Woman of the Century/Margherita Arlina Hamm

HAMM, Miss Margherita Arlina, journalist, born in Montreal, Canada, 29th, April, 1871. MARGHERITA ARLINA HAMM. She is a descendant from a long line of scholarly ancestors. Among her forefathers were literary-men, theologians and soldiers. She has in her veins the best blood of southern France. Her maternal grandfather was Rev. Harold Jean Spencer, a prominent Episcopal clergyman, who was the author of several widely known pamphlets of the controversial order. Her paternal grandfather was General Pierre Hamm, a leader in the Liberal party in Montreal, Canada. Miss Hamm was only thirteen years old when she began to write for the newspapers. She found her first regular position on the Boston "Herald," and for four years she did all kinds of work on that journal. She then went to New York and joined the staff of the "World." Among her notable work washer interview with Mr. Cleveland on the tariff question, in 1889, which was cabled to the London, England, "Times." Another well-known achievement was her Bar Harbor interview with Mr. Blaine. She has done much "special" work for most of the New York dailies and at the same time corresponded for a number of western journals. She conducted the woman's department of the "United Press Literary Budget " Besides her prose work, covering everything in the line of daily journalism, Miss Hamm is a writer of much graceful verse, and her poems have appeared in "Current Literature," "Youth's Companion," "New England Magazine" and other leading periodicals. Her work is noted for its clear-cut, scholarly character, and there is nothing in the line of journalism that is not within the easy command of her pen. Wherever and whenever brought into direct rivalry with male journalists, she has shown her ability to do the work far better than most of the men, and as well as the best of them. In political work she has been very successful.