The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1910-04-27
GOVERNOR JoHNeoN's BOOKS.
Advice that He oave-Diokens,
Thackeray, shakespears for Him.


Thackeray, shakespears for Him.
A letter written by the late Cover.
nor John A. Johnson to young man
living In northern Minnesota, In re.
sponse to an inquiry as to what books
had Influenced the Governors career,
was made public at the state capitol
this morning II is thoroughly char.
acterlstic of the man who began life
as drug clerk and ended 1t as Gov.
ernor Of Minnesota. 1t follows In
full:
Dear Sir-I have your letter, and
as am Just leaving for another tour
will try to answer 1t, although the
answer must of necessity be brief.
AS to books which influenced my life,
when boy | started to DO some read
ing. that Is of such books as general.
benefactor friend started me on q
course of reading Introducing as the
first work Prescott's Conquest Of
Mexico. The book In itself influ-
enced me only to the extent Of en-
couraging me along the line Of better
literature. This was followed by
1vanhoe' and then all Of Sootte books,
both poetry and prose- This WINS fol-
lowed by Dickens, Thackeray and
other masters In the realm OF fiction.
Then came Shakespeare. ! read
all of his plays. rereadins many. !
presume the great dramatlst exerted
better influence than any other one
writer, because OF the dellneatlon OF
30 many-sided characters. Out of him
| came the inspiration to read more.
His historical dramas directed me to
the history of England, and Hume
and Macaulay naturally followed.
Then / went to France to study her
romantic history; from there to Ger
many, back to Rome. Greece and the
Egyptian and Aryan regions. It would
| be impossible to say whether any one
single book has been prominent in
It's influence.
"The tendency Of the above and
kindred books interested me In the
literature and history of my own
country, and the growth of the appe-
tlte for this food for thought doubt
| less created a general desire to know
more of the Institutions of govern
ment here and abroad. All Of my
work In this direction must have,
from time to time. fired me with am
bition and exalted my spirit of patri.
otic duty. In other words, my in.
creased knowledge of the world and
the men who made It's history and af.
fairs fitted me In some measure for
the duties Of life. do not know that
any one book or set Of books could be
chosen which would mean for more
opportunity or greater success. It is
the collection of books which make
for more general knowledge, and for
this one must simply cultivate the
reading to the best books written.
"The book shelves groan beneath
the volumes which have survived the
decades and centuries, and It would
be we'll to spend as little time as pos
sible on the current literature, but
confine yourself to that which has
stood the test of years, when the
wheat was wlnnowed from the chaf
] would not discourage light reading
or denounce all literature because Il
was new. because you must know
about the things of which men are
thinking and doing today.
"Yes, cultivate the reading habit
and cultivate the art OF communicat
ing what you know to others. Witt
the genius of hard work, drectnest
OF purpose, success will come. Very
truly,-"John A. Johnson" in st. Pau
Dispatch.