Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-05-21

| The Introduction into real life ana MS
| tory Of Charles Warren Fairbanks. now
senator from Indiana and prospective can
didate of the republican party for the vice
/ presidential nomination, occurred when he
was three years Old which was about fifty
! years ago.
| His father had just erected a new house
| on his large Northumberland farm In
| Union county, Ohio, and the old building
| had been converted into workshop and
a general storehouse for provisions. While
other members of the family were engaged
in fitting up the new home, the boy was
left in the old house. and his desire to
help set him to work cleaning up. He pro-
cured a broom and began sweeping the
shavings and rubbish into neat little piles,
which he afterward threw on the logs In
the old-fashoned stone fireplace, where
fire was brskly blazing.
The little fellow was so intent on his
work of ''reddening up that he did not
notice that burned shaving he had drag
ged from the fire had ignfted one OF the
piles OF rubbish The dry wood caught in
an instant. and the fame spread to other
collections of shavings, until the room was
in a blaze. The boy raised cry and rush.
ed for the door, which was closed. The
hot flames by this time had caught larger
walls and eating into the dry wood Of
the ceiling. The boy was too small to
reach the heavy latch of the door. but
with an instinct and resource extraord1-
nary in one of his age. he grabbed a board
from carpenter table. which he braced
against the wall, and, mounting 1t, raised
the latch, pulled open the door and es-
capped in the nick of time.
When he got outside the burning house
he grew frightened and ran to his mother
with a white face. crying in mournful
voice: ''Oh, mother, Is burnt up our
house."
firA
winters stock of -four, meat, butter, dried
apples and the bounteous family stores
that thrifty farmers wives in those days
collected. But the loss was never thought
of in the joy over the child's escape.
A Chore Boy at Six Years Of Age.
The pluck and strength with which
Charles Fairbanks, at three years of age.
extricated himself from dangerous sur
roundings were fair indication of his
sturdy country frame and mind. He was
well adapted for the tasks which fall to
the lot of little boys in the country, and
by the time he was six years old he could
trudge across plowed fields and drop corn
and pumpkin seeds, could drive the cows
to pasture, feed the chickens, hunt the
eggs, chop FINDINGS" and do all the
light chores that are usually put off on
the younger members of farmers fam
lily. The foundation of an education that
has served to land him in the United
States Senate was laid at the district
school, short distance from his home.
When he was ten years of age ire
mendous event occurred in his life. He
was taken from the district school and
sent for the winter to a higher inStitu-
ton in Woodstock. a nearby town. This
enlarged the boys vision of the world
ana was In important experience in his
life. He was an earnest boy, but not dull
and averse to fun. In fact he extracted
about as much enjoyment out of his boy
FOL lie 70 sho~o 80
ordinary lads. He was ambitious, how
ever, and went into the new school de-
termined to make good record. which
he did. He felt grateful to his father for
having shown SO much consideration as
to give him unusual educational ad-
vantages for boy of his age, and he
went back home determined to exhibit
his gratitude by increased usefulness on
the farm.
About this time his father promoted
him from light chore work and gave him
charge Of two spirited young horses
Charles was an intense lover of animals,
especially horses, and he was proud to be
entrusted with the management of good
team. He did some blowing and hauling
about the farm and showed that he was
capable of taking care of the horses
His Adventure With Runaway Team
One day there came a test of his capabili-
ties as driver. With a younger brother
he had been sent to a neighboring town to
deliver large load of farm produce. For
considerable distance the road he had to
travel ran parallel with a railroad track.
On their return home train overlook the
boys In the big farm wagon.
The young horses became frightened at
the noise behind them. reared. plunged and