Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-23

crops. The dean learned spelling from
the famous bluebacked book and 8
little history and counting and geog.
raphy-that and little else save that
one essential thing which above all else
Is Of lasting Importance: he caught the
desire to learn. His character and man.
ners were attended to by the folks al
home, where he chopped wood, hoeo
| corn, brought in the cows of an evening
| and later in q room by the lamplight
often was told by q good lady that he
must grow up to be an honest man, q
credit to the Williams family.
Learned of Newspapers.
Just out of the eighth grade, he had
to quit school when he was II years
old, and then proceeded to learn the
printing trade. Three years ago, in
one of those bamboo-hung pavilions Of
the Royal Hawaiian Hotel at Homo
lulu he told us a little of those first
| days of his now distinguished career.
While he talked of Boonville, village
5000 miles away, and of times 40 years
| gone by an old Chinaman moved about
IN green pants and pink coat, picking
up scraps of paper and humming an
atrocious tune
st walked into the office of the Boon
vile Topic" he said, land asked the
editor for job. What sort of a job
do you want?' he asked. "A devil, ;
said I. All right he bargained, I will
teach you. You are hired at 10 cents
a week."
The dean unused awhile. The old
Chinaman poked seeds into the cage
of the scarlet parrot. The bird
squawked, then was quiet.
ST earned that money" he said SIM
ply. MY work was that which fell to
all devils in that day. I washed roll
erS, swept floors, built fires, sawed and
split wood, fed the country Campbell
press and pulled the washington hand
press.
Life Desire Kindled.
How did / become interested In be-
ing a devil and printer? Well, like all
boys of my time in Boonville, I spent
hours about the village. We would
watch the smith putting new shoes on
the mules hoofs and listen to the sound
of his anvil sometimes we assisted the
hurried grocer of a Saturday night
when the. Negroes came In Tor TAT
learned odds and ends of the trades of
the saddler, the wheelwright and even
the church sexton. But the most pleas
ant place for me from the time could
first remember was the two-room wood
en- building smelling Of black ink, where
the Boonvile Topic was printed.
From those early days in the Sum-
mer when, barefooted, would sit In
the doorway and watch the journeyman
printer picking bits of letters from here
and there, piecing them so patiently
together that from chaos he established
reason-from those early days I knew
that the art preservative Of all arts
must become my calling.
In those early days the editors of
many papers in rural Missouri could
set up their sheets as well as write
them That breach between the COM
posing room and the editors chair often
was so slight as to become in many in
stances inconsistent. In fact, the print
ing trade could become an open road
to news writing for any boy with the
will to work and the courage.
Mastered Printers Trade.
after had mastered the DEVILS
work I became the editors job printer,
and soon learned the Importance of
such q man In the contemporary life
of Missouri. \ We often revised the
speeches Of the Senators Of the time
and Of the representatives In Congress.
Con rued on Fourth Page.)