Evening star., 1921-05-01

President Harding selected
James ]. Davis to be Secretary
of abor. The President real
lied that the member of his official
famlly to be placed in charge of the
portfolio having to deal with labor
problems must possess qualifications
which would enable him to view
problems from every angle. For the
man who is to assist the President in
guiding the administration through
troublesome waters must be able to
grasp the view point Of employer, EN-
ploye and the public.
While. no doubt. many of the other
candidates for this position possessed
qualifications of a high character. it
is extremely doubtful if any of them
had all the qualifications possessed by
Secretary Davis. He is dynamic. he is
human and he Is endowed with vision.
He is opend-minded and fair. His
early life gave him an opportunity to
view the position Of the man who
tolls with his hands. His subsequent
rise in the financial world taught him
that the employer has rights that
should be respected and his work in
connection with the Loyal Order of
Moose enlarged his field Of vision.
Az" William B. Wilson. is Of alien
birth. He was born in Tredegar,
Wales. October q. 1873. from which
place the father. mother and six chill
dren came to the United States in
1881. and the fact that they came as
steerage passengers has never been
spoken Of regretfully by the man who
is a member of the official family Of
the President of the United States.
Nor has he ever announced the fact
boastfully. The family settled in Shar-
on. Pa, in May and one day after the
arrival of the little Welshman he was
at work. The job was driving cows
out to pasture and back again at
night Being Of an extremely ener-
getic nature. he became the handy
boy of the town-sold newspapers
delivered messages for the telegraph
company and picked nails out Of wood
strips. throwing the good nails into
kegs. This latter essay in the field
OF labor netted him As to so cents a
day. He was working not only to
help Nil the family purse, but also to
secure money enough to attend
school. During the hours Of study at
the old Central School he paid strict
attention to his lessons, but as soon
as the class had been dismissed he
was busy at odd chores around the
town. passing bills to the show at the
town hall, and he often earned so
cents additional night as a super on
the stage.
When he was eleven years of age
he left school for family reasons and
started to work in a puddle mill A
year later he was third hand to
the puddler assistant to the pri-
vate secretary. 50 to speak. At
sixteen he could run a furnace
and was admitted to the association.
union. There were just five MEM
bers of that age belonging to the
union in the United States and
young Davis took an active part in
the union work: Leaving Pittsburgh
he went to Birmingham. Ala. and
worked at several other places. and
just before arriving at his ajority
went to Ellwood, Ind, where he Sc
cured job in the tin mill. The
Wilson-Gorman tariff bill shut down
nearly all the puddle mills
Cndaunted. he started to learn the
tin business, and by his close appli-
cation and indominatble will soon
rose to the position of boss roller.
i.e., the boss Of a crew at $40 per
day. This same position pays $14 or
before the people Of Ellwood selected
young Davis to be city clerk, and
after having systematized the work
of that branch OF the municipal gov
ernment, he was elected county re-
corder. In the Indiana election, in
those days. the successful candidate
did not take the oath of office until
September following the May cleo
tion. After the election he returned
to Sharon. Pa. to take a business
might be prepared to successfully
fulflll the duties of the Office to which
he had been elected. and a man who
had attended the school told the
writer that Prof. Anspoke. head Of
the school, when he gave Davis his
here is your diploma. You have been
here four and half months. You
started last and you finished nrst"
While young Davis was attending
school ne also assisted his father,
who was working in the mill there.
by making a heat or two for him.
eating dinner out of tin pail and
then going back to school He served
as county recorder until 1906, at
which time marks. to many. the
turning point in his life. because it
was in that year that he Joined the
afterward became the head and di-
recting spirit.
y
CONTRARY to the general belief of
~ the people of the country. Mr..
Davis did not organize the Moose,
that body having been organized in
Louisville, KY, in 1888. At the
time Mr.. Davis Joined it had only
24S members and was heavily in
debt 1t now has about s1o.o0o.o00
in assets. Reali.ing that the
was founded were sound, Mr.. Davis
went into the work heart and soul.
He worked day and night to develop
it nationally, to make 1t commit
itself to something tangible and to
cause it to have an appeal to the
better instincts Of mankind.
James ]. Davis had vision. He
s thinking @ men Of the country the
principles Of the order he might take
the weakling and develop it into a
power for good. With the same en-
ergy he had displayed in rising from
the humble positions in the puddle
mill and tin mills. he applied him
self to the task Of bringing the
where the men Of the country would
be proud to say they were members
~ the organization. Day in and
day out he labored to perfect his
pian of organization. He consulted
with the heads OF many organiza-
tiops. more than 30 per cent of whom
+! told him that he was a visionary and
that II was impossible to accom-
! nIish the work he had laid out
Rebuff after rebun was encountered
announcement after disbursement
was received. many. so-called. friends