Stars and Stripes, G.I. Morale Booster No. 1.

Stars and Stripes, G.I. Morale Booster No. 1. Sergeant Pete Lisager (right) and veteran printer Jimmy Rowe check a page proof before giving the signal for the presses to start rolling in the London office. While Army personnel handles the editing and layout of "Stars and Stripes"and take care of the administration and of the operation, British compositors, like veteran Rowe, assistant foreman of the composing room, form its mechanical staff. Some of them came from The London Times'own compositing room, others were hired from outside shops. Even with Americans and Britons speaking and writing the same language, the arrangement at first was fraught with complications. Typeletters, for example, even though their cardinal rule is to "follow copy even if it flies out the window", had to accustom themselves to spelling "honour"as "honor"and örganisation"as örganization". And proofreaders, who handle Times copy as well as "Stars and Stripes" matter, had to see that it was "honour"in The Times and "honor"in the "Stars and Stripes". But the problem was not a great one and "Stars and Stripes"compositors today are authorities on American spelling and idiom, and know the names of more U.S. cities than the average Briton.