The Washington herald., 1921-06-05
Bv William AthertOn Du Puy

myself In seventy-two hours was in
Chicago and almost Immediately had
reporters job at So q week.
by this time l had convinced myself
that had the capacity to write narrative,
but my heart was upon drama, A theatrical
man came to the ONCE one day and asked who
had written a certain story in the paper. II
was mine. This man told me that should
write plays. knew he was right.
But instead one day wrote a story
about a baseball game. Ny intention was
to do it unconventionally. 1t turned out to
be humorous. did not like it, but it called
forth much comment. / was assigned to
write other humorous material. l did not
want to do it, regarded it as Of no import
ance but was driven TO it. Probably I was
the first man In the United States to write
humorous baseball. Ny paper paid me q
salary as q reporter and an additional secret
salary - q humorist- Here as journalistic
success was this thing which did not want
to do. It WIS demanded Of me that be
a humorist and responded. A man can
do anything. But didn't do drama"
'.And what was the next unwsieons
task asked.
/" A FTER tive years in Chicago" he con-
"A tinued, "I came back to my fathers
paper in Kansas. For many years led an
active newspaper mans. life, mingling in
the affairs of the community. became a
student of politics, came to know all the
politicians Of that region. Ny acquaintance
was very wide. Finally the idea was born
among my friends Of running me for Con-
gress. I did not like it. l consulted with
my father and he advised against it. Stay
at home and make congressman, he said
Yet, eventually, 1 went in. accepted on
one condition. would not make speeches
There was too much of speechmaking. It
was bunkum. Besides / could not make a
speech and did not want to learn.
~ went about shaking hands and de-
feated my seventeen opponents in the dis
trict for the nomination.
when I had studied arithmetic IN the
lower grades it had been the thing on which
had got poorest marks. had no talent
or liking for it. Ny marks ranged around
sixty. When got far enough along to take
up algebra my rating fell to forty. Then
the geometry stage came and went out of
sight and was submerged. Mathematics
were not for me. / had not that sort Of
mind. I was a dramatist
yet, strange TO say, one Of nv first
activities in Congress arose through the dis
covery of q mathematical error in the method
followed by the government in paying the
railroads for carrying the mails. Figuring
out this compensation for carrying the mails
was one of the most complicated govern
mental mathematical problems. Many years
earlier than this mail trains had not run on
Sunday. It had therefore become the Gus
tom to add up the total Of mail carried for
the SIX week days and divide BY six to get
the average for the mail carried each day.
Payment to the railroads was based on the
average daily weight carried. Later, trains
ran on Sunday also. The total of mail car
red for a week, now seven days, was added
up. The old system of dividing BY six, how
ever, was continued. Thus the daily aver
age for mail carried was made larger than
it should have been, This difference in
figuring cost the government IS 900 900 a
year. The ultimate saving to the royern.
ment, when the fight was won, was close to
$50, ZOO, 900.
1T was a frightful task for me to master
the mathematical phases of this problem.