The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1902-12-07
WALTER H. PAGES STORY OF HIS
CAREER.

The best history of any man is the his
tory he writes Of himself. Recently Mr..
/. E. Avery wrote to Mr.. Page that he
contemplated writing a sketch of his life.
and asked for such data as would be of
assistance to him. Mr.. Pages own story
Of his life thus given, not for publica-
ton but for the assistance of friend.
is, perhaps, the best story of his life
that could be written. 1t is as follows:
81 send you some notes of a happy,
small life that's what it is and has
been. I've had a good time of it and it
gets better the further I go. That's the
main thing. A man who enjoys his work
and has a happy family life-these are
the best things of life; and I've had the
good fortune to have them BOTH
+ "a mana mere common man-who
can deliberately sit down and write about
himself, is not worth talking about"
after trying in vain upon graduation
for college to get work to do on any
newspaper in North Carolina" he writes,
II advertised for a job in journalism
any sort of job. By a queer accident
James B. Burnes. ESQ, owner of The St.
Joseph, Mo-, Gazette, answered the adj
vertisement Why he did it, / never
found out. He was in the same sort of
desperate need of a newspaper man as
I was in desperate need of a job. knew
nothing about him; he knew nothing
about me. l knew nothing about news
paper work, l had done nothing since
1 left the University but teach English
in the Louisville, KY, High School for
Boys one winter and lecture at the sum-
mer school at Chapel Hill one sum-
mer.
81 made up my mind to go into jour
nalism. But journalism didn't seem in
any hurry to make up its mind to admit
me.
"Not only did all the papers in North
Carolina decline my requests for work.
but such of them in Baltimore and
Louisville as l tried said No
$50 l borrowed $50 and set out to st.
joe Mo, where | didn't know human
being. / became a reporter. At first l
reported the price Of cattle-went to the
stock yards, etc. My salary came near
to paying my board and lodging, but it
didn't quite do it. But / had good
time in st. Joe for somewhat more than
a year. There were interesting people
there. | came to know something about
Western life. Kansas was across the
river. / often went there. l came to
know Kansas City, st. Louisa good deal
of the West
"After while 1 was made editor of
the paper What a rousing political cam
paign or two we had!
"Then-I had done that kind of job
as long as I cared to. Every swash-
huckling campaign is like every other
one. Why do two? Besides, [ knew my
trade. I had done everything on daily
paper from stockyard reports to polltl-
cal editorials and heavy literary artl-
cles. In the meantime / had written
several MAGAZINE articles and done other
such jobs.
"I got leave of absence for month
or two. I wrote to several of the prin-
cinal papers in Chicago, New York and
Boston and told them l was going down
South to make some political and social
studies; and that I was going to send
them my letters I hoped they'd publish
them. That's all 1 could say. l could
make no engagement; they didn't know
me. l didn't even ask for an engage
ment l told them simply this; that Ia
write letters and send them; and l
prayed heaven they'd print them and
pay for them.
"Then off I went with my little money
in my pocket-about enough to get to
New Orleans / travelled and / wrote
went all over the South. l sent letters
and letters and letters. All the papers
published all that l sent them and l was