Many matters, however, pressed upon his attention and offered abundant
exercise for his curiosity. With Harwood, too, pleased to have for the
first time in his life one hundred dollars in cash, the incident was
closed.




CHAPTER VI

HOME LIFE OF HOOSIER STATESMEN


In no other place can a young man so quickly attain wisdom as in a
newspaper office. There the names of the good and great are playthings,
and the bubble reputation is blown lightly, and as readily extinguished,
as part of the day's business. No other employment offers so many
excitements; in nothing else does the laborer live so truly behind the
scenes. The stage is wide, the action varied and constant. The youngest
tyro, watching from the wings, observes great incidents and becomes
their hasty historian. The reporter's status is unique. Youth on the
threshold of no other profession commands the same respect, gains
audience so readily to the same august personages. Doors slammed in his
face only flatter his self-importance. He becomes cynical as he sees how
easily the spot light is made to flash upon the unworthiest figures by
the flimsiest mechanism. He drops his plummet into shoal and deep water
and from his contemplation of the wreck-littered shore grows skeptical
of the wisdom of all pilots.

Harwood's connection with the "Courier" brought him in touch with