Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-06-18
JOHN GELLYS SUCCESSOR.

New York Letter in Philadelphia Press. ]
BY the death of John Kelly
Richard Croker becomes the leader
of Tammany Hall. Croker is a
veritable political CarnOt. He has
a good brain, clear conceptions and
extraordinary executive force. He
/ is keen Judge Of men. He keeps
hi. own counsel, and is extremely
reticent. He makes no speeches
and very few promises. Those few,
however, are ful He'd to the letter.
lie has the strongest Of friends and
the bitterest Of enemies. lie is as
/ positive but not as obstinate as
was Mr.. Kelly. Like Kelly, he was
not born with n silver spoon in his
mouth. He came from the humblest
source, and hard stories are told of
him in his youth. But, like John
Morrissey, he has won the conf
dence of the people ard developed
the qualities of a great political
leader.
Tammany will have few defeats
under his rule. He is so strongly
entrcnchcd in the Tammany society,
which is the fortress of tho party,
that he could hardly be blown out
Of it by the use of dynamite. His
foresight is something remarkable.
Hugh j. Grant, now sheriff, is one
of his proteges. 1t was Croker who
put him in the Board of Aldermen
1854. He advised Grant and other
/ Tammany aid -rmen not to vote for
the Broadway Surface railroad
schcn @. Inc ants case the advice
was cntirclyunncccssary. The 9th
ers wish that they had taken his
advice. Before the bill was passed
Croker, in my hearing, predicted
that every man who voted for it
would land in state prison. They
are toing there, one by one, as fast
as possible.
Croker, like Kelly, is thorough
" honest. Ifhe once gains mans
confidence be never loses it. Under
/ his rule Tammany will probably
gain much Of her Cd glory. He eX-
cites no enmities and tries to allay
all icalopsies amOng the leaders,
/ He works silently and increasingly.
He has already captured the pat
ronage of the Department Of Pnb-
lie Works, and he has secured the
strongest pull in the Executive
Chamber at Albany. The County
Dcmocracyis becoming disintegrat-
ed urder his TiI ng and sapplng.
They have nothing but Federal pat
ronage left, ard that is divided with
/ the Republicans. Already there
are whispers that FL. Kearney,
Andrew D. White, and even Dis
trict Attorney MARITIME, are ready
to re.enter Tammany Hall.
OF course the aldermanic expos
ures have injured all the political
machines-Tammany, however, the
least of all. Shregd politicians
have already organized a reform
movement. All are persistent Of
fce.Seekers. The play Is to fuse
with the Republicans in making
nominations or mayor, register
and other fat offices. At the prop
or time Sheriff OBrien and SINH
larindepepdent leaders, with strong
personal follovings, will turn in anc
help things a'ol =.
Croker is about five feet eight
inches high. He has frame Of iron
and grip of steel. lie is clean
shaycn, has regular features, a grin
mouth, and eyes like a falcon. He
rarely smiles, and seems ever to be
lost IN thought. He cOnverses IL
low tones and IS extremely senten
tious. He dresses plainly and wears
no diamonds. In his movements ne
recalls General Mcclellan. Always
calm and dignifcd, he is urbanC
but not courteous, and he lis
tens patiently to what his visitors
have TO say. When his mind il
made up, however, nothing IN the
world will change 1t.