El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-11-12
By DR..
Madison
E..
Peters

! vania." 1t was at his own request that
the printers of the city with their
journeymen and apprentices were given
a prominent position in his funerai
y procession.
The tide in the affairs of Franklin
turned when he quarreled with MS
! brother in the printing shop in Boston
and ran away from that city to make
his own way in the world. When out
of work and tramping the streets OF
! both Philadelphia and London in
search of employment he often regret
| ted this incident and wished he had
stayed at the printing case in Boston
but had he done SO it is probable that
the world would never have heard OF
him as patriot, philosopher and scien-
list. Had he remained he doubles
would have grown into an ordinary
tradesman, with NO ambition above the
type stick His brother James, with
| whom he had Quarreled, never amount
! ed to much, and he died at ar early
age. There is nothing on which to base
any contrary belief that Benjamin
would not have followed in his broth
er's footsteps and thus have never been
heard Of beyond the narrow limits OF
Boston.
Benjamin had been indentured to his
years and only for the order forbidding
| the elder brother to publish the Cou-
! rant, Benjamin could have been forced
| to live up to the letter of the contract
| Franklin in his autobiography tells us
| that 1t was proposed to evade the or
! der by changing the name Of the pa
| per. my brother" he says, seeing
7 Inconvenience in than it was finally
/ concluded on as better way. to let it
h. 49, hp
name of Benjamin Franklin; and to
avoid the censure of the assembly. that
i might fall on him as still printing it by
| his apprentice the cOntrivance was
| that my old indenture should be re-
| turned to me with full discharge on
! the back Of II to be shown on occasion
/ but to secure to him the benefit Of my
service, l was to sign new indentures
| for the remainder of the term, which
! were to be kept private" They avail
ed themselves of the scheme and the
| paper was continued for several months
| in Benjamin'S name
| For the sake of continuing the
| publication the brothers united in their
! fight aga inst church and state but pri-
vately they could agree on nothing
| In speaking of these Quarrels, Frank
| lin writes: AT length a fresh differ
ence arising between my brother and
me, l took upon me to assert my free
| dom, presuming that he would not VEN
! ture TO produce the new indentures. II
! was not fair in me to take this advan-
| tage, but the unfairness of it weighed
! little with me when under the impress
| sions Of resentment for the blows his
passion too often urged him to bestov
upon me. Perhaps 1 was saucy and
| provoking. When he found / would
| leave him, he took care to prevent my
| getting employment in any Other
| printing house of the town by COINS
round and speaking to every master
| who accordingly refused to give ms
! work"
Well for Benjamin the quarrel anC
| well that his brother prevented hi:
getting work IN Boston. Both circum
| stances combined to give America one
/ of the brightest stars in the firmamen
Of fame and the world a scientist and
philosopher as well as a man of let
| tiers who conferred a glory on Their ace