Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-02-01

for the same reason but was nominated and
elected afterward. And Champ Clark? An
other boom is on. The Champ Clark Presi-
Dental Campaign Committee is at work. The
Speaker of the House of Representatives re-
fuses to discuss the subject Others are
discussing the subject, however, but not
wholly with reference to the possibility of
Mr.. ClarSs becoming President-largely
with reference to the effect of the boom on
Democratic harmony, which is quite as i'm
portant
Interesting as a political figure, Champ
Clark is also interesting as a personality.
His career is one of those stories of success
in the face of obstacles that we regard as
romantCally American. The qualities which
have carried him all the way from hardship
in boyhood to Speakership at the age of 6l
are mostly qualities that make nom
partisan appeal, East and West, North and
South. Certainly he Is not handicapped in
the race for presidential honors by having
been born of rich (though honesty parents
on March Clark will be 66 years old. He
was born in Anderson County, Kentucky.
His father was an itinerant dentist, who
rode into the hill country with the instru-
mcnts of his profession in one end of his
saddlebaEs and in the other the following
books, namely: The Bible, Lord Macaulay's
Essays Brecknrdge's Speeches, Douglas
Speeches The boys mother died when he
was a mere child. When he was IL his father
put him to work for a farmer. The farmer
couldn't read but he liked politics, and he
now subscribed TO Henry Watterson's Louis
VILE Journal. The boy read the paper every
evening to his employer. Young Clark got
hold of some old histories and novels and
read these to himself. Now and then he
went TO political meeting Occasionally
his father came to see him. One day he read
to his father the most famous of Patrick
Henry's speeches. The line that chiefly
struck the boys fancy was, THE race is not
always to the swift, nor the battle to the
strong" That's from the Bible" said his
father. So the boy began an assduous read
ing of the Bible, and learned job and ST.
Paul by heart.
Maintains An Armed Peace
We spoke of March 7, 1850. It's famous
date in history, by the way. Daniel Web
ster on that day delivered a speech on
the Missouri Compromise, and John Green
leaf Whittier, because of the things the New
England Demosthenes said, named him
Ichabod
Young CIark's life on the farms where he
toiled in boyhOod was not all spent in read
ing Marse Watterson's 1<iiiG2ials or coming
the speeches of American statesmen or study
ing the Bible. Hard work and long hours in
terfered with these congenial occupations.
But he was growing in stature and in mind.
Now and then he went TO school At the
age Of IS he got job teaching school When
ne was lG many OF his pupils were soldiers
who had Just returned from the war They
were years older than CLARK. who, by the
way had tried twice to enlist, but couldn't
get by the recruiting officers. His stature
wasn't sufficient then. These soldier-pupils
OF his were an unruly lot, given TO such
pranks as throwing Enfield cartridges into
the stove Clark set out 70 do some thrash
ing, and he did it most successfully II was
the conventional thing 10 quit school as soon
IS chastised. and in three months the young
teacher whipped the attendance from 81