4 Sunday, November 16, 1958
MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORP, ORE.
; MEDFOWivTEIBIOT
"Everyone tn Sutithern Oregon
Heidi The Mall Tribune
Published Daily except Saturday by
MEDFORD PRINTING CO.
83 North Fir St. Ph. SP 2-6141
ROBERT W RITHL. Editor
HTRB GREY. Advertising Manager
GERALD LATHAM. Business Mgr.
ERIC W ALLEN JR,
Managing Editor
EARL H ADAMS. City Editor
HARRY CHIPMAN. Teleg. Editor
RICHARD JEWETT Sports Editor
OLIVE STARCHER. Women's Editor
DALE E RICK SON. Circulation Mgr
An Independent Newspaper
Entered as second class matter at
Med ford Oregon under Act of
March 3. 1867
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er. Talent, and on motor routes:
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Fliaht 'o Time
Medford and Jackson County
History from the files of The
Mail Tribune 10. 20, 30 and
40 years ago.
10 YEARS AGO
Nov. 16, 1948 (Tuesday)
Last minute plans for Red
Feather day near completion.
A total of 344 Medford
residents and 396 Talent resi
dents are x-rayed during the
first day of a TB survey un
dertaken by the Jackson
County Public Health asso
ciation. 20 YEARS AGO
Not. 16, 1938 (Wednesday)
Plans for remodeling of
Medford's post office and fed
eral building arrive here.
From Arthur Perry's "Ye
Smudge Pot" column: "E. Ul
rich of the hills where men
are men and look like deer, in
the hunting season, towned
Tues."
30 YEARS AGO
Nov. 16. 1928 (Friday)
Medford police enjoy the
, comfort of a rocking chair
found on Oakdale ave. in the
course of Halloween activities.
A high school pep rally and
entertainment stunts are
scheduled between acts at
Hunt's Craterian theater to
publicize the big game be
tween Medford and The
Dalles.
40 YEARS AGO
Nov. 16, 1918 (Saturday)
The Medford Business col
lege is to be reopened for in
tnirtinn of stenography and
kindred work for government
service.
School children ' are con
tributing to the United War
work fund.
Whal's Your I.Q.?
Nine or ten correct is superior;
seven or eight is excellent; five oi
six is good.
1. Jenny Lind's voice gain
ed her fame as the "Swedish
2. The so-called dog days
occur in spring, summer, or
fall?
3. Both the lowest and
highest points in the U.S. are
located in which state?
4. When is "All Saints'
Day" celebrated in Catholic
churches?
5. Which one of these foods
is best for producing quick
energy in the human body
milk, meat, sugar?
6. A short nap is sometimes
said to be how many
"winks"?
7. If you slept supine,
would that be on your back,
on your stomach, or on your
side?
8. The U.S. Secret Service
Is an agency of which Federal
Executive department?
9. Do you most readily as
sociate Xavier Cugat's orches
tra wtih Vienese Waltzes, Latin-American
music, or hill
billy selections?
10. What are London "bob
bies"? Answers: 1. Nightingale.
2. Summer. 3. California.
4. November 1. 5. Sugar. 6.
40 winks. 7. On your back.
8. Department of the Treas
ury. 9. Latin-American mu
sic 10. London policemen.
The Clock The Almighty,
and Politics
One of these days it is likely that the people
of Oregon will be asked to vote (again) on the
question of daylight saving time.
The pressures for DST continue to pile up.
And, while of course, the pressures against it
mostly continue adamant, we believe the pres
sures "for" will some day soon be strong enough
to bring it to another vote of the people.
Those favoring the change (which would con
form with the practice of most of the nation, in
cluding pur neighbor to the south, California) in
clude travel agencies and services, radio and tele
vision stations and networks, others who find
"uniform" time a great boon, and a vast body of
people who simply like another hour of daylight
at the end of the day swiped, as it were, from
the early-morning daylight hours when few if
any would miss it.
THE opposition to a change has been hardy and
persistent, and, in Oregon, anyway, and up
to this point, successful.
