Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-07-04
Johnson I els Of Early Days
to the highest bidder"
Never Lcct Day.

| to the highest bidder"
Never Lcst Day.
and now" I said, latter 81 years,
how are you cituated
! II have 1900 acres of good land,
! 500 acres under the pillow and 700
acres in meadow md prairie for pas
ture. MY house contains 10 rooms,
and there are stalls in my barn for
! 1875 horses and cattle. l have herd
of jersey cows and numer Of per-
cheron horses, but I have never been
stock breeder. Some years ago
built a grain elevator for my own
crops. After l voluntarily left con-
| gress, in 1899, I added the buying
| of wheat to my regular occupation
| as farmer. l never lost single day
in all the IS seasons l was engaged
in the business
THE year l was born, 1850, my
! parents moved to Iowa, going in a
| covered wagon drawn by oxen. My
father had been in this country II
years, and had money and property
to the value of $1,000. For a settler
he was in easy circumstances. 1
grew up in Iowa, not far from the
| city of Dubuque. While working on
the farm for nine months each year
l prepared for college at the district
school and an academy I was grad
uated from the state university at
the age of %. While I could speak
English and Norwegian and had stud
led German, I knew nothing about
human life under modern conditions.
I had never seen street car, nor
had I worn a night shirt.
$50 I went to Milwaukee to get a
close view of the world at large.
one day. and finding I was going in a
wrong direction, I made a flying leap
for a car that was passing on the
next track. The conductor excited
ly told me that was fool and splut-
was necessary. However, I had lear
ned something. Thence I journeyed
to Chicago, where I attended Nor
wegian picnic and delivered a speech,
taken largely from my graduating es-
say. that reeked with classic illus
trations and immature philosophy
Still. it was good speech, and was
generally applaued.
II thought I would try California
simply for the experience. A Nor.
wegian clergyman in San Francisco
asked what I wanted to do Any
thing l replied, that's honest I'll
drive wagon, clean livery stable,
but won't work in saloon The
preacher found me place in par
ochial school, where I taught German
to children in the. primary grades
for $50 month. like English best.
Norwegian next and then German,
and can make political speeches in
all three languages Soon I went to
the California military academy at
Oakland as an instructor in Latin.
was paid $50 a month In gold and
given my board. s.,..,
Goes to state Convention. 49,,
"In the meantime I was studying
law. After two years in California
1 returned to Iowa. At that time most
railways ran east and west, and It
was difficult to travel north and
south. let it be known that would
gladly go to the state convention as
a delegate and pay my own EXPENSES.
was chosen, and went to Des Moines
the capital of the state, by wav of
Galesburg, Illinois, the home of Miss
Stella White. whom I afterward mar
1
travelling west. but the IS other de-
legates from Winneshiek county, go
ing on the north and south road, we're
wrecked or sidetracked on the prairie
when they got in motion again the
convention had adjourned. Under the
rules I had 10 votes. and / stood uD
and proudly cast them for John H.
T Gear. candidate for governor. My
peculiar good fortune at the conven-
ton gave me some prestige at home.
Next I took my fathers Durham
bull to the county fair. walked him
up and down the track, spoke of his
| fine points to the farmers-all Of which
was effective personal advertising
| and was awarded first premium by
the judges. That fall. 1875, / was
elected to the legislature. At the
! close of the session entered the
! law school of the Iowa state univer-
sity. ". :. +.
when / went to the state con-
vention the following year as dele.
gate, some friends started the report
that + would not decline to be one
of Iowa's presidential electors. And
they went right about it. I was a
| Norwegian in blood, and a young re.
! publican, and the interests of several
party leaders would be belped in nv
| selection. So I was nominated. In
those days presidential electors went
On the STUMP. They ought to do 1t
I now. felt that was unfit and that
needed nreparation. r. >-.
/. Speaks In Public Schools. ~
3 Oliver P. Morton, Roscoe Conkling
and John A. Logan spoke in the SEN
ate on appropriations for the army.
/ gathered, data and documents. and
then proceeded to, Albany, N. =.
/ where Samuel J. Tilden, Democratic
l candidate for president. and serving
as governor. i talked to his political
enemies for week and returned to
| Iowa, wrote my speech under a the
/ trees at home and then committed
it to memory Those. were the! days
when my head was full Of Thermo.
pylae and when I could quote whole
/ pages Of Horace and Virgil I started
in country schoolhouses and wound
| up in Dubuque. did pretty well. "A
/ person OF 50 may he INDUCED in look
/ ing back to his youth with some feel
ing OF satisfaction. :3$ \ 3S
4 was now deep Id politics for 2
Il yOunR man Moreover i arr willing to