The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-07-19

newspaper interview published in a
Denver paper while he was in Colorado
last spring. said that Mrs White was
entirely capable of editing the ErnpOria
Gazette; that she had taken charge of
it frequently when ne was otherwise
engaged and that he could trust it to
her Indefinitely Here was great OPP
ening for an Illustrated Sunday story
relating how the gifted Kansas news
paper man owes every success of his
career from Whats the Matter With
Kansas" to the Senator Platt episode
to his wife But for some reason the
Unknown Wives of Well Known Men
departments have overlooked their OPP
pOrtunitieS in this respect and although
the Kansas editor is one of the most
talked of men in the country today the
lime-light of publicity has never been
turned upon Mrs. William Allen White
To be sure some Kansas newspaper
recently published paragraph de-
manding that the world stop long
enough in its admiration of Mr.. White
to pay some attention to Mrs. White.
who while the editor of the Emporia
Gazette was in Washington and New
York, where he was SO much of the
year preceding his recent illness, took
care of the baby with one hand and the
Gazette with the other In Emporia
people will tell you that this is literally
true. You should see her." said an
Emporia girl take the baby down to
the Gazette office. put him on top of
table piled with exchanges and sitting
down within reach of him, read proof.
edit country correspondence, consult
with the reporters and the foreman and
write anything from an editorial to
two-line local adj
The baby. who is little past two
years old, is named William Lindsay
Mrs. White was Miss Sallie Lindsay OF
Kansas City. Kan--but every one IN
Emporia calls him Bill That was the
| condition under which Mr.. White per-
mitted him to be named for him. I
| struggled myself against the debilitat-
| ing influences of Willie" he explains,
| land / know how hard it is to live
| thing down. so I demanded that this
/ boy be called Bill
| The White home in Emporia is known
| as Red Rocks and, rather remarkable
to relate. there is some reason for the
! name The house is of red stone and
| there are two red rockeries, piles of
! stones with vines creeping over thems
i on the lawn 1t is handsome substan-
tial residence on one sof the principal
| streets of Enporia- There is little
| lawn in front and a chicken yard fenced
| with wire netting in the back 0, yes;
| Mrs. William Allen White keeps chick
to which Mr. William Allen White
| points with pride as his alfalfa field,
but it really only patch
Inside. the home is just such as to
delight woman of domestic proclivi-
| ties 1t is the kind of house that girl
| who longs for cosy little place of her
own and who thinks that the duties
| of housekeeping consist of buying cut
glass and having woman come to
sweep out on Fridays, would rave"
over The furniture is all pretty and
Stems, somehow, to belong and there
is something attractive In the arrange
! ment of the rooms which are uncom-
monty light and while filed with in
teresting things don't appear cluttered-
Mr. Whites piano is in the sitting room
| You know Ed Howe of the Atchison
Globe says that .-OId Bill White plays
| the piano Just enough to be disagree
able He writes verse, too. and they
/ say If he knows you well enough and
is in the mood he will read some of his
| rhymes to you when you visit Red
Rocks
The original drawings of the Orson
Lowell illustrations of the Boyville
| stories are among the pictures at Red
| Rocks and the original design of the
book cover of the Real Issue, Mr..
Whites first volume of stories-a conceit
in convenfionaIized ears of corn-is
framed and hangs in the dou-
bic doorway between the draw
ing room and library. Signed and
unsigned photographs Of good men and
| great sneak of the Kansas authors
| many friendships with distinguished
newspaper people and men of letters
There is photograph of William Dear
| Howei1s and William Allen White to-
eether on the library manteI. Mr.
Howells was one of the first to recog-