The Bogus Battle

In the composing room of newspapers all over the U.S., linotypists set type every day that they know will never be used. It is set, proofread, corrected, put together by compositors into final form for printing--then thrown away. Such type is called "bogus"; it is set just to be thrown away. Setting bogus type became a widespread practice at the turn of the century after advertisers began sending their ads out in "mats," i.e., molds into which metal is cast to make the completed ad without setting type. To counteract this labor-saving device, the International Typographical Union wrote contracts with publishers requiring that a duplicate ad be set in type every time a mat is used.

Last week the American Newspaper Publishers Association filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court that it hopes will end bogus. With newspaper costs steadily rising, most papers can no longer afford bogus. The Washington Star estimates that its annual bogus bill is the equivalent of two weeks' extra wages a year for every composing-room employee. The New York Times pays more than $150,000 a year to set bogus.

Publishers have been fighting bogus as a violation of the National Labor Relations Act. They argue it forces them to pay for a service that is unquestionably of no value to them, that it is a violation of the act's anti-featherbedding clause. Before the NLRB and the courts, contradictory decisions have been handed down. After the Supreme Court hears the case this week, A.N.P.A. hopes to get a clear decision against bogus.

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