According to the story, as it was told to me, reporters on the paper
were seldom paid; if one of them made bold to ask for his salary, he was
likely to be discharged. It was from this uncertain existence that
Stanton was lured to the "Constitution" by an offer of $22.50 per week.
When he had been on the "Constitution" for three weeks Mr. Harris
discovered that he had drawn no salary. This surprised him--as indeed it
would any man who had had newspaper experience.
"Stanton," he said, "you are the only newspaper man I have ever seen who
is so rich he doesn't need to draw his pay."
But, as it turned out, Stanton was not so prosperous as Harris perhaps
supposed. He was down to his last dime, and had been wondering how he
could manage to get along; for his training on the Rome paper had
taught him never to ask for money lest he lose his job.
"Well," he said to Harris, "I could use _some_ of my salary--if you're
sure it won't be any inconvenience?"
Those familiar with the works of Mr. Stanton, Mr. Harris, and James
Whitcomb Riley, Indiana's great poet, will perceive that certain similar
tastes and feelings inform their writings, and will not be surprised to
learn, if not already aware of it, that the three were friends. Mr.
Stanton's only absence from Atlanta since he joined the "Constitution,"
was on the occasion of a visit he paid Mr.
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