The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1914-04-24
The Personality Of Printers.


Have you ever considered the
personality of printers? Do you
know anything about printers!
If you don't know anything
about this most useful body of
men the loss is distinct one to
you. We've known and number
ed among our friends for many
years members of this craft of
!. crafts. We have been proud OF
that friendship, and honored by
lit. The printer is the brightest,
most capable, most Intellectually
Iup-to-date man in the social body
The lawyer may be learned in
the law, the doctor may stand
high in his profession, the minis
ter may be a very walking ency.
clopedia of theological lore, the
merchant may be keen and alert
lat his business, but few OF them
: enjoy the broad general educa-
ltion of the average printer; and
: fewer of them can touch him IN
the matter of essential compost
r ton.
The st. Louis Globe Democrat
r some time ago published news
!. item. the substance of which was
e to the effect that among the l5OO
n inmates in Joliet prison there IS
/. not one printer. We have often
e seen it stated that this is gener-
d ally true of all places Of penal
i |servitude. Why is this so? We
do not know, unless it is because
the printer sees every day the
story of crime and the inevitable
failure of the criminal. He be-
comes so familiar with the seamy
n side of the fabric of life that he
n instinctively avoids connection
y with the weavers of the threads
r. of crime. We can't explain 1T IN
r any other way. He is a man,
is with all a mans passions, hopes,
~ dreams, but he is seldom a Grim
r inal.
'r We all remember the old type
printer, the man who lorded il
before the days of the linotype
He usually owned the office. Ht
was not insoIent. He was self
confident. He knew that h
i, }could do the work; and what
Imass of varied work he used t.
do! If the editor happened to b'
ID ''indisposed," that fact did no
.;lIdisconcert the printer 90
out the paper. He wrote ads
oIHe set the type, made up the
u forms and ran the edition oil
o erhaps put out the mail.
Sometimes it CHANGED that the
s. printer, being human, became
f. Disguised, got a fit of the blues.
no matter what the eXcuse-an'
lie went on a tear Those old tim
printers were great tearers
re- Then the editor was in trouol
for sure. The spree might las
ra many days; usually it lasted a
long as the money held out; the
tol few days in which to recupel
:, ate, and our printer. was back o
lie the job.
During these lapses our prlnte
to was a wonder to the averae
mediocre citizen Pity the ma
le- who tackled him for an argumef
or discussion! Our printer a
to ways was loaded. He's loade
lle' yet. He's just about the smar
to est man we know. He may
ng- a trife cynical, bat who shs
blame him. It's a rare edit
who is not afflicted with Il
same complaint. The print
sees daily the story of hum;
rdIlife, which, in its essentials,
,ltf eternally the same He dlscoVe
and Its pettiness; he learns and +
'nn cords it's achievements; but ne
,yI a clear Drained pessimist. You
got to show him; and 1t ISL
ak very often that you can sho
him anything. He is manlp
lator of the keys of being as W.
an, as the manipulation of the Ike
bn. of his machine or the types
40, the cases.
de, The printer is honest; he is
dependent; sometimes he is S;
ain. sy; but he is able to back 1T U
an, He not only knows his p's a
as, but all the rest of the alph
n, bet; yea, he knows it from Alp
ned to Omega, or from BeerSheba Y
o. to Dan-or damn, if you pref
, 8 lit that way. Anyhow, he kno
svs what he knows, and We like bi
nat If the world only knew all tt
w , the printer knows about
ns. world it is likely the world wol
not embarrasS him with caress
3 -,