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IHE FLOWED pni i ^ THRILLING NEW SERIAL NEXT WEEK. ^ SEE EDITORIAL PAGE. ^ ®fii \n r EKS3D gi:giPC3^x?cfrsoc>acs3y saaeaaeesasscs rsesag-wBagcgg^asg^gaacsxsrsKSsacsxs^^ s^sassKKSssssssesssse:*: VOLUME XLII—NUMBER TWENTY-SIX. Atlanta, Ga., Week Endinq August 27, 1964. 50c PER YEAR—SINGLE COPY 5c. *<3* §? ohQ Strenuous Boyhood ^ Passed at RaleigH, of Andrew North Carolina Johnson, ^ yp By Fol F. A-t OLDS. IShe StsnnT South NT) of the sights of Raleigh is the homo in ', vjvhieh Andrew Johnson, '■ president of the United Estates, «ras born, the •> bujlding being 1 one of the smallest an<| quajntest dwellings In the city, with the old-time hip-roof, dor- l |> trier .windows and tiny panes, the shingles rich % green ,with hioss; the chimney'part granite and part brick, and with an old vine, a Virginia creep er, over the doorway, while a tall black locust tree casts in summer a shade over *he little front yao-d. No president ever jvid a more humble home than this. The planks are of yellow pine, fastened with hand-made nails, many of which have been carried away by relic-hunters. The house is only 12x18 foot In size, one oon being only 6x!0 feet. It was on the upper floor ‘.that tlio president was bora. the way to- this floor being up a corl:: crewiiko stairway. The ceiling of the lower T-ooras Is only 8 feet high. Ne groes have for twenty-five years lived in the building and are very prou<f~of it. showing it to visitors, wlfh many bows and smiles, and with all sorts of queer stories about ”de leetlo preslden’ whar T, uz bo’p up stars.’’ President Johnson’s father was a very (humble employee at an old tavern or bote] here, and lator looked after the in- icrest, of a private family, »o far. a3 the rt; ’ -ere cono inied. Ills v:fe was equally humble in her employments, anti in the jittle town which Raleigh was in the early part of the last century, both these people were well known, and so was the boy, their son. who by and by was to fill one of tihe highest of earthly positions. Jacob' Johnson, the father of the president, died of pneumonia, due to his efforts in saving the life of a friend from drowning in a mill pond about a mile south of Raleigh. In the quaint old city cemetery, now almost disused, but admirably kept. Is the grave and monu ment above it of Jacob Johnson. The 1 mer is of brown stone and bears the fol lowing inscription, one which many a fn- more pretentious man might well bn proud to know' would be inscribed with JiistDe on the shaft which will rise above his grave: “In memory of Jacob Johnson. An honest man. beloved and respected by all who knew' him. Rom ; died January 1812. from disease caused by an over-effort In saving the life of his friend ’* AT HIS FATHER’S GRAVE. The monument was unveiled In 1866 and strange Indeed was the scene on tills occasion. There, bareheaded ami facing the monument, stood the presi dent. surrounded by his cabinet, and with General Grant, commanding the army, and other noted generals near him, and in this imposing party the lead ing residents of Raleigh, including the governor and men distinguished in pri vate and public life. In the streets near- Quaint House, Formerly a Kitchen, in Which Was Born, at Raleigh, North Carolina. bv /were masses of troops, all branches of the service dent made no remarks a but later in the day deliveri representing The presi- the grave, 1 an address from the balcony of (he principal hotel, In which lie took occasion to refer in the most grateful way to the tribute which the people of Raleigh had thus paid to the memory of his father. About this speech some strange and Inaccurate statements have gone out. one being to the effect that the president had used the phrase. “Tpe grave of the man re puted to be my father.’’ lie said no such thing, all his remarks having ! eon In the highest degree filial. On the evening of this eventful day a banquet was given the president, the distinguished members of the cabinet. General Grant and the chief officers, al which some two hun dred persons were present, and at which Daniel G. Fowle, who many years !a!er became governor, presided. The life of President Johnson, as re corded by his biographers, contains some errors, notably one that after having left Raleigh in his boyhood he returned here before he became president. As a mat ter of fact, after he left here, a run away (for such lie was.) he never saw Raleigh again until that eventful time In 1866, when he came here to revisit his birthplace and see the monument un veiled. Some new' information on this subject has been obtained and is an In teresting contribution to the history of the life of the president. I11 an interview with Miss Hannah Co- ley, of Raleigh, she said: “President An drew Johnson was born in the loft of the kitchen of my great-grandmother, and was named by my grandmother, Mrs. Hannah Stewart, whose maiden name vras Paddison. He was horn the night after my grandmother's marriage to John Stewart, who was one of Raleigh's first merchants. She and her husband had been at a bill given in honor of their marriage, and on their return home my grand mother. before removing her ball dress, went to the kitchen, climbed the queer little crooked stairs leading to the loft, and upon first sight of the baby named him ‘Andrew.’ The house, which now- stands on Kast Cabarrus street, then stood at the corner of a square only a few yards from the southern entrance of the capitol grounds, and was the prop erty of my great-grandmother. Some .'.ears after the birth w. Andrew Jackson Monument Over the Grave of the Father of President Johnson in tht Old Cemetery at Raleigh, North Carolina. The President Unveiled the Mon ument In 1866. the house was removed to its present location, wdiere it is now one of the sights of Raleigh. Andrew Johnson's mother was named Polly, and she was the weaver for my great-grandmother's family. His father was hostler on the premises. “When the United States troops came to Raleigh, In April, I865. my grand mother was living, and very soon after the army arrived President Lincoln was assassinated and Andrew Johnson cam- 1 to he president. Some of the leading federal officers heard that the lady who had named their president was then liv ing here and a number of them sought her out, and called to see her. One re marked: “Madame, we will soon go to Washington and we will tell the pres! dent that we have had the honor of seeing and talking to the lady who named him. What shall we suggest to him to send you?’ My grandmother, who was a devoted confederate in sentiment replied: "I do not wish him to send mo anything. All I desire yon to ask hint to do for me Is to release my grandson, George Whiting. *Jio was clptured at Gettysburg, and who has been a pris oner at Johnston’s Island about two years and a half." In 1866 President Johnson came to Raleigh. He went to tlie house of Dr. F J. Haywood. Sr., and requested him to accompany him to see tlie lady who had named him, but my grandmother had died July 3, 1865. at the age of 33 years." This interview contains some valuable facts, and some others were obtained from ex-Congress- man John Nichols, of Raleigh, who said: “When Andrew Johnson vis .1 hoc it was the custom, in fact. on,, might per haps sa.y it was the law, that boys learn ing a trade should be bound out. or in- di ntured, to masters of the trade, who were technically and personally known as masters. Young Andrew was a v< ry wiki boy, what would be call* d a bad boy. always up to some mischief and getting into fights, and he carried this to such an extent that some persons might have termed him a bully. He was ro bust, athletic and brave. Parents did not like for their boys to a-ssociate witn him, because they never knew when there would be some row. Vet for all this, Andrew was not mean, but Fas honorable, and although wild, and, in. fact, almost reckless, was considered by his fellows tl:..- soul of honor and would never allow - a big boy to impose upon a little one. It was In consequence of some of these characteristics of Andy that his mother, on the advice of.'friends (ills father having died when he waa very' young), decided to put him out to learn a trade. In selecting a trade, two things were to be considered, one being to have him In a place where he would, be kept off the streets, and the otiher, jto pia.ee him under a strict master. A STERN MASTER. Janies Ditchford was then the f town tailor; a man of great industry ahd sterling integrity - , with an iron win and plenty of nerve, the force of 'both of which were not infreq-unetliy impressed on the mind and tlio person of th<3 young apprentice. As Andy approached manhood he became restless under the confinement In the back room of a. tail or’s shop and his spfrit chafed, under what he considered the tyrannical exac tions of a martinet. He made up nis mind to run away and only- needed an excuse and an opportunity to rake this step. Both excuse and opportunity tame In due time, and Andy availed himself of their benefits. He lived at the home of his master or employer, and while in the kitchen one morning h- got into a tight with the negro cook, comme jut victor in th.f coni! it. His o. - mi :,* was Immediately' reported to hi- master, who, following th^ custom of the time, hur ried to the scene with a switch, with which ho gave a good thrashing to his I- gna cions apprentice. This made the opportunity and the excuse for Andy to break his apprentice bond and flee. S , gathertng a ell 1 some much prized odds and ends he made these into a pack and then went to 6ee his best friend, Neil Brown, who was apprentice to a hatter, and asked Brown to meet him at a point agree! on. about I mile south of Raleigh, at ! o’clock that day. Andy intending to take his departure while his master and the family were at dinner, this meal being then taken by everybody- at noon. Andy was watching and waiting for dinner time, to come, when his watch till master would b.. at the table, but a little incident oc curred which hastened his departure. He saw the hated negro cook taking tlie dinner from the kitchen through the yard to the dining room, and as she came out of the kitchen door, holding up a large dish of cabbage, topped by a