Evening star., 1943-11-28
BY John Clagett Proctor.

oy SOAAA NAoSCCt I1ONCOl.
30 far as the writer knows, no one
has ever written as beautiful a poem
about the typesetting machine operator
as did Thomas McKeller about the old
time printer, though there would seem to
be the same inspiration and justification
for doing so. The poem, written many
years ago, is the work of a once cele-
brated Philadelphia type founder and
author Of The American Printer" 1t
was once known almost by heart by
every follower of the art preservative
OF all arts" and early recited by men,
bers of the craft at nearly all entertain
ments and social gatherings where
printers predominated. Here 1t is, word
for word:
THE SONG OF THE PRINTER.
Goes the type in the stick.
the printer stands n's at s ms b,s saSe n.. nck
And on. IT The en-. type q H. ,sIsS. ,spid
Words are riled up steady and slow
sseady sms iys and ,s.I slow, Wow
And words Of nre they soon will GLOW;
Tonaertu n words that m wthO%t ,cDnS sound
%ord: that shan shan make
And tn. fetters stah Of the Oppressed shall break
fss yns i: ;ssy o6. 6us sssts and dumb
AS he puts them in place with finger and thumb;
And his work besuiles
BY CLEANSING SON sons so the cls letters he piles
Like the worlds chronometer, tick! tick! tick
Can govern the world as I?
With And PT.nlnfi sie ptssi ead.n az die iron stick
h Of xhe ana ad IN. ink w2ona Of
Say. where is he: or who may he be,
To no monarchs that live the wall doth he sive:
Their sway LASTS ONLY an hour;
When his might shall cease to tower!
From time whereof the memory of
man runneth not to the contrary"
Washington has had its newspaper and,
consequently, its printers. Old George
town had its newspaper as early as Feb
ruary, 1889. This was the Times and
Potomack Packet. The Times and Alex
andria Advertiser, perhaps the same as
the Alexandria Gazette, is said to have
been published in Alexandria as early
as 1884. Alexandria, subsequent to 1871
and until 1846, was within the bounda-
ries of the District of Columbia.
The Impartial Observer
The Impartial Observer and Washing
ton Advertiser was published in WASH
ington as early as 1795. Indeed, copy
of this paper, bearing date of Friday.
July 3, OF that year, was brought to The
Star Office in 1904 and shown to the
city editor. 1t was then owned by
Milford Fishman, formerly a merchant
on Seventh street, who stated that he
obtained the relic from a st. Clement
Bay, Md..afarmer named James Nc
Williams
1t was an eight-pa9e paper, 8l2 by Tx
Inches, or about the size of a sheet of
letter paper. Thomas Wilson was the
publisher, and probably was also editor,
pressman, printer and printers devil.
His plant was at the corner of Four-and-
a-Half and streets SW., on "Greenleaf
Point"
This is believed to be the only original
copy of this paper in the Library of
Congress, and is kept in the rare book
section, where are also to be found pho
tostats of issues of June u, 10, 26: July
II, 81; August, 7, IA, 2l September 5,
IA. and October l, all for 1895.
Thomas Wilson, who published this
rare paper. was from Norfolk Va and
published there the Virginia Chronicle,
in partnership with Daniel Baxter,
from 1892 to the end of 1894 Wilson
did not live long after coming to
Washington, for he died here on Feb
ruary %, 1896.
Later, it is believed, John Crocker &
Co, secured the equipment used in
printing the paper and continued pub
fishing it under the name of the Wash
ington Advertiser, but its life was of
short duration, for it lasted this time
for only two months.
1t was DR.. Crocker who built the
house which stood for many years at
the northwest corner of Ninth and E
streets, and into which the Post Office
Department moved when it was trans
fered to this city in 1900. Joseph Gales,
jr., later lived in this house for a few
years.
The Washington Gazette
Apparently the same plant was soon