The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-03-13
HER SIDE
 AND HIS
ENTER WALT STEDMAN
By ZOE BECKLEy

A VII SC up, informal looking young man entered
 My beau, Walter Stedman," Janet Thayer smiled. leading him forward by the hand as though he were a little boy giant Walter these are Mir. and Mrs. Temple. They are my friends, and you are not to step on them by accident or squash them or do anything awful" she added with mock anxiety for his beha- vior.
 The Temples and walt joined in laugh that was as good as year of knowing each other in putting every one at ease.
 Cant promise, Janet" he laughed as he shook hands with the Temples. 1T mean to do some lively stepping around to show off my best paces and make a hit with MT. and Mrs. Temple. Maybe in my anxiety I'll step through something but my intentions are kindly"
 The Temples settled back in comfort. Walt was as easy to get on terms of comfort with as though he was already an old friend. He had the thinkers brow and a squarish jaw smiling. friendly understanding eyes and mouth that could equally we'll frame laugh or tighten into serious effectiveness. It was face that inspired trust at once and dependence soon after.
 In temperament he was contrast to Janet. Her nervous system worked rap idly. almost explosvely; his flowed more deliberately. But he caught trains on time, got his work done effectively and oox,.roa ,,,1ra thap a,nvIa cro,and with out ever appearing to hurry.
 At 21, when he had just graduated from a fresh water college and was about to start on his upward climb as writer of plays, his father died, leaving fam fly of four dependent on Walt. He ac- cepted the responsibility without ques- ton. Playwriting promised to be long ish road before it would enable Walter to support his mother and the three chil- dren. So he entered the employ of an advertising agency as a writer, an oc- cupation which helped him little as a dramatist, but was satisfactory as steady and reliable source of income which was then the all important con- sideration to Walt.
 At the end of five years as chief sup port of his fathers family, Walter had the responsibility removed from his shoulders by his younger brother, Rob, who had just been graduated from col lege himself
 Walt came on to New York then, where he grappled with the problem of learn ing the art of playwriting and earning g living at the same time. His first realiza- ton of how hard the problem was came with the return of seven plays and sketches of his in succession from various managers with more or less sincere re- grets that "the inclosed manuscripts are not adapted to our use"
 Walter was not the type who spring fully developed into mastery and success l from the start. He went deeply and last l ingly into whatever he set out to do l hence his progress was likely to be de 1 liberate After the return of his floci l of efforts at playwriting Walt fount that if he wanted to keep on eating ant sleeping under a roof, to say nothing i of wearing fit clothes. he would have to turn to some work that would bring | him money at once.
 1 Playwriting was not that kind of worl
 as yet. He secured an assistant editor l ship in the office of fiction magazine l where his work was tho reading of shoal of would-be contributions to the masa zine and editing the accepted ones. Flo eight hours day of this work he wa paid just enough to support him and
 little more. but not enough to suppor | another person.
 At this point he met Janet, who wa
 then secretary to the owner of the maga zine. With more promptness than h. had ever decided anything else in life
 he decided that he had found the woma he wanted as his life partner And Janet with equal promptness an eagerness, sec onded the nomination on her own part
 At once "Schoomistress Life" set ther
 a series of problems to solve-problem which grew in number, complexity dept land difficulty with every step fcrwar
 they took.