The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1880-12-02
SIMON CAMERON, PRINTER.
Interesting photographed sketch OF
His GAnr.A 1 H.

Interesting AutObiOgraphical sketch OF
His Start In Life.
The Philadelphia Proof Sheet prints
the following letter from Gen. Simon
Cameron:
5 HARRIsBURG, April 2S, 1SSO.-DEAr
SIR Your letter of the 26th inst. iu-
closing the photoelectrotype of my iu-
dentures came duly to hand, and / ann
much obliged to you for it, and for the
interest that inspired the friendly words
of your note. l very willingly comply
with your request for some memoranda
of that portion ofmy life when 1 work
ed at my trade.
i was bound an apprentice to tho
printers trade, rs the indentures show,
at the town of Northumberland Pa,
on May II, 1916. One year after this
my master, Andrew Kennedy, gave up
his business, and l was forced to look
out for another place. Coming to Har-
risburg in search Of employment, 1 eu-
engaged with Mr.. James Peacock pro-
prietor and editor of the Harrisburg Re
| publican, also public printer, TO serve
with him the remainder of my appreu-
ticeship, to-wit three years. That 1
did. To fully learn the business, ii was
then considered essential to master the
working Of the press. Old printers viii
understand better than those Of this age
of steam the severity of this part of the
trade, even to young men of a robust
physique. But, owing to my ill-hcalth
and physical delicacy of constitution,
was almost killed by this exacting labor.
That part of the business which / could
do without this extreme labor-tho
type-setting, etc.-was always pleasant
to me, for it gave me all the opportu-
nifty lean purse then permitted to Sc
cure the rudiments Of education. In
deed this was why chose that trade.
After serving the term of my app
with Mr.. Peacock, ! worked
with him. Considering
the center and focus of po-
litical effort and information, and being
at an early age attracted to politics, l.
determined to try my chance for work
where | could see the leading men and
study the current ofpolitics at the capi-
tai. Going there, found employment
in the Office of Gales a. Seaton, publish
ers of the National Intelligencer. Here
| worked, as did all other journeymen,
for SO per week, laboring eleven hours
a day. l noticed then, as / have since,
that the men who got on best were
those who worked these long hours, and
then at "overwork" at 20 cents an hour
The idlers and discounted came to moth
ing in the end. Here / found Filling
hast X. Collins, who gave me the BEN
eft of his friendship and aid and, to
this day, look back on the fifty and
sixty workingmen in that printing house
as, perhaps, the most intelligent l ever
saw in a workshop. Many Of them have
since filled places Of honor and trust.
While working at Washington
heard that the Harrisburg Republican
my apprenticeship-was for sale, and
concluded to buy it, if l could arrange
TO do so. This was accomplished, and
[ became joint editor and proprietor
with Charles Mowry. / was shortly
lfterward elected State Printer, and was
reelected for seven years consecutively.
This was the period Of my hardest labor.
do not think that / slept more than
i've hours Of the twenty-four on anaver-
lge during that time; and then, utter
Y broken in health, / retired from the
;ase with what was then a comfortable
100000.
After that l engaged in other pur-
ults, and prOspered well, and 1 have
always attributed whatever 1 was, and
whatever l was able to do, to the warm
md intelligent friends l made in the
I'D days when ! was a journeyman
printer and an employer Of printers.
How deep this feeling Of respect for my
rade was upon me appeared in rather
IN amusing form when | was on my way
o Russia, in 1862, as the Minister of the
United States to St. Petersburg. Wait
ng for few days in London to recover
rom the effects of sea-sickness on my
elf and family, | was invited to visit
he office of the London Times. There
book is kept in which visitors are re-
uested to register, giving their titles
BUSINESS, ETC., and when l came to sign
instinctively put down my name,
"SIMON Cameron, Printer"