DearTIME-Reader:

TIME has a few editors who attended one-room country schools. It even has one who went to a one-pupil schoolhouse. He is Associate Editor James C. Keogh, who wrote this week's cover story on Governor Averell Harriman.

Jim Keogh, who was born 39 years ago on a 280-acre farm in Platte County, Neb., was eleven and in the seventh grade in 1928 when he was the lone pupil in District 42 School in Burrows Township. With the undivided attention of Teach er Elizabeth Liebig, he studied seventh and eighth-grade lessons simultaneously. In between, he argued politics with Teacher Liebig: she was for Prohibition and against Al Smith; he was for Smith, against Prohibition.

But despite this precocious interest in politics, when Jim went off to Humphrey High School, ten miles from the farm, he decided that he would not be a politician but would keep tabs on politicians as a newsman. He edited the high school news in the Humphrey Democrat and, later, was managing editor of the Creightonian at Creighton University.

In 1938 Keogh went to work on the Omaha World-Herald. Moving up through the city hall, courthouse and state legislature beats, he became known as one of the most astute political reporters in the Midwest. Nebraska politicos still remember him as a hard-hitting but impartial newsman. Jim was the World-Herald city editor when he left Omaha in 1951 to come to TIME as a National Affairs writer.

At TIME, Keogh took to national politics with the same native savvy that he showed for Midwest politics. But he ranged farther afield, into law, military and foreign affairs. Up to now, he has written 18 cover stories. His first was on Adlai Ste venson (TIME, Jan. 28, 1952). Among others: Harry Dexter White (TIME, Nov. 23, 1953), Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren (TIME, Dec. 21, 1953), State Secretary John Foster Dulles (TIME, Jan. 3). His favorite: our July Fourth cover on President Eisenhower. During the past year Keogh wrote the lead story for 23 issues of the magazine, reviewing sometimes lightly the mood of the nation, but mostly in a serious vein the state of the national economy or our foreign relations. He also sat in as editor of NATIONAL AFFAIRS, BUSINESS and PRESS.

As he finished writing the Harriman cover last week, Jim noted: "One thing I have in common with the governor -- we were both for Al Smith in 1928." Cordially yours,

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.