Who originated, “Now is the time for all good men …”

Cecil replies:

From the typewriter it came, and to the typewriter it shall return: the phrase was proposed as a typing drill by a teacher named Charles E. Weller. Incidentally, many typing books now use the variant “Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country” instead, because it exactly fills out a 70-space line if you put a period at the end.

Cecil Adams

Send questions to Cecil via cecil@straightdope.com.