The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1893-02-14

of other leveling have been secured.
Surveys have also been made for the
construction of models to illustrate &C.
currences of special importance and in
terest.
1t was ten or fifteen years ago there
was democratic state convention in
Sedalia.
Eugene Field was then a scrub re-
porter Cd the Kansas City Times.
But he was a workers. tireless
labOrer
He was sen: to Sedalia to report the
convention.
Eugene arrived here late in the dav
proceeding the convention.
He mixed with the crowd profusely.
He knew almost all the politicians in
the state. He talked with all of them.
He Cleaned from them the situation.
He kept that work up until II
O'Clock or midnight.
He drank no spurious liquors. al
though invited to do 20 fifty or more
times.
AT late hour he went to his room
and with boy by his side he wrote
page after page Of copy and filed it in
the telegraph Office as he wrote 1.-THE
boy carrying the copy.
1t was near daylight when he fin
ished hiswork.
But he did not go to sleep.
About the time he was through his
work, more delegates had arrived
and some of the granger delegates.
who retired early, and whom he had
not seen, turned out with the
chickens, as it was their custom at
home.
Eugene was there 10 catch them
and secure all they knew.
That day when the Times arrived,
Fields report was marveled ut both
by the delegates and newspaper men
in attendance.
1t was a dandy report and nearly
filed page of the paper.
Fields predictions came true re-
garding the convention-in fact the
proceedings were - near like the
Times report that it was almost plagai-
rism.
Eugene Field was and is cea-elese
tOiler and that has been the secret Of
his great successes.
The Chatter remembers the occasion
of the entee into Kansas City Journal
ism Of Eugene Field and his brother,
X. NJ, or Rose" Field-as he Wa
familiarity called.
This was sometime in November,
1879.
The Fields had been employed on
the old st. Louis Tines, hut that in
stitution became suddenly shakey, f.
nancially, and many of the employees
sought other situations.
Charlie HasbroOk, now business
manager of the New York Idrertisr,
then held similar position on the
Times. and he and the Fields were fast
friends.
The day Gene and Rose arrived in
Kansas City, together with the Chat
ter, there occurred the greatert holo-
caust, before or since that time, in
local history.
Coyle's large cracker factory, 10
Gated on the corner of Fifth and Sec
ond streets. wa> destroyed by fire in
the afternoon aud half dozen boys
AMI girls were burned to death.
DIR. Munfor,l and HaSbrook made
immediate preparations To excel in
their report OF the catastrophe. Every
writer IN the paper was given an a.
signment, and the valuable services of
the Fields were called into requisition.
The result was that the Times next
morning CONFERENCE.-The most elaborate
and graphic piece Of reporting which
had ever been done in that town.
Eugene Field, in day or 81. ac-
cepted position as editorial para
grapher of the Times, and it was dur
ing his occupancy of that post that he
wrote many bright things, though not
a few of them were 50 personal as to
cause much ofiense tn the individuals
who were objects of his satire.
Late one night. in his handsome
little editorial room, with his feet
cooked up on his table, he wrote a
Christmas poem which is considered
by many critics as his hest production
in verse.
Field had a habit of placing bis
feet on the table, bending almost
double in his chair, and giving free
rein to his fancy.
His handwriting Is beautiful, the
letters being exceeding small and
the lines as straight as a rank of