e
like a widening ripple is extending farther every day. It promises to
reach and benefit every child in America. And to hasten the growth of
this new education, James J. Davis has here written the complete story.
I have known Mr. Davis many years and am one of the thousands who
believe in him and have helped further his work.

The author of this autobiography is indeed a remarkable man. He is
sometimes called the Napoleon of Fraternity. Love of his fellows is his
ruling passion. He can call more than ten thousand men by their first
names. His father taught him this motto: "No man is greater than his
friends. All the good that comes into your life will come from your
friends. If you lose your friends your enemies will destroy you." Davis
has stood by his friends. As a labor leader and a fraternal organizer,
he has proved his ability. Thousands think he is unequaled as an orator,
thinker and entertainer. His zeal is all for humanity and he knows man's
needs. He has dedicated his life to the cause of better education for
the workers of this land. His cause deserves a hearing.

J G Cannon WASHINGTON, D. C., JUNE, 1922.

PREFACE

"Where were you previous to the eighth and immediately subsequent
thereto?" asked the city attorney.

The prisoner looked sheepish and made no answer. A box car had been
robbed on the eighth and this man had been arrested in the freight
yards. He claimed to be a steel worker and had shown the judge his
calloused hands. He had answered several questions about his trade,
his age and where he was when the policeman arrested him. But when they
asked him what he had been doing previous to and immediately subsequent
thereto, he hung his head as if at a loss for an alibi.

I was city clerk at the time and had been a steel worker. I knew why the
man refused to answer. He didn't understand the phraseology.

"Where were you previous to the eighth and immediately subsequent
thereto?" the attorney asked him for the third time.

All the prisoner could do was look guilty and say nothing.

"Answer the question," ordered the judge, "or I'll send you up for
vagrancy."

Still the man kept silent. Then I spoke up:

"John, tell the court where you were before you came here and also where
you have been since you arrived in the city."

"I was in Pittsburgh," he said, and he proceeded to tell the whole story
of his life. He was still talking when they chased him out of court and
took up the next case.