ham. Andy saw his opportunity, and picking -up a shingle dug a quantity of dirt, which he threw upon the dish, in an instant running as If for life. lie met his faith ful young friend. Brown, at the appotnt- e 1 place. Brown having his ’pack’ r°any for him, and in this wise the future pres ident took his departure from Rah igh, to which he did not return until he came here in 1866. when president, to attend the unveiling of the monument which tTTe citizens had er-cted in memory- of his father, Jacob Johnson.” v*T»'r*v*v* - r*v«v V • *i' • -I' V • T V 9 9 9 9 -J- e V 9 -’- 9 9 -j* 9 V • V • 'l' • 'I' • 'r* • V • ' &/>e Real Iss^xe V • 'I'e9 V9 v®v9-'-f 1 9 convent ions ity of the d i d for him, lion if the thre and a spring a.nd a sum mer. and threatened to push itself into the first days of autumn, when Wharton. the western member, whoTiad been in the house five terms, con cluded to pack his valise and go home. The cam paign was growing warm. Nearly all of the county had been held, and a major- legates elected were instruet- which insured hi« renomlna- remaining counties in >-:-94-9'I- 9 9-5-9 -5- 4 -J- 9 -5- 9 •’- 9 ■’- 9 -’- 9 y 9 -J- 9-’-0 -1- • T was near the close of a Just before be had left bis rooms for long session—a session tlie departing train his private secretary which had lasted a winter Lad handed him the day's elippins; and after lie had beo n riding for an hour or so. while he was fumbling in his pockets for a match, they tumbled out in a tight little roll. ][(. idly read them. He was used to unjust abuse and sick of uncalled for praise. The first clipping was taken from The Queen city Daily Herald; it bore a Washington date line, and was introduced by the words. “Special to The Herald.” It read; “They say here that Wharton, of tlie fourth district. Is beginning to feel un easy. He has received several letters from his district tiiat have convinced him that the populist cyclone has shaken down several lengths of fence in Dee, Meade and Smith counties. Hill Heat- ley's strength is said to he developing down there wonderfully. The lion. Ike Russell, who was here qst week looking for a joh ns receiver of the Baxter na tional bank, wa s in close consultation with Wharton three of the four nights Im was here, and the ‘old man’ Is wearing a hunted look and is talking to himself. They say down in the fourth district that it will take more than ‘Our Tom' Whar ton's hug to explain away his silver vote.” Wharton knew the correspondent and only smiled as he flipped the wadded clipping out of the ear window. There was a short editorial clipping from the same paper. It read: “The dispatches say that ’Our Tom’ Wharton is wiggling in his sent and trying to project his astral body in the fourth district to see how his fences are, and at the same time to keep his eor- tlie district did not go solidly against him. He had laid his plans mechanical- iy for a rennmlnn t ion. and If he had stopped to ask 'himself whether or not he really wanted to come back to con gress. he would probably have, said no. He was tired, but he did ndi know why. ip rnought he needed rest, that he had been overworked, that he was played 015J: yet ills private secretary, who kept the >un of the pension business and did ids routine work, did not seem tired- the private secretary even had refused a va cation. and it was at tlie secretary's own request that he stayed in Washing ton. But Wharton, the western member, was tired—dead tired, and he pictured to him self the pleasures of going back to his homo in the. little town of Baxter, where people on the streets who had seen him grow up from a boy and called him “Tom.’' really were glad to see him. 9 -i- 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 poral body in Washington to look after Ike Russell's pie plate. If ‘Our Tom' doesn't fall down in his anxiety to keep one foot in the 'blooue fourth’ and the other at the political bake shop, he must be either a Colossus of Rhodes or a 'quadrille dancer.' ” Wharton dropped that on the floor and read another from The Smith Count v Farmer’s .Friend. It was long and full of double leads and "break lines.” and Italics and exclamation points. It was abusive in the extreme and closed with this tirade: “Now. let us reason together. Tom Wharton has been in congress ten years; he had been judge six years before en tering congress, and county superintend- et four years before he was Judge. Twen ty years has this man been In office; hls total salary In that time has been only $70,000. Tet he is rated by the commercial agencies at one-half million dollars. He has hanks and railroad stocks; he owns mortgages and farms. Where did he get them’.’ His time has been sold to the peov-s, he has been false to every trust; he was voted with the east on the raoa»,» question; he has neglected Cne farmers at every turn. He Is a garden-seed congressman; he comes out here and haw-haws around, and then goes hack to vote with Wall street. A Vail slreet knows its friends, and ’Our Torp* Is worth one-half million dollars. Hi es in a mansion filled with hammered brass, at Baxter, while the farmer foots the bills.” Wharton knew that the editor of The Farmer's Friend had been a candidate for the postofflee at Smith City; that lie himself had lent the editor money and .9 -5-9-5.9-5-9-5-9-5-9 -i-e -5-© *5- o o >5* * v w 9 o -*-• -5- 9 -5- 9 I* a -I- 9 9 9 9 -5- • -!