The Northwest worker. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1915-1917, 1916-11-30
JACK LONDON DIES

ever in the world ~ literature ans he
will perhaps be even better rcmem-
ihcrcd ro, HI ,amahic contributions to
! Il. economic and sW,al thought Of
hi, time.
.'Mi London, novelist, s'"riatist, re
!fnrmcr and mthr"polcuist, began hi.
! trupVstuous career IA San Francisco
January -. 1876. lie was the son of
JOHN and Flora (Wcliman) London.
Iii, raronts We're poor. ne ran the
istrccts IN his childhood and at Is, ac-
Icording 20 his own account, spent his
pennies for beer instead of candy be-
ease he thought it more manly. lie
became Il prohibition worker later
The strangeness of his boyhood is
seen in his statement that he had no
recollection of being taught to read
and write, although he could do both
at .. AZ he was n ranch boy, work
! ing long hours. He read Washington
lrving's "Alhambra" about this time
and was disgusted because the cow
! boys could not be persuaded to be-
come interested in it, too. He gloated
over dime novels, stale newspapers
and other ranch literature. At II he
was in Oakland, reading so much in
the free library that he developed
nervoos disorder from lack of exer-
else.
Then a great spirit of adventure
swept over him. He became an oyster
pirate, shipped as sailor on a
schooner, and was later salmon
fisher. Turning from pirate to fish
partolman, he had many wild encoun-
ters. Next he shipped before the mast
on seal hunting expedition to the
Japanese coast and Boring sea, and
on his return to California worked at
coal shovelng, longshoring and max
ing jute.
While doing 10 hours day in the
lutte mill he won the first prize in Il
competition of a San Francisco news
paper with a description of a typhoon
off the coast of Japan. 1t was all
written after midnight.
A little later he became tramp,
travelling all through the United
States and in Canada.
At 10 he was back in Oakland at
tending high school for year and
doing work as a janitor to support
himself.
He passed three months examining
after his year in school and entered
the University of California, for
which a four-year preparatory course
is usually required. He got job in
a laundry but quit college in the mid
idle of his freshman year after brave
struggle to make ends meet. He start
ed writing, decided he was a failure
and went to the Klondike While
there his father died and London, on
his return, took over the burden of
the family.
Meets Many Reflections
He wrote copiously and met rejec-
ton after rejection Finally, a story
, was accepted by a California maya
, zine and for this he received So. Soon
after that The Black Cat paid him
, $40 for a story. 1t seemed like a for
, tune. From that time on there came
recognition to an increased degree
7,n+i1 bo booo ,,,o oY,a If +la hast In
r authors in the world. His books have
, been translated into many languages
! In Sweden he is the most popular for.
eign author.
He travelled much, his Cruise Of
the Shark being one result of an ad.
venturous journey. He became an ar
dent Socialist and lectured on this
cause. He was a war correspondent
in the RussO-Japanese war.
With the increased popularity of his
books came wealth, and he built beau.
tiful Glen Ellen among the California
mountains. He married Bessie Mad,
dern, Oakland, in 1900, but in few
years their romance ended in a di-
vorce. His second wife was CHAIRMAN
Kittredge, whom he married in 1905
Despite his lack of schooling, his
Before Adam" is 50 highly held by
anthropologists that it is used as 8
text book in university classes. 1t is
remarkable INSTALLATION of life
among mans ancestors.
Went to Mexico
When the trouble with Mexico be.
came acute he went to Vera Cruz tC
gain material for writing, and here
he fell i'll Of intestinal trouble, his
health having been much undermined
by his trip through the South Pacific
in the Shark"
Among his books are:
The Son Of the Wolf, 1900; The Coo
of His Fathers, 1901; A Daughter Of
the Shows; The Children of the Forest
and The Cruise of the Dazzler, 1902
= The People Of the Abyss, Kempton-
= WAGE Letters and The Call of the
b Wild, 1903 The Faith of Men, and the
Sea Wolf, 1904; The Game, and Wan
| Of the Glasses, 1905; Tales of the