How Golly Became Golly

 

December 5, 1940

By golly, we put it over on that bunch of dictators in the back shop last week. Wrote this column early – and a lot of it. Don Danforth, who has recently joined our force as a linotype key-tickler, has not become throughly familiar with the tactics of the gang and so the type was set without a murmur.

When "half pint" Thomas was making up the first forms for the issue, he needed type to fill the pages, and being a day short ot time on account of Thanksgiving, by golly, it got by him.

"Big Boy" Truxal didn't have a change to growl until the column was all printed, and then it was too late! Bill Fish II, made a comment or two but we silenced him with "Quiet son, quiet!"

By golly, we got away with it, and on Monday evening we were tickled pink to see those sheets all neatly printed with 42 column inches of bright and sparkling "Take It or Leave It!"

But along came a fella who just does not know the rules of a newspaper office. He appeared in the back shop and soon had his nose stuck in the printed sheets. We hated like the dickens to choke him off but we had to do it. Of course, we were careful not to offend him, so we commented as follows as nearly as we can remember:

"Hey, you big stiff, don't you know it is against all the rules of a newspaper shop to butt in and read adv. copy or proofs or any printed section until the paper is completed and put in circulation?"

Of course, you will understand dear readers (if any), that we made our comments very gently and quietly so they couldn't have been heard more than three or four blocks.

And then, by golly, that fella heaped coals on our head. Here's how he came back, meek as Moses, "Well I saw "Take It or Leave It" and I just couldn't wait until the paper was out to read it."

What are you going to do with such a comeback? That was a pretty compliment, but even so we had to stand by our guns.

And now a word to any person who may happen in our back shop:

Don't get nosey and start reading news copy, adv. copy or proofs. it is against all the rules and regulations, constitutions and by laws, proclamations and promulgations, to do so. If you insert your proboscis in what's not intended for dissemination until publication day there will probably be a vocal explosion that will rock the countryside for miles around. The exploder – if it happens to be the writer of these candid paragraphs – will be embarrassed beyond words – and so will you!

Don't do it, by Golly!

By golly, two words that keep coming to mind as we sit here pouring this stuff on paper, are "by golly." Maybe this column this week should be called "The By Golly" column.