- 9 T «-5- 9 -5- 9 -I- 9 By William AUen White Second in tire Political iSeries 1 v • '5* • v • -i* • *5' • *5- helfi his note for S50o. ffc put the clip ping in ills pocketbook with a sigh and looked through the other scraps of paper. There were perhaps a dozen—a few of them laudatory to an offensive degree, some clearly bids fo» - money, and the. rest a fair discussion of his candidacy. Wharton’s first week in the district was spent at Baxter. He did practically nolhlng to secure liis renomination, al though wise-looking men from each of the three doubtful counties enrne ncarly everj day to Baxter and went directly from the train to Wharton’s house. They all wanted money or promises of “as sistance;” and each of them told how- some precinct could be “swung Into lino" by a little work on the part of the cer tain third person—always nameless—wlio would need money for cigars and livery liire. Wharton put these statesmen off. and they went away doubting tvhellier they would support the “old man” or fight him. The congressman’s presence In the little town w»» an event, and he had callers all day long who seemed to need help in different ways. Soldiers desired pensions, mothers asked for po sitions in Washington for their sons; young women called to see about clerk ships; widows, whose husbands he had known came to borrow money. Ho was honestly glad to see all those people, and, when he could, he helped them: he rarely made an enemy, even though lie always was frank. It was Saturday evening, and Wharton was just entering on his second week at home, and he and hls friend, Ike Rus sell. were sitting on the southern porch of the congressman's home. Their wives and daughters were in the parlor around .5. 9.5.9.5. 9.5.9.5- • -5- e o '5- • *1* 9 -’- © y ® v • T ° *5* • v • *5* 9 -5- 9 -5- 9 j- * v c -I- • *! - • T • -5- • -*- * -I- c -1- 9 -I- 9 er for a longer speech than usual. He twisted his gray mustache nervously; he looked askance at his friend, who was apparently listening to the music that had just started up again in the parlor. Wharton went over to the garden hose men were at f conversation conveyed by grunts the piano, and the that preliminary stage in which ideas are and monosyllables. “What did Hughey, of Smith City, want today?” ask'd Russell. “About two hundred, more or less," said the congressman. “Hughey’s a thief; he’d spend about $25. and the' rust would go into his jeans.” “i suppos? so.” \\ hart on answered. “Say we lose Smith county?” — •‘Well, you say,” said his friend. “Did you sp..-. Higgins, from Dee \ alley? n# told me last month that lie had five fel lows who could swing Dee county for $100 a piece." “Ugh,” grunted I he congressman. “That makes $2,300 so far. if I come down." •'Well, that's cheaper than you got off before—by several hundred.” Wharton yawned, and the silence that followed was broken only by the tinkie of the c.ow bells in the valley below tlie town and tlie splash of water over the village. Occasionally the sound of voices singing on tlie water or note of a guitar would come up on tlie gusts of wind. Tlie piano in tlie parlor was silent. | I the moon was barely visible under ’lie eastern corner or the porch. the men had smoked in silence a few moments when Wharton said* “ike, what is the real issue in this cam paign?' “I dunno, old man: sometimes I think it’s the tariff; sometimes 1 think it's sil ver, and then at other times I just give it all up. What's your idea. Tom?” The congressman did net reply at once; lie seemed to be pulling his ideas togeth- whieh was turned upon a. shrub, changed its course, came back, relighting his -ci gar. and said: “B’Godfrey, I don’t know, Ike, I don’t know. Do you remember when he used to cut down corn at 6 cents a shook, and go to school down the valley where those cow' bells were tinkling a little while ago? We us d to s it on tho fence of nigivts like this and talk ’way into the. night about what we were going to do.” “Yes?” said the politician, expectantly. “Yes., and I used to hope to go to pon- grrss some d,. ; . ; we used to talk the oldtime statesmen and read their speech es in the srhoo] readers—Clay and t '.il- honn and the great men whose narn ■< we knew as boys. They were tall, thin, spare men in swallow-tailed coats and chok ers ind hair that looked fierce and statesmanlike. Do yon remember the congressman from tills district fortv yrars ago: how dignified he was, what ti really great mail lie must have lie n? He lived greatness every hour of his iife The men wiio went to the territorial leg islature—how superior they seemed with their tail hats and close buttoned coats! ike. do you remember when I went to the legislature in tin winter of - 70. and a me back discouraged and disappointed with the sham of it all—the row ; ml the l ings and the schemes?” Russell would have interjected some continued on fourth page. mm I m i Cr—' _