It has included farmers, who declare that
their cows cannot readily accommodate them
sevles to a changed sohedule;, mothers of small
children, who have enough trouble getting them
to go to bed when it's dark, let alone when it is
still light, and others.
The "others" include those who hold to a mis
taken belief that standard time was decreed by
the Almighty, and that tampering with clocks
smacks, somehow, of the sacrilegious.
DECAUSE of this, we were interested in a press
release which arrived last week from the As
sociation pf American. Railroads, which pointed
out that standard time is only 75 years old come
Tuesday, and that it was instituted, not by a Su
preme Being, but by the railroads of America.
Less divine auspices can hardly be imagined.
The nation went on standard time at noon on
Nov. 18. 1883. It was a Sundav. The action cul
minated, years of effort by railroad men to "in
troduce order into decades of confusion over
time," the press release relates.
Before that, the release saia:
"The area covered by a particular time varied -widely
from point to point. Railroads generally ob-
served the time standard of their home Cities or of
some other important city along their line, and some
communities followed . the . time observed by their
railroad.
. "... A cross-country traveler by train had to
change his watch some 20 times. Wisconsin alone is
reported to have had 38 different times, while Michi
gan and Illinois each observed 27.
"People also found confusion without even leaving
home. In Kansas City, for example, each of the leading
jewelers furnished 'his own 'standard time,' no two of
which were alike. In Pittsburgh, there were six differ
ent time standards ..."
"... Standard time, or 'railroad time,' . . . was
not accepted by everyone when adopted in 1883.
Many thought of sun-time as nature's time, and be
lieved that anything different was 'unnatural.
"... Official sanction of the new system was slow
in coming, although government agencies had cooper
ated in the standardizing movement. It was not until
March 19, 1918 . . . that Congress passed what is known
as the Standard Time act. . . ."
' '
rAYLIGHT Saving time was instituted nation-
ally during World War II, as a power-saving
device, although some localities had experiment
ed with it before that.
After the war, many
metropolitan areas) found they liked it for the
extra hour of daylight in the evening, and an in
creasing number of states and cities adopted it.
lhe resulting confusion was not as bad as
that before the 1883 adoption of standard time,
for daylight saving time was based on standard
time, but it was (and is) bad enough.
And when it comes up again in Oregon as a
political issue, we expect to see a resurgence of
a lot of passionate-purple language, because, for
some reason which eludes us, people get almost
as worked up about what time it is, or should be,
as they do about other relatively unimportant
issues such as fluoridation and dogs running at
large. E. A.
Orchards: Something New
"Orchard - A large enclosure containing fruit trees,
nut-bearing trees, sugar maples, etc., also, the trees
collectively."
Webster's Collegiate Dictionary
This definition is a familiar one particular
ly to those of us in the Rogue valley, where or
chards are so much a part of our environment.
Now we have orchards of evergreen trees. No
fruit, no nuts, no maple sugar just cones.
THE idea' is this:
1 In the early days of. the timber industry,
no one gave much thought to new growth ; there
was "enough timber to last forever."
The day came, however (and pretty rapidly,
too), when it became evident that man was wast
ing a valuable natural resource in the forests;
that the cut-out-and-get-out philosophy was not
only short-sighted, but actually evil.
CO THERE was born the idea of artificial re
generation tree or seed planting to main
tain and reconstitute the forests. It took some
time for this to take hold, but is was pioneered
by the federal forest agencies, and now the pri
vate tree larms are doing it, widely and well.
This in turn led to the harvesting of cones.
. And now this has led to "orchards" of con
ifers. Earlier seed-gathering was hit-or-miss, but
with orchards, the quality of the stock-can be
controlled, and foresters can know that the seeds
they plant will have the best possible genetic
background. E. A.
people (particularly .in
Dennis the
U&y. pass the potatoes'. What's wrohg? ...w?...
OUf UBY. PlAE PASS THE fOTttDBS '
Matter of Fact By Joseph Alsop
Paris These words are
written in Paris because this
reporter is again on his way
to tne troub
led Middle
East. The dip
lomats here
are anxiously
arguing about
the meaning
of Nikita
Khrushchev's
recent open
threat to vul
nerable, vital
West Berlin.
