  On the Saturday morning after election day in November, 1920, a crowd of people stood waiting in the railway station in Marion, Ohio. They were there to say goodbye to President-elect and Mrs. Harding, who were starting on a vacation journey; for, after the stirring times of the long campaign, they needed rest. When the conductor of the train asked Mr. Harding if he should make fast time, the President-elect replied: “Go slow; I have been going too fast for the past two weeks.” It was not at all strange that so many should meet to say a fond farewell, for nearly everyone in Marion seems to like Mr. Harding. As we asked his fellow townsmen the reason for this affection, we were surprised that nearly all gave the same reason. They said: “We like him because he is genuine, frank, fair.” “He is generous, considerate, and knows how to be a good neighbor.” Indeed this spirit of neighborliness was shown clearly during the campaign preceding his election, when Mr. Harding decided to remain in Marion and meet his friends on the front porch of his own home. Because of this decision the Republican campaign of 1920 will long be known as “The Front Porch Campaign.” To this front porch came many thousand men and women from every section of our broad land to meet Mr. and Mrs. Harding. Had you been one of these pilgrims, you would have met a man over six feet tall, with broad shoulders and a deep chest. Though he is not bald, his hair is exceptionally gray for a man of his age. He has the rare faculty of making you comfortable in his presence. While, with his deep blue eyes, he looks you squarely in the face as he talks to you, his look is so kindly that you feel at ease. After this brief but delightful interview, you join an expectant multitude that has assembled on the lawn. Suddenly all eyes turn to the porch. Here stands Mr. Harding, gracious, dignified, serious. Breathlessly each awaits his first utterance. With a well modulated voice he addresses the multitude as he would speak to a group of friends. Soon you are listening as though he were speaking only to you. With no tendency to bicker he discusses the problems of government in a manner that reveals his clearness of vision and pureness of soul. All too soon the address is ended and the crowd begins to scatter. As each wends his way, the remark that is most frequently heard is this: “I like him and I’m sure we can trust him.” Now that you have met him and heard him speak I am sure you will want to learn more about his life. On November second, in the year the great Civil War closed, Mr. Harding was born in Corsica, Ohio. How old, then, is he? Most of his boyhood days, however, were spent in Caledonia, Ohio, where his father was the Since all boys of eleven must have at least a little spending money, Warren, as Mr. Harding was then called, found that setting type was his easiest way to earn pin money. The first year Warren worked on the Argus, the circus came to town and brought Hi Henry’s Band. Warren and another boy helped with unusual faithfulness and speed that day. They knew the paper had free tickets for the circus. Of course they would be given tickets. They planned what a glorious time they would have and, as long as the tickets did not cost anything, they could spend some of their hard earned money on side shows and ice cream. Noon came and no one had mentioned the circus tickets. The afternoon passed slowly; two o’clock, no tickets; three o’clock, no tickets; four, five, six o’clock, and no mention of the circus. Two indignant boys held counsel. Then as night fell, they went to the editor and demanded two tickets as their right. The tickets were forthcoming and two pleased boys went to the circus. Perhaps the glories of Hi Henry’s Band aroused the citizens of Caledonia. At any rate a band of fifteen pieces was afterwards organized there. An old harness maker, who liked to have the boys play about his shop, was an expert on the valve trombone. He showed his frequent visitor, Warren Harding, how to play the instrument; Not until 1882 did Dr. Harding trade his farm and move to Marion. His son had by that time been graduated from the Ohio Central College. Like many another young man of those days, he taught a term of school after leaving college. But he did not plan to remain a teacher. For a time he thought of the law as a profession, and also made some efforts to sell insurance. But his early knowledge of a printing office and the making of a newspaper influenced his tastes and desires. His father had acquired an interest in the Marion Star, a struggling Republican paper in the county seat. Warren Harding became the editor. He had held this office only two weeks when he went to Chicago to the Republican National Convention hoping to see James G. Blaine nominated for the Presidency. While he was in Chicago, his father sold the Star and so upon his return Warren Harding, a Republican, became a reporter on the Marion Mirror, the Democratic paper. In those days, the admirers of James G. Blaine wore The night of election day, when Cleveland was elected President, Warren Harding and two old Caledonia friends decided to buy the Marion Star. That was the beginning of an ownership that has lasted ever since. There were plenty of hard days for the young editor but with prophetic insight he wrote and published in the Star: “The Star is _not_ going to change hands but is both going to go and grow.” Friends laugh and joke about the hard struggles of the Marion Star and the difficulties of the editor to make the paper go. They tell of times when Editor Harding didn’t have money enough to pay the help. Nevertheless, he made the paper both go and grow, and these hardships only endeared him the more to the citizens of Marion. In the end he overcame all difficulties and his fellow citizens felt proud of his success. Warren Harding had a strong sense of fairness and justice. When he had been editor but a short time, he wrote out his newspaper creed. Today, any reporter, who enters the service of the Marion Star, has given to him the following rules, which the President of our Country believes should be followed:
Thus we see that President Harding has spent most of his life in newspaper work. Here, as we can readily see, he has gained the intimate knowledge of people that has made him genuinely human. But his training for the Presidency by no means stopped here. For twenty years he has taken an active part in the problems of State and Nation. When only thirty-five years of age he was elected a member of the Ohio Legislature. As a member of this body, his efforts were so successful and so thoroughly appreciated that he was later chosen to Represent Ohio in the United States Senate. In this strategic position he did not lose an opportunity to acquaint himself with the complex problems of National Government. Little did he then realize that all this knowledge was fitting him to become the Head of the Nation. Such is the mystery of life. “A large upstanding man. A man of great virility. A man of undoubted courage. An honest man, honest with himself and with the public. A man of good judgment and entire practicality. A generous, kind-hearted, and thoughtful man. Thoughtful of his subordinates, generous to his adversaries, and cordial to his equals. A man whose head has not been turned by the honors thrust upon him. A plain, everyday, practical man without illusions or visionary ideas. A man that is a supporter of stable government. A man intensely American in his instinct.” ADDENDA Note: The following pages are intended for a record of additional facts concerning the lives of these eminent Americans. ADDENDA ADDENDA ADDENDA ADDENDA |
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