Evening star., 1913-06-15


Grafton of Natures freaks as "self-made
men. That is why we do not refer to the
Honorable and Hustllng Clyde H. Taven-
ncr. elected to the new Congress at the age
of thirty wears as a self-nade man. Man is
made BY his God and his circumstance
not to mention his ability to catch with iron
grasp the coat tails of each opportunity that
flashes past his vision.
When it comes to eXtOrtlng gold, glory.
and prominence from every opportunity,
Mr. Tavcnncr is on the Job like a pair of ice
| tongS. When the opportunities try to hurry
past him, ne tackles them by the coat tails
or below the knees throws them PROSTATE
upon the ground, does a rigadoon upon their
PROSTATE forms, and takes away from them
all chances of pelf and prosperity that they
have buCllcd about their waists. He never
saw in his life the tail lights of opportunity
glimmer away in the darkness. He always
caught them before the glimmer had
chance to get off SO much as even one gim.
He conhded to me not long ago that the
only serious handicap he had ever had was
his first name, Clyde. But at this time he
appeals to the world as the man who put the
CLYDE into Clydesdale and then rode the
beast up and down the mountains of adj
vcrsity and achievement His past resem-
blcs a pyramid turned upside down. 1t be
gan at a point of worldly achievement as big
as 4 pinpOint and today he CavOrts and
works upon the high and wide plateau of it,
under the full belief that he can do anything
he wants to do and that there are lot OF
things he ardently wants done by himself.
He was born at Cordova, Illinois, IN 1882,
and even as boy Ambition tlckled the soles
OF his feet and made his hair grow in a pom
padOur. His parents were poor-and IN this
respect they had nothing on Clyde. They
cr,l,n trn nt q
the age OF seven years he earned all his own
clothing by selling newspapers.
After that he made a newspaper man out
Of himself by starting a little journal, which
he called THE Boys Bulletin, and when
he was thirteen he started to work in a cour-
trv newspaper office, setting type at the case
for four years. For this inklike and inspiring
labor he received during the first year one
dollar week, the second year two dollars a
week. and the third year three dollars a
week One raw and rainy afternoon he took
4 tumble to himself, went out into the drip
ping woods and like Demosthcnes without
the pebbles in his mouth, addressed himself
in a sepulchral tone as follows:
by stralnng the greatest muscles OF my
vision | can discern upon the horizon not
even cloud so big as a man 5 hand contain
ing silver lining. Setting type is like build
ing Your own lead coffin. | do not like lead.
do not love collins TOR myself. I'm OFT that
lead stuff.
After that he whistlcd ditty from a comic
| opera. lashed himself into a mood of JOY, and
| took up editorial work on daily papers in
large cities. But Ambition, with feathered
fingers, was still tickling his restive and ram
pant feet He conceived the idea that he
| would like to be free to write his own ideas
of great public questions without being
hampered by the policy of any one news
paper. And he went to Washington in 1908
to organize Il syndicate.
Every gloomy afternoon, when Tavenner
had finished a grueling days work, some
friend met him on the corner, and sang t.
him this merry little song:
You can't do it, my boy. Go to work
on one newspaper; for your idea will never
pan out. 1t will put you in the almshouse
OF a place where the inmates wear strait
Jackets nd manaclcS.
Whcrcupon Clyde whistlcd another song
and continued to write and mail to the news
papers of this country a news letter every
dav. He wrote one Il dav for fourteen hun
Ckcd and sixty days, or four years. At the
end of his first year his total income was ten
dollars a week which is not 50 good as the
work of old CAPTAIN Kidd