Omaha daily bee., 1899-09-17

business connected with the Postofiice de-
partment, and remains a splendid type of
what the conscientious worker can do when
requirements are needed for the upbuilding
Of that branch of our government.
After his graduation from the farm at the
age Of IA, instead Of entering the high school,
to which he had passed through the sue
cessive grades of the common schools of
Muncie, he set type and followed the
printers trade until 1878, when he became
a reporter on the Muncie Weekly Times.
There are in Washington today, among the
newspaper fraternity, a half-dozen men who
were either directly associated with Heath
in his early adventures in the line Of news
paper work or who followed so closely after
him that his history and theirs are almost
identical.
When Perry Heath entered upon the
printers trade with the Muncie Times he
was the devil Of the office and contracted
to work ten hours a day for SO a week.
After hours he worked around the city
gathering news, which he wrote before he
went to bed and turned in next morning as
early morning copy"
One of his old friends of early days, rep
resenting one of the big newspapers of the
United States here in Washington, in telling
the story about Perry Heath's early aso-
citation with the printing business, said:
"He had not been at work in the Times
office many days until he saw some tramp
printers at the back Of the building. He
knew the printers about the office pretty
well, and he had heard a good deal about
the tramp variety OF typesetters. This was,
Of course, long before the linotype had ever
been thought Of, and Mergenthaler had
but just commenced to dream of the type
setting machine. Perry Heath thought a
good deal about this tramp proposition, with
the result that a few hours later he told the
foreman that he guessed he would quit.
Perry had been a good deal of favorite In
the eyes of the foreman; he showed aptitude
and good promise Of ability, and the fore
man asked him what was wrong.
"'Well, I have been looking at those
tramp printers said the devil Of the Muncie
Times. in his most serious mood, "and I
have about decided that IL typesetting leads
to the condition which these men seem to
represent, I don't want to learn the printers
trade
But all printers don't become tramp
printers the foreman said.
"I know that, but a good many of them
do, as I have seen in my short connection
with this Office replied Heath.
"'That's all tommy rot said the fore
man, you can save money just as well
working at this trade as at any other
Heath decided to try it fer a while, stuck
to his Job. and he found that it was just
as easy to save money at SO per week being
a printer as at anything else, and there
was laid the foundation for Perry Heath's
subsequent career, not only as a thrifty in
d%ividual, for he is thrifty, but as a politi-
clan, a newspaper man of wide experience,
and a gentleman"
In 1878 he established the Muncie Daily
Times; was it's managing editor and as
sociate publisher until the spring of 1881,
when he established the Dakota Pioneer at
Aberdeen, S. d.. In the autumn of that year
he removed to the National capitol and ell.
tered upon the career of a Washington news
correspondent. Between 1881 and 1894 his
connection with Newspaper Row brought
him necessarily into close touch with pubic
men and identified him with national
affairs. In March, 1894 he purchased a con-
trolling interest in the Cincinnati CONNER
cial Gazette and became it's president and
general manager, and 1t was while he was
acting in the capacity of general manager
of the Gazette that be became interested
in the presidential ambition of Governor
William Mckinley and was prominent in
the movement which secured the ~latter's
presidential nomination at st. Louis in
June. 1896.
With his wide knowledge Of public men,
dating over a period of nearly twenty years,
Perry Heath seemed especially fitted to
take charge of the literary and publication
bureau of the Republican National commit
tee; and the conduct of that Office during
the exciting campaign of 1896 is today the
subject of infinite praise upon the part of
these who had the practical workings of the
campaign in hand. After the election of
President Mckinley the chief executive de-
cided that the only way in which to honor
the man who had made the literary publica-
ton bureau of the national committee such
a force and power, was to nominate him as
first assistant postmaster general, which
was done early in March, 1897, and Perry
Heath was accorded the unusual compli-
ment of confirmation by the senate without
the customary reference to "a committee.
In 1887, ten years before his nomination
to the position which he now holds in the
Postofice department, Perry Heath went to