The advocate., 1897-11-03
TOPEKA, KANSAS, NOVEMBER 8, l897.

resides in Philadelphia.
Newspaper men who have been part
of the George campaign had felt for
some time that he was undergoing a
strain which was surely and rapidly
breaking him down. At times he was
incOherent. His whole temperament had
undergone a complete change. His
speeches delivered by the half dozen
each day were often rambling, though
their trend was ever faithful to the toll
ers, whose devoted champion he had
been all his life.
Mrs. George and Henry George, Jr,
had been solicitOus regarding the effect
the terrible strain of Mr. Georges being
bundled about from place to place each
day far into the night and making
speeches before wildly enthusiastic
gatherings Of his admirers and it had
been noted again and again that his
faithful wife sat beside her husband
upon the platform from which he spoke
or watched closely from place of van
tage close by.
Mr.. George had not been strong for the
past three years, and his son, Henry
George Jr, had been his companion In
almost every enterprise in which he had
engaged, going with him on his tours
Of the West as special newspaper cor
respondent in the last Presidential CAM
paign, and keeping close at his side in
his movements in the campaign.
Within the past day or two close
friends Of Mr.. George had noted with ap-
prehenSiOn marked changes in his man
ner and appearance. His eyes grew dull.
Wrinkles came at the corners and his
eyes sunk in hollow caverns. His voice.
usually resonant and pleasant, was
pitched almost to piping treble in con-
versatlon and he was querulOus, while
he seemed like one whose nerves were
so highly wrought that they might snap
without warning. The pace of the cam
paign was harder than this man, high
strung and sensitive, could maintain.
Mr.. George was about five feet FIVE
inches high and of slender build. His
head was bald and his brows fast be-
coming gray.
THE SENSATION OF THE CAMPAIGN
After his nomination for Mayor by the
Jefferson Democrats, month ago, Mr..
George made an extremely active can
vass, speaking several times every even
ing and working from early to late at
his headquarters. He gave to the cam
paign its most sensational incidents,
by his attacks on Richard Croker and
Senator Platt, whom he threatened to
prosecute for various crimes, such as
levying blackmail upon city contractors
and aspirants for Office, should he be
elected Mayor. His candidacy gave to
the coming election its greatest element
of uncertainty, for according to expert
politicians it was practically impossible
to estimate how much of Bryan's vote
Of last year would go to George instead
of Van Wyck.
Last night Mr.. George spoke in the
borough Of Queens, and later in the bor-
ough of Manhattan at the Central opera
house. He was greeted by large and
enthusiastic crowds everywhere. In one
of his last speeches he said: II have
labOred hard for years to make myself
known, and now at last these things are
all written down. believe that all
needed reforms are summed up in the
philOsOphy--the right of every man to
eat, to drink, to speak as he sees fit,
so long as he does not trench on the
rights of other men" Later In the same
speech he repeated his threats against
Croker in a ringing voice that greatly
affected his hearers, saying: Let him go
to the penitentiary; he shall go there"
(COltinued on page 1877