Evening star., 1923-08-03

it's influence and circulation were cor
rsspondingly small; Al the the time
lation. but this outlook in nowise |
deferred young Harding in his Ipur-
money and its future was considered !
yearned to possess 1t and his father, |
having faith IN the young mans abil- !
ity. and being anxious to give him "a !,
start, lent his credit in assisting him |
in taking over the paper. The con- !
sideratiOn. fortunately. was small !
little more than enough to assume the /
responsibility Of its indebtedness. To
make matters more doubtful as to the !
success of the undertaking the COM ,
munity was then democratic and the
Star was rot even the official organ
of the minority party in the county.
Enthusinstic and Energetic.
Warren Harding. however, entered !
upon the task with AL the enthu- !
siasm and energy of youth. He ap-
piled himself to the task with seri- !
BUSINESS and determination that soon
was to attract attention and start the !
little paper and himself on the road /
TO success. He worked long and late. /
He worked in every capacity on the
paper from printers devil TO man /
aging editor. The ascent OF the lad !
der was at times very disheartening. !
Sometimes the Golfers were so low |,
that il was necessary TO request ad-
vertisers TO make advances on their !
penses and to keep the enterprise
afioat. Nevertheless II succeeded. but
the story of its ultimate growth is
fairly well known. The story is
long. though interesting and ro-
mantle but il shows clearly the tri +,
umph OF devotion 10 work. energy
and honesty and of the determined !
spirit Of its guiding hand.
In the meantime the young pub
Usher had become prominent in civic .
and political circles. His first poltti- !
cal Office was as a member of the
legislature. He was elected to that
body as a senator from the thirteenth
district in 1899. and served until 1903. !
The following year he became lieuten-
ant governor of the state. serving
until 1905. Nine years later he came
to Washington as a member OF the
Senate. and served in that body until !
two months prior to his inauguration
as President of the United States.
But the story of the rise Of this
DISTINGUISHED American is not only in
teresting. but is a lesson in persever-
ance energy, application and hon.
esty. and at the same time gives
splendid insight into the character
and early life of the first newspaper
man president.
Marries at Age OF 26.
AT the age OF twenty six the strug-
/ E.
Florence Killing. daughter of Amos
King who. at the time of his death,
was one of the leading bankers and
! business men of Marion. The young
! wife was from the start a great aid
and inspiration to her husband. She
| inherited the business acumen of her
! father, and in many ways was of
great assistance in che building up
| OF her husbands fortunes. Their
\ hni tll
| friends were numerous The Hard
! ing home in Marion was the scene
of many happy gathering. Their
social affairs were simple and unaf-
| fected and their hospitality was dis
pensed far ard wide. Her husbands
| interests were her interests. and her
husbands friends were her friends
! Having his success as her real am
| bition in life. she has been known to
/ remark. "A man must be we'll fed and
we'll groomed il he would succeed
and II cannot be disputed that she
looked we'll to these matters.
| Mr.. Harding was closely identified
with many large business enterprises
| After he took over the Star. Marion
grew from country town TO
! fourishing manufacturing city OF
/ this industrial development He was
! booster" for every new industry
which has located there. taking shares
| OF stock in each to the limit OF his
ability. Because OF his recognized
! business sagacity he was made, at
! one time or another. a member Of the
! board of directors of most Of these
! enterprises. lending his counsel and
advice. and in turn gathering much
| valuable information concerning the
| lines of industry. At the time of his
election to the presidency he was
| director of bank. director of several
large manufacturing plants, and is
al frrrC 70 n
| Church. OF which he was member.
and upon whose services he was a
| regular attendant when in the city.
Naturally n Politician.
Considering his profession and his
activities among the prominent men
| Of his community and his interest in
the republican party, it was only nat
ural that Mr.. Harding should have
| early in life taken to politics.
His experience in the state legisla-
ture served to broaden his aspect of
life. and when he later entered upon
wider sphere of political activity
| this legislative experience served
! good purpose, and. along with his
| high standing and strong personality,
j.. he speedily arose to commanding
place in the state. He was well pre-
| pared for public service. His early
! training as newspaper writer and
| printer and his close association with
| the business and commercial interests
F., of the city and his leadership in local
| affairs gave him most comprehen-
sive grasp of the problems with which
public servant must deal.
From early manhood President
| Harding had the knack OF making
/, friends and keeping them; He was
genial and interesting. He talked
| well and convincingiy, but 1t was
! not until several years after he had
entered upon Inc management OF the
| friends discovered he had oratorical
ability. At least. he looked then as
being most promising as a neigh
borhood stump speaker" and it was
the partys service, all of which had
much to do with his rapid rise in the
| party.
speech Induces n Prediction.
Strangely enough. the first political
speech Harding made won the predic-
tion that he might some day land in
the White House. During the cam
| paigning in the early COS the chair
man of the republican county COM
mittee asked Harding to go with him
and another young aspiring lawyer to
Martel, a little democratic village. to
make a speech. Harding consented
| reluctantly, insisting that he could
| not talk. On the way over it was
! decided tlat Harding should make the
| opening address-to be followed by
the ambitious young lawyer. There
| were about twenty-five present in the
little schooIhouse when Harding was
4 a fnf 90 a.