The Washington herald., 1907-03-10

Hartman is hfty-nine, while Ryan,
bound, unless he dies young, TO be richer
even than Carnegie Is only fifty-siX, the
boy OF the whole galaxy. Hill is sixty
nine
HOweIIs Had the Best Chance.
There was nothing In the boyhood or
early training Of any of these eight
leaders among men that afforded special
preparation for the life work chosen, eX-
cept Howells. He was born into just the
atmosphere that would naturally make
literary man out of such d boy as he
was.
Ohio was his native State as 1t was
Allison's, and the elder Howells was con-
Quoting a country newspaper when the
boy was born. lie was not considered q
strong lad, but his ambition was bound
less, and he read and reread not only the
books in his fathers library, which was
unusually large and wen selected for q
country editor 10 possess. but also all the
newspapers he could get hold of. That
meant practically all the big ones pub
Hshed in this country, since his fathers
paper, though not a big one, was highly
thought Of because OF its ability. and its
e exchange list was large.
For boy who wasn't strong William
Dean Howells did a lot of work, too.
Like every member of the Howells family
he took a regular job in the office. years
before entering his teens. He began
folding papers, but he learned to set type
by the time he was eleven, and became
SO proficient at 1t that, while yet in his
teens, his regular stint was 5000 ems.
the average days work of any grown
country compOsitor at that time What
is more surprising. the boy. according to
his brother Joseph A.. who is still run
ming the Howells family newspaper In
Ohio, could set his 5000 ems in half a
day, and was regularly allowed the other
half day in which to read or study or
play.
As a rule he didn't do much playing, and
he never became an athlete, but Onz year
he devoted more time than evs- ,.cfore
TO swimming and diving and Stating,
becoming an expert in these sports. He
never did much shooting or fishing, how
ever. presumably because he Couldn {
without losing too much time TO fulhI
mis- self-appointed task OF keeping thor
oUghly posted on the worlds news.
Young HOWells expected TO be a news
paper man all his life, and what might
be- termed his graduation thesis was "a
political book-his first individual volume,
by the way-a campaign Life Of Lin
coin"
His first BOYS writings, however, were
ayowedIy literary. They included verses
and fiction and essays for his fathers
paper. one Of his pieces Of fiction being q
serial which be set mp as he went along.
Tie had SO much trouble getting the in
stalImcnts ready on time, and, finally, IN
winding IL UP satisfactorily, that he some
times talks about it 10 this day. In col
laboratiOn with J. j. Piatt he produced a
volume of verse. Poems of Two
Friends. which was issued ahead of the
Life OF Lincoln"
In his odd moments, when the boy
wasn't setting type, writing news, liter
AZURE. or editorials, or claiming his few
minutes a day in the open, he studied
languages by himself-T.atin. Greek,
French. German. and Spanish. In the
modern tongues he learned 20 read
rapidly. though Il is hardly probable that
be- acquired anything but an Ohio accent
I'm any of them till he went abroad.
Ills fathers activities were first at
Hamilton, then Dayton, and then Jeffer-
son. Ashtabula County. The boys first
work away from home was done as "a
compositor on the Columbus State jour
nal Afterward ne was news editor on
/ the same paper, legislative correspondent
/ for Cincinnati paper, and reporter III
/ Cincinnati He didn't like the last named
/ job because he had 10 write police court
/ and other reports that treated of crime
/ RE made $50 in royalties on his Life uI
{ Lincoln. and. what was more TO the pur-
/ pose in his case. Lincoln was induced boy
/ John Hay and John NicolaS, the Prest
/ dents secretaries, to make him consul al
/ Venice, after he had asked in vain fol
! the consulate AT Munich. and declined tn.
one at Rome because il paid only SOD q
year
This was i'm 1861. The four years during
| which the civil war ragged were like
| post graduate course TO the young print
er-writer. since, though he did not neglect
/ his work as consul, which included watch
/ ing for Confederate privateers. he haC
| time to absorb quite as much Of the lit
/ eratUre OF Italy as he could have got II
/ four years university residence
When he returned 10 America he Wa
anxious 10 get work on a New NuTl
newspaper. not because he preferred
/ journalism 10 literature. but simply Il
earn his living. bUt James T. Fields, tn,
publisher turned him into a more liter
airy way Of work. inviting him to Boston
1 as sub-editor OF the Atlantic. Howell
/ had made the acquaintance. before COINS
/ 20 Venice. of Lowell and Holmes, Haw
/ thorne and Emerson. expending the las
/ dollar of the $50 of profits on his Lin
/ coin book on a visit to the Hub
Only College Man in the Lot.
/ Nothing even remotely pointing to
/ distinguished legislative career was en-
/ countered by Allison. the only man in tn
/ lot who went 10 college in his school-da!
/ years.
! He had a particularly rough time as Z
/ boy. His father was a pioneer farmer
| born in Pennsylvania. and settled in tn,
Ohio woods Big Eyed Bill" Allison al
/ the boy was known, had TO work Zero
| ciously most of the year at the clearing
/ of forest land and the planting of tn
/ land after It was cleared. He could g,
/ to school only d few weeks each winter
/ but fortunately for him the teacher il
/ the log scholhouse at Ashland, one Da
vid 4. Kimberly. who afterwaTd becam,
a Methodist Episcopal bishop, liked TIN
/ boy. and gave him much more time thai
/ any other pupil
! They knew each other away back il
/ the late thirties and early forties, wheI
/ boarding round" was in fashion. Kim
/ berry slept oftener at the Allison loi
/ house than anywhere else in the district
| and passed most Of his Sundays there be
sides This gave the boy an eXceptiOna
/ chance. II IS recorded that he becamt
/ the best arithmetician in the school. anC
! that he could spell down" everybody 70
miles around. When he was sixteen hi
! father, being more prosperous than for
merry, sent him 10 the Wooster Acad
envy, where he was known as the best
/ natured, as we'll as the clumsiest. boy II
/ the school. The Senator Allison OF TO
/ day is one OF the best poised members O
] The I-nrAr. Hnnea ~ XNashirn-tnr,