Graham's Magazine, Vol. XL, No. 6, June 1852 — John Shaqi
Graham's Magazine, Vol. XL, No. 6, June 1852Various
General
Graham's Magazine, Vol. XL, No. 6, June 1852
Various
Literature -- Periodicals; Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals
Why does our friend go back only to the Hand-Press to exhibit the
disastrous effects of Machinery on the interests of Labor? The
hand-press itself is a labor-saving machine of immense capacity—far
more so in its day than the power-press which is now extensively
superseding it. It threw wholly out of employment and reduced to
absolute destitution thousands upon thousands of skillful, accurate,
admirable penmen, who had given the best years of their lives to acquire
skill in a profession, or pursuit, which the press almost extirpated. To
be at all consistent, “H.” must demand, not the destruction of the
power-press only, but of all printing or copying presses whatever.
“Ah! but then there could be no newspapers?”—Nay; that does not follow.
Kossuth’s first gazette was not printed, but a carefully prepared
abstract of the sayings and doings of the Hungarian Diet, whereof copies
were made by scribes for general diffusion. There have been many such
instances of unprinted journals.
“Well; there could be no _such_ journals as we now have.” No, nor could
there be without the power-press. We could not afford such a paper as
_The Tribune_ now is for four times its present price, if we were
obliged to print it on hand-presses; in fact, no such paper could be
supported at all.
The subsisting truth, then, must be accepted and looked fairly in the
face. The mountain will not come to Mahomet; he must go to the mountain.
The existence and rapid progress of Machinery is a fact which cannot be
set aside; the world will not, cannot go backward: Machinery cannot be
destroyed; it cannot even be held where it is, but must move onward to
further and vaster triumphs. We may deplore this, but cannot prevent
it.”
* * * * *
The perusal of this article would have determined us, had we not been
resolved beforehand, to lay before our readers an account of the very
remarkable works to which we have before alluded, by the proprietors of
which the machinery mentioned in the letter of “the thoughtful laborer”
was of course manufactured, as by them it was invented; being no other
than the great eight-cylinder, type-revolving, fast-printing press.
Similar machines, though varying in the number of cylinders, are
employed by the New York Herald and Tribune, the eight-cylinder being
used by the Sun, the Philadelphia Ledger, and other journals in the
United States, as also by the Parisian La Patrie, the quasi organ of the
present Prince President, and, according to present appearances, future
Emperor of the French.
These works are in truth one of the most remarkable sights, if not the
most worthy of remark, of all that are shown to strangers in New
York—and yet to how few are they shown. The changes to which they have
already given birth are great enough, even now,
“To overcome us like a summer cloud,”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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