4ospb Aisop
Yet the storm signals
abroad are very much less
significant that the process go
ing on in Washington the
President's painful, personal
effort to prepare next year's
defense budget. Now is liter
ally the last chance (and it is
vprv late bv now) to deal with
the problem of the oncoming
missile gap. Hence, it seems
worth trying to show how the
missle gap will affect the
whole theory of Western de
fense. Verv few persons outside
the sacred circle of those hav
ing clearance realize how
enormously American and
Western defense theory has al
changed in the Eisen
hower years. To begin with,
any idea of maintaining true
offensive carjability has long
since been abandoned by the
Eisenhower policy-makers.
YOU have no offensive capa
bility, very obviously, if
you dare not strike the first
blow. In an exchange of nu
clear weapons, no nation can,
even think about striking the
first blow without fuU con
fidence of meeting one central
requirement. The first blow
must be heavy enough to pre
vent or cripple the return
blow. Otherwise, the price of
striking the first blow will be
the immediate destruction of
the nation.
When President Eisenhower
took office, the American
Strategic Air Command stiU
had the power to strike the
first blow, but Soviet nuclear
striking power was already
growing fast, and the Eisen
hower Administration decided
not to make the great effort
to maintain the American
lead. Hence, SAC lost its true
offensive capability rather
early on. The Dulles doctrine
of "massive retaliation" be
came massive nonsense not
long after it was proclaimed.
Secretary Dulles was talk
ing about striking a nuclear
first blow in retaliation for
non-nuclear aggression. The
United States lost the power
to retaliate in this manner
by 1956, because by then SAC
was no longer able to prevent
or cripple the Soviet return
blow. This did not mean,
however, that the Soviets
could in turn begin to think
about striking a nuclear first
blow. Even today, the Soviets
are just as unable to prevent
or cripple SAC's return blow
as SAC is unable to prevent
or cripple their return blow.
IN THIS precariously bal
lanced' situation, all the ac
tions of each side are limited
by the other side's nuclear
deterrent. This effect was
clearly visible, even in such
a strange local conflict as the
fight at Quemoy.
On the American side, the
President at once tore up all
his previous "bigger bang for
a buck" directives authorizing
our armed forces to use tac
tical nuclear weapons in al
most any kind of local mili
tray spat. By the same token,
the Soviets clearly held back
the Chinese Communists, in
order to avoid an uncontrol
able widening of the war. One
side was deterred from using
tactical nuclear arms. The
other side was deterred from'
bringing to bear the full
weight of its conventional
armaments. In both cases, the
other side's strategic nuclear
deterrent was the great per
suader. !
But what will happen when
the balance of the nuclear de
Menace
terrent changes again, during
the period of the missile gap
that now lies ahead? In order
to answer this question co
herently, it is first of all nec
essary to note that your true
nuclear deterrent is what the
other side thinks will be left
over after the first blow. For
the other side is certainly not
going to be deterred by air
planes they count on destroy
ing on the ground and bombs
they believe will not be deliv
ered.
V
HAVING noted this crucial
point, it is then necessary
to make a series of subtrac
tions from the existing
strengths of the American nu
clear deterrent, in order to
allow for the progress of So
viet arms. Above all, sub
tractions must be made be
cause the Soviets are expec
ted to haye a full panoply of
intermediate and intercontin
ental - range ballistic missies
by the end of 1962 or 1963.
