The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-09-26

When The Boy came to Topeka, from
the little country town where he had
been born and brought up. he came
with the blessings and hopes Of his
parents and a little leather covered
Bible The Bible was q present from
his mother and on the fiy leaf was writ
ten. Honor thy father and thy mother
that thy days may be long" The Ten
Commandments were marked by a
neat. home made page holder worked
with silk by his sister
There was nothing different in The
Boy from any other full blooded Amer
lean lad brought up in the country and
blessed with the health and Tlgor that
he should have. He was fun Of life, he
loved baseball and ali the other sports
He was a big fellow. handsome, and
Just the sort that you might expect TO
stray from the straight and narrow
path
1t was his first time away from
home except 10 visit his cousins or 70
go To the county seat or ne1gnDor1ng
fair or make pilgrimage on circus
day to the town where the tents anu
T the elephants were
The whole family was at the staten
10 say good-by and there was a sooo
sprinkling of towns people The motner
could rot keep her lip from trembling
and the father to hide his emotions
was a little gruf- The brothers and
sisters stood about ard looked at The
Boy and his store clothes. his NallseS
tuaper TO be sure in imitation Of leather
but quite good enough) The train
pulled in the good byes were said. the
last instructions 70 be sure ana
write were given by all for want OF
something better to say and were then
repeated for the same reason. Ins
train pulled out The Boy had severed
home ties
The Rov secured a place 10 work IN
2 large Office for 4 large railroad com
pany The position vas not import
ant hundreds Of other boys could 90
the work required. and therefore the
nav was small. woefully small But
The Boy wanted q chance, ana ne n@o
il That chance came 10 him some
seven or eight years ago Scores OF
other bows had been in the same po-
sition but had gone no higher. nor low
er for that matter, for the position was
at the bottom
The I'VE dollars a week was small
means On which TO pay board and rent
ard buy clothes There were no the
for The Boy He received bundle
from home every now and then and
those bundles contained hcme-knit
socks perhaps. and other mother-uade
that helped nightly when the stores
charged 50 much for such things The
other boys in the Office who wore
silkoline socks Of varied hueS. used TO
socks that mother worked on BY lamp
light when she wondered how Her Boy
was getting on IN the big city
I For Topeka was big to that kindly
faced white haired woman whose lit
tie world has been bounded by q COM
nuniry wherein the census enumer-
ators found only less than q dozen
hundred souls She had been TO the
capital city during some great occa-
sions two or three times IN her life
Then the streets were crowded the
bands were playing. the parades were
and il was bewildering 10 the simple
SOU.
And why should she not have fear2
Other bo<s had tried and failed and
drsfled from the home teachinEs- But
: she mad confidence IN Her BOY She
every night before he went to sleep
And she was right The Boy read a
chapter every night, no matter whether
he was rOoInIng with two or three
other boys who scofed al him for il,
and threw pillows al him and called
him -mama's boy That Bible was
worn and gave evidence OF its use
The island war came and The Boy En-
listed He went 70 the front with the
promise that his position would be open
for him when he returned he came
back with the Bible packed in his KNAPP
sack the better for the discipline and
the experience His place At the bottom
OF the ladder was not vacant bu- a.
other. one round higher. was waiting rOr
him He took II Then began his rise
He was advanced from one position 1U
another and the importance OF the work
he did increased he worked after
hours ard on Sundays He understood
his work better than anyone before him