these comments of the elders.

His Mother

When the boy was in his teens, his mother left Jacksonburg and went to Middletown, Ohio. What the reason for this was I do not know. Later a formal separation took place and the father married again. He is now living at Camden, Ohio. Although James has always been fond of his father and now often motors over to Camden to see him, his real friend was the mother. The tie between the boy, the man, and the mother was quite exceptional. She lived to the ripe old age of eighty-one, having died only three years ago. Mr. Cox says that the greatest pleasure he ever obtained from being Governor was to have his mother witness his inauguration. In this connection, I shall mention a story which I heard in Dayton.

Mr. Cox was nominated for the Presidency at the San Francisco Convention late on the night of July 6th. He was sitting in the office of the Dayton News with his wife, watching the press dispatches as they came over the wire. Finally, the news came that he had been nominated on the final ballot. He seemed stunned for two or three minutes, and then rose, went across the room, kissed his wife, took her by the arm, and the two went home. The people of Dayton knew nothing about it until they read the papers the next morning. Therefore, the Governor had a few hours to himself. How did he use them? I am told that he got up early, ate a light breakfast and went out to his mother’s grave. There he stayed for a few moments in meditation and prayer. Then he came quickly back to where the people already were gathering to meet him. From that moment up to this writing, he has been in a whirl of excitement, but those few moments at his mother’s grave apparently gave him a start in the right direction. This right start has enabled him to meet squarely and answer honestly the pressing questions which continually come to him.

The United Brethren

The United Brethren in Christ have their headquarters in the Otterbein Press Building at Dayton, Ohio. Bishop A. T. Howard, D. D., and other prominent men in that denomination live in Dayton and vicinity. There are a great many adherents to this denomination thruout Ohio and adjoining states.

The United Brethren is distinctly an American religious sect, which was originated in the latter half of the Eighteenth Century under the leadership of Philip William Otterbein. Altho this man was pastor of the Second Reformed Church in Baltimore and had for his associate Martin Boehm, a noted Pennsylvanian preacher, the movement worked westerly to Ohio and Indiana. Otterbein and Boehm did a great work and their followers and teachings distinctly influenced the early life of Mr. Cox.

The ecclesiastical policy of the church is Wesleyan; but its theology is Arminian. Arminius was a Dutch theologian who was one of the first to oppose the stern teachings of Calvin which had been carried so far as to almost eliminate the freedom of will. Arminius started a new sect in Europe which took a much more liberal position, which insisted that man can have the assistance of God and man, but is of himself free and able to perform right or wrong.

The United Brethren believe in the sovereignty of God, but that it is so exercised as to permit the freedom of man. Thus James M. Cox spent his early years in an atmosphere which was saturated with this spirit of freedom as opposed to the arbitrary use of force or even legislation. Without doubt this early teaching influenced Mr. Cox’s entire life. As one reads his speeches on Internationalism, Industrial Relations, and especially Prohibition, the theology of Otterbein and Boehm is quite apparent. Altho he is now attending with his wife the Episcopal Church, he is still a member of the United Brethren and instinctively a follower of that religion.

Joins the Church

Just before reaching the little village of Jacksonburg, there is an ancient brick church which James M. Cox’s grandfather and another relative, James Craig, helped to build. Here James’ father was superintendent of the Sunday School. It was in this little old church that the boy received the early religious training to which I have referred. The pastor was a consecrated man of evangelistic tendencies, and the boy’s heart was apparently reached early in life. While in his teens he joined the church. They state he was an active worker for a boy of his age, although doubtless many other boys have as good or better record. In addition to his speaking and teaching in Sunday School, he rang the bell, swept out the church, and did other things to make himself useful.

When asked about the old church, Mr. Cox said:

“There were two churches in our township: the Presbyterian and the United Brethren. Both father and mother belonged to the United Brethren Church and father was trustee. As you know from your visit to Jacksonburg, this old United Brethren Church is still a running institution. I became a member of it when I was about fifteen and was baptized in Elk Creek, a stream two miles east of Jacksonburg. I have always felt indebted to the old church and have never transferred my membership. The pastors when I was a boy were Reverends Mayne, Dunkleberger and Kilbourne. The Reverend Fout came after I went to Middletown but I remember him as well as the presiding elders, Reverends McKee, Burkett and others. I even remember the visits of dear old Doctor William J. Shuey, who is well known among the United Brethren people altho others may not know him.”

After going to Middletown, he attended there with his mother the Methodist Church, as no United Brethren Church then existed in Middletown. He gave to the church and his mother all the time which his work and study would permit. He was especially interested in the church library and became its best patron. He was instrumental in having the church give a dramatic entertainment entitled “The Hoosier School Master” for the benefit of the church library. Many other anecdotes are told which show his interest and energy.

In Middletown he lived with his sister Anna, at what is now 105 Third Street. She married John Q. Baker, who is today postmaster of Middletown, Ohio. Various stories have been published about the boy’s poverty and struggles; but these are not justified by the existing evidence. He had as good an opportunity as most boys brought up on a farm. He perhaps made better use of them than many boys have; but to no great extent. The truth probably is that he was sick of farm work and wanted to get to the city. He also perhaps wanted more schooling than Jacksonburg provided. He perhaps also wanted to be near his mother.

As a sidelight on his interest in his mother, I will record one more incident which was told me in Middletown. The day following his nomination for the Presidency, and after receiving congratulations at his home in Dayton and speaking to his workmen on the Dayton News, Mr. Cox motored to his old home in Middletown. The friends and neighbors of his boyhood days insisted on giving him a reception. They wanted it to be held in the Sorg Opera House; but he suggested that they have it in front of the old home where he and his mother lived at the corner of Third and Broad Streets. The good people of Middletown took the suggestion and erected a platform in front of the old house. It is now occupied by Kessel’s Clothing Store and law offices. From this platform the Governor spoke. Strange to say, this old house was the birthplace of former Governor Campbell of Ohio, who led the Cox delegates at the San Francisco Convention.

Mr. Baker—the