Subtraction number one
will be required because of
the neutralization of the
American overseas air bases
by Soviet intermediate-range
missies. Even in 1962, appoxi
mately three- - quarters of
SAC's total striking power
will be composed of short-
range B-47 aircraft, which
are heavily dependent on the
overseas bases. When the
overesas bases are neutral
ized, a very high proportion
of the B-47's will simply be
come unusable. Very few suit
able tankers will be available
for B-47's to strike Russian
targets from bases on this con
tinent; and only these B-47's
can be counted on for the re
turn blow. "
. Subtraction number two
will be required because even
SAC's long - range bombers,
based in the Western hemis
phere, will not be immune
to Soviet intercontinental mis
siles. In fact, only the relative
ly small proportion of B-52's
and B-58's that are in the air
or on 15-miriute alert can be
counted on for the return
blow. These two subtractions,
taken together, will thus re
duce SAC's dependable retali
atory striking poweifcby some
where between 70 and 85 per
cent. ,
. "
FINALLY, a third subtrac--V
tion must be made because
of the great and continuous
improvements of the Soviet
air defense system. In the
period thaiTlies ahead, the
Soviet war planners cannot
only expect their first blow
to destroy or neutralize a huge
part of SAC's over-all strik
ing power. They can also ex
pect their air defense to de
stroy or turn back much of
what is left over. Having
made this third subtraction,
the Soviet war planners will
then ask themselves how
much damage the American
return blow can do. And if
the answer to this final ques
tion is acceptable, the Krenv
lin will then consider that
it has full freedom to strike
the first blow if this seems
desirable.
Such is the development
that has to be guarded against,
The prospect raises a whole
series of pressing questions,
now being debated in the Pen
tagon's recesses which will
be examined in a further re
port.
(c) 1958 New York Herald
Tribune Inc.
Phoenix Man Enters
Plea of Innocent
Robert Mix, Phoenix, Fri
day pleaded innocent to
charges in district court of
assault and battery.
His trial has been set for
Jan. 21. He was released on
$500 bail.
Jackson county sheriffs of
ficers said they received a
call from state police about
12:45 a.m. Friday stating that
a girl reported to a resident
on Pioneer rd. that she had
been assaulted.
Communications
Letters to the Editor must bear the name and address of the writer,
although under certain circumstances the use of a pen name or initial
for publication is permissible. The Mail Tribune reserves the right to
edit all letters with a view to clarification and condensation.- Letters
submitted for publication must not exceed 400 words. The letters
printed in this column do not necessarily represent the views of the
saper; in fact the contrary is oftsn the case.
Transportation
To the Editor: Being an old
veteran of the transportation
business for the past 25 years
these lines may be of interest.
What any city needs more
than off-street parking is a
good newspaper, industry,
transportation. Medford has
the newspaper. It is up to the
downtown business men to
support adequate transporta
tion to and from downtown
shopping centers, especially
their employees.
In large cities where park
ing space was in abundance
due to the transportation sys
tem, today there is no parking
space available due to the
negligence of the transporta
tion system to downtown
shopping centers. The results
are large suburban shopping
centers with no parking me
ters. Upon completion of the
new freeway through ; Med
ford, some of these Medford
business men may be surpris
ed in the number of cars stop
ping a few hours while pass
ing through the city. Condi
tions may be changed consid
erably in the parking situa
tion in the future, so why not
wait until this freeway is fin
ished before spending one
half million dollars for off
street parking which may not
be necessary.
The city of Medford has no
industry except a little fruit
and lumber business and most
of this business is taken care
of by telephone or through
the mail.
This statement may seem
out of line to most people
who have had no experience
in the transportation business;
however when there are no
ways and means of transpor
tation to downtown shopping
centers, people owning cars
will not drive downtown to
shop but to the suburban
shopping centers. Some busi
nessmen get carried away
when a little authority is plac
ed in their hands and get
queer ideas which will not co
incide with the nature of most
business problems. City ord
inances and state laws make
the downtown shopping cen
ters very difficult for people
to patronize.
I have had experience as
street car mo'torman, motor
coach, trolly coach operator
and checker assisting the dis
patcher during the rush
hours. It is a mighty tough
job to provide units of con
veyance at the proper time.
The coaches were spaced 30
seconds apart and the street
cars 60 seconds apart. At this
space it was impossible to
haul the traffic without the
assistance of token salesmen
who also assisted in closing
the doors on the units.
