, 1918-10-24
Francis E. Warren
From Farmer Boy to Statesman

senior united States Senator from
Wyoming, is finishing a service OF
twenty-six years. four full ~six-year
terms and one short term of two
years, from November, 1890, to March
4, 1898.
In years of service he will have
ranked with such notable long-term
senators as William B. Allison. who
served thirty-five years; Shelby M.
Culiom, who served thirty-two years,
and Eugene Hale and John T. Nor
gan, each of whom served thirty
years.
Not one of Senator Warren's pres
ont colleagues in the senate was a
member of the body when, in the
Fisty-first congress-, on December 1,
1890, he entered the senate as one of
h first senators elected from the
newly-created state of Wyoming.
Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, Mas
sachusetts, who outranks Senator
Warren in the present senate in
length OF service. did not come into
the upper branch of congress until
later, On March 4, 1888.
His Boyhood Days.
Senator Warren's early boyhood,
up TO the time he entered the army
as a private soldier in the Civil war,
was spent in western Massachusetts.
He was born at Hinsdale, Mass, June
20, 1874. His father was Joseph 9.
Warren, one of the direct descendants
of the family of Warren, early settlers
of Massachusetts,, among whom was
GannFa1 InGnnh Worrnn nF n,nInr
Hill fame. The senator's own great
grandfather was also a revolutionary
war soldier, n fought at the battles
OF saltwater and Saratoga. His
mothers maiden name was Cynthia
f. Abbott. and she, too, was a de-
scendant of a w~ell-known Massachu-
sets family which came over from
England with the early settlers of
New England
Speaking recently of his boyhood
days, Senator Warren said:
MY father was a farmer. My boy
hood days we're passed almost entire
ly on hillside country farms of Berk-
shire county. My father vas well-to-
do when l was a young boy. l COM
mcnced attending school when l was
only 3 years old. and remained at
school most of the time until | was
about s years old. 1t was a country
school which l attended and | was in
classes with those nearly double my
age. During the interval from my
eighth to about my fourteenth year
my schooling was confined to only u
few weeks in the middle of each win
fer and wag obtained at oraat die
advantage and with much struggling,
because we lived a mile and a half to
three miles from any school and my
duties, both night and morning, were
laborious and too much time, as will
be appreciated by those who know
about h chores which a farmers
boy has to do about the farm.
Arranges for Schooling.
in the spring of the year when l
became fifteen years old. my father,
in answer to some expostulation of
mine that l was not getting enough
schooling, lamented his inability to
give me proper schooling during h
time immediately preceding, and
asked me how l would like to take
my time; that is, go away from
home. see what | could earn. and
shape my own course. | could then
have my own way so long as my hab-
its remained such as would give him
reason to complain of me: that
understand that | always had a
home in case of sickness and should
be welcome there at any time; but
that ! was to understand distinctly
chat would haUn In Darn NV hoard
when at home, whether for a day or
for a month. and that If l fell short
of money in case of sickness, that
would be a different matter.
up TO that time | don't remember
tina ] ever had a shoe On my foot in
summer or ever owned or wore an
in winter. Indeed. l was
obliged to go barefoot pretty late in
the fall and very early in the spring
and always without underclothing up
TO this time: and l don't believe that
j had a garment to wear which cost
as much as 81, although those were
days when l was on an equality with
other farmers boys in western Massa-
chusetts.
MY father, while a liberal man in
some respects and a good parent. had
received a good common school edu-
cation himself and believed, with a
great many others, that anything be-
yond such education was a detriment
instead OF a help to a boy. l think
II / had intimated when | went away
from home hat l desired anything
more in the way of education he
would have stopped my time as he
called 1t. Nevertheless ! was aiming
for the academy, with college in the
shAdowy distance. 1 was a great.
brawny boy, weighing 160 pounds at
sixteen, and Of course was paid at
that time a mans wages-$1s a
month and board. though 81 a month