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Show 11 jBBB jjjjj ' ytS This is the record of J, H. Druck-tr. Druck-tr. He arrived In America in 1906, after helping In the engine room of the steamer Statendam in order to earn a steerage passage from Europe. Eu-rope. He came here penniless, got work in a wrapper factory putting 6leees in women's wrappers, worked in a furniture factory. I worked as a farmhand, as a fire- man, and once did not work at all r1 for three months. For five weeks of this time he lived upon 5 cents a day. Yet Drucker was going to school all this time. First, to night schools to learn English, then to learn stenography, sten-ography, and finally to law school. He passed the bar examination In Jefferson City and is now a member of the Missouri bar. Altogether, Drucker is an exceptional excep-tional emigrant. His father, Samuel Drucker, educated him for the ministry. min-istry. Drucker promptly decided he did not wish to become a minister." He is a young man of very firm convictions, con-victions, and he thinks the churchman church-man of today is gagged and bound in a hypocritical position by his congregation, con-gregation, unable to say or do what he believes right. Someone whispered America the United States to Drucker, the German Ger-man student. He liked the idea, was fascinated by Its democracy anil freedom, and decided to come. His father would not hear of It Thcro was an argument and then Drucker came to America In spite of parental parent-al objections, with all aid from home donled him. He arrived in this country January Janu-ary 4, 1900. His first introduction to American riches was a position in a wrapper factory at Carmel, N. J., where he earned $2.50 a week and paid the foreman of the factory $5 a month to teach him his work. He was employed putting sleces In women's wrappers, and was technically techni-cally known as a "holer up." meaning mean-ing he fitted the sleeves to the arm-holes. arm-holes. UNIVERSITY GRADUATE TURN'S BEAN PICKER. In summer when the factory business busi-ness was dull he added to his income in-come by picking beans on the neighboring neigh-boring forms. As a matter of fact, Carmel Is a small town with 200 residents and two factories, one making shirts and the other wrappers. wrap-pers. The population consists .of men who farm and their women folk who work in the factories. After four months, although Drucker was unable to speak English, Eng-lish, his marked personality and evident evi-dent learning had brought him o the position of shop chairman of the International ladles' Garment Workers" Union of America. His pay was $4 per week. Then came his Inspiration to study Jaw. It came- while he himself was defendant in a criminal proceeding pro-ceeding for as was only natural, the young student, deep-thlnklng and of a country where socialism has a strong hold, was drawn into the war between American labor and capital. cap-ital. There was a strike In a Philadelphia Philadel-phia shirt factory. The Philadelphia concern shut down its works and attempted at-tempted to contract with a numher of smaller factories to fill Its orders. or-ders. The shirt factory in Carmel, N. J., was given a part of the work. Vhen tho unions got wind of the 1 scheme representatives came to Carmel to urge the workers there irf to stand by them. W After a mass meeting Drucker, fcnolher man and three girls, went to the proprietor of the shirt factory fac-tory and asked him to shut down on nonunion work The man seized the girl who was nearest him and threw her down a flight of wooden steps and upon the instant the little town of 200 workers boiled with indignation. in-dignation. A furious crowd assailed the Phlrt factory, breaking windows and threatening the life of the proprietor. proprie-tor. The man fled from the town. Went to the county seat and swore out warrants for "Inciting a riot" aRalnst tho committee. The members mem-bers of the committee were arrested, arrest-ed, taken to the countv seat, Brldge-ton, Brldge-ton, and were Indicted by the Grand Jury. They were released on bond during dur-ing the summer and were tried on September 2S. Drucker, who barely bare-ly understood English when spoken, and who could not answer questions at all, gave his testimony through Is an Interpreter. All of the workers were acquitted by a jury. FASCIN ATED BY ACTION OF DEFENDING LAWYER. During the trial, Drucker says, Rex: Donnelly, tho Prosecuting Attorney, At-torney, acted in such a bitter and vicious manner that he hates Donnelly Don-nelly even today. On the other hand, tho defending attorney, a Mr. Ward, who is now Mayor of Bridge-ton, Bridge-ton, was so much the gentleman that Drucker was fascinated. As the trial went on and the victory vic-tory of the gentle and