Imperial Valley press., 1936-09-06
BY Linda Lane

oY LlIlud LdlC
; ! !.
urAKING chances is respon- -
sible for everything I've
gained in life" admits Irwin S. ~
Cobb, genial Paducah sage who MMMM##
is currently featured with Jane aaMa
Withers and Slim Summerville
in 20th Century-Fox's Pepper
There were times when had
to be kicked into new undertake
ings but the old saw about moth
ing ventured, nothing gained
seems to have proved true with
a good many other folks, too.
Look at little Jane Withers-ten
wears old and this Pepper is
her fifth starring picture. Do
YOU think she'd be where she is.
despite her native talents If her motner naon
taken chance and brought her to Hollywood
"Of course I was mite older when / started
what my family considered crazy idea by De-
coming cartoonist on the local newspaper
The s-Democrat-in Paducah, Kentucky. at
s175 week instead of following the calling of
nv father and my ancestors for four genera
tions. who were all steamboat people didn't
think I'd get very far drawing caricatures OF
the village sewing bees, so l gave up the old
fashioned chalk-plate Illustration job to cruise
around the state. working as reporter IN Frank
fort and Louisville. solid year reporting on
1900. brought me back to Paducah as editor OF
the paper at the STRIPPING age of 19.
"I took time out to marry a Georgia girl
Laura Baker of Savannah-and since I'd gotten
as far as could in small-town paper. shipped
nv wife and baby down to live on my father
in-law-borrowed 5000 from him. and went to
New York where I'd heard newspapermen ac-
tually got as much as $50 week. Well, reached
there the summer of 1904. not knowing people
were laid off then, hung around for six weeks
without ever seeing anybody above the grade of
Office boy.
ia /oU can bet was pretty blue. Here was
down to my last SIS and hating to confess
failure and go back home. Sitting on a park
bench one day and wondering how long before
I'd be one of the down -and-outers, glanced at
paper and was struck with something I'd never
noticed before-the flippant tone in which I'M
portant people were dealt with-something un-
heard of in Southern journalism. Well, said to
myself if this kind of derisive attitude Is what
they like, maybe the same tone in letter might
hit some Of these editors.
We'll, sir, I took my SIS, bought some of the
most expensive business stationery could find,
went home and composed form letter in which
kidded them and myself, informed them was
tired of waiting for them to recognize the fact
that a genius had come to town and was camp
ing on their doorsteps, and this was absolutely
their last chance, if they didn't sign me up l
was liable to walk off and leave New York news
paperdom fat on its back Then I walked over
to Columbus Circle hotel. paid public stenog-
rapher to type them and addressed and mailed
each to the managing editor of a different New
York paper. When paid her had less than $40
left. and when paid my board that night. So
summed up my capital.
well for the 37th time, next morning, made
the rounds of the papers, starting off with the
Evening Sun This time when my card was sent
in little man with gentle voice-the city edi-
tor-came out and said you the fellow who
wrote this fool letter? If you have half as much
ability as you've got nerve, you're hired; we
take beginners on at SIS a week; if you aren't
worth more than that in two weeks, you're fired!
That was less than half of what I'd been get
ting in Kentucky, but went out and wired Mrs.
Cobb to join me- then went home and found
letters from four other editors, including Arthur
Brisbane offering me jobs. But I'd already
pledged myself to Tommy Dieuaide of the Sun.
I stayed with him for year, and at the end of
that time earned as much as the man who hired
me. III