A successful d i spatcher
must have had experience in
actual service as an operator
or an engineer, not as a
brakeman or conductor, to be
familiar with the difficulties
which arise in running a
schedule and making the
time, which is almost impos
sible when; business is at
peak. In the rush hours, it is
necessary to put out extras to
maintain the space of the
units to handle the traffic,
with adequate communica
tion. It is impossible to explain
in detail in this space. How
ever if you are interested you
may phone SP 3-4761 for
more information.
G. D. D.,
(Name on file.)
Medford.
Saving Species
. To the Editor: Another pro
tection of wildlife species was
afforded when Mountain Ze
bra National park was created
hv the Union of South Africa.
The National Parks of Afri-
ca-below-the-Equator proba
bly have done much to save
"circus" mammals for the
kiddies of generations to
come.
These include the African
elephant, the hippo, wilde
beest, klipspringer, oryx,
Also two mammals that have
found food niches by "rubber
necking" the gerenuk, the
giraffe. The African lion also
seems safe, though the Asiatic
lion is almost extinct. So also
as to Africa's rhinos. Those of
Java and of Burma may be
beyond saving.
In U.S.A., National Audu
bon has rescued from oblivion
several bird species. These in
clude roseate spoonbill, Ever
glades kite, limpkin, caracara,
trumpeter swan, perhaps
whooping crane. One flamingo
ventured back into Florida
only to be shot by a "sports
man." Gone forever is heath hen,
passenger pigeon, the pretty
Carolina parakeet, probably
the giant ivorybill wood
pecker. C. M. Goethe,
Seventh and J Sts.,
, a Sacramento 14, Calif.
Objects to Closure
To the Editor: This is to the
people in Talent. I think that
the people of Talent have been
misinformed as to the closing
of Homes st. If the street is
closed it will jeopardize the
pole yard, in that the trucks
that haul the poles in cannot
make the turn out of the yard
and therefore it is hard for us
to get trucks to haul, and I
have to lay off the men that
work here now. The pole yard
is the only payroll that this
town has. It is not a big pay
roll but a small payroll in any
town is better than none.
Every business house in town
receives some business from
this payroll and if a town is to
grow and prosper it must sup
port any kind of a payroll.
Someone has circulated a peti
tion to close said street and if
the city council does not have
foresight enough to see the
benefits of a payroll in the
town, they are missing their
responsibilities to the town.
My payroll is from $250 to
$300 per week and by then
action in this case could cut
it down to $100 per week. I
can be reached at the pole
yard at any time and I will be
glad to inform them on this
matter. What affects one in
any small town will affect all.
Ray Garland,
P. O. Box 27,
Talent, Ore.
Close the Road?
To the Editor: As I have a
small grandson who rides the
school bus to the Griffin Creek
school, I would like to make
a suggestion for a safety rule
for the buses. Why not close
for public use the road during
the hours that the buses are
using them?
During the foggy weather
we can expect this winter, it
will be dangerous for private
drivers as well as the school
buses. I am sure it would be
appreciated with both parties,
with no expense involved.
Charles Oswald,
Box 394,
Eagle Point, Ore.
Silhouettes
To the Editor: Etienne de
Silhouette was the controller
general of France in 1759. He
was a friend of the Marquise
de Pompadour. His friendship
got him his job. His ability
was not considered. The
papers of his day are filled
with jokes about Monsieur
Silhouette.
He required great sacrifices
of the nobles because of the
high rate of taxation. The
term silhouette came to mean
a man reduced to his simplest
form. The man taxed by Sil
houette was indeed reduced
to his simplest state. Nothing
was left for him.
The word silhouette, mean
ing 'a simple outline picture,
was added to the French dic
tionary in 1835.
Perhaps this would be a
good name for the conserva
tive. Republicans and Demo
crats after the so called "Lib
erals" get through turning
our country into a Welfare
State.
Leila A. Morrow,
531 North Bartlett st.,
Medford.
