The Alaska citizen. (Fairbanks, Alaska) 1910-1917, 1914-04-13
WHO'S WHO
(5l|
r A 1 z B A N X s

)
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Almost every pioneer of neN
country has had his interesting up.
and downs in the world but ther,
are few of them that have had &
wider range of industrial experience
than John F. Dillon. United States
commissioner at Fairbanks
Mr.. Dillon himself acknowledged
that he only things at which he has
not tried his hand is selling books
and lightning rods. Probably if ht
lives long enough. his native energy
and enterprise may sometime leaC
him TO the book agency or lightn.na
rod agency business.
AS a rail split err he made about
Lincoln. and his experiences as {
farmer. school teacher, clerk. travel
magistrate. justice of the peace
clerk of school board. attorney
city torney and number of other
things would provide subject matter
for several interesting books. And
after having tried so many vocationS
he has come to the conclusion tina
farming is the best.
The dream of Mr.. Dillons life is tc
retire TO some good farm. where he
can interest himself with domestic
animals and growing crops Where
tina farm is to be is still matter
Of speculation. but it is quite GER
ain that the ambition will he fully
realized. for the "back-to-the-soil'
fever that is spreading far and
wide over the nation has gained such
control OF him that he cannot easily
overcome it.
or Irish Family.
Although Amer can born. Mr. Dill
lolI, dS MS name llltitdttS, Is IIo!il
irish ancestry, his father having
come direct from Ireland and set led
Waukesha. Wisconsin, May Is, 1862
lis father was at one time a black
latter getting injured N blacksmith
ng. he was forced to quit that oc.
cupation and go to farming.
Accordingly, when John was four
years of age his father moved to q
farm in Richland county, Wisconsin
and here the dense forest was clear
ed away to admit of the planting OF
crops
With the exception of few weeks
Of schooling each win er, John was
compelled to work hard constantly
on the farm, and it was the open-air
exercise and healthful surroundings
that gave him the vitality tina, has
carried him safely through the ex-
Qeriences of later years.
HIS education was limited to 80
weeks Of common school work, OBJ
tained under adverse circumS ances.
To get money for books and other
necessaries, young John split rail
road tics on his Saturdays at home
He split about 16 of these ties one
Saturday. and hauled them 10 town
he next Saturday, receiving for them
p cents, or four dollars for the
load. Thus he earned SO a month.
later he laugh school during the
inter-. and worked at other things
in the summer time.
His First Success
When he became a young man,
he and another boy his own age,
each of whom had saved UP $500.
took an agency for farm machinery
and cleared up between 100000 and
$4,000 with it. This would have
been a good financial start, if the
other partner in the BUSINESS had
no. started to plunge, and John
withdrew from the firm, thougH
many of the notes retained by the
partner carried his name. When the
partner failed by his wild specula-
tons, John had to pay off so many
Of the noes, that he was broke,
and so he started West to build up
I fortune.
With the beginning of the next
chapter of his life, we find Mr..
Dillon a section boss on the Oregon
Railway & Naviga ion company's line
in Washington But better things
soon presented themselves to him,
and he took up school teaching. He
also tried his hand at being sew
ing machine agent, and various OH
err things Finally he took up the
study of law at Colfax, Washington
and while ha was Studying law he