store to get enough and
n my. absence, the printer was pick :
ng the news form to pieces to get
.nough type for the job and in lock
ne up, broke the chase and L had
o take that to the blacksmith shop
nd pay Is cents TO have it fixed,
nd l have never collected the $500
or that job 10 this day.
So / struggled on during the sum-
ner and collected an occasional "ad"