Evening star., 1935-02-03
AN INTIMATE GLIMPSE
OFMARK TWAIN AT WORK
Carpenter Writes of the Progress of the
Newspaper and Publishing Field
During the Eighties.

them. The best journals, however, hire
their own artists and some Of them
have really talented men who devote
themselves solely to this sort Of work.
Baron de Grim, the artist Of the New
York Evening Telegram, was brought
to the United States from Paris by
James Gordon Bennett and am told
that his salary Is $4,000 year.
The Early Linotype.
About a year ago I went to Balti-
more to see the new typesetting ma
chine which is still unprotected. A
man who can run an ordinary type
writer can operate it, and by the mere
tapping of keys the operator sets up
a line Of type and stereotypeS 1t In an
incredibly short time. This machine
is owned by syndicate of newspaper
men, including the most noted editors
in the United States. When COM
pleted it will be put into the offices OF
the country on the same terms as the
Bell telephone, that is, nosmachines
will be sold; all will be rented.
w. S. Capellar, one Of the managers
Of the American Press Association,
which supplies several thousand news
papers with news and literary matter,
talked with me about the wonderful
possibilities of this machine:
If it is a success" he said, "the day
may come when a great press associa-
ton like ours will have an Office in
New York and man sitting at one of
the machines. This machine will be
connected by telegraph wires with
thousands of other machines in thou
sands of newspaper Offices all over the
country, and the operator in New York
City tapping his keys, will, through
the medium of electricity. set the type,
it may be, for 5000 newspapers at one
time. Suppose the President was as
sassinated in Washington tonight.
Immediately the operator of the asso-
| citation here would take our reporters
account Of it and would by means Of
sucn a machine put it into 5000
newspaper Offices ready for the press
the moment after he had tapped it
out"
A Great Librarian.
Ainsworth r. Spofford is the great
est librarian Of the United States; /
1 doubt whether he has his equal in the
world He knows to a pamphlet the
hundreds Of thousands of publications
contained in the National Library and
| he can tell you at moments notice
everything published on any subject
of which you may wish to know. He
is invaluable to the Representative or
! the Senator who wishes to get up
/ great speech. embodying many figures
and profound reasoning. and doubt
not many of the brightest effusionS
of the Congressional Record come
/ from his inspiration. He is also the
friend of the student and the nttera-
teur and he has helped many strug-
Cling brain to prominence.
AS dark as Spaniard, Mr. Spoford
has black hair and whiskers, mixed
with gray. His eyes are like jet and
with his short, 1.-THE, wiry frame,
every atom Of which is muscle, he is
the busiest man in the Capitol build
ing. His work is thoroughly sys-
tematized, too, and he uses the short
hand man and the messenger to help
him in his many duties. He can die
tate as well as most men can write
while his ordinary conversation,
which is usually slow and measured,
would look we'll enough in print.
Mr. Spofford is now so years old.
He is a New Hampshire man by birth,
had classical education and had
been employed in publishing and edit
ing before he took his position as
librarian of Congress, now 20 years
ago. This great man of books is a
voluminous writer, and you will find
many articles from his pen in the
leading encyclopedias Of the day.
Since he has been in charge the Ne
tional Library has grown from 10000
to nearly half a million of books,
and he has kept pace with it all. AS
he has now no space 7in which to
make proper arrangement Of such
a mass of books, only he knows what
there is, and the loss of him before
the new library building is realized
would be a national calamity.
The new building will be one of the
subjects of discussion of the next
Congress and an appropriation will
probably be made for its erection
The plan chosen Is one of the most
complete in its appointments Of any
library of the world. The building
will cover little over three acres. 1t
will be of the style of the Italian Re-
naissance, costing somewhat more
than two million dollars. Its capacity
will be about three million books.
State, War and Navy Building.
Two hundred hands are now busy
working on the immense new granite
building devoted to the State, War
and Navy Departments. The hammer
of the mason and the whistle of the
steam engine as they put the big
granite blocks into their places can
be plainly heard in the cabinet rooms
of the White House across the way.
This mammoth building is at last ap-
preaching completion and within two
years at the most it will be finished
structure 1t has already cost about
nine million dollars and when it is
done its aggregate will foot up to at
least 10 million and a quarter. This
is the greatest building in Washing
ton, is said to be the largest granite
building in the world, and covers
about four acres and half. or an acre
more than the Capitol. 1t is so built
that it will almost outlast the ages.
Its composition is of immense blocks
of gray granite, weighing all the way
from a quarter of ton to 20 tons
each.
The building is perfectly fireproof
1t is made entirely of iron and stone
with the exception of skin of boards
laid over the stone floors of the Offices
for comfort. and of the doors them
selves, which are of polished mahog-
any. The door castings, however, are
of iron, and there are 545 tons Of iron
in the window frames and door
frames of the east wing alone.
This great structure lies to the west
of the White House, facing the Poto-
mac, and looking down upon the
moSs-covered farm house Of Davy
Burns, who used to own much Of the
land upon which Washington is built.
The architecture of the building is Of