TWO STORIES
489
one. Herr Doktor, compare a column I have set with one in any
other paper; the difference will strike you in the eye. Today's com–
positors, all of them without exception, have long since acquiesced in
linguistic depravity, in fact they approve it and hasten it on. There
is hardly a single one of them who still knows there is a delicate,
inner law, an unwritten law of art, that governs the position of
commas, colons and semicolons. And how dreadful, how murderous
indeed, is the treatment, first in the typed manuscript and then at
the hands of the typesetters, given to those words that stand at the
end of a line and have the unmerited misfortune to be too long and
must be chopped in two! It is horrible. In our own paper I have
had to witness with increasing frequency as the years pass hundreds
of thousands of such poor words strangled, falsely divided, dismem–
bered and dishonored words: circ-umference, reg-ards-yes, once
there was withd-rawn! Here then is a field where even now I can
fight my daily battle, do my small service in the cause. And you,
sir, do not know, you cannot imagine, how fine it is, what good it
does one, when a word released from the rack, a sentence clarified
by proper punctuation, looks gratefully up at the compositor! No,
please never again ask me to abandon all this and leave it
defenseless !"
Although the editor had known Johannes for years he had never
before heard him speak in so animated and personal a way, and
while he maintained an attitude of cool detachment toward what was
foolish and exaggerated in his harangue, nevertheless he felt too
there was some small, hidden value in this confession. Nor was he
unaware how highly such conscientiousness and devotion in a com–
positor were to be prized. Once more he made his intelligent face
assume an expression of friendliness and said:
"Well, all right, Johannes, you convinced me some time ago.
Under the circumstances my proposal-it was well meant, you
know-shall
be
withdrawn. Go on setting type, keep up the good
work! And if there's any other small favor I can do you, just tell
me." He rose, stretching out his hand to the compositor, convinced
that the latter would now finally go.
But Johannes, seizing the proffered hand with ardor, opened
his heart again, saying: "Thank
yo~,
sir, from the bottom of my
heart. How kind you are! Oh, as a matter of fact, I do have a
