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...
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