Omaha daily bee., 1896-06-19

| had acquired with his savings at Seven
teenth and Farnam streets, the site upon
which now stands the colossal Bee build
ing. To the family have boon added FIVE
children, two boys and three girls. Two
of the daughters married, the eldest, Mrs.
N. p. Fell, residing in this city, the second,
the wife OF c. S. Elgutter, having died
three years ago. the third, Blanche, still
attending the Omaha High school. My
brother, Charles Colman Rosewater, and
myself are engaged In work upon The Bee,
he as head of the subscription department,
| in the editorial rooms.
In 1891 Edward Rosewater, accompanied
by his eldest son, spent nearly four months
in Europe, touring the principal cities and
| visiting the scenes of his early childhood in
Bohemia In the summer of 1898, to-
gether with his wife and son, Charles, he
made a six weeks trip to Alaska. outside
of these two diversions from business, and
except for occasional journeys of a week
or two on which business and pleasure
were combined. Mr.. Rosewater has been
constantly and uninterruptcdly in the
newspaper harness for the entire period of
twenty-five years, during which he has
been the master hand on the journal in
which he justly takes such great pride.
So much for a concise outline Of the
career of Edward Rosewater.
AS to what manner of man he Is, perhaps
L can speak from n knowledge Dorm OF long
familiarity and intimate acquaintance, IL
not with the impartiality, with which he
might be viewed by an observer who had
no immediate relationship.
A man Of indomitable energy and per-
severing pluck-qualities without which, it
Is needless to say, he would never have
made the way from the penniless immi-
grant boy to the position of acknowledged
influence and popular respect which he
holds t~oday-qualities without which he
would never have ventured to found a news
paper and having once founded it never
have guided it safely through the shoals
and reefs of adversely and have kept its
course true and steady after it had reached
the deep waters of mid-ocean.
A sclf~made man-Gelf-made in the best
sense of the word, in the sense of recognize
ing opportunities when they present them
selves and awaiting himself of them at
the right time.
To all practical intents and purposes, |
a self-educated man. When Edward Rose
water came to this country with his father
he had not yet reached the age Of 10.
Whatever part of his education was pro-
vided by his parents was provided before
that time and before he left Bohemia. He
says that he could read Hebrew before he
was 4 years old and that he had a good
knowledge of both Bohemian and Ger
man before he was IL. Be that as it may,
he has retained to this day his familiarity
with all three of these languages. He reads
them all and speaks Bohemian and German
with a fluency except with per-
sons who make constant use of those
tongues. So thorough was his youthful ac-
QUESTION of the rudiments Of these two Ian
guages that be experiences no difficulty,
whatever, in using either for public
speeches and addresses an audience of
or Bohemians now in their own
tongues as forcibly as il speaking to them
in everyday English.
AS IL this were not sufficient proof of a
natural aptitude for linguistics he has
since his residence in the United
States not only the English language. but
also the French language and has ac-
quired a reading knowledge of Italian. All
this through personal application aided by
a few lessons from private tutors at odd
moments in addition to his regular daily
the only schooling of which
he was able to avail himself in this country
having been the brief course in the business
college in Cleveland which he pursued for
three months while still in his teens.
An omniverous reader-not systematic. vet
t~horough-he has applied his few leisure
hours to the careful perusal of books bear
ing uDon almost every conceivable subject.
With the classics and standard works in the
German and French literatures he
familiarized himself as would a student
specializing in each of those fields. His
tory and politics. especially the political his
Of the United States, constitute his chief
so that he can DISCUSS the per-
and achievements of the prin-
personages who have guided the
worlds destinies with an accurate apprecia- :
ion of their characters and the obstacles
they surmounted. In fiction he is
chiefly by the French masterpieces
If Hugo and Dumas and the little storyettes
If the modern French writer's.
But while self-educated, it is not from
:hoice. but from compulsion. No man
appreciates more than does Edward Rose
the difficulties which beset the boy
vho has to make his own way and rely {
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