courteous lawyer became more and more evident. evi-dent. Drucker felt a new resolve growing in him. It found expression expres-sion when Y ard was addressing the Jury In English so slmplo and eloquent elo-quent that even Drucker understood. under-stood. He was going to be like, Ward, to be a lawyer, charm Judges and show bitter and vicious attorneys attor-neys in their true worth. A friend who had crossed on ho same steamer with Drucker, hearing hear-ing of the position in which he wns placed In Now Jersey, wrote and told him to come to St. Louis, where he thought a position was open In a furniture factory. Druck-er Druck-er bade farewell to Carmel, with Its night school, which he attended rigorously throughout all his troubles, trou-bles, and came to Pt. TOuls on tho last Sunday In September. 1906. He had no food until he reached St Louis on Monday evenlne. Monday Mon-day noon, suffering extreme hnncer. he went Into the dining car resolved to have a meal. Tn his pockets was II 50. his entire fortune. He could not read tho bill of fare. Casting his eves up and down Its length, he espied the words. "With bread" placed after an order. The price of this order was f.O cents, and Drucker, thinking he mitrht at least get enough bread to satisfy him. pointed to it and waited ' in hungry anticipation. The waiter wait-er brought him a half dozen blue point oysters. Oysters are never eaten tn Europe. the are looked upon as unpalatable, even poisonous. poison-ous. "I had to leave the car hungry as ever and lose 60 cents." says Drucker. ' for there was only a morsel of bread, and I was afraid to order anything else because It might turn out to be grasshoppers." grasshop-pers." Tn St. Louis, et 111 fearfully Ignorant Ig-norant of tho ways and customs of our people, ho blithely took a cab from the Union Station to tho address ad-dress furnished him. This took 75 cents of his remaining dollar from him. His first Job was at a trunk company com-pany where as a porter he carried trunks from ono floor to another. Never strong, a university man. trained for other kinds of work, he did not hesitate to grapple with tho problem immediately In hand and BOlve I as best ho could. Satur-day Satur-day night the cashier of the trunk corppany paid him $6 60 and discharged dis-charged him, giving ao reason. Aft er Idling for a week he got a position posi-tion In a furniture factory, In the finishing room, sandpapering the wood for applications of varnish. Ho was paid $10 a week and worked from 7 in the morning until 9:30 at night With this salary Drucker paid his boarding debts, bought much needed clothing and, for a climax, sent $20 home to his parents in Germany in a vain display dis-play of his wealth. This was a week beforo Christmas. Ono week after Christmas he was discharged from tho furniture factory. fac-tory. Although he was much distressed dis-tressed at being out of work, he felt Inwardly a tremendous relief at being be-ing free of the confining work In tho factory. Following his discharge came odd Jobs and starvation, the effect of which caused a break-down lat r on. Out of work until April, his life was only enlivened by the attendance at-tendance at night school lie worked one day In a bottling house and three days In a furniture factory. fac-tory. Then came two days' work in an Iron yard on the levee. After this job ho was out of work for five weeks. FIVE CENTS A DAY KEEPS HIM ALIVE. His expenses we,re 5 cents a day. In the morning he would buy a loaf of rye bread and carry It In an overcoat which he had brought from Germany with him. There was a hole in tho pocket and he thrust tho loaf down through the hole into the lining, where ho could always reach it. Then he would walk the streets. It he felt hungry he would tear off a handful of bread from his pocket and eat It. He got water wherever ho could find It. He walked for days and days, picking up old nows-papers nows-papers to look for help wanted advertisements. ad-vertisements. As soon as ho heard of a Job he walked to get It. even If tho employer was miles distant. Me lost his hat and for three days, which were luckily warm, had to use a brlmless straw which he found In an ash pit. He would carry-It carry-It In his hand to prevent ridicule. Then he found an old felt. He slept In a garret at Seventeenth Seven-teenth and Cnrr streets For this privilege of living there he took caro of the furnace and was supposed to pay a small 'rent The landlady, who had no real use for the garret, let the rent run without requiring payment. The bill was paid, how-over, how-over, some six months later when the young man was on his feet again. He was still unable to speak English Eng-lish very well. Ho found It impossible impos-sible to explain himself to his teachers