Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1896-1899, 1898-12-06
a PEOPLES BOSS.
Platt. Quay and Croker Not IN the Pin
gree Class as Politicians.

boss that the cOuntry has seen. There
has never been his equal In the
running OF a convention and IN maxi
ing the people do absolutely what he
wants. That. incidentally he does
what they want does not alter the
case. Politicians today admit that
Quay, Platt and Croker, able as they
are In the control OF organizations
and the mastery Of the people, are not
his peer.
Today H. S. Plngree is the abso-
lutte master Of Michigan. His will
IS law and the people not only follsw
him wherever he leads, but they are
proud Of IL. There is, to- be sure, u
difference 10 the methods he employs.
Pingree is honest. One of the chief
faults his enemies lind with him Is
that he is incompatible. This Is an
unusual charge to make against a
boss. But Plngree is an unusual boss.
The election held last month in
Michigan, Illustrates the control
which Pngree has over Michigan
politics. The boss himself was a
candidate for governor He won the
nomination after the hardest kind of
fight. Then he ran 10000. or more
ahead OF the ticket. He named most
of the Republican legislative candi-
dates. lie merely sent word to the
convention that he wanted so and 80
nominated. The convention usually
did his bidding. In those cases
where the convention did not obey
him, Pingree came out openly and
fought the nominees of his own party.
He did not fight Ia secret la the us
ual fashion OF the political bosses who
make professions OF loyalty and then
pass the word along the line To kuife
the man whom they profess TO sup
port. Plugree announced that such
and such a candidate on the same
ticket as himself ought 10 be defeated.
And he was.
Never has there been such a case
of bosssm as there was In the De-
trolt legislative districts Plngree
sent down to the convention a printed
list Of the men who were to be NOM
mated. He admitted II and Rlorled
In IL. The opposition called the
nominees "the o. KID ten," aud the
"branded slaves" They we're held up
TO rldlcule as being owned by Pingree.
The nominees did not resent IT,,
They went on the stump and publicly
announced that II they were elected
they would have no higher ambition
than TO do exactly what Plngree
advised them TO do. The result was
that they ran away ahead of their
ticket.
Can Croker, Quay or Platt show any
parallel TO thatY
Plngree has his own methods. He Is
original. In the first place he came
into politics by accident. Before his
nomination as mayor OF Detroit IN
1889 he did not know the first thing
about politics. He was Republican
because he was born In Maine. Begin
ming life as journeyman shoemaker,
he had become proprietor OF a shoe
factory, aud his political duties con-
sisted In sending a check each year to
the campaign committee.
Pingree swas nominated for mayor
IN 1850 beceuse Cleveland had carried
the city year before by 1900 major
lty, aud nobody else wanted what
was considered an empty honor. As
soon as Plngree realized this he be-
came angry and announced that he
would be elected. And he was, by
5000 majority, after hard fight, In
which ne pledged himself TO redeem
the city from corporation rule II
elected. WOrkingmen supported him,
In spite OF the fact that he was a
millionaire. During the campaign he
showed his genius for organization
and his knowledge OF the wlsher OF
the people. Elected, he fulfilled his
pledges. He made the street railway
companies reduce their fares 10 3
cents, improved the streets, had the
gas rates cut in half, taxed big con-
Germs twice as much as they paid be-
fore, aud, indeed, reformed so much !
that when he came up for nomination |
again the politicians were against |
him. But the people were with him,
aud he won. -Four times In success
sion he was elected mayor OF Detroit,
aud each time Ia spite OF the polltl-
clans and the corporations, Each
time his majority was Increased.
Then he made his fight for the
g0Yernorship, promising that n
elected he would do for the state
what he had done for the city. Op-
posed TO him were all the veteran
like Senator Mcmillan,
Alger, Bliss, Burrows and O'Donnell.
But he beat them all aud got the
Elected as governor followed as q
matter OF course. Mckinley carried
Michigan by $4,000 plurality. Pin
gree's plurality VAS $1,000.
Pingree set 70 work TO reform the
state. lie found that Indiana secured
about s2,5OOOOo a year in taxes from
while Michigan, with a
large railway mileage, had been get.
ting about 100000 from the same
source. Pingree had bill introduced
10 the legislature giving the various
,ounties OF the state the power OF
Ocal taxation oyea the railroads and