The Saint Paul globe., 1899-03-19
His HINT WAS TAKEN
HOW "SENECA" TRUESDALE, OF ST.
PAUL. LOST HIS JOB ON THE
HAWKEYE
WANTED BIGGsv1LLE LEADS
Manager c. Y. Wheeler Ordered
"Seneca" Placed on the Barred
List-BOb Burdette's Days of
Newspaper Adversity - How
James Whitcomb Riley Failed as
Blind Sign Painter.

Early in the seventies Seneca" Trues-
dale, of st. Paul, was a spruce young
man, holding down pair of cases on the
Burlington Hawkeye. There was
chronic scarcity Of sleads' in the Hawk
eye office at that period of that newspa-
pers existence, and it was often neces-
sary for the compositors to stop In the
middle of the night and pull leads IN
order to complete take. Inis was
contrary to Col. Truesdales exalted Ideas
of what q newspaper office or the nrst-
class should be, and the st. Paul veteran
took occasion to say what he thought
about it once too often. AS result
Seneca" was fired and placed upon
the black list of the Hawkeye by orders
Of G. Y. Wheeler. then manager OF that
paper, to Foreman Tom Donahue.
TOWN OF BIGGSvILLE.
Just q few miles out of Burlington
tbere "a a little town bearing the name
Riggsyille. 1t having been so cnrlsteneo
in honor of it's principal citizen, WHO
owned three of the five houses tnem ~
the place. was the Hawkeye cuo a.
that time. and was setting type IN tne
s.oIIev,, lust forward of Truesdale. MT.
wheeler. the manager, was talking Win
the foreman, Tom Donahue, when SEN
aca" leaned over toward my cases anu
esked in a loud tone: =,
"Go,n' over to Biggsville Sunday
GreenT aho,1d
responded that it was likely l snoulu,
as I spent many SUNDAY 'heio WA"
friend Col. Biggs- 20
"Rustle around bit. then. and see II
Won can scare up handful of leads
continued Truesdale.
Manager Wheeler understood. oehe
"a 81 remarks were intended Tor ms ea,s o.
Wheeler was a sort of martinez III tie
office. He did not relish being crltlciseu,
and so he marched down stairs ana sent
IN note to Foreman Donahue, order
ing him to dispense with the services Oh
Truesdale and forever bar MIN. Ai,u anu
+bat is how Seneca" Truesdale lost MS
lob on the Hawkeye.
BURDETTE'S BEGINNING.
pobert T. Burdette, the famous Hawk
eve humorist, who recently lectureo at
the Peoples church, in st. PAU, never
did assert that he was an expert printer
hit he was q typo, at one time In MS
% reer. lust the same. It was while Bob
was conducting the Peoria, ILL.,, Review
that he was discovered by Manager
Wheeler. who went to Peoria and nnaliy
succeeded in inducing Burdette TO ac-
cent service on the Hawkeye. The Re-
view was not financial success. bop
saws So and he ought to know. 1t was M
a sprightly sheet, at that-brimmlng Win
Burdettes choice wit and humor-put II
did not seem to be g. winner. and BOD
was willing to give 1t up for job on the
Hawkeye at $50 per week-more money
Bob used to say, than the Review tooh
In" In a year. was a youngster wnen
Bob came to Burlington. He mace an
almost immediate hit, and was soon on
the high road to fame and fortune. his
one great delight in those days was 10
tell of the time when he, Adversity ana
the Peoria Review were. as he put 1t,
s'rooming together"
BURDETTEs INVALID WIFE.
While a struggling newspaper owner in
Peoria, Bob Burdette welded one OF the
most popular young women of that city.
She was of literary bent, and rendered
the humorist much assistance In his
work In later years she was stricken
with paralysis and rendered unable to
walk For years the bright author and
lecturer wheeled his faithful wife to and
from wherever he went, and Bob Bur-
dette entering lecture hall, bearing In
his arms his stricken helpmeet, was
familiar scene in many Iowa towns.
While her fate was a sad one, 1t is not
amiss to relate how Bob secured the con-
sent of her father to their union. She
would not wed Bob unless her father
consented, and one day she said to him:
"Robert, you must be forceful when
you talk with father. He thinks you are
not In earnest-that you are always jok-
ing Be firm with him, Robert. and he
will listen to you. Be forceful."
The next day Burdette went to ask for
the hand Of his betrothed. He took with
him q double -barreled shotgun-'just to