In 1782, an Englishman arrived in Glasgow with a
wooden printing press. With such paltry resources
he began to publish a newspaper entitled the
Glasgow Advertiser. The newspaper was later
renamed the Glasgow Herald. Two centuries later its
daily circulation had risen to 200,000 copies.
What saved John Mennons, the founder of this
newspaper, from succumbing to unfavourable and
adverse circumstances was his limitless enthusiasm.
It more than compensated for his lack of resources.
The newspaper is still going strong after a period of
two centuries, in spite of serious differences
between partners which arose from time to time. It
was fortunate that these could always be settled
amicably without the work being disrupted.
The newspaper, which was started on a wooden
press, is now being printed entirely on automatic
machines. The letters are neither composed nor do
they undergo the process of metal infusion: they are
projected on the plates by laser beam. The paper is
printed and folded automatically. Then it is
wrapped in polythene and taken to the despatch
department. The whole process is computerised.
It was only because of its continued publication that
it could benefit from all the new improved
techniques which were developed at different
stages. If it had ceased publication after a period of
time, all the techniques would have existed, but it
would have failed to utilize them.
It shows how the accomplishment of any great
work requires two things in particular: limitless
enthusiasm and perseverance. Obviously great
works can be brought to fruition only with the help
of boundless energy, enthusiasm and perseverance.
Without the long, and arduous labour which is
essential in any such enterprise, the survival of this
paper would have been impossible.
Ref - The Moral Vision
- by Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
