The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-11-03

He came over to the United States Is
years ago a great deal like many other
Honcrables do from the Continental
fam1ltes-W1th feeling Of diSsatisfac-
ton for home life where every new SEN
satiOn has been experienced and become
old and with a feeling of curiosity and
q spirit of adventure to seek new lands
over sea where promise held out en-
tirely novel situations and scenes.
Sitting comfortably before a cosy fire
in his home Oh Clay street. Ensign Or
man talked interestingly of his early
studies of Schopenhauer, Darwin, and
Voltaire and being wrought by their
fires into a free thinker and a socialist
he preached their doctrines in the cities
Of the United States. Then came his
conversion and work in the Salvation
/ Army greatly to the chagrin of his fam
| lily who felt that he had disgraced him
/ self. A little of the mother tongue still
/ chung to his speech as he began a re-
cital of his wanderings.
My mother was of a well known mo-
! bic family living over in what is Old
/ Prussia or West Preussen, as we call 1t.
My father was a wealthy land owner.
I was raised with almost every wish
! gratified and received my first fnstruc-
/ ton from the hands of a tutor at home,
/ for you know it wouldn't do to send
me to the public schools, belonging to
the station in life that I did. Later on
/ I was enrolled in the gymnasium which
/ corresponds to your colleges over here
1 was fond Of the languages and studied
/
proficient in the French language and
4 1 still keep up my Greek through read
/ ing Greek Testament took to
/ drinking While at the gymnasium. I
! would sell my books my grammars, to
buy something to drink. 1 was found
dead drunk once when I was but 16
years Of age. I had no religious train
/ ing whatsoever at home and 1 don't re-
member that my father or mother ever
went to a church. I never Gid anything
! which you might call mean, but
would sell a few bushels of grain or
probably a horse and with the money
I would get from selling these things
would buy something to drink.
MY father died. 1 left the GYM
nasium and went into a law Office to
study law but after had been there
| a while I grew tired of 1t all and left.
I decided to go to America. I came
across. I spent my money in a short
while for drink and penniless walked
the streets of New York.
Seeing an advertisement In one of
the newspapers Man. wanted an
swered the call and started to work in
a saloon doing the lowest kind of
work. I cleaned spittocns and scrub
bed the floors. But I got to drinking
! and lost my job Then I went to work
in one of the lowest dives in the city
and learned to make gin fixes and
/ other drinks. I quit this and started
! to tramp. I tramped from New York
] to Phfladelphia I had no money and
/ drink. I went to a labor bureau un-
der the influence of liquor and while
/ there they gave me a drink. When
came to I found that I was on my
way with a gang of men to Baltimore
we had been hired as oyster boat
men. There were seven OF US to-
gether We had four mattresses be-
tween us and one clay pipe, three Of
the men were colored.
We were gone three months
dredging oysters. At the end of that
time I was paid off and had SIS com
ing to me=the rest had been de-
Quoted for sou westers. oil skins and
that sort of thing. had good
clothes on my back and I got a job in
a saloon Here I met some educated
people who told me that I was fool
to work as 1 did. They told me that
with the knowledge I had of languages
I could get better positions. After
that for the next four years worked
4 on a number of newspapers. German,
at Little Rock, Pueblo and in Illinois.
/ also made some speeches for So
cialism and for free thought. Then
later made some campaign speeches
I got good pay for this, making four.
five and sometimes as high as ten dol
lars a day and expenses. But it all led
to the same thinS-I would ind my
self after time without a cent in my
Il was in Chicago and got tired Of
it all I bought a ticket as far as !
could go for my money. I wanted to
go to Denver When my ticket gave
out, I started in to tramp my way to
Denver I tramped for two days and
was hungry and tired when I met q
gang Of men working on the railroad
I asked for work The man looked al
me and said. You don't want work ]
told him. Yes sir, do He gave me
work and needless to say the blood
came cut Of my hands in handling the
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