The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-04-25
WARE ON DEFENSE
Compelled to Prove He Wrote
/" Washerwoman's Song
Authorship is Claimed For an
Ohio Man.
EDITOR INVESTIGATES.
Dayton Herald Writes to To-
peka For Facts.
Mr.. Ware Writes of His Famous
Poem.
IDITOR INVESTIGATES.

The Dayton, Ohio, Herald has added
its name to the long list Of those who
have discovered a new author for
Eugene Wares ''WasherwOman 5
Song The literary genius who is now
given credit for the production is one
s. Q. Lapius.
However, the Herald Investigated the
s. Q. Lapius yarn, and received a let
ter from Mr.. Ware which apparently
served to switch it back to the main
line of veracity and accuracy. IN the
Herald of Tuesday the following story
appears:
The authorship of THE Washer
wOman's Song" was called in question
by a correspondent Of the Herald, ana
his letter was published in this paper
on Friday of last week. By mail the
same day the letter was transmitted TO
Eugene F. Ware Topeka, Kas., and to-
i day we are enabled to lay his letter be-
fore the Herald readers.
In order to have a connected story we
! reproduce the letter of our Tippecanoe
| City cores Ondent:
To the Editor of the Herald-Did you
! ever try to tell a story that you did not
remember? I'm somewhat in that fix.
/ On page of the Herald of the 18th,
/ you publish THE Washerwoman's
| Song" an old favorite of mine I read
/ it often and often hand, it to a visitor
/ to read. / like it because it is a delight
/ ful piece of word painting; like the
/ sentiment; like it because there is d
/ tone of 'unbelief' in it which 1 always
/ like have it in scrap book, Old,
faded and yellow. But L did not find
/ it over or under "IrOnquill." My reco1-
| lection is it was first published in the
/ Ohio Farmer. as written by s. O. Lap
/ ius; the author then lived somewhere
among the hills and coal fields of
! southern Ohio, and was at the time a
! country doctor. He published a num-
4 Der of poemse' They always struck me
ffr4rr Ia
/ You see the name is a play on the god
Of medicine, Aesculapius. Now, this
same doctor afterwards moved to Kan
sas- And do you know, the unco guide.
! so piOus and holy, of the county in
which he lived turned him down as
school superintendent because he had
written THE WasherwOman's Song,
! when, according to my way of thinking,
/ the charitable heart that declared
The woman has a friend
Yho viii keep her to the end
Should have had the place ahead of all
corners. have forgotten the name of
/ s. Q. Lapius; as he went to Kansas it
might be Eugene F. Ware. Keep your
eye skinned and see if I am not correct.
/ IN part VIM. w. G.
In reply to this and our letter of
tFansmlttal. Mr.. Ware wrote as follows:
Topeka, Kan, April 10. 1902
/ To the Editor Of the Herald, Dayton, o. ]:
Gentlemen = The Washerwoman's
Song was published by me January 4.
| 1875 It is fortunate for me that the
newspaper files are in existence by
/ which to prove it, because that piece has
been claimed by so many that it is only
in recent years that have been able
to make everybody let go. The worst
/ trouble which I had was with a gentle
man down in Georgia, but he could not
show up within five years. It has been
fortunate for me that the then editor of
the paper, Hon. D. W Wilder, the his
tOTian. IS alive and remains alive to
testify to the circumstances, as does also
III r1Trr no int
although he is filing an important pub
lie position now in New Mexico, and so
1t IS that for many years now no person
has thought best to claim it, at least
published IN 1885. / have sometimes
amid the fire of very bitter criticism OF
the piece wished that I had not written
It, but Of late years criticism has been
more mild and am not suffering for it
as formerly. It has always made me
trouble, but I think I may say it has
also made me friends.
/ thank you for bringing to nv notice
the letter of which you speak Yours
truly, E F. WARE.
This settles it. Eugene F. Ware wrote
rative evidence is necessary, and Yet ths
mail this morning brings a letter which
Barker chief surgeon Of the Cincinnati
hamilton and Dayton railroad, and is a:
follows:
Dayton, O.. April 90 1902.
Editor Herald: In discussing the author
snip OF ne W aSnerWOfnan S song, at
tributed to Eugene F. Ware, your CORE
spondent raises a question that I believ.
we can settle.
s Q. Iapius who. 1t is said. may hav,
written the poem. is my life long friend
DR. J. B. Naylor of Malta. O.. now NOR,
famous as the author of Ralph NARROW.
] infer that he did not write The Wash
erwoman's Song" as it is not found in hi
published volume of poems from his facil'
pen Very respectfully,
This letter from DR.. Barker adds inter
est to the controversy. for if DR.. Naylo
wrote over the signature of Aesculapius
and didn't write 1.-The WasherWoman
Song" somebody must have stolen hi
nom de plume. for the poem appeared Il
the Ohio Farmer over that signature.