Winners of Speech
Contest Announced
Central Point -Scott Read
ing, Illinois Valley vocational
agriculture student, won the
southwest Oregon conserva
tion speech contest Thursday
at Crater High school in Cen
tral Point. -
C. W. Jensen, Rogue River,
vice president of the Oregon
Association of Soil Conserva
tion District Supervisors, an
nounced that Dave Foote,
Crater vocational agriculture
student, . won second place.
Forest conservation was the
subject of the contest spon
sored by the Oregon Associa
tion Districts.
Scott will receive a trophy
from J. R. Simplot Fertilizer
company and an expense-paid
trip to the annual meeting of
the state association in Baker
Nov. 20 and 21, Jensen said.
As runner-up, Foote will re
ceive a plaque from Simplot.
The contest was judged by
the Medford Toastmasters and
Medford Toastmistress clubs.
TEDDY HONORED
Balboa, Panama Canal Zone
-fUPD-The Canal Zone climax
ed Roosevelt Centennial Week
Saturday with the unveiling
of a bust of Theodore Roose
velt. The unveiling commemo
rated the late president's ar
rival on the Isthmus to
launch construction ,of the
Panama Canal. About 160
persons who served two con
secutive years in the zone dur
ing the construction days
between 1906 and 1914 were
guests of honor.
POTIUCCC
(By M-T Staff and Contributors)
Upon occasion, Medford is
graced by the presence of out-
of-city newspapermen. It us
ually is a time when some
thing of particular newswor-
thiness is happening, and pa
pers outside the area (usually
Portland) send in reporters to
get their first-hand impres
sions, rather than depending
on wire services or corres
pondents. Anyway, they often gravi
tate to the Mail Tribune
newsroom (it's the clatter of
typewriters or the smell, of
newsprint or something), and
not infrequently ask direc
tions as to now to find cer
tain places in the city.
This happened not lone aeo.
and the visiting reporter ask
ed one of our staff members
where the Western Union of
fice was. Our man - reulied
with detailed directions.
which didnf seem to "take."
Finally he was struck with
an inspiration. "It's across the
street from the liquor store,"
he said. "Oh, well, I know
EXACTLY where it is," the
visiting newshawk replied.
Science that inanimate
concept generally taken lo
mean the orderly investiga
tion of nature has come
up with the startling infor
mation that the greatest
toll of human life is not
taken by rattlesnakes, nor
by Black Widow spiders,
nor by Gila monsters, nor
by scorpions. The champion
human killer of the pois
onous animal world is hon
ey bee. An upstate newspa
per comments, however,
that despite this informa
tion, they hardly look for
the starting of an organiza
tion to stamp out "the dead
ly honey bee."
Things have gotten sort of
riotous (and we use the word
advisedly) at recent American
Legion meetings.
Not long ago a fake "bomb
was planted during one of the
meetings, and we are advised
by competent authority that
it scared the Irving daylights
out of half the attending
membershiD.
At another meeting, a de
liberately provoked quarrel
broke out, loud and long, dur
ing the business meeting, cul
minating in one officer haul
ing out a pistol and firms sev
eral quick shots at his adver
sary, who immediately fell to
the floor. It took several
shocked and, star tied seconds
before the bemused members
saw that both shooter and
shootee had big grins on their
faces, and realized that the
bullets were blanks.
And there Is evidence lead
ing us to believe that the end
is not yet.
It isn't Christmas yet. It
isn't even Thanksgiving.
Police to Auction
Off Several Hems
At Thursday Sale
Twenty two bicycles, four
automobiles, a baby stroller,
an electric blanket, a cable
cutter, costume jewelry x and
comic books these are some
of the items Medford police
men are putting on the auc
tion block Thursday.
Scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in
the police storage garage
south of the administration
building, the auction is the
third in the last two years.
From buggies to badminton
sets, the items to be auctioned
have been in the police depart
ment s hands for months with
out beinz claimed. Thev were
found, abandoned, by police
patrolmen or turned in to the
department by helpful citi
zens. Efforts Made
Police Chief Charles Champ
lin must sign an affidavit that
"every reasonable effort" has
been made to find or at least
identify the owners and that
the property has remained un
claimed. Proceeds from the auction
are turned over to the city's
general fund.
