Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-08-13
lihsiins q Craft.
rAmerican Press.1

W. A. Johnston. foreman OF the
Peerless Printing Company. Of Penn
Yam, N. T., writes US the following
letter. relating to journalistic matter
which has long been mooted topic
in the craft:
"By the way. I'd like to protest
against the wording Of help wanted
ads in the American Press. OF course
you have no voice in the matter. but
perhaps q word in print would bring
about what consider to be much
needed reform.
Perhaps 80 per cent Of employing
printers when advertising for help
insert No BOXERS wanted 'Cigaret
fiends barred etc.
Il have ket watch to some extent
and fail to find that employers Of
other classes of tradesmen degrade
the workers in their particular lines
by harping on booze, cigarets and the
like. Printers are no more addicted TO
the use of liquors and tobaccos than
are workers in any other trade.
Especially is this true OF today. a
habitual drunkard not being tolerated
in these times as he was, say. fifteen
or twenty years ago. The average
printer Is perhaps not exactly q saint.
but he will measure up to the stand
ards Of the better people OF the coun :
try. Certainly he 10 not the de-
Launched. miserable, drink and nico-
tine soaked wreck that the advertise
ments in the trade papers portray him
to be.
"Of course these ads are not con-
fined to the American Press. All the
! printing trade papers carry them"
We agree with the views Of Mr..
Johnston and deplore the tendency OF
not only the advertisers themselves,
but those who reply to ads to mention
the subject Of "cigaret fends,'
booze fighters" etc. We also saw an
ad in newspaper mans journal a
few weeks ago which ended as fol-
| lows: mo fly by night guys need ap-
ply" Surely few OF the members OF
! the newspaper craft deserve classifica-
ton as fly by night guys. Altho the
! so called tramp printer" is sometimes
| with us, he is no more numerous than
/ the wanderers in any other profess
sions.
! And il Is known fact that fewer
newspaper men are sent to Jail than is
| true OF any other walk Of life Of an
equal standing.
There is no question that many a
weak minded young man goes wrong
on the whisky route in the newspa-
per business. But they would do the
same thing il they were in any other
business. It is not fair to judge a
whole class by q few individuals any
more than to condemn the church be-
cause now and then minister or 3
priest commits a. law breaking offense
The printers and reporters Of today
are temperate, dependable bodies OF
men. They have to be, in fact, be-
cause Of the responsible important ma
ture Of their work. They are the &C
tive agents of the greatest education
force in the world-the press-and re-
alize that they have duties to perform
which require the best Of theil
! thought, time and labor.
The careless mode Of expression
complained Of by Mr.. Johnston i,
gradually falling into disuse, we be
lieve. but it is not doing 80 rapidly
enough. All of US should join forceI
| and make it fall a great deal faster
1t Is a sign Of either ignorance or in
difference and has no place as relat
ing to the different branches Of pro
fession that has real, unmistakabl'
ideals for the guidance of its members