Bennett assured us that the machinery before us
comprised them all. We saw first the stereotyping process, by which
copies of the one type-setting of the paper can be multiplied
indefinitely. Then three machines were set in action, delivering 10,000
copies each per hour. A fourth machine was added shortly after, which
delivered somewhat more; and this latter appeared to us the exact
counterpart of "The Argus" machine, as already seen by us in London.
I recall a joke of many years back when mechanical contrivance was
attracting much general attention, and arousing great hopes, to the
effect that a sheep would some day enter the machine of the future at
one end, and be delivered at the other as ready cooked food and broad
cloth. What we saw was not a whit less wonderful. The great roll of
paper unrolled itself into one end of the machine, and, even more
quickly than one could walk the half-dozen yards of distance, it emerged
in separate papers, dropped, as I said, at ten to twelve thousand an
hour, printed, folded, cut, and numbered to the dispersing hand which
received them. The circulation of the "Evening News" is 60,000 daily.
That of "The Age", as I learnt on arrival at Melbourne, has now advanced
in its inspiring career to 76,000.
Pages:
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208