The independent., 1903-05-14

Henry George, the second child and
Oldest son in family of ten, was
born in modest circumstances in the
city of Philadelphia, Pa, September
2, 1889. His father and mother were
both American born, but of British
extraction, the fathers side coming
from Yorkshire, the mothers from
Scotland. His father, Richard Samuel
Henry George, was in the Episcopal
church book publishing business in
small way when Henry was born, but
soon afterward withdrew and obtained
a position in the custom house at
Philadelphia, which he held for many
years.
Henry George received education in
public and private schools until he
was in his fourteenth year, when he
went to work as errand boy in an
importing house. In his sixteenth
year he went to sea, sailing as cabin
boy in an old sailing vessel and
bound for Australia and India. Re-
turning to Philadelphia after voy
age of year and two months, he was
placed by his father in printing
office to learn the trade. But the row.
Split Wdo III d1lu III DCCCu-
Der, 1857, he sailed from Philadelphia
in little United States government
light house tender, the Shubrick, as
ships steward or storekeeper, for Cal
ifornia, where he was attracted by
the gold discoveries. There he met
with the fate of many. Instead of
finding gold, he found only hardship
and misfortune. He worked his way
as seaman on topsail schooner to
British Columbia, hoping to do bet
ter at Frazer river, where recent dis
coyeries had caused much excitement.
But no better fortune attended him.
He returned to San Francisco ana
went to type-setting, but was restless
and for number Of years struggled
against hard5hips.
While he was getting but pre-
carious living he married Miss Annie
Corsina Fox. Owing to opposition OF
the lady's family to him, the mar
riage was prccipitate. Henry George
was then Twenty-Five. He followed
the vocation of printer, and set type
on a number of the newspapers Of San
francisco and Sacramento. Venturing
with two others to establish little
Job printing office, he was reduced to
sore straits Of poverty and when his
second son was coming into the world
he went out into the street, stopped
stranger and demanded five dollars
with which to obtain living necessar-
les for the wife
Soon after this his fortune changed
On news of the shooting of President
T 1,r jotf 10 tho aIf
tor of the newspaper on which he
was setting type in San Francisco.
This communication showed, in the
judgment of the editor, such marked
ability that the young printer was in
vited into the editorial room and he
never went to the printers case again
until years afterward when he set
up the first stickful of type for the
book that was to make him world
famous, Progress and Poverty
Henry George filled various editor
ial positions until December, 1868,
when he went to New York to try to
obtain a telegraphic news service for
a revived San Francisco daily. the
Herald The combination of the AS
sociated press and the Western Union
. pduy DIS JOO uuCn tOI
him and his trip was only partially
successful But it had significance in
two other ways. While in New York
he wrote a comprehensive article on
the Chinese question on the Pacific
coast, taking the position that the
Chinese are non-assimilable, to which
view he always adhered. This article
attracted some attention in the east
and was reprinted and extensively cir
culated on the west coast.
But more significant than this was
a task he deliberately set himself TO
solve the enigma Of wealth and pow
erty side by side in our civilization.
He said of this in speech at the
time he was first nominated for the
New York mayoralty, in 1885:
Years ago I came to this city
from the west, unknown, know
ing nobody, and | saw and rec
ognized for the first time the
shocking contrast between mon
strous wealth and debasing want.