According to Lt. Rollie
Pean, about 75 people showed
up at the first auction, July 2,
1957. About 40 appeared at
the second, at which only four
automobiles were offered, on
Dec. 4.
Some of the other items for
Thursday's auction are a fish
ing rod, two pillows, two
sheets and two pillow cases,
two car wheels, two outboard
motor gas cans, miscellaneous
hubcaps and small - tools, a
coil of No. 14 insulated wire
and 12 leather jackets.
But there are signs in the,
air. 'Among them is the ac
tivity at Bear Creek Or
chards, where delivery
trucks have been coming
and going in large numbers.
One of them pulled up the
other day just as Frank
Durante, the office manag
er, came by. "Ah he said.
"Another delivery. I hope
it's a boy!"
A columnist in another ?tir
-a pleasant little place about
14 miles south of Medford
reports that citizens of that
community have been waffVi.
ing the fog roll in durin th
last week, and they've started
Diammg Medford.
And the columnist adds,
'Will VOU Dut tllOSP Anoomm
bellows awav this vear Mav.
or John Snider?"
Our plaintive inmiirv. in
return, is why does Medford
get tne oiame? Other than the
fact, of course, that it oet
blamed for practically every-
tnmg that goes wrong in the
counry. n nas ajways been
our imnression that MMfnn?
had a bit more fog than Ash-
iana, and we'd think that our
friends in the southern su.
burb would be glad for us to
snare with them.
The office philosopher ,
(jg) remarks on a new twist
on the old saying about a
cobbler's child going shoe
less. A p h ot o grapher's
wife, he reports, is getting
impatient because her hus- -band
hasn't yet taken a
family picture for Christ
mas cards.
In another newspaper we
saw a heading which said
"Halfway Happenings."
We were puzzled for a mo
ment, uiuiK.uig it may nave
been a column about unfinish
ed projects, or uncompleted'
jobs.
It turned out, however, to
be a column of happenings in
A local business which
of overweight people-thinning
them down, that it
advertises an "Expansion
special III" Now, let'i
see ? '
We have, to our sorrow,
discussed typographical er
rors hero rpfnrf Thoca
the little (and sometiiries,
alas, not so little) mistakes in
typography which pop up in
the paper.
To those in the newspaper
business, they are an old, old
sad story. We know how they
happen, how easy it is for.
them to happen, and , are so
used to them that when we
spot one mostly we groan or
swear (according to our pre
dispositions) and quickly go
on to something else.
If they are serious, and if
we spot them in time, we try
to do' something about thenv
even if only to obliterate the
offending word while the pa
per is still on the press.
We maintain that they hurt
us as badly as they do any
one. But we are used to our
readers pointing them out to
us, either in anger or hilar-
ity-always with the implica
tion of "How on earth can
you be so stupid!!?"
There are a dozen places
during the process of putting
out a paper where errors can
creep in. It can be the origi
nal source of information
(misspelled name, wrong
date, etc.); it can be faulty
memory or mis-read notes or
a typing error on the part of
the reporter; it can be human
or mechanical failure on one
of the typesetting machines
(letter transpositions, word
omissions), or it can be care
lessness or error on the part
of the compositor, the man
who puts the type in the page
(line transpositions or omis
sions, and so on).
The proofreader is the man
charged with- catching those
errors which he can. He reads
for accuracy the "proofs"
that is, the test-printing sheets
of the columns of type made
before they are placed in the
page. But no human being
we know could catch all such
errors. And he cannot check
on faulty work in the printing
department.
So. if a storv in "which vbu
are interested doesn't "read"
correctly, it could be any one
of a number of things, and
might be that a full line of
type is dropped out by acci
dent. We have safeguards against
them, and catch and correct
probably about 95 per cent.
But despite all attempts,
human error inevitably allows
a few to get through.
The worst ones are the true
"typos" errors in typeset
ting. Like the one last week
which should have said
"exotic dishes' and came out
"erotic dishes."
In case you are interest
ed, there are 32 shopping
days before Christmas.