The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-04-22

our Venerable Statesmen.
We are afraid this is bad time for rising
statesmen, not only in Europe, but in America.
The brilliant young Alexanders and Napoleons,
who came like meteors to dazzle the world,
have faded away, and we are now ruled by the
grave and reverend seniors of politics and SO
ciety In Europe the three most powerful men
now living are Theirs. the Pope and the EN-
peror William. The Holy Father is over eighty,
while the Emperor and the ex-President are
each bordering on fourscore. 1t is not long
at an extreme old age while Mr.. Disrael
becomes Premier at seventy, and shows SO much
activity that the gossips insist upon marry
ing him, as though he were young buck
skipping around society, We can understand
this reverence for age in Europe, but we have
never been supposed to have on undue
reverence in our American character. We
think, however. that we have mis-
taken ourselves all this while In Penn
sylvania we see Simon Cameron in the full
activity Of power, although he is approaching
eighty, the commander Of the administration
forces, and laying his plans for twenty years
more rule. In New York we have trium-
virate of venerable fathers, three of the oldest
men who have ever lived, and who to-day
WELD more power than any crowd Of young
statesmen who ever controlled the destiny Of
the State We refer to Thurlow Weed, John
A. Dix and Mayor Havemeyer. Mr.. Weed is
now seventy-seven years of age, and yet
thinks no more Of his semi-weekly trip to
Albany to counsel the "boys" and train up their
youthful minds in the occult mysteries Of
legislation than he did fifty years ago. when
he was developing the subtle genius Of
Seward. Greeley, who was one of his boys,
has gone, and Seward also, and nearly oil the
men who acted with him in his prime But
the veteran still lives on, and is to-day more
powerful than at any time in his extraordi-
nary and memorable career.
The second member of the triumvirate,
John A. Dix, is put down in the his
tories as seventy-six. But this is, no
doubt, q printers error, for the Governor
is certainly eighty-six. He was in the war
against Great Britain in 1912, and that was
more than sixty years ago. Moreover, he
shows all the activity and courage of young
man of ninety. There is nothing like the
pluck of your young heroes when they
have preserved their youth for the best part
of century, Governor Dix shows the true
young mans zeal. See how he hangs the
murderers and disdains all sentimental ap-
peals for mercy. Observe his resonant and
timely appeal for the national honor, which
rung out like bugle call and made every
citizen Of New York proud Of his State. We
have no modern new-fashioned youths who
have the courage to do these things, for our
modern youths are gwen to effeminacy and
discussions Of Herbert Spencer and the phi
losophies. The old-fashioned young men are
the bone and snew, after all.
The remaining member of the trium-
virate is William F. Havemeyer. Like
Wellington and some other great men,
the date, and even the SPOT, Of Have
meyers birth is uncertain. But the best
information is that he was born about eleven
years before the Declaration of independence
and that he is now, therefore, in the hundred
and ninth year Of his age. Think of the
memories that crowd into the life of this
sprightly and vivacious Chief Magistrate, the
Oldest man in public life except Hon. Henry
Bergh, President of the Society for the Pre-
venton Of Cruelty to Animals, who is four
years his senior, and remembers the horse
upon which Washington rode when he fought
the battle of Princeton The more we dwell
upon the irrepressible vitality Of Havemeyer,
his fondness for eighteen-mile morning walks,
arm in arm with Matsell, to inspect the pave
ments which remain as monuments of
the Tammany reign; his risky mes
sages and letters I; his bubbling, efferves-
cling rhetoric; his daily bouts with
Foley and Van Mort, the Board of Aldermen,
John Kelly and the numbers of prematurely
young men who presume, with the audacity
of wasted and Intellectual youth, to grapple
with HIM, the more we are amazed, and the
more profound our gratitude that he should be
spared to us. Such vigor was never seen
in the past, and If we could only have it ap-
piled to questions like rapid transit, the
paving Of the streets and the reconstruction
of the city we should honor the perennial
Mayor as Venice honored the old Dandolo.
Who shall say hereafter that we are an
irreverent people, when we are ruled by the
political firm of Dix Weed and Havemeyer
every member in the sprightly springtime of
youth, and yet their united ages number
more than two hundred and sixty years9
-
YVs--
editor of our useful contemporary, the Sun, we
are happy to see, is not altogether absorbed in
the rogueries at Washington, nor even in the
goodness Of Deacon Richard Smith. Natu-
rally these topics attract the greater share OF
his attention; but he has moments of relaxa-
ton, hours Of ease and indulgence, and at
such times the HERALD is deemed of conse-