The advocate., 1892-07-06

tlOn and well cultivated mind. As a speaker,
he is probably without peer In the United
States, for he understands that the object OF
true OrstOry is nrst TO convince and then to per
suade 30 he Is careful not TO lrrltate or to offend
those whose support he is seeking. Mr.. Depew
Is probably the most popular man In the United
States (unleSs Mr.. Blaine be exceptedO and
everybody likes TO agree with him and vote with
him, II possible, when he asks it.
But his power as man and an orator is not
all that must be considered when the sources
Of his success are 10 be examined. He has a
place In the commercial world that enables him
TO put his finger on the nerves Of the greatest In
dustrial organizations Of the country. To learn
the basis Of Mr. Depew's strength, aside frOm
his personal qualities all that is necessary Is to
study the map Of fthenOrthern part of the United
States from Boston TO Cheyenne. The observer
win find In New York some black lines, indlcat-
Ing the Central, Hudson River, West Shore,
Harlem and other roads. He will find In New
England the Boston s. Albany, and the New
York & New Haven roads. When the control
ling spirit OF this great system favOrs the nOmi-
nation Of particular person by convention,
the delegates chosen from the districts through
which these roads run, are pretty likely 10 be In
fiusnced by that person. No pressure is exerted
on the W0rkmen In railroad shops, engineers,
flremen or labOrers. They do as they please be-
fore and after election. But the subordinate
officers, the local attorneys, Of whom there are
80 many, the numerous local politicians who are
80 pleased to be on good terms with q reat road.
which can reward those who assist 1t, are all
given to understand the policy which has been
decided on. This vast army Of az nts, working
quietly and systematically In great cities ike
New York and Boston and the rural districts,
has that enormous power which disciplined and
harmonious intelligence can exert when it
pleases. It Is difficult 70 OvereStmate the power
OF such machine to secure results.
The study Of the map should not end at Buff
falO. Between there .and Chicago are the Lake
Shore, the Nickel Plate and the Michigan Gen.
tral. The "Big Four" stretches down into Ohio
and spreads Out into Indiana and Illinois, West
Of Chicago the Northwestern system extends
into Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ne
braGka and South Dakota The Northwestern
is Vanderbilt road. It has It's attorney In
every county, and station agents at every vii
the road it Is easier to see why the six states
mentioned above should have given Mr.. Harrt-
son, because Mr.. Depew so desired It, ninety
six out Of their 122 votes.
In case where great corporations. IKE the
Pullman company, for instance, whose interests
are intimately associated with those OF the rail-
roads, choose to assist them, they can exert
persuasive influence which Is not to be despised.
But the lions share OF the work Is done by the
railroads. 1t Is not drawing It too strong to say
that for each mile Of track the Vanderbilt SyS-
tenn has an Intelligent energetic subordinate
who will obey instructions and will generally
succeed In doing what is expected Of him. So
when the presidentmaker Of New York de-
cides whom he will put in the White house he
has under his control machinery which enables
him TO scoop In delegates from the Rocky noun
talnS to the ocean.
This Is q great deal of power for one man to
WELD, but as long as Mr.. Depew uses 1t as wisely
as he has done hitherto no one ought to grumble.
Certainly there win be no complaint from Chi
cago, because this city has great affection for
the Warwick Of his day. He has been It's IA
yonte adopted son ever since he enlisted In the
OauSo VI buo WOIlub rbiI' lOr Wnlcn no n2S
worked so actively and so effectively. And when
Senator CullOm fatty refused to be the faVOTite
son Of Illinois the people Of the state unani-
mouSly gave the position TO Mr.. Depew. And
they claim that for gOOd-humor storytelling,
oratOry, political skill, and ability to get the
better Of his opponents without making them his
enemies, they win back him against any other
favorite son in the United States.