The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-06-13
James Hamilton Lewis
True Sketch of U. S. Senator from Illinois How He Won
 His Spurs
cBy Our Staff correspondent.) }

CBy Our Staff Correspondent.) Washington. June 12.-Now that the
 newspaper humor1sts have completed 1 their picture of James Hamilton Lew is-"Ji1n Ham," as they call hirn-the
 new senator from Illinois. I would like
 to sketch another portrait of him-the | true one.
 The newspapers have sufficiently
 emphasized his physical peculiarities- the slim, dapper stature Of the man, his red beard, his matched rings, cuff links and scarf pins, his punctilious selection Of hats. ties, vests and
 socks
 To balance that picture T would paint another-the picture of a lonely
 boy thrown early upon his own re- sources, of a struggle to overcome hand1caps such as few successful men
 ever met of surpassfng ability which
 quickly brought it's possessor to fame
 and position in the world, and finally of heart that beats in sympathy for the poor and oppressed, a sympathy ] carried by Senator "Jim Ham, on his l struggle upward from the bottom. After the Illinois legislature sent him to succeed Senator Cu1lom for the long term in the Senate the letter of
 congratulation which brought most
 pleasure to Senator ttJ1m Ham, was | one from the Longshorenen and Rig gers Union. Senator Lewis is a mem Der of that labor union, and not an ! honorary member either. He Joined it
 when he was a, worker on the docks at Seattle, Washington.
 He is Virginia born, and of good l blood His family. impoverished by | the war, moved to Augusta, Ga, where young Jim, between odd 1obss man. aged to pick up an education. He was 1 sent to a tutor by his aunt and later
 moved to Savannah. His work even 1 enabled him to spend a few seasons as a student in the University of Vir- ginia He had graduated at Hough- l ton College in Augusta.
 He found that poverty would keep him from a complete schooling. So. like other ambitious boys had done, he struck westward, and at the age of
 19 found himself alone in Seattle, pen
 niless, with 8 keen appetite and the immediate necessity of finding job so that he might eat.
 The first work that presented itself was a job rolling barrels and shoul- dering bags on the Seattle docks, and young Lewis took it. The work was too heavy for his s1ight physique, but
 the boss, observing that he was a
 keen young chap, made him a checker.
 He taught classes at night to pre-
 pare them for the State University.
 He joined the union and worked at his trade many months. Evenings and odd hours he studied law. His nat uralIy brilliant mind served him well
 then. In a brief time he passed the
 bar examination As a lawyer his reputation grew rapidly, until at the age of g his fellow citizens sent him to the territorial senate.
 This was his first real step upward
 Immediately he did surprising thing. one of the most remarkable acts of
 any man now prominent before the public Only a few men are able to
 judge themselves correctly. 'Jim Ham, Lewis was He realized he had extraordinary ability. He also real ized the value of a striking person ality to men in public life.
 So he set about it to create person ality for himself. He adopted the ec- centrfcities of beard and dress that have since made him famous
 He was highly successful. In a few years his appearance. coupled with his ability, brought him national fame. Washington sent him to Congress as representa- ntative-at-large when he was 27 years old. He foresaw that the Democratic party in Washington was disintegrating And so at the age of S6 he moved to Chicago. In two years he was made Corporation Counsel for Chicago-tte Attorney General of the city In five years he had established himself as one of the greatest trial lawyers in Illinois, and in ten years. when he was 46 years old, his adopted state sent him to the United States Senate as the popular choice in the senatorial primary.