The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1914-05-05

presidency OF the company. The zen
eral retired from acttve business life
some time ago.
As MAN TO NAN.
TIE newspaper man heard 4 friend
tell, tho other day. about the struggle
he had one time In his youth to keep
the wolf from the door. It was the old
story Of the son OF well 70 do folks who
went out In the world and tried to
make his way. It Il = story nearly AZ
old as any ever written except that one
told In the book of Genesis It was
funny. too, in spots, and It had to do
with the benevolent kindness OF
Charles s.. Gleed Of this city. Mr.. Gleed
generally hides his kind acts under q
bushel. but this one has gotten out ON
him after many years had interviewed
to cover II.
The newspaper mans friend took HE
books and his football sweater home
from Washburn college one June day
several years ago and asked his dad
II he could not go up to Kansas City
and try to get job. His dad was Z
wise old hand and he smiled and gave
assent.
Marshal Lannes carried the captured
Austrian flags into Paris In the days Of
the French revolution. He walked the
streets of Kansas City for day or
two. and finally landed . Job In q store
at IS per week. The contract called for
two weeks work before any money
was to change hands.
This was all right with the young
man. for he had about twelve dollars
in his pocket and he figured he could
live two weeks on that without looking
into the hollow eyes Of hunger.
fIAo mi pSav,
as he loitered about the down town
streets he met with q bunch of old
college friends out for a lark. They
hired q deep sea cab and drove around
town and had q good time. The young
man was proud and he bore his por-'
ton of the expense without murmur.
Next morning he had three dollars and
twenty cents to carry him through two
weeks. He was too game to telephone
his dad for money. He looked around
for his college friends. but the mists
had rolled in splend0r from the beauty
OF the hills.
At noon Of that day he met Charlie
Gleed on the street. Mr.. Gleed had
known the boy ever since he put on
stopped to talk to him. Mr. Gleed Is
q Judge of men and things, and after
he heard that the young Topekan was
working In the city and trying to make
his way without aid from home he
rooms OF his suite at the Baltimore
hotel. Mr.. Gleed kept the rooms but
only occupied them part of the time.
The boy accepted the kindly offer
with thankfulness and began to see
light ahead of his threatened finan-
cial ruin. They went to the hotel,
| these two. the boy who was SO young.
and the man whose heart was still
young. and made arrangements about
| the use Of that room.
81 figured then that was fixed until
pay day." said the young man. telling
| his experience. II took stock of my
resources. mo room rent to pay. I
moved my little grip up to that room.
1t was some ornate and gilded affair
I sat down at a. gilded desk of quar-
| tered oak and figured with a little PEN
Gil on some big paper. had three
dollars. Thirteen days to pay day.
That meant 80 meals. At ten cents q
| meal the three dollars would not last.
Two meals day would mean twenty
six meals. At ten cents q meal the
forty cents over for incidentals and ac-
cidentals. might be able to do it,
| well. I did, but it was some rub.
Funniest thing about 1t was to see me
get up in the morning In that Prince
Of Pilsen room and put on my clothes
and look in that French plate mirror
at the beard that was growing rapidly
on my mug. and then beat 1t down the
marble stairs and out the door and
down the street to Missouri avenue to
a ten cent hash house for breakfast. A
dollar a day clerk, four dollar day
room and q ten cent meal I rose up
mornings to call the name OF Charlie
0leed blessed and I went to meals to
curse my college chums for their
! spendthrift habits that had 20 much to
do with my starving time.
Il waited for pay day like the vir-
| Ufn1a rnloNfata vva3fn6 fnv. thu svr<,s7 ~1aaxH
Delivery.
! "I made friends with clerk at the
store and one evening took him up
to my room with me. He looked
eyes stuck out like those Of . trussed
crab. At last they reached the bed
Say, feller,' said he, that bed
must have taken the first prize at the
Worlds fair
TT was sure some bed, all right.
THAT clerk could not grasp the po-
tentiality Of the contrast that lay be-
tween the humbleness Of my job and
the magnificence Of my room.
IT made It we'll into the second week
and then knew I would have to look
! for reinforcements. was In worse
shape than wellington was at Water
loo before Blucher came up.
| 1 figured ON eating the brindle fringe
off the curtains. I wondered IL
could take one Of those Louis XIV
chairs out and pawn 1t without anyone
seeing me. looked In that mirror
and still my wmiskers grew. I got 50
I sneaked out of that scrumptioul
thotel by unused ways, afraid all the
time that some waiter would grab me
and throw me out In the street. Mr.
Gleed hadn't been in town since the
day he placed the room at my dis
posal. 1 ate pancakes at that Missouri
avenue dump until was tempted t.
| throw q paving stone through the win