His Schooling
For some reason or other, the boy attended school in Middletown for only a year. I think he did not graduate. Perhaps they did not have graduations in those days. The school, however, was the best in that section of the country. The old farmers tell me it was called the “Gilt Edge School” by the taxpayers, because it always required so much money. Certainly it paid good wages for such days, as the records show that Mr. Baker got one hundred dollars a month. It contained three large rooms.
In short, Mr. Cox’s boyhood was similar to that of most boys brought up on a farm. The magazine writers like to embellish it with tales of misfortune and struggle; but the facts do not justify such stories. He had a fair chance and was especially fortunate in receiving the help which came from his brother-in-law, Mr. Baker.
CHAPTER II
EARLY MANHOOD
James M. Cox’s earliest recollection is of being set on the kitchen floor inside of a big old-fashioned horse collar. This enabled him to play and crawl around without getting into mischief while his mother did the house work. When I spoke of the incident to one of his own neighbors, the neighbor grunted and said to me:
“Guess they put Jimmy in the horse collar so he would get used to one. He was usually getting one on or off an old horse. Certainly if any boy was brought up to work, Jimmy Cox was.”