The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-05-20

the Coffeyville Journal. regarding Mr..
Thompson, was written by Miss Esther
M. Clark, who is now on the staff of
that paper:
story picked up a newspap per the other
day and saw the advertisement OF a
movie" house in southern Kansas
that is going to exhibit the pictures
taken in war-torn Russia during the
revolution and on the battle front by
Kansas boy Donald Thompson. To-
peka is forever chestily prOcla1minS
that the worlds most famous war pho
lographer belongs to that town. AMI
perhaps he prefers to hail from there
it is the home of his mother and
has been for the last many years or
his wanderings up and down the face
of this troubled earth. But there was
time when Don Thompson was still
in knee trousers, when he was far
from glory and from fame, and the
worlds bloodiest history was prac-
tically undreamed of in this country,
that he lived across the alley" il
Chanute. In those days he wasn't any
brighter or any smarter than the av-
erage small fry of the neighborhood.
, The germs of genius might have
, lurked under his little hide in those
days. but they gave no sign. Unless
the fact that he and a small neighbor
girl rugged up toy printing press
in the loo1i coal shed and issued by
: d
cal that they sold around the neigh
borhood for pins Also, they did job
work for the juvenile shows ami
charged a good price for the same.
Then Don Thompson moved away.
faded off the screen, and the coal shed
that had harbored the primitive print
ing press and the embryo photograph
genius and war hero knew him no
more. For fifteen years little freckle-
faced. shock headed Don Thompson
was hardly a memory. Then one day
the papers contained a long account
of the war photographer. Donald
Thompson: memory stirred family.
There were more and flattering press
notices. Who was Donald Thompson,
anyway? Memory revived suddenly
when Topeka claimed him and inter-
viewed him and made much of him
and his daring at the 'front.' with his
camera They made him Captain
Thompson in the army. and surely no
man ever deserved that title more
than the one that had gone recklesSly
into the very reek of war and come
back with thousands of pictures that
are the indisputable evidence of hor-
rors that America, in its incredulity
of the tales that come from across the
seas, has demanded. Captain Thomp-
son isn't much over thirty, if he's that;
he's been on every battle front, save
one. he's been Jailed often and wound
ed twice; he is now in Europe, it be-
ing his twelfth trip across since the
war began. He does his work from
an armoured, motor car and he has
sent and brought back many bloody
trophy from the field. He told re-
porter this spring that when the war
was over he was going to settle down
lin a home in California; but NOBODY
that ever knew him believes he will
ever settle down while the world
moves. He's the same live wire today
that he was fifteen or more years ago
when he did a thriving printing bust
ness. at a good pin profit, just across
the alley.
The poster contest which was con-
Quoted in the public schools through
out the country in the interests of the
! sale of thrift stamps and baby bonds,
called out a great many attra ctive