The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1896-10-22
HON. HAZEN S. PINGREE.


Still is it true that deeds heroic
For man. By man unselfsh wrought.
In spite Of skcp,ic and OF stole,
Shall thrill the world with kindlier thought.
While pulses warn, with quickencd beating
Divine relationship to trace,
We hail with universal greeting
The brotherhood OF all the race.
And so II is the people claim him,
This civic chcftain of his clan
Aud thus the shouting thousands name him
The prophet of the working man,
He lives in the beautiful City of the Straits
He is the Republican candidate for Governor
Of his State. He will undoubtedly be Chief
Executive of Michigan upon and after jan i.
1897; yet his fame, his prestige, his hold upon
the popular heart do not depend upon the
issues of Nov. 3; nor has Michigan any longer
the sole claim on him, for he belongs to the
Nation, and in one sense to the world. He was
born at Denmark. Me-, Aug. 30. 1910. and is
the son of Jasper Pingree; his mothers maiden
name was Alkaline Bryant.
The family records have been faithfully kept,
and show that the Mayor of Detroit is of the
eighth generation of Pingrees born on Ameri-
can soil. The first of the name here was Moses
Pingree tspeled Pengry), who, with his brother
Aaron. settled in Ipswich, Mass in 1910. 1t is
believed they came from England. No one
who possess what is called family despises such
distinction. and it is interesting to know that
this sturdy cham ion Of the rights of common
humanity has long line of Christian an
cestry behind him-men and women Of cbarac-
ter, standing, and influence. Puritanc ideas
of honor and honesty, love of home and coun-
try. and a readiness to defend these at the
hazard of life and fortune, have ever distn-
gnished them. 1t is inspiring to be thus fore
fathercd; it is altogether better to be worthy
such ancestry; to have in his soul the elements
OF true greatness.
The early youth Of Mr. Pingree was filed
with labor; first on his fathers farm. with the
usual New England Winters schooling to the
age of IA; then in cotton mill at Saco, Me-;
then in shoe factory at Hopkinton. Mass. At
the outbreak Of the war he enlisted in Co. F,
LIST Mass. II. A. He was in the battles of Fred
ericksburg Road, Harris's Farm. Spottsylvania
Courthouse. Cold Harbor, and North Anna. On
June /, 1864. he was captured by Mosby's men,
and suffered the usual bitter experiences Of a
Union prisoner at Andersonvile, GOrdoDsvile,
Salisbury, and MilIen After FIVE months he
was exchanged, in time to take part in the
battles of Petersburg. Fort Fisher, Boydton
Road. Sailors Creek Farmville, and Appomat-
tox. His regi ment lost heavily, both in officers
and enlisted men.
After his muster out, in August, 1865, he
came directly to Detroit, and was employed in
Badwin's shoe factory. He formed a partner
ship with c. II. Smith in 1866, and it is related
that he put into the firm $3.50. That the house
so launched has been a successful is shown
by it's commercial rating of 100000 capital.
Detroit people say the firm is distinguished for
straightforward honesty, enterprise, and square
dealing.
Seven years ago last January Mr.. Pingrec
was elected Mayor of his city, and it is in this
capacity he has won his fame. Here he has
been most approved and most opposed most
enthusiastically admired and applauded; most
cordially hated, feared, aud execrated. Here
he has made friends who would die for him,
and foes who hesitate at no device against him.
1t ia said that man is known by his friends
but he is sometimes better known by noting
who are his enemies. So herculean have been
his struggles against corporations mouopolies,
fraud, greed, and mismanagement. ana so sig
nal his trinmpbs, that it has brought the man
and the city into the public eye to a remark
able extent Politically speaking, he has &C.
complsbed the impossible. He found the city
in the grasp of corrupt corporations, poorly
lighted at great expense. ILL paved, no adequate
sewer system, most indifferent and inefficient
street.car service, with bribery prevailing in
municipal affairs to q frightful degree. This
was the situation. Now, Mr.. Pingree has con-
victions; his ideas of right and wrong are
very simple, being derived from that old Book
long ago given for their guidance to the chill
dren of men. In the depths of his soul he
believes in human rights and he has a colossal
courage of bis own which never falters. Given
such situation and such a man, battle to the
death was inevitable. He began his warfare
against these conditions in Detroit with the
cheerful, hearty relish of good fighter, and
he has never given inch of ground.
How he espoused the cause of the working
man, how he declared for honest dealing in the
management of public moneys, how he exposed
bribery and fraud, secured cheap rates of trans
pOrtatiOn, projected series of needed improve
ments, public lighting plants parks. miles of
well-paved roadways, water service reform, q
perfect sewer system and other benefactions-
is not the history of all this written upon the
beautifed and purified face of the city, and in
the hearts of the peoplef
He has entered with sympathy into the
wants of the needy, and his plan of permitting
the poor and unemployed to plant and culti-
vate the waste and idle lands in aud about the
city has not only fed hungry thousands, but
stimulated in them love of honest labor and
given to many, doubtless their first impulse to
manly independence and thrift.
President George A. Gates, of Iowa College,
says of him: I" 1t is probably q fair statement
of the truth that no Mayor of any considerable
city in America has done so much for the in
terests of bis town as this man. The battle
Mayor Pingree has fought out in the eyes of
the Nation in and for the city of Detroit has
put the American Nation under obligation to
him."
In appearance. Mr.. Pingree is much better
looking than his pictures would indicate. The |
usual full front view is misleading, and does |
poor justice to the strong, thoughtful and |
kindly face He has very clean and clear
complexion. is six feet high, we'll proportional,
and enjoys superb health.
Any personal sketch of him would be incom-
plete in the eyes Of the feminine world without
some mention of the graceful and gracious