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 village Doctor. In addition to practicing medicine he owned
the Caledonian Argus, a typical village newspaper.
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; then
Warren learned the tenor horn and became a full-fledged member of the
Caledonia Band. Only those of you who have lived in a small town can
know how important the band is. It gives concerts in front of the
court house or on the square. It plays at rallies, picnics, shows, and
leads in parades. So when Warren Harding joined the Caledonia Band, he
felt quite grown up and impressive, perhaps more so than when he was
elected President.
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 high, gray felt
hats. Warren Harding wore his when he went about Marion gathering news
for the Democratic paper. Soon this annoyed the editor of the Mirror
and young Harding was told he must stop wearing his "Blaine" hat. He
refused, and so lost his job on the paper.
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: