The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1945-11-30

ldlhliB W JOfln trump las
week about printing and linotype
and teletype operators got us tc
thinking about the history oil
the printing art itself, and wish.
ing that we had a good book
on the subject to read. But we
don't. All that we know on this
subject is a smattering picked
up over years from school books
magazines articles, the journal
of the printers union, the beau
tifully printed and interesting
advertising pamphlets of the lin
otype and intertype people-and
other such odds and ends that
come before the eve on any gen.
eral subject ove a period OF
time.
Don't forget says John, "that
printing is the art preservative
of all arts"
There is truth in that, and
poetry too. Modern civilization
as we know it would not be pos
sible if printing were not pos
sible. Education, learning, philo-
sophy would still be possible
only to the few princes and in
dependent scholars who could
afford to possess the expensive
hand-written books of the mid
dle-ages, or to the small groups
of monks in monasteries who
had sufficient time and organ
ization to write, copy, study and
assemble Libraries.
The invention of movable type
by the German Gutenberg oc-
Cured in the 18th century. Ac-
tually there is evidence that the
Chinese had been printing with
movable type for centuries be-
fore this. But so far as Europe
was concerned, old Gutenberg
was the inventor of printing, for
like so MANY of the worlds great
arts, printing had to be discover
ed Independently because men
lacked commerce and commune
cation in those days.
That invention. which in
abled man TO set Ills most
complex and subtle thoughts
in type and 10 make unlimit-
ed impressions of paper against
the ink smeared letters. open
ed all the other arts and
sciences TO the mind of man.
Not Immediately. of course.
but the seed of mass literacY.
education and self improve
ment came into being with the
art of printing. Before men
could make S of these newly
printed books. tkisY first had
TO learn the more basic art of
reading. Progress was slow. be-
cause the kings and emperors
and princes were not very an
xious TO have their common
people reading and learning
what was going on. But little
by little books and ideas found
their way TO the common
masse of Europe. from whom
most of us spring, and one in
evitsble result was The rise of
the republican idea of govern
ment.
The American revolution and
the American constitution stem
med directly from the art of
printing. The accessibility of
books, philosophy and ideas to
the solid, common Woodworking
farmers and tradesmen of our
original colonies prepared them
to assemble and form their own
theories of government, and TO
cut lose from the stupid and in
efficient English king and gov
eminent. Many Of our early lead
ers like Thomas jefferson and
Samuel Adams and George Wash
ington were wealthy gentlemen
at the time of the revolution: but
genealogical historians have
found that with very few excep-
tions, these men came from sim
pie tradespeople and poor farm
ers of England, who would have
still been illiterate serfs beneath
some lord or duke had not srint-
ing and the new learning of the
p.patccapea the atuakort,r