The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-05-04
He Abhors Protective Tariff, Although His Own Products
Are in the Schedules Which Are Pro-
tected by Tax.

is nearly fifty-five years old, but his
face is youthful and he seems to be
In the prime Of his mental and physical
powers.
Albany" he said, was the city Of my
BIRTH Before and during the civil war
my father owned steamboats, on the Hud-
son River. He carried passengers and
later made good deal of money In trans
porting troops. After the war, railroad
competition hurt the boats. Then my
father went into the business of publish
ing school books and from that into the
business of manufacturing stoves. A
flood in Albany that destroyed some of
his property, the Chicago fire of 1871,
and the panic of 1873 ruined him financi-
ally.
I'm the meanwhile he had moved mis-
family to Pittsfeld, Mass, fifty miles
away. He went to Albany every morning
and returned at night, spending four
hours on the railroad each day. I was
ready to enter college when I was fif-
teen years old. The loss of our property,
however, caused a change in my plans.
Perhaps / was the gamer thereby. The
boy who has never been compelled to
face the strain of life is In danger of
breaking down when trials come / be-
lieve in self-reliance. Children should
not be coddled by their parents: men
should not be coddIed by the government.
Paternalism is an evil thing, but such
observations are no answer to your ques-
ton
THE postmaster at Pittsfield gave me
a place. My wages were So a week and
were to be paid, so the agreement ran.
every three months. The first day L
worked from O'Clock in the morning
until p. m. That wasn't bad. The
second day, however ] began at $50
a. M. and remained on duty until $50
o'clock at night. Those were to be my
hours. the postmaster said, seven days
in the week. I was to sleep in the Of
the night. Some one, also, might come
along with an ambition to rob the safe.
A DrumMer at &3 . Week.
"such was my initiation into the public
service. No fight Of my imagination
then would have put me into a Presi-
dents Cabinet. Come to think about
it, as you will see, there is a certain
unity between the two ends of my life
But I resigned my place in due time
and went to a paper company which
seemed to need young person of my
stamp. Pittsfield was a small center
for the paper industry, and 1 thought
NcfCltp Will inc tTdQe. MY
salary was the same-s3 a week-but it
was given me oftener, once month, I
believe.
Promotions. I was glad to discover,
came pretty swift. I soon found myself
travelling salesman at $24 month
I journeyed from village to village with
heart bursting with hope. On my
return to Pittsfield. / would tie up the
goods I had sold, and then take them
to the railway station in a wheelbarrow
Suddenly, like bolt from the sky, I
was discharged. 1t was the only time
in my life, let me add, that 1 didn't
quit a job OF my own accord. I was
a satisfactory salesman so / was as
sured, but the company could not pay
me IS a week. Good management de-
manded cheaper grade of help. The
boy who fell heir to my place is now
one of the chief officers in the Wells
Fargo Express. He was a friend of
mine, and is my friend still.
by this time / was sixteen years old.