The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-01-10
HOW WARE WROTE 1T.
Interesting Incidents Abous tae Cele-
brated Washerwoman's Song.
(From the Wichita Eagle.)

DRAFTED Washerwoman's Song.
CFrom the Wichita Eagle.)
HOW did you come to write Song of
the Washerwoman? David Ieahv
asked Eugene Ware
Mr. Ware told the story in his char
acteristic and inimitabIe way
One duh day Mr.. Ware was in his Of
nee ana mis- thoughts were turned to re-
Iglon by hearing a church bell ring
1he following two lines flashed across
Human hopes and human creeds
Have their root in human needs''
That idea, thought he would make a
couraged it.
The lines appear in the last verse,
80 that it. can be said that he wrote
the touching song backward. He Gre
ated the WaSherWoman out of his Won
1ef1lt imagination and. during a cold
day IN December he worked out the
entire plan of the piece In another
gay ne had the entire song created as
me people of Kansas, and, in fact, the
people of the entire world where it is
known, love and sing it,
me postmaster of Fort Scott in those
Gays was a literary person, and one
morning MI. Ware lured him into Sc
questered streets to read it to him
w hen they came to the Catholic church
they sat on the steps and Mr.. Ware read
it to him.
The postmaster listened to it with
great attention, and when Ware had
concluded reading the song there was
not word uttered in its praise. The
postmaster went to his grave without
giving single expression of his
thoughts on the washerwoman song.
The absolute silence of the postmaster
0lscouraged the poet, who went to his
ONCE and stuck the song in a pigeon
mole There it remained until the fol-
lowing March.
One very cold day a reporter for the
Monitor blew into the office, and after
shaking the snow off his coat and hat
insisted that he would camp in Mr.
Wares office until he got an item. Mr..
ware remembered his washerwoman
song, and dug it out of the desk
rms IS pretty warm thing" said
the reporter I'll print it this very
day." and away he went before the DO
ct could demonstrate
Next morning Mrs. Wares uncle
came storming into the house of the
poet with the paper in his hand He
was furious and demanded of Mr. Ware
why he deliberately disgraced a Chris
tan family by publishing such a song
as that.
Il don't see anything immoral about
it" said Eugene mildly.
Is is = immoral, sir said the
uncle, as he tore the paper into a mill
lion pieces and left the house.
A few weeks after the song was pub
ushed, Mr.. Ware was quietly walking
up the street one day when a promf-
nent gentleman named Spendlove ac-
costed him:
'"Gene," he said. you have been writ
ing some more poetry" and so saying
ne pulled letter out of his pocket It
was from a southern Illinois farmer. He
had seen the song and was so touched
with 1t that he sent a $40 bill to his
friend SpendloTe to give it to the Door
washerwoman who continually sung:
y have Savior for a friend
Who will keep me to the end"
MIR. Spendlove wanted to ascertain
from Mr. Ware where he could find the
WaSherWoman.
ITO be honest with you, Mr. Spend
love, there is no such woman. She is
Gene
IF that's the case,'' said Mr.. SPEND
love. you must take the SO your
Mr.. Ware demonstrated, but he was
finally persuaded to take the money.
At that time the saloon was still
Hourishtng in Fort Scott and Mr. Ware
couldn't fire a shot in the streets with
out killing 100 friends. They heard of
the $40 bill story and gathered around
him. They eloquently urged him to
set 'em up" and after he promised to
do so, all the friends called upon other
friends. The result was that the round
cost Mr.. Ware the $40 and 81 addi-
tional.
In the meantime Mr.. SpendIove wrote
to his Illinois friend and told him that
the poor washerwoman was a creature
of the poets imagination.
In q. few days thereafter Mr. Spend
love received another letter from his
Illinois friend that was full of wrath
He said that Ware nor no one else had
right to excite a mans feeling to such
a pitch of distress over mythical wash
erwOmen, and concluded by demanding
an immediate return of the $40. The re-
suit was that Mr.. Ware had to draw on
a local banker for SO.
Mr.. Ware walked along through the
daily routine of life for four or five
months before he had any evidence
that his song met with any apprecia-
ton. and then he had to go away from
Fort Scott to meet it.
One night he was in Kansas City and
was passing a theater when some fell
low near the box office said:
There goes Eugene Ware of Kan
sas."
The manager of the theater was
standing near, and with his hat and
coat off he ran down the street like a
wild man and took hold of Mr.. Ware
like a footpad.
Are you the man that wrote The
Washerwoman? . he demanded.
Il am said Eugene, but I didn't
think it was a crime at that time.
know better now, and hope you will
spare my Hfe.'
You must take a box at nv thea
ter" said the manager. TT won't cost
you a cent. and you must come home
with me after the play is out. I have
one boy, and / want him to have the
honor of saying that he once saw the
man who wrote The Washerwoman's
song
That pleased Mr.. Ware more than all
the other tributes paid the poet.
SUPREME COURT DECISIONS