HEARTS OF GOLD

12.THE "EVENTS"

138 THE “EVENTS.” Chapter XII. We left Lotus Stone and his friend dreaming sweet dreams on the bosom of the lake. In due time the next morning they reached Minton; Clement to look after his paper and Lotus to drift about for a few weeks in the further enjoyment of his vacation. Clement settled down to his work all the better for the few days’ recreation he had taken. As we have said in a previous chapter, Clement entered the office of one of the great dailies in Minton soon after he had left school. He entered under the ban of a vigorous protest from men and boys, as poor and decidedly less prepared for the work in which they were engaged as he. For many months his life in that office was one continued day of martyrdom. No imposition was too groveling, no practical joke too severe to play upon this courageous boy. All that littleness of heart could contrive or meanness of soul could execute, was placed in the path of this honest lad, striving under difficult circumstances to win his daily bread. In the teeth of every discouragement , he succeeded in gaining the confidence of his employers, and, in time, the good will of those who at first so bitterly opposed him. Courage of the right kind seldom fails to win its way. There are some spirits that no disadvantage can daunt and to whom opposition is worse than useless . The errand boy who met the favor of his employer, gradually worked himself up to typesetter, despite protest after protest from the narrow and biased Union. The typesetter’s wit and pleasant manners earned for him a position on the reportorial staff. Time and diligence finally associated his pungent paragraphs with the editorial page of the paper. For years he wrote the comments accredited to the editor. Being thoroughly acquainted with the newspaper business, he determined to set up for himself. 139 hearts of gold He did not leave the office in which he worked, however, but bought type, set up his paper at odd times, and had it printed on the Daily’s press. His paper, “The Events,” was from the beginning a free lance in the newspaper arena. He was slave to no party, and therefore did not spare the meanness and cupidity of either of them. In time his bristling fulminations attracted the attention and criticism of the great daily from whose press his paper was issued. The editor of the before-mentioned daily objected to the vigorous style of Clement’s paper and advised him to be more conservative. But the little paper continued to attack the hateful attitude of the demagogues who ruled in both political parties, with the same trenchant force. A rupture between Clement and the proprietor of the daily necessarily followed. The paper dispensed with the services of Mr. St. John, and, of course, their press ceased to send forth his paper. For a few weeks, Mr. St. John could have been seen carrying his forms from one place to another, in constant danger of having an entire edition pied. But courage and perseverance won the day. Clement was at last successful in exciting the interest of a number of friends in his venture, and the result was an electric plant and press of sufficient capacity to answer all the ends of his paper, and also to attach a job office to his business. The demand for the paper gradually grew; those of the race who had first discouraged the enterprise came to its support when their help was no longer absolutely necessary to its success. It is indeed a lamentable fact that the best educated and most able Afro -Americans find themselves possessed with a rare conservatism when any race enterprise bids for their support. It may arise from the belief that anything founded upon a strictly race basis is unAmerican and therefore trends toward isolation. The Afro-American press has done, and is destined to continue to do, great good for the people whose cause it advocates . Any independent venture, however short of our ideals, is a manly demonstration of an instinctive wish to rise. Under the management of Clement St. John, “The Events,” was newsy and ably edited. It did not bid for distinction by catering to the native jealousy of the race. It recognized the common needs of all and manfully fought for them. While it did not fondle upon the rich, haughty and powerful...