INSIDE THE TIMES OFFICE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXI, Issue 11759, 13 April 1888, Page 2

INSIDE THE TIMES OFFICE.

(National Beview.) Till comparatively lately. The Times - leisurely printed its outer sheet in the " course of the day. , Now. everything is " left to the last moment,wheri it is forced ahead at -high ' pressure ;' the paper] is '. whirled through -the maohinery at the rate .o£ more than 70,000 copies per- ' hour. The Times goes to press with its inner sheet at 3.46, and the publication must come, to an end at-515, for the'vans and oartß are waiting by the doeen to gallop off with the packages' to, the"' early trains. The paper ia always being ' ' edited against time ; seven columns arid a half may be transmitted by the ' special wire from Paris, and Paris is e~nneo'ed, in its turn, with the capitals of Eastern" Europe. But the foreign ■ news, which id continually coming ip t is ouly a single item. Beportets may boot v^Qrfe fron* Gape WraigUt

Land's End transmitting speeobeswhioh xaaat be Borntinised and condensed. Telegraphs oonneot the office with tbe Houses of Parliament. Fast as the reports are sent in ; they are^Bet up by i- composing machines, on which the * operator deftly plays as on the keys of ■ S' cottage piano; and by pneumatic -tabes; the !; Blips" are . transmitted to tbe printing ' room, thus dispensing with baud-carrying, and dimißhirig - labour. All the latest modern improve* xnents are to bo found in a self«suffioing . establishment. The Times may be said '■- tpmske everything for itself, except' ;,the. paper and ink. When the new printing presses, invented by 'the present „ manager, were adopted in 1862, it was ' decided to ezeoute the engineering on the premises, Now the limes bonstruots its presses, and its casting, and : t: composing. maohines as well. Its oon«. dnetora, with their characteristic independence,' have declared against the tyranny of trade unions. And naturally they have bad no difficulty in finding Bkilled workmen, for the pay is high and the treatment liberal, bat they have led the way in a pbilantbropical regard for the health and comfort of their dependants. The old newspaper printing , : offices were dismal unwholesome dens; and the most that could be said in their .'favour was that the rooms consecrated to the head. work of the- establishment „ were little better. Long ago The Times - revolutionised all that* and the present , bffioas rebuilt some fifteen years ago— with: brioks, by the way, from Mr Walter's briokfield at Bearwood, after designs of his own; and under his personal superintendence — are a model' of all. the comforts that, are attainable : ; under the . oircumstances. The consoi« ■ : ous - sense -of --perpetual motion and . ceaseless unrest cannot be got tid of; 'the solid buildings are shaken by the 'violent vibration of the. iron presses throbbing in-the basements ; the warn- ' ing bells of the telegraphs are ringing ' continually.:; despatches and. messages ' 'marked.,; 1 immediate^' are perpetually ! . tfeing.' shot in \at ' the. doors. Editors ''and busy leader-writers are toiling in .spaeions and comparatively quiet chambers: Conapoßitora are setting up tbe type in lofty, welHighted, and wellventilated balls ; of, course, the re* porters . are equally well treated;, the. '4 busy, printing maohines are being driven •below ground by the . cool aud dear leleotric light, in air as wholesome as any in London. And, to all intents and purposes, the premises are a com- • Portable club. , Eaoh'man has his own compartment, where he can keep a change of clothes and boots, with a peg: for his hat' and overcoat. He oan have any refreshments he needs in a spacious .refectory, at any hour of the night or 'morning, the provisions being served to him atoost price. No doubt nothing I pays' better, in the long run, than' keep* -ing 'skilled employes healthful and contented. - None the less does The Times deserve credit for being the first to break 'with' the .sordid old practices and I set a generous example of vise liberal" i