Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1889-10-19

,eriny tire riiy, discovered III. wonderful or
aaniziny talent al the Young man. anj lie
was sought a. the general freight agent OF the
line d. ti- position he hal ronn 10 develop
has marked ability as an or2anlzcr ana cam
manier and becoming al the same time a
popular ncIr.rr of the favurite company OF
the volunteer fire department.. always tie
source Of great political power in tins city he
soon brra.n- known IN ihe community rs
man of e. u Judgment. Of marked ability and
, unfains courage. ln the year 1872, Jess
han three Yeas after lie had spent night
on n ben-h ia | ub ic park becaus, he was
nreriy pennies, Burke was made the regular
Democrats. l.oinnee for Adminisrrar,r of
Improvements Of The City OF New Oriean..
7 TIE nomination of an independent candidate
divided the conservative vote, and James
I-wis, a negro and Republican, was elected
Bn, in 1874 Burke vas again nominated for
The same position, and elected by an over
~helming majIity. He thus became the
dispenser VI sfed'eI dfhouht VI Poii'ieo'
palsonage Than any man in the Safe, NOT even
excepting the Governor. |, is due him L"
say that friends and enemies alike commeD
the ihorou.h efficiency aud economy of hi.
administration of the office, IN which he made
a record never esua'ed before or since.
The City Of New Orleans was clean for two
9 4 D.-l..x l.
! In tie days Of the struggle between John
McEnery and Kellogg for the GcvernorsEiP,
Burke took prnmine n, part in benhalf of the
| Democracy. Ii was the time when troops
had been ordered 10 the State by The national
government, and
THINGS LOOKED soUALLy
| The ith Of September, 1874, had brought
a pitched battle between the Metropolitan
Police supporting Kellogg and a body o: ciii-
zens supporting McEnery. On This day and
at all times Burke was, il not the master
.pirit, at least no, FAR from the learier>hip II
was by hi. welI-devised AMI clever:y execue /
plot that the troops ordered from Holly
Springs, Miss on the day of the now historic
battle were delayed long enough to give the
citizens the victory, which although not i'm
mediatcIy effective, was the beginning of the
enl Of the Kellogg government. During the
ho'ly contested campaign Of 1876 Major
appointed 10 act as a CHI: OK upon the Repnbli,
can Returning Board, AM upon his iigcres
ant, data was la sed the claim Of Tilden to
the vote or the State al cast
Afe' the election, and curing the period o,
the electoral commission, he went as Tie rep.
reserta,ive OF the Democratic State govern.
mint 10 Washington, where his astn'e dirlo
macy won from the incoming administration
an informal agreement that the Republi>
can government shonld lie left to stand OF
fall as it conld, nna,ded by military support,
This settled the long sr,ugSle in favor of the
Democrats. and Packard, the Republican
claimant for the Governorship: threw up the
sponge.
In 1877 Major Burke, now o, the iormos,
wave of political influence and financial
prosperity, received the appointment of State
tax collector, of the richest District in New
Orleans-an office warth from $4,000 to
$50 600 IA year. This he relinquished the
following year
TO BECOME STATE TREASURER,
to wbirh position he WIS elected in 1878
This of!ire he held for ten Consecutive years
being defeated for denomination in 1885,
after bitter factional compaign, in which he
esPoused the canse of the NcEnery party.
which was "vcribrown By the Nichols fac.
ton at the Democratic primaries throughout
the State.
Major Burke's reputation Is a political
leader is not confined to Louisiana. At the
Cincinnati convention which nominated
Hancock he led the delegation fiom this State
and at Chicago lie not only controlled his own
delegation, waIch was. from first to la.i
almost unanimous for Cleveland, but look an
active and influential part in the discussion
OF all the issues that came before that body,
being one ofrh, three appointed to daft the
important tariff resolutions
1t was but natural that a man of Burke.
power and influence should seek to enter
journalism. In 1879 he bought the New Or.
leans Democrat, and later, in 1881, the Daily
Times, and consolidated them under the
name OF the Times Democrat now one O.,
the leading journals OF The Southwest, if no,
Of the Union
But the browning work of his life, the
acme ofh ambition, as he has often said TO
his FRIENDS, was in the great New Orleans
Exposition, held in 1885, Of which he was
made director. general Here his caracity
for work seemed enormous. He wore on,
everybody sbou! him; but tlouyl, & thousand
fell by the way he kept steadily on Nothing
escaped him; nothing OF value 10 the Ex.
POSITION was neglected. BIT he did no, know
how to husband his physical resources. and
worse still, while he worked for the Exposj,
ton his private affairs became sadly tangled
from neglect He came out of the EXPOSITION
with world wide prestige, il Is true, but with
health aud fortune gone. And it was during
these days Of arduous labor tor the develop.
meni Of the South through an exhibition of
her resources that the bonds now fraudulen:Iy