Show w jat iw ff jf apan yew j uc 1 y ift IM rt jv r S of trankline Tran Klins mac shop y 0 i w vl TE 0 G 1 L X y a by ELMO SCOTT WATSON 17 Is the anniversary of the birth of benjamin and many americans of many different trades and professions who claim him as one of their ovid will join in honoring his memory on that date for the many sided franklin and franklin the versatile have become proverbial in referring to this man but no trade or profession lon has a better claim on him nor a better reason to celebrate his birthday than the printers and publishers of this country for it was as a that he got his start in life it was as B franklin printer that he first made his mark in the affairs of colonial america it was under that title that he first became a pub usher and for all the world wide fame that he attained as a statesman a philosopher and a scientist be retained a keen interest in printing and publishing to the end of his days 1 I doubt if franklin would have attained to bis eminence among the immortals it it were not tor his good fortune and the worlds good for tune to have learned the printing trade writes lewis bullen founder of the typographic library and museum at jersey city 7 in the book the amazing benjamin franklin published in recent years by the frederick A stokes company ills father wanted him to be a tallow candler had he obeyed I 1 fear that his fame if any would have been local to bos ton there Is nothing inspiring or forceful in tallow or its products but which of all alons greater forces can equal the power of the printers types truly none franklin was a diffident man by no means an orator timid about rising to speak an un willing speaker averse to the arts by which politicians gain their fame and purposes in variably be sought to influence his countrymen and their friends by means of his leaden types composed in his own chop they gained him a world wide audience which was convinced by their silent but wide extended voices that their master was uttering the profoundest wisdom in the guise of common sence the most buncom mon element in mens conduct benjamin franklin used many forces successfully in his unparalleled career but his most powerful thunderbolts were found in the cases holding his invincible printing types franklins career as a printer started in 1718 when he was twelve year old he was alpren alced to his brother james franklin a printer atho was publishing the new england courant in boston young ben secretly wrote articles for the courant and was delighted when his brother not knowing their authorship pub bushed them until james franklin discovered the sources of them and severely lectured young ben for his presumption but when james franklin wai imprisoned for printing in the courant articles which gave offense to the colonial assembly and prohibited from printing the courant any longer he was glad enough to have it issued under the name of his brother whose indenture was thereupon cancelled so at the early age of seventeen young ben became a newspaper editor and publisher this arrangement did not last very long and because of differences which arose between the two brothers ben left the courant and started out for new field disappointed inels hope of finding work as a printer in new dewent on to philadelphia and there he a position aa a printer for samuel almer who bad oneeta the two printing acs in arfe quaker city encouraged by sir willlam keith the governor of pennsylvania to set up in business for himself franklin started to go to london to buy equipment tor a print shop the help which keith had promised to give him was not forthcoming and young ben found himself branded in the british capital but the energetic young colonial was soon cm aloyed at samuel halmers palmers printing house in london and after that in the of john watts one of the leading craftsmen of the time franklin spent 14 months in england then returned to philadelphia and went to wark again in kelmers shop tills time as foreman at once he demonstrated the initiative and in which was to characterize his whole life kelmers supply of type was limited and hl wants could not be satisfied without sending to england so foreman franklin made a mold for casting letters and supplied his employer with the type which he needed in 1728 he formed a partnership with a tain hugh meredith with meredith furnishing most of the money for the enterprises and frank alln mot of the brains it was at this time that he wrote the famous epitaph which he hoped would be placed on his gravestone when he died and which from its tone indicated that he desired no higher honor than to be known as B franklin printer that was the name which appeared over his print shop when meredith withdrew from the partnership two years later in the meantime franklin had bought out the pennsylvania gazette a newspaper started by detmer soon after franklin left his employ A short time after he had assumed sole management of the printing business he was appointed public printer by the pennsylvania assembly in 1732 he wrote and began publication of his famous poor richards albinack Almi nack the average sale of which was for 25 years more than copies annually franklin was not only a good printer and a good editor but he was also a good business man so his printing enterprise nourished so well that in 1748 at the age of forti two he was able to