The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-10-02
LESSON OF DEWEY'S LIFE
A STORY WORTHY OF THE STUDY OF
EVERY AMERICAN.
HIS Early Career and S~choolins, and
Qualities That Made Him Famous
when Opportunity Came.
New York Sun.

Here Is a story of DeweyS life up TO the
time that he became the most famous ma
val hero Of the latter end Of the nineteenth
century and took his place in history beside
John Paul Jones and Nelson and Farragut.
whose pupil he was. II is worthy of the
study Of every American boy and girl, as
well as that of every American elder. for
in 1t Is a lesson in American citizenship.
The man over whom the whole country
has gone more or less daft, who Is to-day
hailed as the greatest living fighter. and
who is receiving such honors as no other
living American ever has received, had
nothing In his early life or environment to
make him a fighter. In a sense he came of
fighting stock, but only in the sense that
nearly all American boys and girls come of
fighting stock. His great-grandfather was
a corporal in the continental army, and his
grandfather was a soldier in the revolu-
ton. Those were the days when all pa
triotic American citizens were fighters. But
Dewey's father was not a fighter. Those
relatives of his who were living when H.
was born were none of them fighters, and
had none of them been fighters. Dewey
himself chose fighting for his profession
when there was little fighting to be done.
When the time came for fighting to be
done. he got right into the thick OF 1t. He
developed that most valuable of all quail
ties, "stick-to-it-iveness." Having chosen
fighting as his profession. he stuck TO II,
only bemoaning now and then the fate that
he felt was his, that his %biographer would
write Entered Annapolis. 1854: retired.
rear admiral. 1903"
He lacked opportunity and feared the
worst When opportunity came he had the
requisite ambition and sufficient nerve and
courage TO grasp il. and to-day he has
honor the like of which even the President
of the United States cannot command. for
he is an idol that the younger generation
worship and the older generation look up
to. Dewey is unlike most Americans who
have become great fighters in this, that he
was the son of well-to-do parents, that he
had before him an opening in the business
world that promised an money returns a
thousand dollars to the one dollar that was
OF a life of comfort and comparative ease.
II was neither necessary nor from a world
ly standpoint desirable that he should de-
vote his life to his country's service, throw
ing aside the opportunities that he had in
the business world. He chose his profession
and stuck to 1T. To-day, in reputation at
world.
Dewey was born at Montpelier, VT. in
a f1ne old colonial house, across the way
from the Vermont Statehouse. Dewey's
father. DR.. Julius Yemans Dewey. was the
leading physician of the city. He had been
born on a farm, had spent his early life
studied medicine. putting all the energy
that he possessed into II. Dewey the elder
had wonderful energy. and when he under
took anything he put all of that energy
into the undertaking. which probably ac-
counts for the fact that. though he started
late to be a doctor, once he started he be-
the day after Christmas, 1881. He had two
brothers older than himself. and both or
them are still alive. one having attained a
large fortune and retired from business. and
ance company which the elder Dewey
founded.
EARLY CAREER AND SCHOOLING.
George Dewey. when a boy. was merely
one of four children of a town doctor and
later of a successful business man, for
the elder Dewey made up his mind that
there was more money in the life Insurance
business than there was in the medical
profession, and he founded the National
Life Insurance Company. This was before
George Dewey had chosen his profession,
and at the time he did choose, the life
insurance business had grown and was sue.
cessful. 1t was to that business and into
his fathers company that he would natur-
N"a Wao u ~ Va N0&
and riches in il for linn. Dewey's father
was a religious man. and his children were
brought up with the s~trictest respect for
the church. Their third boy. who is now the
admiral, was not a model of goodness, by
any means. There was nothing of the
Lord Fauntleroy about him. He had bean
putty blowers and blew paper wads, care
fully chewed. at the heads Of his elders.
He played hooky and ran of to steal swims
and he did most of the other things tina;
good. sound American boys do when they
get streaks of Satan in them. In his school
life 1t Is not recorded that he was any peter
than his fellows. The Hon. Zebina K. PanS-
born. now a most respected resident OF
Jersey City, was one of his teachers and
found 1t most desirable and necessary to
thumph him TO maintain the discipline OF the
school. He did IL SO well that Dewey re-
members ii to this day, and since he got
vengeance on the Spaniards he has himself
he was a boy. and his stepmother had the
management Of him up TO the time that he
made up his mind to go to the Naval
Academy at Annapolis.
His schooling, begun in the public schools
at Montpelier. was continued In the acad-
envy at Johnson, VT, and then the Norwich
University. He entered the university In
1851. and it is not recorded that he was
above the ordinary pupil there. He paid
more attention TO his clothes than ne did
to his lessons. He was a favorite with the
girls and he was the leader of the element
in his class that gave the teacher most
trouble. If there was any lighting going on,
Dewey was generally IN IL ana In the row
that always exists I'm a college town between
the local boys and the college boys. Dewey
was the leader Of the college boys. Take II
altogether, IL the record Is rightly written.
Dewey In his college lays was one of those
boys who give their parents many a heart
ache and who keep them worried most OF
the time, wondering what will come next.
There wasn't anything really bad about the
boy, but In truth IL must be added there
wasn't anything really good about him,
be seen hat Dewey reached the age Of sew
enteen years just as every ordinary boy
reaches that age, without having distin-
guished himself. without ever having shown
to any marked degree the qualities that the
opportunity Of May !. 1898. brought to light.
He was just a plain. solid. everyday Ameri-
can boy, built on American lines with the
grit TO take his own part and the more or
less common ambition of youth of that age
TO cut loose from the paternal leading
strings. His two brothers. Charles and Ed
ward. who had completed their educat ton,
had gone into business with their father,
and there was a place reserved for him
in the company. The same opportunity
cess that they were making was his.
NO DISTINGUISHED ANCESTRY.
As was stated before. young Dewey came
from lighting stock i'm the same sense that
most American boys whose parents and
grandparents were Americans before them
come Of fighting stock. None OF his ances-
tors had ever particularly distinguished
himself In time of war. There was nothing
In the record of any of them to act as an
incentive for him to become a soldier. He
had in 1854 just about the same ambition
TO be a soldier or a naval hero that every
American youth has at that age, no more
and no less, and OF opportunity TO crafty