The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-07-24

! health, one hired journeyman and a
ueWI. Sickel started in to learn to
Set type y eo but gave up in week or two
All that Harding had to do was to
cover the town for local news. solicit
advertising and job work, look after
the carrier boys, keep books, help now
ana then with the typesetting, help to
his spare time to building up the good
VIII of the precarious institution. And
1t was in a precarious state The his
tory Of the paper up to this time could
be written In four letters-j-o-k-e. 1t
had been kicked at and kicked. At the
time we took hold 1t amused every
body and inspired faith in nobody The
people of the town laughed at us, but
there wasn't day, right from the start
that we didn't have more fun getting
reading 1t.
Our first, object was to make the
paper function six days a week. Though
daily, it had fallen into the habit of
going to press now and then. At this
time the roller skating craze was
sweeping the country. Marion had
big rink, and it was crowded with
skaters every night except Sunday. For
getting our paper out on time we gen.
erously awarded ourselves the privilege
course, we had passes: AS a matter
Of fact, we had all kinds of tickets ex-
cept meal tickets.
That Old Roller Rink.
Harding was still playing the cor
net, and the. old band furnished the
waltZes for the y-roll round. The
town remained on rollers all winter
when its feet were not in the air The
rink was a splendid source of small
local news, with now and then a SEN
sational elopement. After a young
NaF sfad rtTI 4 Al. .,k.. II,
million times he began to feel that it
would be a bright idea to carry her
OF to the matrimonial altar.
Whatever startled mothers and irate
fathers may have said against the
roller rink, it lightened the work of
running the Star during the long win
ter OF 1S84-5. And we were making
some Roadway Harding's spirit never
Jagged. He gathered in new business
and improved the general character of
the little paper, which had achieved
us aim in getting out regularly. The
people were beginning to feel that the
thing might survive Indefinitely. This
feeling was also beginning to eat into
the vitals Of our semi-weekly contem-
porary.
At this time there were two other
papers in the town--the old Demo-
cratic Mirror, a fat and sleek weekly,
and the semi weekly Independent,
Republican paper that lived on the
CTdChllnBS aIter the Mirror had fried
all the fat out of the county printing.
The Mirror was too fat and lazy to
worry much about the Star. 1t could
smile at us because it had no fore
holdings of evil days to come. The In
dependent was at first sarcastic and
eXcruciatingly funny at the expense
of the Star, but when the little daily
began to move forward and make a
place for itself in the local field the
older paper growled like a dog with
dry bone.
This was the sort Of thing we had
to go up against in trying to build up
the Star. AS newspaper history the
simple narration of these things is of
no great interest to the public, but
in revealing the character and perse-
verance of Warren G. Harding, candi
date for president, in the face of dis
heartening difficulties, 1t is a story OF
downright pluck that / fancy the
American people, irrespective of politi.
cal affiliations, will like. At no time
in the fight did he ever talk about
giving up.
copyright, 1920, by New York Even
ing Post, Ino.)
On Monday Jack Warwick will tell
of Harding as a reporter.