New-York tribune., 1899-06-11
DEWEY'S BOYHOOD.
AS TOLD BY SOME MEN IN THEIR DoTAdE
AND OTHERS IN THEIR ANECDoTAGE

TRIBUTED ALL cvER THE COUNTRY
SOME SPECIMENS OF DEwEYI-
ANA THEY PRODUCE.
From The Kansas City Star
George Dewey. Admiral Of the Uniteo States YES
Navy and idol OF his country, was proDao,y ."e
rnost widely known boy of the century FNot
dav masses but hundred or more men come re,
luctantly to the front and. with modesty anu
hesitant demeanor admit that they wen. y, ~
school with Dewey. Those VINO dlu not so ~ "
school with him lived next door to him DO
these men realize how they are taxing tne e h
tIcity of the State Of Vermont? state has
certain metes and bounds. and is no' nea.a Iihe a
rrhber overshoe You can sometimes squeeze
a number q foot into NUMBER Over snoe, NJ.
but you cannot put ten thousand men so ,mso
space sufficient for only hve tnousanI so n,ates Nv
they are not like telescopes or pie plates. 10y
the way the tin pie plate Is most rehat kdply
scientific anomaly. Take dozen TN PIE pin,es
all the same size. and you can put one I"io iar @
other and the one top remains no Iarsei
and no smaller than the one on the oo.'o,i'
This Is a problem that has long puHzieu .ne
best paid savants of the country. Ihat IL tne
way It is about George Deweys schooiooy
friends and college chums. Either vermont was
much larger when Dewey was Doy or men
and boys took up much less room than 'ley uo
now Perhaps Vermont has shrunk so Brauu-
ally since then that one has noticed H.
good geographer could make hit by discover
Ing this fact and writing about Ii FOR the maya
zines
There is not a town in the country 80 mean
and small and despised that it has not It's share
OF Deweys schoomates. 1t is well.known iact
that the school Dewey patroniZed was the
largest in the world. There exists no photo
graph of the schoolhouse. but Trustworthy
architect who is greatly Interested IN the mater
has reconstructed the school. basng MS cal
culations upon the number of men VINO. as
boys occupied the room right next to Dewey 8:
He has made a sketch Of the building, Dased
on these figures. 1t is fourteen stories nign,
$50 feet long by 1I5 feet wide. III IS es'iinaeeo
od ut ".
rooms to accommodate the boys who roomed
next to him. foreseeing that some day he wouid
be a great man. Besides this Dewey occupied
: 3323 rooms with room mates who nave since
blusbingly admitted the fact. 1t Is said
that Dewey became famous that ne might not
disappoint the friends of his boyhood. who mad
so laboriously and at great expense prepaIeu
themselves to have been his schoolmates when
they grew old. This is valuable lesson iOr @
all boys TO remember be great, and you VIII
always have plenty Of schoolmates Ihere Is
no such spur to future greatness as 10 go 10
large school where you are bound TO nave q
great many companions. And another thlng 10
remember is always do a great many thihss
that will for future anecdotes. Inc poS
who does not do anecdotal things can never ex-
rect to be successfully great man. IL was
largely due to his anecdotage that Dewey sank
the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay. When ne
stood the bridge OF the olympia ne saiu "
himself: STEADY George. there are all those
anecdotes behind you. Do not forget that you
had schoolmates' Then, aided by the war
correspondents he went in and won the nght
before and after breakfast. thus showing that
ne remembered his youthful training and his
commendable habit OF preparing anecdotes as
he went along , -,
When a man becomes great enterprising col
tors knowing that he has prepared large mum
Der OF anecdotes In his youth and dlstriputeu
them around among his family and schoolnates,
send out and gather them In 1t happens VeLy
often that they do not have to send out one p'
one the men 10 whom the anecdotes were IN
trusted remember their responsibility ana Drlhs
them in 10 the editor. Sometimes the anecdotes
get into circulation by the drawing out OF an
old schoolmate when he drops into the store VI
an evening When he sits astradde OF the sugar
barrel and eats evaporated peaches ne can
gradually be persuaded to confess that ne weht
to school with Dewey at Montpelier OF foIiiiIe'
or Chittenden or Johnson or Rutiand OF NJ, MI VI u.
field or Bellows Falls wherever he happened TO
be from great many are discovered In that
way Sometimes the wife Of a schoomate writes
her husbands "reminiscences OF Dewey ana sends
them to The Ladies' Own Companion.
Vermont used to have remarkable popuia-
ton. OF late years It has mysteriously fallen
Off and the reason has only recently peen sus-
pected. Dewey's schoomates have moved out
West. The density OF population In vermont IS
now only 364 to the square mile, and there ls
plenty OF room to breathe. Before Deweys
schoomates moved away 1t used to be like a
crowd In front OF a newspaper olnce OH 'he his"'
of big prize-hght.
Yes" said Eleazor Polk Il remember George
we'll | always call him George, you know
got letter from him not long ago written
Just twenty-eight minutes before he went into
action at Vanilly I'd show you the letter. but
my wife lent 1t to the neighbors and II got
passed around until 1t was wore out and never
come back | mind George well. / used TO room
next to him when he went to school at Paddle
bury lie was not much for style In them days.
He knew ne was goin' to be Admiral some day
and used TO dress the part. He was small,
peckled boy with yellow hair and used to make
up to the gals right smart. The gals all liked
him. too. because they knew he was goin' to
be a great man some day. MY. but ne was iull
Of pranks George! ] always call him
George. My, my! / mind once he played
trick on teacher. One night he carried a COW
up into the belfry Of the school and tied her
with the bellrope and she rung the bell all night
and made the folks think there was ghost up
there. go that they dassen't go near the school
until mornn. Gracious me. but George was
great boy. But he was a timid boy and wouldn't
fight that's why I'm so s'prised that he fit them
Spaniards hard at Vanilly Bay. | always
call him George just can't help 1t. My, but
I'd like to see George right this minute" Mr..
Polk now lives at Stotenburg. Ind. His valua-
BILE addition to Deweyiana will appear In book
form later.
George Dewey! Did / know George? Well.
reckon did" said Laburnum Titus. OF Crooked
Creek, Kan. When knew him / roomed next
door to him at the Bellows Falls Academy. He
was short fellow. with black hair, and he
could fight like the devil 1 mind a big
fellow from Roebottom Corners stepped on
Georges foot and told him he was no sailor
George was mighty proud in them days. He
says to me: Just watch me. and don't forget
what do. Itl come handy some day With
that he jumped onto the big fellow and whipped
him clean and fair. and l amt ever forgot It,
That noon put red pepper on the stove In
school. and you'd aided laughing at the way
everybody sneezed. George was the one that
put the pepper on the stove. for seen him do
It, Oh, / could sit here all night and tell you
OF the comical things George used to do"
Some Of the most interesting anecdotes. how
ever, come from Admiral Dewey's nurses when
he child. or these there are n sufficient
number to fully establish the fact that George
certainly a remarkable child. for no one
except remarkable child would require so
many nurses. Following is an anecdote related
OF his childhood told by his former nurse.
Mrs Martha Snivey. Of Roseberry Glen VT,
a writer for The Young Ladies' Journal
and Fashion Guide:
Yes knew Georgie" said Mrs. Snively. who
is a motherly and kind-hearted lady, living on a