The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-03
HARDING'S RISE
FROM FARM TO
WHITE HOUSE
Iypically American Career
of Struggling Youth,
9 Then Prosperity.
EARLY LIFE ON FARM
Learning to Set Type, He
Comes Under the Spell of
\: Printers Ink.
7:
BUYS THE MARION STAR
Enters Politics, Is Elected to
Senate and Becomes Friend
n of Lodge.
BUYS THE MARION STAR

= President of the United States on his
: fffty-ffth birthday. In him the nation
/. win have once more a Chief Executive
/. whose career can be described as "typi-
!. cally American" The story Of his strug-
/. Cling boyhood, OF his days on the farm
I: and at the printers case. Of his fight for
: the life OF country newspaper. of his
I. ultimate business and political success.
I. has often been told, but 1t Is the sort of
story that always bears retelling.
He was born on November 2. 1866
: elk months after the close Of the civil
war--on his grandfather's farm, where
. his father then lived outside the village
of Blooming Grove. Morrow county. Ohio.
He was the oldest of eight children. The
father. DR.. George T. Harding. village
physician, came OF Scotch ancestors. who
.settled in Connecticut and then moved
ION to Wyoming Valley. Pennsylvania.
The mother, Phoebe Dickerson, came
.from Holland Dutch family, the Van
Kinks.
/. DR. Harding had lived in a two room
log house he had built with his own
.hands In pioneer days. He had little
.means. and to piece out his income as n
WPnysICldn IdI1IeQ IL OH a blildli sCdic %
young Warren was distinctly farm
boy. Woodland was all around him.
.L.ttie by little the clearing of It en-
,larged the area of the farm land Every
echild did his share. Warren Harding
slearned TO fell trees. chop wood, spill.
trails, plant and hoe corn. In the winter
he had his chores to do before and after
school He grew up big and strong Of
body and sunny Of disposition.
From College to Printers Case.
At the age of IA he entered Ohio
Central College-really of academy
lgrade-at Iberia. At intervals he
stopped In order to earn money to go
on, and all his vacations were devoted
to earning money. He cut corn, painted
: a barn, drove a team for q gang grad
!. ing the roadbed of the Toledo and Ohio
Central Railway and taught district
school. One summer he raised eighteen
bushels of wheat on half an acre Of
ground which his father gave him. He
played n slide trombone In the iberia
brass band, but that was a labor of
love.
But, most important OF all to him, he
learned to set type In a tiny printing
office and came under the spell of
printers Ink. He still carries as his
luck piece the printers rule he used
when sticking type. AS editor of the
college paper he showed an aptitude
for Journalism. Whe he was 10 years
old his family moved 20 Marion. in
the adjoining county There he got q
job In the office of "A small Democratic
weekly. the Marion Mirror Just before
this he had been reading law. selling
insurance and teaching school But
from the moment he went to Marion
he was determined to be a newspaper
man. For the owner of the Mirror he
did everything from scrubbing out the
office and setting type TO writing edi-
torials and hustling advertisements and
subscriptions.
Although the paper was Democratic
his Republicanlsm was unflinching The
embarrassment of this situation became
acute when he not only Joined the
Blaine club but insisted on wearing a
Blaine hat to work. 1t has often been
said that Harding was fired for this.
but that is not true. He was too val
liable TO his employer. Not only did he
know the mechanics OF the trade but he
had a pleasant way Of writing pieces
about births. weddings and other local
events that pleased the public and made
blends for the MirrOr--and of course
for the reporter himself Harding
longed for a paper OF his own. but this
ambition seemed to be a long way from
:, attainment. when his own boss helped
him out
There was little daily called the sta,
which had been started by a former
peanut vender. II went under tho
Sheriffs hammer. Harding's employer
owner OF the Democratic Mirror had
advised the owner of the other Demo.
cratic paper. the Independent 10 buy the
Stor and junk IT, else it might arise &c
plague the Independent. This the owner
- a. -
tied by the rejection Of his advice, the
owner OF the Mirror called In HARDING
and told him to go over to the court
house and buy the Star
Tive nothing TO buy IL with" said
Harding
'You go over and do what tell you
land II will work out all right said
the boss.
Buyfpg the Marion "star.v
On the following day, November 2s
1884,, this announcement appeared In the
lgfor: ~
I'VE have purchased the sto- ana will
stay.
\. THE Star Publishing Company"
Tho company consisted Of Warren
Harding and his chum Jack Warwick
Thus began Harding's career az a pub
fisher. For several years he lived a
-rtaNr ire. fliFt tne pTOpeTty n1d 10
be paid for. Harding ransacked Marion
for news and advertisements When his
writing was done he helped his partner
set thu type. make up the paper turned
or fed the creaky little press and got
the carrier boys out. When this was
finished the partners turned to and dis
.tributed the type. for they had barely
senough OF II for one days paper and
had TO have II ready for the next day.
The Stdr when Harding took Il was an
insignificant little sheet in a county seat
of 1000 population. To make matters
apparentiy---Harding changed
sits politics from Independent 20 Republic
: can. though the community was strongly
! Democratic. Day by day the people OF
(. Marion predicted early death for the
~-stdr, but II continued 10 twinkle along.
despite attacks on II and It's editor nv
the Independent, which at last began TO
.. feel the touch OF business competition.
=. Warren Harding smiles now over the
= strugglc of those days. but the fact is
That for long time after he bought the
Etor he was never sure---he was conf
adcnt, but never sure--that the next
~inorning would not find him on the rocks
!. and pounding to pieces. lie sold insur-
ance on the side, resorted 70 all sorts
: OF sxpedients 10 meet the Saturday night
payroll. worked all day and figured all
Y y