Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-31

ing to support themselves in Wash
in0ton tohtle getting an education.
HotO do they do it? One OF them,
at least, tDants to tell his ot0n story,
and it tollot0s beIotO.
BY IRVING L. CAMP, JR.
AS long as can remember, have
been in some kind of school, and, as is
the case with so many boys today, that
seemed the logical and natural place
for me to be. Going to school was be-
ing done, and the cut and dried sched-
ule Of grade school, preparatory school
and college was taken for granted.
Ample money was always available for
anything within reason, and, until the
middle OF my first year at college,
glided along in an artificial and shield-
ed life. When, in the middle of that
tranquil existence, the slowing up of
activity In tine coal industry cut the
flow OF money for continuing In the old
and natural rut. I finished that year,
however and decided that instead of
going back home, where / would be
sure OF three meals day and a good
bed at night, I would take chance
and go to school somewhere.
Could Not Eat Sense of HumOr.
Before tackled the Job Of extracting
the necessary funds for meeting tuition
bills from the world in general, rather
than from the parental pocket book,
was of the opinion that a sense a
humor, tough hide, and the ability
quickly to forget unpleasant circum-
stances were the essential elements for
getting along. A sense of hunnor is q
help, but soon found it deficient when
it comes time to eat and meal is not
even in sight. A fellow can neither
eat 1t nor sleep under 1t.
With my heart set on some day TAX
Ing a degree in law, and with the knowl-
edge that Washington is the mecca of
thousands like myself, I trustingly
placed myself at its mercy.
BY my first lines of endeavor, I was
convinced that washington has all the
magazines and all the brushes that will
be necessary for herself and her pos
terity for years to come. I had tried
the two famous college boy "rackets."
Ladies Reckless With Nickels.
After a week spent in great amount
| of maneuvering and as much waiting,
! talked the gentlemen Of the Traffic
/ Bureau into granting an identification
card and a hack license to one who
| wanted to join the 5000 other drivers of
taxicabs. A few turns and swerveS on
F. street convinced me that the census
of cab drivers had only been partially
taken. Cabs almost pulled up on the
sidewalk in a mad attempt to get IS
cents for dollars worth of wear and
tear, and the passengers chose their
| conveyance as an Arabian prince
would choose his mount from the herd.
| The driver, however, Is not without
some hope of extra reward, for there
is always that extra nickel and dime in
change and the lady fares are eSpe-
cially reckless with their nickels, al
| though there seems to be a peculiar
fascination about the coin made ia
nous by MIR. Rockefeller. To this coin
they cling.
was able to get a cab only for night
work, and I took every opportunity of
giving those Of my passengers who were
likely prospects the third degree on
where might find a day job of most
any kind. I had to refuse the first
three suggestions, because rum running
has not proved to be the safest way Of
staying out of Jail. Finally, I met a
man who had played foot ball at the
University of North Carolina a few
years back. He was able to get me a
job with the plumbing contractor on
an addition to Government establish
plumbing than any branch of construc-
ton, but I soon discovered that it was
entirely unnecessary to know anything
to be very successful plumber.
Boss Taught LOaflng.
On my first day at the job, the man
under whom ] was placed spent his
time showing me the places to loaf
most etf1ciently and with the utmost
safety. In the afternoon I was intro
duced to the job bootleggers and given
wildly illustrated lecture on drink
ing while at work. The whistle was
scheduled to blow at the end of this
session, and at its first dull peep the
men rushed down the stairs They
were into their clothes and had passed
the first stop signal on the way home
by the time the last moan died away.
The ensuing month spent lifting
radiators all day and hacking all night
We carried each radiator I'D eight
flights of stairs, entirely ignoring
feet of modern elevators. The story
goes that rs years ago an elevator
worker was hit by piece of lead pipe
dropped by a youngster whose great
grandfather had once been a plumber
The boss plumber was an aStonish-
ingly smart young man. He told me
so on the first day on which he found
time to come down to look over the job.
He Dragged with audacity and sincerity
that In 10 years of plumbing he had
always been able to hide his inebriated
state when necessary and that he had
never met O. man less educated than
himself. He advised me that two
year enlistment in the Navy would be
the best remedy for any trouble that
I ever had or should have. He was the
man who gives out the pay, and was
quick to agree with him on every point,
but gathered from his statement that
q sense of smell had been denied to
all the employers under whom he had
worked.
Often Late for Work.
Combining night taxi driving with
job which requires getting out of bed
and precipitating ones self into the
dining room of the boarding house at
o'clock in he morning is no easy task
In trying to find a way to stretch 10
minutes into the necessary 20 minutes
required for eating and arriving at the
job, / discovered that that precious
element, time, was running from me by
leaps and bounds. / was often late.
Whether because of my suggestion
that the elevators be entirely removed
from the building or because the diff
not know, but exactly month from
the day I was hired I was paid off
and again found myself dependent
ivy WY ~ -