BLAME THE PRINTER.

Hokitika Guardian, 6 November 1923, Page 3

BLAME THE PRINTER.

TRAGEDY TURNED Tn farce. WHIAiSH AL MISTAKES. A well-kuouii Loudon evening newspaper. m retorting recently a i cal lyre rv ,-e; ions court cave, turned tragedy into larcc by stating tiiat a w itne--. had been slaying with her “aivn’ts."

However conscientious lypeselteis and proof-loaders may he, such ludicrous mi-takes aio constantly creeping into print. Often the omission of a. single letter is the cause of a smile, as. for example, in the report of a case in which a witness was made to say. ‘'.Mine- is a very dangerous trade; I am a i\ idou -rleanor."

A more unhappy ivsiili of omitting a letter "as the sentence in a local paper which said of a icturnod traveller: “His friends wen* siirpi Fed to lino him unhanged." In other words, the sen. had net math* so much difi'oiviioe as the “o." Even (lie annoyance of ihi- virlini of a pi inter's- eiror ecndd not com;.a e with that of the singer, who saw himself hilled as the "y . I i-k non n local I cnor." Or of the advertiser who beheld his advertisement printed: “To let. four rooms, including kit'-hen. mr of bathroom. Not. water." Still less of tin* happy father w Imse advertisement of the latest addition to his family lead : "At nursing home. To Air and Airs . a son. Roth well. A ship of the old bloke." ONLY ONE LETTER. Time and again a slip of the printer will prove the irutti of the saw. “From the sublime to the ridiculous is lmt one step"—-or one letter. A reporter of an American journal was once made to say. “At the cTo-e of this mngniiicent oration the snouts of four tin usand democrats rent the air. Another unhappy alteration of a single letter occurred in a serious sermon. According to the Leal pacer, the Dean had said. “Drunkenness ijolly." After all. a "j" i- only an “f" upside down. There must have been some spritoly Ruck taking possession of the printer when lie ranis a rr-s remarks of the Dean's, because a leu days lalei tin* omission of a single comma finally dei.ouneed the worthy mail as a drunkard. The unfortunate divine was made to say: "Only last Sabbath a young man died sii<id*■ 11 !y. while I v.a< endeavouring to preach the Wmil in a state of beastly intoxication." A celebrated pert of unimpeachable character very nearly 10-t his reputation through a pi inter's error. He had written. “Now the old wound breaks out afresh.'’ but was bonified to see that in print lie—A Imeiielor -- had written. “Now the old woman breaks out a fresh.”

One apt misprint among the many that an* attributed to provincial papers was that referring to the famine in Russia : It stated; “Tee peasants in the Ural district tire committing crimes to escape salvation." TYPIST’S BU NDERS.

But though the primer receive- the great burden of blame for mistakes like these, the stenographers, too. can do their share. Very olten mistakioiTiir Mi 't ra useribing owing to the symbols lor dillercnt sounds being very similar. This would explain the Furious example of the eloquent ALP., who saw his speech in print a-: “Me have broken our 1 rceehes (hrulgos). we have burnt our boots (boats', ; honour no le.-s than other considerations lorhids to us retreat."

Sometimes, too, a careless or an overworked typist may ‘perpetrate mistakes which teach a, delighted public. Recently at a university, a prol'es-or «lio bail caught a chill in-lnicted his ■c: rotary over the ’plume to type out a notice to that effect lor the students to read. When it appeared the notice was completely altered by a “d" standing for an “I. ’ It read: Riofessor X. will be unable bis classes to-day as lie has a child. A college vag hastened to add: ‘‘Loth doing well." The unfortunate typist, who was scvereiv reprimanded when the professor lelttrn. in her distress typed out another error: •‘l’rnfossor X. will meet, his lasses as usual at 11 .Ail.' 1 Vssihlv the very best instance of the disastrous effect a wiggling has on some workers is the story nt the editor who described two reverent pmlc.-sors as ‘‘bibliophiles." The priintor. who had evidently never heard of Ike word, changed it to “hioulotts old Piles." An indignant letter of piotest rilin' fiom the university. 'I he editor hastened to apologise, and in bis next i~sue lenunkcd: Ibe learned "vntlemen arc too fastidious." At the

■ain,, time he took the oppoitunitv of giving the printer a piece ol his mind. To his unspeakable horror, v.hen his latest remark came out it read : "I he learned gentlemen are t'M) fast idiots."