Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-07-11
AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
Manson Democrat.l

Eleven years ago last Sunday TIL,
Boss laid aside his overalls, plowshoes
hickory shirt. straw hat, red bandans
and one-strap 'galluses donned hi:
| soft clothes and came to Manson t.
rescue The Democrat from ar
/ ignominious death and startle the
/ world with his wonderful newspaper
ability, which was acquired. nurturec
and developed at the head waters Of
| Hell Slough. He saved the sheet, bu
norance of the startling. that she was
supposed to have coming to her elver
years ago. Funny how fellow viii
| drift away from the dear old farm
| thinking the world needs just such d
lobster as himself to fill some long fell
| want or to get a softer snap than plow-
| ing corn or making hay, but he will anG
| the drifting period usually comes along
| about the time he is not really fit fol
anything but real heavy farm work
| That period is sometimes the grea,
! turning point in a mans life, howeve r
Sometimes he begins career that ends
/ in congress or the presidents chair
| sometimes in the penitentiary and
sometimes in a newspaper Office. Ii
| begins to look now as If our career
would end in newspaper Office, but
| the chances for the other places are
not all lost yet by any means, tho 1t
is mighty hard for a democrat to get
most anything in Iowa, We believe
some of these republican judges would
begrudge him penitentiary sentence
IL 1t was short one. We have run for
Office twice and been defeated both
times We have never been elected
mayor or councilman or served on the
school board and that's credit to any
man. Most men are induced to run for
such offices by people who pretend to be
their friends. but who really have 1T in
for them and want to see them get into
trouble. Many of them squeeze into
the council in order TO work for some
private graft, get an electric light, d
hydrant and brick crossings on the cor
ner where their house is located before
such public utilities are placed where
there is a need for them while the man
who worms his way into the school
board does SO to try to cut the taxes
and expenses down or plug for sorne re-
lation SO that he or she may keep
job of teaching. But there are excep-
tions to all rules, of course, and the
councilman or school director who gets
mad about this is lobster and is
guilty as charged In the Indictment.
But we have really been successful
especially In the matter of getting into
debt--and that takes ability. We know
some fellows who couldn't get trusted
for a plug of tobacco. when. If they
had the ability, they could run in debt
for farm There's a whole lot of ex.
perience In the newspaper business too.
If man can't get his eye teeth cut
around print shop he's hopelessly
blind. Newspapering is college edu-
cation and a life school combined. I'll
is a stage upon which the editor must
appear in successful and interesting
changes from comedy to tragedy, then
to me,odrama with vaudeville special-
ties between the acts and an occasional
burlesque for good measure and variety
and the editor must keep in the lime
light all the while or his readers will
throw the paper away before they start
to read it and declare there's nothing
in 1t. This is our impression after the
first eleven years. What will the next
eleven bring?