The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-05-05

During his visit TO Wauchula on
Memorial Day, as the guest OF honor
at the annual dinner given by the /
Civic League to the old soldiers OF
the Blue and Gray and also as speak
er at the decoration exercises in the |
Wauchula cemetery, State Senator |
Crane, of Lakeland, who is making |
an apparently winning race for Con-
gress from the First District in OPP
position to Congressman Stephen
Sparkman, was chatting with group
of friends and some one asked him
when he came to Florida. This ques-
ton led Senator Drane to indulge in
some "reminiscences which included a
story of Opie Read, the novelist, au-
thor of 1.-The Jucklins," and one
time editor of the Arkansaw Travel
er, wo is now living comfortably in
Chicago on royalties received from
his books and dramatized novels.
! About the first job ever had was
; that of devil in the printing office of
the Franklin Patriot, at Franklin,
/ Kentucky, at the time Opie Read was
publisher, editor, managing editor,
city editor, and all around reporter
of the paper, which for the last forty
e years has been called the Franklin
!. Favorite. was born in Franklin in
, 1868 and it was about 1870 that I
went to work for Opie Read. In those
days he was thin as the proverbial
r rail but l understand that he is now
: man of large stature and ample
a girth, probably due to higher class
: of living than he was able to afford
e as country editor.
y And those we're the good old days
of newspaper life when the railroads
- gave everyone connected with news
paper, from the devil to editor and
publisher, all the passes they wanted
at any time and to any place. But, of
course, the newspapers reciprocated
w by giving the railroads much free
If space, particularly in publishing the
schedule of trains. That was one OF
the important features of thu paper
Nv and Opie Read always took great
We Patriot set up in the best style with
to considerable display"
1.-THE Devil Pied the Schedule
Smiling at the "Reminiscences he wal
o. about to relate, senator Drane con
er tinued, "One day when we were go
'e- ing to press and were late on accoun
u of our tramp printer, man named
Xt Charlie Kelley, having been off tn
day and night previous to press day
it became necessary to move the set
up schedule of the arrival and depar
he ture of trains from one stone to an
m other. The type was tied with
on string, as is customary with printers
m and | thought | would be smar
TX enough to move it. l picked 1t W
Tvs made one step, stumbled over my BIZ
en- feet, and pied that whole schedule
,se Well, sir, Read had been attending
it'll revival in Franklin and the YER
de- night before he had professed re
ME ligion, but when played havoc wit
ar that schedule he lost all the religion
er, he ever had and doubt whether h
al has ever got it back. Anyway, tina
-e- printing office for ten minutes wa
rms fairly suffocating with blue blaze
an, and birthstone.
ap- II didn't know what to do until
Of saw Charlie Kelley in the rear of tn
shop. He had come in to try to wor
but the dissipation of the previou
lite day and night was too much for hil
to and he had gone to sleep standing u
Ork at one of the forms with his hea
1872 buried in his crossed arms. Not eve
the racket made by the falling 'piet
type or the disturbance caused b
NG Reads uproar of profanity, ha
served to awaken Kelley, nevertht
DIV less, / ventured to suggest to Rea
OF that perhaps Kelley could set up tn
the schedule again in time for the pres
# '"No, we haven't got time, sal
the Opie, but he can get up somethin
the to fill that space and he shook Ke
eds ley to wake him up for that purpos
sed An Impromptu Epic
s. when Kelley got his eyes opC
hes and pulled his scattered senses t
gether sufficiently to understand TIL
col Opie wanted him to fix up somethir
ates to fill in the space that would ha'
and been occupied by the time table,
hat Immediately pulled out a stub of
and pencil and began to scribble som
ONE thing on torn piece of paper. No
mot you must remember that he had ju
heir come out of a drunken stupor al
about the only thing he realized W
ish- that he had to get up something
hing fill in for the time table. With t
cas- subject of time on his mind, til
ct a tramp printer--who was also a br
liant writer and man of educate
oted who had gone to the bad by drin
rom ing-this half asleep printer, daz
pos with the effects of dissipation, q
: cf finally wrote an pDiC in tho space Z