The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-08-01
Was not Born in a High Socia
Sphere and Yet He Attained
Distinction.
Cambridge, His Home, Was Thor
oughIy Exclusive, and Yet
There He was Popular.
His Best Public Appearance was
at the Dedication of John
Boyle O'ReilIy.

There is a point of view from which the
life OF the late Governor Russell is seen
to be especially remarkable. says Bos-
ton dispatch. In this country we are zoo
prone to praising men who rise from log
cabins to the high places of government
that sometimes we forget to give their
1 due to well-born men who gain distlnc-
! tion. It is often harder, I believe, for a
man of good social position to carve a
career for himself than for a humber
man to rise. 1t is so difficult to shun
\ the allurements of society in favor of
hard work
| William E. Russell was not born in a
very high social sphere. His family was
we'll placed in Cambridge. No city has
more exclusive society. In his college
days and for some years afterward "Wlll,
Russell, as they called him, was thor
ough society mana leader of the young
er element and extremely popular. One
who did not look beneath the surface
might have thought that his life was CIV
en- up to these things. The average So
ciety man seldom has much deeper inter-
| ests. but youAg Russell, avoiding dlssl-
patton, gave himself time to work. His
wife also, Margaret Manning Swan, be-
| longed to the same social set; their mar
riage occurred during his term as mayor.
His general popularity in Cambridge So
| ,,1r NV o1v
politics. 1t is really remarkable that a
young man, whom a novelist might call
"a petted child of society,"" should have
been so great favorite with the masses.
That's just what Billy Russell said %
heard a laboring man on the corner say
| to another a day or two ago. They
were evidently discussing his Chicago
! speech. sG s..
Ex-Governor Russell made his last pub
Tic appearance in Boston. It was at the
dedication OF the John Boyle O'Reilly
monument The seats in the tent and on
the platform were nearly all filled. May
or Quincy had come, but no cheers had
greeted him; Governor Wolcott had TAX
en- his seat without any demonstration
a. faint clapping of hands had welcomed
Vice President Stevenson; but clapping
and cheering met the boyish figure Of
Ex-Governor Russell as he appeared at
the back of the platform. Looking lit
tie pale and worn, he acknowledged the
applause with smile and a bow.
| The development of artisanship
in the city politics of Cambridge has been
due in great measure to the influence OF
| William r. Russell; Democrats and Re-
! publicans united in electing him mayor,
and in his three terms Of Office he was
able to prove the advantages of on-par-
tisanship The municipal politics of
Cambridge are absolutely free from party
spirit.
Possibly, but for the action of Mayor
Russell, Cambridge would never have had
the public buildings known as the Rindge
| gifts, for it was during his term Of office
| that he suggested to Frederick II.
| Rindge, his own friend and a former res
ident of Cambridge, the city's great need
of a public library. The response of MIR.
Rindge was more than generous. He gave
the city 1i5,Q00 square feet of land, and
erected library building at cost of
! $1OO, 900. Later he gave the city an ad-
jacent lot for a high school building, and
! another lot near by for an industrial
school, which he built and equipped at
! a cost of 100000. Again, he built and
presented to the city beautiful city hall
at a. cost of $225, ,00O. Mr.. Rindge permit
ted no memorial of himself in any of these
buildings: it was one of the conditions of
his gifts that they should all contain tab
! let's with religious inscriptions only.
Mr. Rindge was member of the Har-
ward class of 70. and a companion Of Gov.
ernor Russell's in his youth. Going west
| for his health, he came under strong re-
| lipious Influences, and as a result, has
employed the large wealth left by his ia
| ther in doing good
/ have seen several impressive funer
| ais, but none to compare with Governor
Russell's. The streets of Cambridge
from the port to the square were filled
with people; shops were closed and public
buildings draped. 1t was sunless sum-
mer day. The sidewalk for blocks below
I the city hall was crowded with people
walking in line to view the body. 1t is
said that 10000 people viewed the body,
| and that as many more were turned away
disappointed The crowds overfOwed
| from the Common into Garden and Ma
son streets. President Cleveland was
visibly affected when DR.. Mackenzie
prayed that he might have the sympathy
iof all good men. It was an impressive
sight when the hearse turned away from
the church with its stalwart guard of
pallbearers--a Harvard men.
The independent Corps Of Cadets,a de-
| ftachment OF which stood guard over Gov
Iernor Russell's body e the city hall has