Omaha daily bee., 1919-10-19
Views and Revlews
Printing Without Typesetting
and possible DEVELOPMENTS

The issue of the Literary Digest, big ma
tional magazine, without any typesetting, is
hailed as notable achievement in the progress
of printing and il Is indeed striking testimony
to the resourcefulness of the wide-awake pub
fishers in an emergency requiring extraordinary
measures The reproduction of written or type
written copy by photo-engraving process, how
ever, is not at all new, but IS used right along
by newspapers and other periodicals for letters
manuscript. and similar instruments or draw
ings presented in facsimile. What has now
been done is to employ this method for the en-
tire letter press of the publication instead of
for only the illustrative material. OF course it
is possible the .photo-piates may be developed
to the point Of praeticability for regular use,
but at present the high cost, which is at least
twice that Of type composition, will prevent.
The longer time required to make etched plates
is more Of an obstacle to use in newspapers
that have to keep CLOSE to the news" and to
do so are made over for successive editions than
to weekly and monthly magazines. that can be
prepared more leisurely and farther in advance
and are put together once to stay. Still more
troublesome for the newspaper would be the
difficulty if not impossblty of corrections AS
newspapers are now produced by the aid of
the typesetting machine. line of type is set in
each slug of metal. and to make a correction
requires resetting of the line and often of sew
eral lines
But no one should be permitted to believe
we have reached the final stage of the printers
art The typesetting machine is without ques-
craft. and the revolution II has worked can be
compared only to that of the Gutenberg NOV
able types. But there are surely Improvements
and economies ahead A mechanism should be
possible. for example whereby two or more
typesetting machines could be electrically oper-
ct&,,ssI el,, No. akal Io
different cities. and when this is accomplished
press dispatches could be sent to a circuit OF
newspapers and delivered in ready-to-use type
instead Of in manuscript. In some Of the big
cities the Associated Press is now transmittinc
its news service by automatic printing telegraph
written copy, and it is not far step from
synchronized typewriters to synchronized type
setting machines.
Again it ought not to be impossible to de.
velop the keyboard of the typesetting machine
for operation by perforated paper rolls on the
same principle as the player piano If that
should be brought about, all sorts of copy
could be transformed to such rolls and be set
and reset over and over in different printing
Offices by merely attaching to the machine and
setting it a-going. Surely these developments
are no more incredible than the perfection of
the different typesetting devices and photo
engraving process
Frank Hamilton was appreciated only by
those who knew him we'll and will therefore
never have proper credit for his part in the up-
building of Omaha. He was genial and whole
hearted. outspoken in his opinions, which were
frankly. opposed to subterfuge and hypocrisy,
the kind man wears on his sleeve and none
realized them better than himself He could
not tolerate waste and extravaganza and idle
ness He used the wealth he inherited to de-
velop institutions in Omaha, where he was born
and raised and became the executive head Of
wanted.to be fair and just, but probably never
could get the labor point Of view. He was
loyal and devoted to his friends. The Hamil
ton family was among the earliest to settle
here having come in 1856, or two years after
the townsite was laid out, and the Older boys
grew up with the town, which is now so fast
expanding beyond the dreams Of the pioneers
Omaha has been under military rule several
times before The militia was called out in the
early sos to maintain order and guard the rail
roads during the so-called dump" strike, in
which an inoffensve citizen was bayonetted to
DEATH Troops were called out also once or
twice as result Of labor disturbances at South
Omaha. This, believe, is the first time, how
ever, that federal troops have been brought here
to stop. riot, although it will be readily re-
sailed that soldiers from the fort came to our
gu aiter the TORNADO 70 patfoi the devastated
district and assist in relief work.
1t is too bad the celebration at Fort Cal
houn, because Of unforeseen circumstances, did
not secure the attention it deserved We have
had history made all around US. history that will
be recounted in the books and studied in long
OFT future ages, but we take too little notice Of
it. 1t requires an occasion like this celebration
to make US stop and think what things were
like hundred years ago, how differently peop1e
dressed, hoy. simply and meagerly they lived
what hardships they endured. One hundred
years is as day in the cycle of the universe
here it measures the whole period since the
intrusion of white inhabitants