retire from active bus ness lie had accumulated a substantial for tune and was now ready to devote his time to his scientific experiments and his great variety of other interests although his partner david biall took active charge of the printing business in 1748 retained a financial interest in it until then the wider field of states mansilp called him he went to london as agent for pennsylvania in the dispute with the mother country over taxation and soon fund himself the bold defender of the rights of all the american colonies but even though the years which followed found him busy with many other affairs frank alln never got entirely away from his first love the printing business in the memorable year of while he aa representing the new na alon in eirls he established a small printing of flee in the french capital to be used for kropa ganda purposes and incidentally as a school of printing for his two grandsons when he left france he was one of the most famous men of his time but at heart he was still B frank alln printer BO he brought home to america with him the printing equipment he had used lr paris and a complete type foundry both 0 A mk 1 ji L which be placed under the management f his grandson benjamin franklin bache the son of his beloved daughter sarah franklin bache franklin retained his interest in this printing business to the end of his days constantly giving his grandson the benefit of his experience and having a sort of general supervision over the enterprise then on april 17 1790 the busy career of benjamin franklin ended in the city where he had risen to his firt fame ehla lie was burled iff christ church burying ground there however much bis simple soul wanted to be remembered as B franklin printer his relatives evidently thought that an epitaph befitting his world wide fame was more appropriate than likening him to an old book so the epitaph which he had written for him self nearly a half century before was not placed upon tha stone of his grave in attempting to evaluate the services of ben jaman i as a printer and a publisher one Is confronted with the same wealth of material which characterized all of his other so it Is difficult to pick out the things which can be designated as his greatest contribution to the journalism of this nation this general statement however can be made franklin was as far in advance of his times as an editor and a publisher as he was in many of his other roles many of the innovations in the newspaper bus ness which we regard as modern developments are nothing more than a repetition of their sac use by franklin among his outstanding achievements in the printing and publishing business and allied in destries dus tries are these lie was the first to attempt to illustrate the news in an american newspaper and al the first to publish questions and answers in a news paper he made the first newspaper cartoon the famous picture of a snake cut into sections to represent the colonies before the revolution a powerful pictorial editorial which was widely copied and used by other patriot newspaper ne was instrumental in establishing IS paper mills in the colonies lie was the first to turn to great account the engine of advertising now an indispensable ele ment in modern business he wai the first proponent of th echain news paper idea lie did this by setting up in business young journeymen printers supply ing printing office equipment paying one third of th running expenses and receiving one third of th net profits an arrangement which was an ad vantage to all concerned he established such branches in seven different places charles ton S C antigua and jamaica in the west indies new york city lancaster pa new haven conn and in georgia of franklins idealism in his work as a print er and an editor we find this revealing statement in his autobiography 1 in the conduct of my newspaper I 1 carefully excluded all li belling and personal abuse which has of late years become so disgraceful to our country whenever I 1 was solicited to insert any thing of that kind and the writers pleaded as they generally did the liberty of the press and tint a newspaper was like a stagecoach stage coach in which anyone alio would pay had a right to a place my answer was that I 1 would print the piece separately if and the author might have as many copies as he pleased to distribute himself but that I 1 would not take upon me to spread bis detraction and that having con with my subscribers to furnish them with what might be either useful or entertain ing I 1 could not fill their papers with private al ter catlon in which they had no concern with out doing them manifest injustice now many of our printers make no scruple of gratifying the malice of individuals by false accusations of the fairest chanc among our selves augmenting animosity even to the pro ducong of duels and are moreover so erect as to print scurrilous reflections on the government of neighboring states and een on the conduct of our best national allies which may be attended with the pernicious con sequences these things I 1 mention as a caution to oung printers and that they anny be enczur aged not to pollute their presses and their profession by such infamous practices bev refuse steadily as they may see by my example that a course of conduct will not on the whole be injurious to their interests by western newspaper union |