The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-08-13

(Dod CASTOR in Topeka CapitaI)
You don't hear much about Mcclure.
Mostly when the talk is of his maya
zine it turns to Ida Tarbell or Link
Steffens- But Mcclure is the human
dynamo behind it all. He does the
thinking and the planning. The others
merely execute. Mcclure does not
poast. but he talks freely. He says
ne can dictate enough work IL i've
minutes to keep any member of ms
stan busy year. He sits quietly in
ms chair for five minutes explaining
an idea that may keep a man busy I Jr
three years, gets up, takes a turn
around the room and comes back with
another equally tedious in it's execu-
tlon- Mcclure is a nervous little nlSn
OF Irish extraction. He wears a nalT-
cut like mother used to make. and black
hese-the sort that are punched on the
bargain counter early in January and
labeled your choice for 10 cents" His
clothes suggest the advertising of the
collars worth for a dollar" man. and
ms collar dates back at least ten years
More than that, he wears a mustache
-one OF those thin, straw colored ef-
fects so popular in country towns But
when the man begins to talk you for
get all that. You pay very little
attention to the dress or hirsute de-
Velopment of one who can slap Rud-
yard hipling on the back and who
mas had cheese and pretzais and beer
with George Meredith at the dead
chalet.
Mcclure was born on an Indiana
farm and his parents were, at the time
or the episode, not long from Glen
garry The family. stilI following the
SOIL moved over peg, stopping near
Galesourg, HI There Mcclure grew
up and in time matriculated at knox
college, a fresh water school which
might have been, and mayhap was the
locale of Geo,-3e AIDES "Tllc COLLEGE
Widow: Mcclure, setting about It
without a dollar, worked his wav
through Knox "Cne week. ne said in
telling of his struggle for his A. B.
degree. Il lived Ol IS cents Tie menu
was grapes and bakers bread. 1t was
IN the early fall. and grapes were
oneself prOCigicus amount ;uld be
bought for nickel Occasionally ahsn
times were Soo'i / spent as high as 70
cents week for food alone. T:.lt gen
SraIly the average was about 50 cents
In winter ] ha1 10 fire In my room
and studied my lessons in the lccby
OF the hotel or anywhere 4 redhot
stove hung out a sign of welcome >
eventually Mcclure got through
school and looked about him for some
mug 10 90 one of the legacies OF his
school days was a love affair Both
the girl and Barkis were willin' but
IheT parents wanted to look farther
and in pursuance of this plan had nlar,s
thngs somewhat uncomfortable for the
aspiring student When Mcclure
graduated the girl was in Boston. II
Is easy, therefore, to understand Hvhv
ne old not follow Horace Greeley's I'd
vice. Instead. he turned up in due
Tune IN Boston It was at the line
when the first wheeling craze was
sweeping over the country and Mcclure
round work in the factory of Colonel
alexander Pope teaching aspirants to
rue machine which he could not ride
nlmself. Eventually he worked hla lvav
INTO the setting up department. IF the
factory, and finally became, at a sal
airy or $40 week, editor of Outing
now a magazine of pretensions. but
then an advertising sheet which CoIonel
rope was using TO fire the ambition of
young men TO make century runs and
commit other forms of bicycle foolish
ness. Meanwhile Mcclure had married
the girl.
In 1886 or 1887, Mcclure. then nearing
50, was working in the advertising de-
partment of the Century ma gazine at q
salary of $50 week. The Century wa