The independent-reporter., 1910-07-14
HINDS' SUCCESS.
CONTINUED from First Page.)


lowed him one afternoon to make w
The forms of that paper to go to
Dress. With the foreman at his ell
bow Kinds bent over the forms and
arranged the columns, placed the ad-
vertisements In position and locked
up the chases. In three months he
had learned one part of the business
and with an equal degree OF deter
mination he went into the press room
t. master another end OF newspaper
making.
The presses used by the old Ad-
vertiser were not of the kind on which
newspapers are printed today. They
were fed by hand, the pressman hand
ling each sheet which went over the
cylinder and was pressed directly
against the type. The work was much
more simple than 1t is now but sue"
as there was to learn Kinds absorbed
and reached the point when alone and
unaided he could handle the press.
For this work he had received little
OF no compensation. He boarded in
quiet lodging house with some OF
his college friends during this period,
extended his acquaintance but slowly
and in the evening devoted himself
to study.
EARLY DAYS IN PORTLAND
A man with whom Asher Kinds
lived when he first came to Portland
told a Press reporter about these
early days of Kinds residence in the
city. "In the evening some of us
used to go to Kinds room to play
cards. Kinds never was a card player.
He was too busy While we swung
for the jack and hammered down
upon old sledge, Kinds sat in a cor
ner by a kerosene lamp hard at
work upon some book or carefully
cutting out newspaper clippings and
filing them away with great care
This particular task used to amuse
the rest of us greatly. From the New
York Tribune, London Times,the New
York Herald Kinds cut all of the
things he saw which he thought
might be useful to him at some fu-
ture date. These he filed away after
system of his own in little bags
properly indexed and to them he
could refer for information If any
point came up which he vas not full
ly informed about"
This was the beginning of Kinds
fondness for indexing, systematizing
and accommodating information. 1t was
this very MANIA" as we were wont
to term it, which afterwards gave to
Asher Kinds his reputation as the
worlds parlamentarian and enabled
him to make such great progress in
arranging and systematizing the pre-
cedents of the House of Representa-
tives.
Having obtained knowledge of the
making of a newspaper Kinds then of
fered himself for work as reporter
Hobart W. Richardson was then the
editor of the Advertiser. Kinds went
upon the street, note book in hand to
gather news. He knew few people and
it was hard work for the stranger
rather green youth. But with per-
sistency which could not be discour-
aged he stuck to his task. The work
he did was recognized by its pains
taking effort to tell the exact facts
rather than by any special brilliancy
OF performance. He was determined
to get at the facts, the bottom facts,
and when he had obtained them to
write them in English which could be
easily comprehended. After little
time the business and professional
men of Portland began to observe
this persistent, unobstrusiye young
reporter. They took pains themselves
to tell him things which he wanted
to know about and slowly but surely
he added to his circle of friends and
those who had a growing confidence
in his ability and sterling worth.
In 1885 he went to Augusta as the
legislative correspondent of the Ad-
vertiser. These were the days when
James G.. Blaine was in the saddle In
Maine, when growing out of his am
bitions there were many seething po-
litician quarres and faction within
the Republican party which were
striving for the mastery. Asher Hinds
knew no one at Augusta He had as
his competitors at the State capital
such men as w. E. s. Whitman known
as Toby Candor" a veteran newspa-
per man, a bosom friend of James g.
Blaine and Joseph H. Manley, and the
other leading politicians of the State.
Whitman had been in the midst OF
things political for generation or
two. He had been with Walker on
his filibustering expedition. He had
worked on the New York papers with
the leading newspaper men OF the
country and to him all news was
brought and placed at his feet with
out effort on his part.
AT THE STATE CAPITOL.
One man who was at Augusta this
first winter of Asher Kinds legisla-
tive experience took delight in tell
ing a Press reporter the other day
about Kinds first work at the State
capital. He was awkward and some
what shy" said this man. Il remem'
Der seeing him mixing In the turbu'
lent crowd of politicians about the
corridors of the Augusta house thai
first night when the legislators as
sembled to begin their organization ol
the house and senate. 1t was the
day when railroad passes were freely
distributed and all the politicians in
Maine were there, jostling one an
other and moving about through the
clouds of tobacco smoke. There were
some interesting political contests
under way but all that was taking
place was beneath the surface ano
to the rank outsider it was more than
difficult to get at the trend of events
Kinds had hardly an acquaintance
in all this crowd. Men brushed him
aside, stared at him in insolent re-
kI ~r.I