teach-ers at tho night schools, and In addition pride kept him from soliciting solic-iting n,Id from homo or from charity. chari-ty. Yes, mere pride and tho hope or bettor, the knowledge that ho would some day make good. Hla teachers at the Patrick Henry School probably never knew the desperate des-perate condition of Lbe ounii who I ; ' ' ' ' ; MURILLO PORTRAIT. I H. DRUCKER in several poses and Hamburg-American Hamburg-American liner on which he crossed the ocean. presented himself to them with such conscientious regularity. The workless porlod was at last broken by his obtaining a position as houseman through a labor agency. Ho worked for a rich family fam-ily on West Pino boulevard, receiving receiv-ing $5 a month and board. The board was good and ho welcomed substantial meals after his terrible diet of bread and water. Ho had been with this family barely two weeks. Hashing drives, attending furnace and waiting on table, when the head of the house ordered tho doors closed and took the family to, Europe- Drucker again applied to a labor agency. DELI FRS ORATION OH "OUR COUNTRY." Tn April ho was put to work at tho furniture factory again IJu hung desperately to the Job this tirno. Early In May his night school gave Its graduation exercises, and although ho had been a pupil for only a year. Drucker vas given the honor of making tho opening address. ad-dress. He chose as his subject "Our Country." and read 600 arduously worked out words of praise of the nation which so far had given him nothing but discouragement and disappointment Tho superintendent superintend-ent of the night school complimented compliment-ed his address. When school closed he began studying shorthand and bookkeeping bookkeep-ing In a business college, although he was working twelve hours a day In the factory. When the night school opened in the fall of 1907 he entered It. Shortly after entering tho night school he was again discharged from the factory. After a short time he obtained work for a clothing company. com-pany. He started as elevator man. but after a few das way promoted to a truck man. After one and one-half one-half year4), during which he perfected perfect-ed his knowledgo of English. Drucker Druck-er became chief stock man. He noticed no-ticed that tho cutters seemed often to earn high wages, so he learned the cloth cutting trade, but was never successful In getting big wj".:s at It. He entered tho law school at St Ivouls University in 1911. He had been a student for about a year when It became apparent he must have more time for the study of law. A member of the clothing firm advised him to take up stenography stenog-raphy to attain this end. Ho entered en-tered business college, and owlns to his ability to concentrate was a full-fledged stenographer In three months. r!$ He then obtained a position as i -Ir stenographer In the office of a for- lf mer Circuit Judge. He held the po-sit po-sit I on for seen months, meantime attending law school. Just as it T-'.'r. seemed that eerythlng was shaping r Itself for him to attain his ambition there came another setback. In the -;?jj fall of 1912, starvation, long hours, I 'W: nervous strain all brought about a l ' breakdown. He underwent an op- If1 '.y eratlon and did not recover proper- I . ly. Still he read law. Twice he was I told by experts that he had con- I I sumption and could not live three 1 I 1 months. He was placed In a hos- jl -'4 pltal, but still he read law Even H while lying In the hospital ho had ' his books with him. j H After a five months' Illness he be- j I gan to recover. It was In the midst II 1 1 of this sickness that the mid-year examinations took place in the unl- J versity Against advice of all doe- I tors and friend he underwent these examinations and passed them. He r was taken to school In an automobile, automo-bile, being unable to walk. Upon recovering from his sick- j ness a doctor told him that he did not have consumption, but had slm- ply underfed himself. Placed on his feet at last, luck began to change. An application which he had filed a year and a half hefore gave him a position In the Courthouse, where 1 he examined titles, read petitions for all manner of suits and watched the happenlncs of the Probata Court J In a legal atmosphere he gained a j vast practical experience among lawyers and court officials. Those who ; watched him In his J fight forward complimented Druck- ' er on winning success, Ho laughed at the compliments and said: "I had to make good. I had to Show them back home that T could." j Drucker recretted the years he srent in the ministry at first, but I later decided to use the experience j gained there by teaching In a Sun- I I day school class There he Is un- 11 hampered In teaching whatever Is right, he says. |