The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-05-26
CONCERNING
IT. JOSEPH MANLEY
An Interesting Character Sketch Of q
Famous Politician.
A LIFELONG FRIEND Of BLAINE
But When Blaine Died He Trans.
ferred His Allegiance TO Names
Other Great Son, Tom Reed..A
Few Words Of Ancient History.
Walter Wellman, in the Chicago Times
Herald.

Walter Wellman, in the Chicago Times
Herald.
Some men are great. some achieve
greatness, others have greatness thrust
upon them, and now and then there Is
man who acquires greatness by re-
fraction from the light of a really great
man. This is precisely the case of Jo-
seph Homan Manley, manager of the
Thomas b. Reed presidential boom. but
better known to fame as the friend of
James Gillespie Blaine. Mr.. Manley is
not great man himself, and If anyone
Were to make so bold as to intimate
to him that he " as he would be the first
TO resent the compliment as Jolly"
MIR. Manley is not great. but he is
useful and true and bright. and two Of
the most famous men in recent Ameri-
can history have been glad to call him
friend. There was a time when 1t was
difficult to speak of Mr.. Blaine without
bringing Joe Manley to mind, and GER
tainly 1t was impossible to think of
Manley without thinking of Blaine also.
How Blaine marched along the road
that leads to fame everyone knows. In
congress, humble and unknown, then
winning recognition, finally speaker of
the house. candidate for the presidency
again and again. with fate pursuing
him, In the senate in the cabinet. and to
his grave with the inscription of Most
Popular of Americans" upon his head
stone-all through that journey. from
first to last, except to the grave, he was
accompanied by modest little Joe Man
ley. Mr.. Blaine once said that he did
not see how he could ever do anything
without his friend and Fidus Achates.
He grew to be bound up in the round
little yankee. He was never wholly
happy without the knowledge that his
fl...t, .,D1I ls 1,.n
should he he needed. Mr.. Blaine. as all
the world knows, was not all the time
the buoyant Optimist he was generally
supposed to be. There We're moments
when the usefulness Of all things, es-
pecially of ambition, pressed hard upon
his soul. 1t was In these moments that
he wanted Little joe"
BLAINE's START.
When Mr.. Blaine was a young man
he went to Augusta. Me-, to become a
newspaper editor and reporter. He had
then few dreams of fame or power.
His greatest ambition was to own a
newspaper that could pay its expenses
and support a modest family. A few
blocks from the Office of the Kennebec
Journal. the. weekly newspaper. which
he became editor of. lived the Manley
family, where it had lived for several
generations. Every Manley was a
yankee of the downeast variety. and
every one of them was true blue. In
that family was little hunchback boy
whom every one called Joe. He was al
ways around the printing Office. He
carried the papers which young Blaine
had edited, read the proof for, and put
to press. While the editor was writing
the actresses on the wrappers for the
subscribers who received their papers
through the mails, little Joe used to
hang around the Office begging the
chance to do up papers. He also
liked to run errands, and to fold papers
as soon as he was big enough to reach
the top Of the folding table from stool.
There was something about this mite of
a lad, this odd little hunchback-per-
haps his brightness and yankee wit
which attracted the attention Of the ed
itor. At any rate, a warm friendship
sprang up between them, and continued
throughout life.
Mr.. Manley now says he remembers
the Blaine of that day very well
Even at that early time" says Mr.
Manley, Blaine was a charming man
Everyone In Augusta liked him. He
rapidly made strength for the paper
and was q smart editor. Mr.. Blaine's
hair and beard We're then as black as
coal. ne was very actlNe, 1ull OF run
and had that thing which we call mag
netism. ! can remember when ! was
only a lad Blaine used to talk politics
to me. He had an idea he could make
speeches, and though didn't know /,
then, l know now that ne was trying
them on me. When he would get off
some Of his beautiful sentences, talk
ing about the country and the people
and the party and all that sort Of thing
I used to sit with my mouth open won.
dering how any man could be SO smart
You see, he was trying his speeches
on me. I was the dog. Right good
F.. speeches they We're, too, as the peu-
pie found as soon as they gave him
a chance to take the stump in tn,
campaign. From this onward things
came Mr.. Blaine's way very rapidly
You will remember that he went tc
the legislative houses to make reports
for the paper. and he and Melville "
Fuller We're engaged in that work to.
gether."
INTO POLITICS.
Mr.. Blaine went to the legislature
himself soon afterward and made his
mark, and then to congress, and the
country knows the remainder of thai
great story. But little Joe was only
q STRIPPING then. He had Just beer
graduated from Albany law sehoo
when Mr.. Blaine came to congress. He
practiced for time. and. having once
had the taste of the print shop in his
mouth, found 1t impossible to rinse il
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