The Sauk Centre herald., 1909-09-23

for few years. He married Caroline
Haden. a Swedish girl, also an immi-
grant. She was utterly alone in Amer
lea. The blacksmith installed her in a
two room house near st. Peter. For a
few years the brawny arms of Gustat
johnson earned a living for the wife
and the little ones who came. John be-
ling the first baby. born in 1861. Then
|recurred an attack of the old malady,
the old disease. which in the system
,of the village blacksmith demanded
.alcohol. The blacksmith became a
,drunkard. Like many others of his
unfortunate class. be went from bad
Ito worse" Finally the local authori-
ties placed him in the poorhouse. where
after some years he died.
Mrs. Johnson was left with six cbiI-
dren to support. John was only twelve
years old, but he arose to the occa.
sion. He insisted upon quitting school
SO that he might help. He got job
In a grocery store. A grocer's boy has
no snap as a job, but some of them
have snap as individuals. John John.
son-they probably called him Johnny
then-got $40 month. which he turn
ed over to his mother. He found time
to deliver laundry washed and ironed
by his mother. his splendid. heroic
mother. and also to deliver papers on
the carriers route-the town paper!
After two years of this grocer's boy
life he got a job in the drug store at a
slightly higher rate Of pay. From this
time on his mother quit taking in
washing. John supported the family
In the years following three of the
little sisters died. and John Johnson
was in debt to the undertaken. The
boy studied hard while working in the
drug store. The little public library
was in the same block. He read many
books from the library, being chiefly
interested in history. Meanwhile bel
studied pharmacy. too. and eventually
he became a registered pharmacist.
Real Journalist With a Real Job.
After nine years in the drug store
John Johnson became journalist. In|
the cities journalist is sometimes de-
|scribed as newspaper man out of al
job. In st. Peter John Johnson was
a real journalist with a real job, pay
ing for a half interest in the Herald.
for which friends who believed in him
had put up the money. Johnson had
paid off the undertaken He had bought
IN the two room family homestead.
which was about to be sold for taxes.
and he had added other rooms and
Improvements.
So this was the story discovered by]
the st. Paul reporter. 1t was so mag
niticently true that American Mime
sofa arose gloriously to the occasion.
President Roosevelt carried the alwaysj
Republican state of Minnesota by al
majority of 161. .462-a hundred thou
sand above the normal majority. But.
hold! John Albert johnson. Democrat.
was elected governor by majority of
1880. Not very large majority that.
and yet he turned "a. 400 votes to get it.
The country editor closed down his
desk at st. Peter. probably saying toI
Henry Essler: III be back in two|
years. Try to keep the subscribers inl
line. and don't let the ads. get awayI
from you. Keep the jobwork going"
Then he went to work at his new|
job in st. Paul. his Office being in Min
nesota's fine new state capitol build
ing. Did Johnson as governor of al
great state pose as a sickly sentiment
tai friend of ''the common peepul?"
Not bit of it-not he. johnson madeI
no pretense Of being ultra democratic.
He wore good clothes. the prevailing
style. and cut just as digniied a figure
at gubernatorial reception as he hadI
cut in the editorial sanctum at st. Pei
ter. He had sense enough to adapt
himself to his environment.
He Made Good.
johnson also had the moral and men,
tai backbone to make him Johnny-on-I
the-spot With his new job. He hadI
had no experience as an editor when he
took hold of the st. Peter Herald. Butt
he made good. He made good also
as governor of Minnesota. Do youI
want proof? Then read the election
returns of 1906. Normally the Repub-
lican candidate should have won byI
about 10000 majority. AS matter
of fact. Johnson won by 72.OOO major.
ity. Somebody asked how he did it."
II only tried to make good" replied
Johnson.
No boomerang was thrown in theI
second campaign. If johnson had notI
made good in his two years term as
governor be would have been sentI
back to the st. Peter Herald Office. |
The washerwoman circular promulgat-i
ed by the unidentified asylum inmate
made him governor. but as governor
he made good himself. Those years
Of struggle, of self effacement. of moth |
er love and brotherly devotion in st.
Peter gave him the stamina to make |
good. When some one asked him what
he considered the most important re-
suit Of his administration as governor.
he replied:
"Law enforcement. We have brought
about conditions by which the state Of !
ficers obey the law themselves and en-
force IT,"