Atlanta Georgian., 1914-03-01
Graphing With the Jinx
by
Secretary of the Navy Daniels

1865, when my father died, leaving
my mother to support her small
family. Father had been repairing and
building war vessels for the Confederacy
at the port of Wilmington up to that time,
but after fathers death, mother took us to
the village of Wilson, one hundred miles
distant, where she had relatives She
opened a small millinery store here, and
made dresses also. Then, as no Democrat
wanted the post-office which paid only
5000 per year, mother was soon appointed
postmistress Here began my first sphere
of usefulness. | helped mother in the'post-
office and opened little side line of my own,
keeping newspapers, weeklies, base-balls
and bats, in the corner of the Office For
recreation in those days, | used to hang
around the office of our town paper. | was
deeply interested in the printing process and
determined to become a newspaper man
some day. When | was fourteen years
old | started a paper which | called the
"Cornucopia." MnItum IN PdY0o was the
motto with which appealed for patronage.
| sold the "Cornucopia" for twenty-five
cents per year and issued it once a month.
| remember hearing an old colored man say
one day that it must be pretty poor
preach for twenty-five cents year, but
my feelings were not hurt by this remark.
| was in touch with amateur editors all
over the country, and we founded an organ
ization which is still in existence and gives
its dinner annually in New York. But the
"Cornucopia" passed out of existence two
years later and mother mortgaged her house
70 ri into in bo
little weekly of the town where we lived,
called the Advance" Soon afterward |
was able to buy out and own the whole
paper The Advance" believed in and
advocated Caucasian supremacy. | was a
fanatical Democrat. We had eight thou
sand more negroes in our congressional dis
trict than whites. | was rabid and in a
short time political charges were made
against my mother and sent to the Post
General, accompanied by copies of
my paper. Some white Republican wanted
the post-office. Our family needed the
salary; the Advance" was not making
much money, and my brother was in college
so went to Washington to defend mothers
case. The Links" was with me there
Timothy O. Howe of Wisconsin was Post
master-General He had tried at one time to
give the rights of suffrage to the Washington
negroes, and he had read my rabid editorials
did not know this. Senator Ransom went
with me to headquarters and asked me to
wait in the anteroom until he had eased the
way for my entrance. | never got inside
Howe produced the file of my papers and
put my mother out. My editioral page
grew iercer than ever which increased my
circulation. and benefited me so financially
that | was able to take law course which
| wanted for the mental training only. |
never practiced law and never wanted to,
for newspaper work was my ambition, and
| took the law course just for the discipline.
Later, with the assistance of friend, |
bought the Raleigh News and Observer"
1t was hard Shedding at first, and many
night have walked the floor with big debts
staring me in the face. My wife helped me
in the office and we worked together trying
to solve the problem of finance. On Sat
Il ;ol,+ Io LoI no