The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-04-18
NEW YORK LETTER.
Gotham Matters on Top as Seen by
a Great Observer.
oheckered Political Career OF John Y. Nc
Kane--A Man Who VIII Be Heard
from Again-Gov. Albeit and
the Boodlers.
EcopYRraHr, 1921

A substantial-loolxing North of ire
land man who is known by sight to
very few Broadway promenaders has
attaching just now to his portly per-
sonality that liveliest Of all ''contem-
poraneous human interests" the force
fulness of leadership. By the results
he has accomplished John Y. McKane
Is an actor Of national Importance on
the stage Of public affairs. He has, 20
begin with, the interesting equipment
of mysterious middle name. It is
something of distinction itself to be
named that way. More than Croker is
to New York, or Gleason to Long Is
land City, or Mclaughlin to Brooklyn,
or McDermott to Jersey City, is Nc
Kane to Gravesend, where Cleveland
was defeated in 1858 and where he NAV
be elected in 1882. Cleveland's plurality
of LOAF votes in the state of New York
in 1884 came from Gravesend, the cita-
del Of the great county of Kings, which
in 1883 showed falling Off of about
5000 in its democratic vote. That fall
ing off is believed to have been the work
Of John Y. McKane, the keeper of the
citadel He was democrat in 1884; q
republican in 1888. Now, in 1899, he is
mot only democrat, but an anti-Hill
democrat, possessed of a distinct per-
sonal grievance against David B. Hill,
and likely to leave no stone unturned
in an effort to roll up big democratic
pluraaities for Cleveland or Cleveland
man If he gets the chance. Now, who
says John Y. McKane is not just now a
peculiarly interesting figure in the pub
lie arena? Nobody in Washington
knew much about McKane until he
marched at the head Of the procession
along Pennsylvania avenue at Harri-
sons Inauguration. Since that time re-
peated efforts have been made to bring
about personal meeting between him
and David B. Hill, who calls him
"John." McKane has persistent
ly refused to treat with Hill.
And the senator has a very per-
suasive tongue. Nearly forty years
ago this leader in American politics, one
OF our potent ''Mc's," came from the
north of Ireland with his father As a
lad he trod the shadows of Sheepshead
Ody 1OI Clk1IlSs Duu ll0 was SdluUlU1OuS
and made all the acquaintancesh he could
and then made friends Of them. The
Franklin lodge of odd fellows admitted
him to membership, and when the time
came for an election for constable, the
odd fellows and his other friends elected
John Y. McKane. He took to politics,
as all North of Ireland men seem to do.
Then he became commissioner of COM
mon lands, then supervisor of his town.
ship, then chief Of police, then member
of the democratic state committee. All
this time he was democrat. In
1887. because Hill broke promises to
him, as he says, he went in heart and
soul anti-Hill. Cleveland was asked to
patch up the quarrel from the white
house, but Cleveland said itwas only
local" quarrel, and McKane went
ani-Cleveland, and Cleveland went
under the next year. Now the denoc-
racy of Kings. the second county in the
state, has just taken John Y. McKane
into the fold again and chosen him
chairman Of the board Of supervisors Of
the whole county. If that causes Mr..
Harrison to lose any sleep, why, let
hi1n lose st. It can't be helped, and
facts are facts McKane wears the i'm
perial, and the statesman with the tuft
ON his chin is at the front. The odd
fellow did It'll McKane is solid and
we'll proportioned, brown haired and
mzstached, husband and father and
thrifty manager, and he has the blue
eyes OF the man who ''gets there"
GOV. ABsErT AND THE BooDLKRs.
s In vetoing the Reading coal conspir-
acy bin, Gov. Leon Albeit, of New Jer-
sey, has dome what public sentiment
demanded he should do, obut evident
IL not what he himself wanted to do.
He was dragooned into correcting as
corrupt piece of mcnopolistic legisla-
ton as this country has ever seen. He
vstoes the bill chiefly on the ground
that he believes 1t to be unconstitu-
tional, and yet throughout his some
what extended veto message he argues
that the bill ia good thing, and laments
that he is not able to approve It, The
fact Is, that he vetoea the bill as piece
Of political expediency. The idea of
bib to legaiize combination to increase
the price of coal to the consumer was
SO impudent in its conception and
outrageous in principle that it
created storm of Indignation
throughout the country, and partic-
ularly in New Jersey, and the governor,
as much as he would have liked to see
the bill become law, did not dare affix
his signature to 1t. It would have
meant his political death, and it is not
at all assured that his temporizing with
the boodlers has not already laid him
upon the shelf for damaged goods.
Whatever the legislature may do for
him in the way of furthering his ambi-
ton to achieve the United States sena-
torship, it is generally believed that the
people of the state will beslow to again
honor him with any important Office.
His election to the senate would not be
vindication, as the public has very
clear understanding as to the manner
in which these things are accomplished.
A bree1e that blows over the Hudson is
to the effect that he will repair his shat
tered fences and make e. deter
mined effort to slip into the
senatorial vacancy which oocr1ra next,