Year: 1872


editorial rooms. Only few of the desks
we're occupied. The reporters bad gone
home. The managing editor was about
ready to go. The night editor was still
busy, while his assistant sat tilted back
in his chair with his feet on the desk,
fast asleep, waiting for the daily to go to
press, before be made the last selections
for the semi-weekly.


The proof room was full of business
This used to be Mr. Grecley's room, but
it was so easy of access that he was final
? driven out Of it aud down stairs
-Four proof readers were busy here, for
proof reading is most important branch
of newspaper work, and on journal
like the Tribune it is no small part of
the work. Everything is read by copy,
the reader marking his mistakes as he
reads. A second proof or revise is then
taken from the corrected matter, this is
compared with the first, all the mistakes
made by the corrector are marked, and
when these are corrected the type is
ready for the imposing stone. The proof
room is connected with the composing
room by means of a diminutiye dumb
waiter.


The composing room occupies the top
most story of the building. 1t is long
and low, and not even successive coats Of
whitewash have made the beams and
braces overhead pleasant to the eye.
Near the door by which we entered was
The desk of the foreman, and near the
centre of the room were the imposing
stones. The rest of the space was filed
with stands, racks, proof presses, and
other fixtures incidental to the business
of type setting. A bout fifty men are
employed in setting up the Tribune, and
copy is given out to them by what are
technically called takes" An article
from Whitelaw Reid, review from Mr..
Hasard, lot Of telegraphic news. ETC.,
comes up. This is taken and cut up
into portions; the separate portions are
then marked, beginning with the com
mencement of the article. All the copy
is thus divided out, the pieces are hung
on the copy-hook, and the men come up
in order and take" them off in success
/ sion; hence the term takes" This way
of giving out copy explains the ''direc
I tions to correspondent" to write only on
one side of the paper. II would be
rather difficult, to cay the least, to make
/ the paragraphs come right for cutting Oh
both sides of the paper, we're it written
over on both. The real work begins in
the composing room att In the evening


From that time until half past two 10
the morning the click of the type is


heard. Lunch or supper causes the only
cessation of the rattliug. Many of the


Il. IL


Others have it brought to them from


ghboring eating houses. Perched on


their stools, munching their cakes and


drinking their coffee, the majority wear


ing various kinds of paper caps, some


reading, many joking and laughing, all


under the glare Of hundred gas-lights,
they present a phase of life which ii


both interesting and suggestive.


But we have no time for reflections or


speculation. The stereofypers are al


ready at work, and they are too impor.


taDt branch of the establishment to be


overlooked. Their room occupies that
part Of the upper story, at the backside,
not taken up by the composing room.
The room contains furnace, atop of
which is a caldron DOW full of melted
J
/ of the business are to be seen in differ.
eut parts Of the room. The process of
stereotyping is very simple aud rapid
The form is brought in from the com
posing room. On this sheet OF thick
paper is laid, which has been soaked in
a certain chemical mixture until it is al
most like paste This is beaten down
with a heavy brush, until every letter,
rule and point of the form is perfectly
nodded in the paper. Plaster of Paris
is then sPrinkled on the paper, filing up
every cavity. Another sheet of paper is
laid on, and this is beaten down, though
! not so thoroughly as the first. The form
and its covering are then put into a
steam press, which Uoth holds the paper
mold thus formed down upon the type
and bakes il. Upon removal, the paper
mold is taken from the form, placed ia
an iron mold, curved so as to fit the cyl
inder of the press, and having an open
sufficient to form the body of the stereo-
typed form. This is filed with melted
type-m metal. The metal cools instantly,
is taken out, the edges are trimmed by
means of a circular saw, and then it is |
ready for the press. The whole process
occupies less than twenty minutes. The (
principal advantages of stereotyping a
newspaper are these-a great saving is
effected in the purchase of new type,
and by preserving the paper molds any
number of the paper can be reprinted at
any time. The saving in the purchase
of type is considerable. Those huge
printing presses, turning but at least
300, 900 printed newspapers a week, soon
wear out the best of type, aud when one
remembers that new type enough has to
be purchased each time to fill the cases
of fifty or sixty compositors, at the rate
of forty or fifty cents a pound, and that
type metal is almost as heavy as lead, ii
is easy to form some idea of how great
the expenditure must be for this single
item.


The stereotyped forms are sent down
70 the basement the moment the last one
is ready, generally at about 3 o'clock.
The basement is q sepulchral place.
There stand the presses as silent as the
grave. Vast heaps of machinery they
are. with cylinders as big round as hogs
heads. Here and there are great piles
of white paper, already damPened for
nrintine. On these are stretched brawny
fellows, sleeping like tired children.
The paper board of each press, too, has
its lodger. The iron monsters hold
them as daintily and tenderly as in
mothers arms. We picked our way
around among these aud out to the en-
gines. These are located under the
on Spruce street. Their heat
keeps the news boys warm as they catch
a nap on the hard paving stones above .
to their morning work. As
re re entered the press room proper. q Z