Reminiscences of Pioneer Days in St. Paul

Reminiscences of Pioneer Days in St. Paul - A Collection of Articles Written for and Published in the Daily Pioneer Press

If James M. Goodhue could revisit the earth and make a tour among the daily newspaper offices of St. Paul he would discover that wonderful strides had been made in the method of producing a newspaper during the latter half of the past century. Among the first things to attract the attention of this old-timer would be the web-perfecting press, capable of producing 25,000 impressions an hour, instead of the old hand press of 240 impressions an hour; the linotype machine, capable of setting 6,000 to 10,000 ems per hour, instead of the old hand compositor producing only 800 to 1,000 ems per hour, and the mailing machine, enabling one man to do the work of five or six under the old method. Think of getting out the Sunday Pioneer Press with the material in use fifty years ago. It would take 600 hand presses, 600 hand pressmen and 600 boys three hours to print the edition, and as there were no means of stereotyping in those days the forms would have to be set up 600 times, requiring the services of 5,000 compositors. Papers printed under these conditions would have to be sold for one dollar each, and there would not be much profit in it at that. The first daily papers printed in St. Paul were not conducted or a very gigantic scale, as the entire force of one office generally consisted of one pressman, five or six compositors, two editors and a business manager. A few reminiscences of the trials and tribulations of the early newspaper manager, editor and compositor may not be wholly devoid of interest. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 10146
Author: Moore, Frank
Release Date: Nov 1, 2003
Format: eBook
Language: English