The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-11-30
Centenary of the Power Press Greatest Triumph
 of Democracy.

Today we behold a world at war, convulsed with hatred, weltering in blood, giving free rein to the viIest passions, devoting all it's energy, all its science, all it's accumulated wis., dom Of the centuries to the grim bus I mess of death and destruction. And we ask: Is civilization to perish from the earth Is humanity to be plunged l Is might to be enthroned? Is despot- ism to trample democracy into the dust?
 NoI
 If you ask the reason for our faith. Lit is this:
 twenty-ninth of November, 1914, the London Times was printed on steam power press, being the first of the worlds publication to be so printed
 This Sunday, then. marks the cen tennial of the greatest, the final, the supreme triumph of democracy. On that date q century ago the spirit of despotism received it's death blow. On that date true civilization had its be- ginning. From that moment the peo- pie came into their own The earth may run red with wars. the tyrant may try again and again to reduce I the masses to their former servitude. But the power printing press, the sub 1 lime engine Of democracy, will as1- ways triumph in the end.
 i You think this is too much to claim for mechanical process It is rather too little I The invention of movable types and the hand printing press meant much for humanity. The publication of newspapers, books and pamphlets l gave articulation to the voices of civil T lization. Yet until a century ago the l printing art remained the hand maiden of the fortunate few. It serv- ed scholarship, religion, the sciences and arts, the aristocracy of blood, wealth and privilege. But democracy I remained dumb. The aspiration of the great masses of the people seldom found expression through the printing press.
 A century ago the newspapers of the world were printed for the fortu- nate few, and reflected their opinions The printing process was too slow and expensive to permit the publication of popular journals. Great circula- tions were impossible.
 The printing press in use at the be- l ginning of the last century was oper- ated by manual power. One man worked the press, another linked the type form. Only. 2004 or 800 impress sions per hour were possible, and two impressions had to be made to prin1 a four-page newspaper. It necessarily }followed that the journals of that da5 were sold only to the wealthy, and were almost always edited with due regard to the prejudicess of the rich
 At the beginning. of the nineteenth century the London Times printed only about a thousand copies a davr The Morning Post, with $500 copies was considered to enjoy a phenomena. circulation.
 As early as 179o an English tnven tor named Nicholson obtained 6 patent for steam power press, bu : he was unable to induce any news paper to adopt it. In 1904 Thoma. Martyr, a compOsitor on the I,onf7oT Times sought to induce his employe, to test a. self-acting machine fol working the press, but the hostiIit, of the pressmen and their threats tc wreck the plant caused John Walter the son of the first proprietor of the Times, to abandon the project.
 As the circulation of the Times ir- creased, and reached the amazing fig ure of 1000 a day, Walter began to 1 encourage inventors of mechanical