The Daily Alaska empire., 1936-08-18
4merica's Enpoy to Spain Learned About Ciuil Strife
 as Writer Of U. s. History
By JOHN sELBY

to war-torn Spain, made his name as a writer by sandwiching chap ters of American history between newspaper editorials.
 While he was writing "The Trig- ic Era" Bowers was an editorial writer on the old New York World. He had an office with two desks; he combined two tasks and sacri- ficed his leisure to his writing.
 His evenings were more or less free, but unfortunately old news papers, his sources on the period after Lincoln, were in the New York public library and were open to consultation only during the day.
 So every week day Bowers took the subway uptown, spent an hour thumbing old newsprint, made a stock of notes and then returned to his desk with a sandwich in his pocket.
 Turned Democrat Early
 Bowers was born at Westfield, Ind. He lived there two weeks be- fore his family moved to Indian apolis where he was educated.
 He had considered himself a Re- publican until in Shortridge high school he was delegated to repre- sent his school in an oratorical contest
 His subject was Hamilton he read everything in Indianapolis on Ham ilton, including the ten volumes of the Hamilton speeches and other papers
 He was surprised to find he had come to admire Jefferson more than Hamilton, and he has remained Democrat since. But he won the contest. 7'-s~ -'z '--7
 Boy Editorial Writer
 Bowers was writing editorials for the old Indianapolis Sentinel in his teens In fact, he was called the boy editorial writer.
 He had read all the biographies of all the national heroes before he was 15; he used the facts but deplored that none of these works told him what the men themselves were like. Washington and Lin coin were great and good, never bad boys at all. Aaron Burr was very, very bad, never good at all.
 In Terre Haute, while writing editorials for the Terre Haute Star, Bowers ran for Congress in 1908, a bad year for Democrats, and was defeated
 Keynoted At Houston sN
 From 1911 to 1917 Bowers was sec- retary to Senator John M. Kern of Indiana, and learned Washington from cellar to garret. ft
 In Fort Wayne, Ind, where he was editor of the Journal Gazette, he wrote "The Party Battles of the Jackson Period" which attracted the attention of the New York World. He came to New York in 1923.
 In 1928 Bowers delivered the Jackson Day address in Washing ton and the keynote speech at the Democratic convention in Hous- ton.
 He was appointed Ambassador to Spain in 1883 by President Roose- velt. While in Spain he has com pleted still another bok dealing with Jefferson. Jefferson in Pow CT" It will be published Cby Hough- ton Miffin in September.
 Into History From Footnofes
 His introduction to history came 1 from an old Eclectic History of the United States" in the Bowers home library. He hated the history it. self, but liked the footnotes. His habit of painstaking research and careful recreation of the personali- ties of which he writes came, he believes, from his perusal of those footnotes.
 His political oratory had a more IlulIldIl SOu1CC- 41Ao SIdAiIldI1l6T used to take him to hear the speech es in the days of Dandwagons and rallies. Oratory always has fas- cinted Bowers; his first book was called Irish Orators" and was writ ten in spare time while he was Klein's secretary.
 New York newspaper men re- membered Bowers as they knew him on the World. His voice, when he bade you enter his office. sounded rather brusque He rarely stood erect when shaking hands with caller; when that rite was com plete, he dropped at once into his chair and hoisted leg to the desk in front of him.
 He usually had his hat on and it travelled toward the back of his head as he talked. He always had a cigar in his mouth, often unit but usually pretty strong. The cigar travelled from side to side in his
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