The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1911-05-04
The L;notypes Birthday

The first machine to be used comme
ciaily was set up in the office OF the New
fork Tribune. In 1883 Mr.. Mcrgenthaler
ana the conlprfy suspended relations. and
.ne factory OF the compa was move4S
20 brooklyn. Mr.. MergenthaIer remainin.
m baltimore. The wedge-shaped j~ustifei
a device introduced In the second Merrens
tsaier machine to Justify" the lines oil
matrices chat Is to make them fiji tn,
line by spreading the spaces between the
words} became the subject of litigation,
and for years there was a quarrel In tn,
courts about a thousand and one details
now happily forgotten. In the md all til,
disputes were settled by purchase, ant
when the perfected machine OF 1890 cam.
out arrangements were made by whicl
the company and the Inventor shared IL
the profits.
me profits were soon to be very large
for when the practical machine was pro
duced almost every newspaper anti ]
at once. For several years the factorie
We're behind on orders and the linotvpe
were to be had only for cash t. :. l
While the litigation over the patents wa
pending, Mr.. Mergenthaler invented ar
other kind OF justifer. but 1t was aband
oned when the settlement was made.
The first machine Of the 1880 type-th
modern and perfected linotype-was use
In the office of the Brooklyn Standard.
Union, the next In the office of the Ne,
Orleans T1nes-Democrat. The Brookly
Standardization also WIS the first news
paper to use the linotype with union la
Dor. The Typographical union at first wa
inclined to oppose the introduction of TIL.
machines, but Its men soon bowed to tn
inevitable and hustled out OF the dusty al
leys Of the old hand-set composing room.
TO learn to operate the machines.
vytt@S. -. - - IA sEEE.-a
the transfer of the newspaper print sho
from the realm OF the hand.crafts to tn
dominion of machinery, 1t was said tina
would die out OF the printers
trade. OF course It wasn't the death o
romance that the printers union objecte
to; 1t was the substitution of one machin
with one man for eight men. But as tn
newspapers. being assisted by the discoy
cry Of cheap processes for making spruc,
wood pulp paper, at once expanded SO tina
the composing room now employees nearl.
as many men as In the old hand-set day.
and at better wages, the unions fear
were soon at rest.
The printers know. and the editors VIII.
work with them know, that the Merger
thaler has added to, rather than detracte
from, the glory of their Jobs. The ma
who sits at the keyboard Of a linotype i
by compulsion of necessity more stead
fast, more sober and more industriou
than his prototype at the case In the hand
set days. 1t takes q man to run a line
type. There is a Joy in the rattle an.
click of the composing room. a delight i,
the cder of the hot metal. a thrill in tf,s
whir of the motors that never had its coun
terpart in the good old days. No man VIII
has once known the spell OF the linotyp.
ever can escap its influence.
h PROJECTIONS of the Merganthale
have been lauded in a dozen tongues. II
shortcoming have been apologized for in
thousand editorials. but no one but tn
men who work with this machine hay
any notion of how god-like are its virtue,
how human its faults. In the old days
tramp printer occasionally would fall frof
the water wagon just when he was mos
needed, but never was there man so per
verse as a linotype on a spree. All owe
the country there are hundreds OF wei
behaved ~linotypes that never strayed froI
the narrow path of virtue, that are mode
machines. that never have stayed on
nights and that don't know the first rule
of poEer-but there isn't q one of the1
that tse't waiting quietly and Patiently 10
that time when the whole shop depend
upon 1T to get out the paper and the ma
chinist Is out to unch. When that tim
comes. even the best and noblest linotyp
will go on a spree. They are machines
but they are printers.
The man In whose brain this machin,
was conceived was Ottmar Merpenthale,
He was born in Wurttemberg in 1854, wa
brought up in the clock-making trade. an
came to the United States in 1872. His ide
for the linotype vas originated In 1883. tn
first machine was built and patented
1885. and the perfected principle was a,
piled. as has been said, in the machfn
patented q years ago today. Mr.. Me,
g%enthaler die at his home in Baltimore 1,
1899.
The linotype has reyo~lutionized the busj
ness OF printing and thereby has made
new era In journalism. Without this ma
chine the huge newspapers OF today, wit
their Wide variety of matter designed I
please the fancy of q wide variety OF read
ers. would be utterly impossible.