The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-04-18
EAST AURORA, y. ". HOME OF ROY
CROFTERs, ACTUALLY EXISTS.
An Entertaining Lecture at the PrOpy-
Iaeum by Ebert Hubbard, Ed
itor of the PhiIistine.

out the lecture characteristic, humorous,
ph~ilosophic observations of a sort refresh
ingly unusual.
Hubbard dresses and looks like a COM
binatiOn of ante-bellum statesman and old
world composer, but there is nothing an
tiquated or out of date about the man or
his ideas. With long, black hair, falling
at the sides of a youthful face, with
low, rolling collar and with a Sc
verely cut black coat. he seizes the
close attention of his hearers first, and
then holds it straight through his lecture
by the beauty of his diction and the COM
polling force of his ideas. He knows the
value of slang and uses it like a master in
enunciating homely truths. One of the
oldest things about the man is his voice.
Talking along for awhile. much in the
anne pitch and tone that people usually
use. there will suddenly slip in now and
then a queer rising and falling infection,
which, when he is putting a point to a
joke. or else on the other hand. reaching
the climax of pathOs, adds wonderfully to
manneriisImn of hubbard that ADDS rather
than detracts from the force of his talks,
is his custom. after delivering a subtle
for his audience to catch up and tumble"
to the particular bit of humor. He had no
trouble last night in giving genuine pleas
ure to an audience that filled the assembly
room Of the Propylaeum.
TOWN ACTUALLY EXISTS.
81 have been asked many tines he said,
where East Aurora is, and if there is
really such a place. One man L know of
insisted that it was a condition of mind
rather than a town. 1t is a town. though
an ordinary, little country Town containing
a blacksmith shop and a grocery store
where the leading citizens meet after sun
down to discuss great questions. In East
Aurora the same leading citizens pursuing
excitement, are accustomed to go down to
the depot every afternoon at 4 o'clock TO
see that the train gets in and out all
right. | might remark. too, hat ii is a
Prohibition town, although here he
paused with an innocent look at the ceiling.
these little things can be arranged II one
knows how"
"In East Aurora. where the Roycrofters
shop IS, we make books and things. We
don't make cheap books. the kline that sell
on Friday afternoons for Ia cents apiece.
We endeavor to make the best books that
we can put together. We know their i'm
projections better than anyone else, but
we put into them our hearts and our hopes.
and make it a labor of love. You know
people made better books in 400 than
we make now. There were pains
years Illuminating a single priceless vol
ume. We have gained certainly in cheap
ness and numbers, but we have lost in
bring about a revival of interest in the
making of books that are worth while.
We have 300 men and women in East
Aurora who are engaged in making the
best books they can. Sometimes we make
a book that sells for $500. Not long ago
we published a little poem of Browning
and Issued only a few copies at a very high
price. Money orders and checks for twice
the number we printed came to the shop
and OF course we had to send them back.
May never such a sorrow come into your
lives. There are no skilled workers in
East Aurora. The men and women are
simply children of poor people for the most
part who have been taught to do things
well and who take a real live interest in
doing everything they have to do the best
they know how. They do that work so we'll
that they excite the admiration of art
critics in Paris, London, Indianapolis. and"
finishing rather commonly, lin Muncie.
These men and women have learned how to
economic time and money and to make for
themselves the things they could not buy"
DISTASTE FOR WORK.
DEPRESSING for a few minutes with re-
marks on the value of work for itself and
not for what it may bring, Mr.. Hubbard
said: did you ever notice that the very
poor and the very rich have the same dis
taste for work that they always try to get
80 VI - 10 null cc QboSAbit. Il INT tic
Duke of Manchester the other day down
in New York and he said to me with his
English accent:
Really, you know, you have no such
thing as a leisure class in this country, my
dear fellow, have your
oh, yes we have 1 replied. We call
them hoboes.'
Now that's just it. The Duke of Man
chester has the same ideas about work
that the hobo has. Take away his little re-
mittance and he would be a partner and
comrade of Weary Willie from Oshkosh.
He could not create anything for himself.
I'VE have all kinds of people in the Roy
croft shop" he went on. we used to en-
ploy men and women only when they could
bring certificates from their Sunday-school
superintendent. but we got over that. Now
we have a few Jail birds, some boys who
have been expelled from school. a few
women that nobody else would have around
and some men and women that are seventy
or eighty years young. / don't care what
a man or woman has been l am interested
only in what he or she is now. Not long
ago / was working in the field with some
of my people, and coming straight up the
dusty road towards me / saw a man. That
he had been a convict I saw instantly. The
pallOr Of his face and the look of him could
not be mistaken. He walked to me and
said: i want you 10 give me a Job Just
like that. / looked him over and / said:
We have no place for you here; l can't
do anything for you Then, thinking | had
been too harsh, too abrupt, l added: Sup
pose you stay over night and get a good
supper and some sleep. Then maybe YOU
can get a job on your way back to Buffalo.
I'm sure l wish you we'll. L really do and
1 smiled as pleasantly as / could. Well. L
got no answering smile. You know il takes
two people to smile and to make the smile
go. There / stood with a No. 10 grin on
my face and the man didn't seem to COM
prehend il at all. He came a step nearer,
and, looking me straight in the eve. said:
DO you understand. 1 want you to give me
a chance, a chance Now, did you ever
stop TO think of this. that whenever two
men meet there ensues Instantly a mental
duel between them TO see which is the bet
ter man, a duel Of will that is Just as real
as a battle with swords, a duel that con-
tinues until one of the two acknowledges
in some way that the other is the better
man of the two2 Well, that's what oc-
Cured there. ] saw that that convict had
a stronger will than l and that l either
chance 1 said. Why in the world didn't
you say that was what you wanted?' |
put that man 10 work breaking stone. He
did that better than / ever saw anybody
break stone. I took him inside. In ten
days my employees began to defer and ask
him questions as to where things were about
the shop. In "A year the man had a bank
account. Now he is the dominant force of
the shop. and tonight if anything were TO
happen the 300 would turn to him for or
ders and instructions. He Is the kind OF
man that knows where things are Such
a man will win out any place you may put
him.
EXPELLED FROM SCHOOL.
LAS 1 say. we have some boys that have
been expelled from school. Did you ever
consider what it means when a boy is ex-
PEELED from a place OF learning? 1t means