Evening star., 1898-08-10
DEATH OF JOHN RILEY.
The Passing of a Venerable and Re-
spected Citizen.

his death removes the last of the coterfe of
Irishmen who settled in the District in the
| tnfFties, and who left their individuality SO
| tndelibly stamped upon their adopted city
| that it's history will rever be authentically
written with their names and deeds omitted.
The late Mr.. Riley deserves more than
passing mention. He a splendid pro-
duct of American citizenship. He was
emfnently a self-made man. He fought for
| all he earned and deserved all he won. No
success ever came to him without the pre-
face of serious thought and the continuity
of earnest effort His own judgment was
his only guide in his undertakings. He
never Consulted any man, nor followed any
mans dfctation In any pursuit, hence his
successes, and they were many, were all his
own. His failures he bore without a muir
mur He was true to himself under all cir
cumStanceS and it followed he was never
false to any man.
Born in Ireland of the peasantry he emf
grated to the United States when but lad,
landing in Alexandria. He was stranger in
| strange land, penniless, friendless, and
with but meager education. And yet, thus
handicapped, he started in the race to win
home and fortune, backing against these
inequalities a restless energy that never
tired and a rugged principle of honesty that
ne never lost sight of single hour in his
whole career His first occupation was that
of laborer on the Chesapeake and Ohio
canal In the sweat of his brow he earned
LIS DTcdu. WIN HIS IrSC savings ne Ell
tered the fruit business and continued it
for years until he had sufficient to buy% his
own home In this he opened a tavern.
His success was proverbial among his
fellows. He touched nothing which did
not at once multiply into a goodly product.
Abandoning the liquor traffic after some
years spent in it he started a confection-
cry and general variety store of fancy arti-
cles for household use. Fer many years
no store in the city was better known than
his, located or 7th street northwest be-
tween Louisiana avenue and d street With
an Intuition that was instinct rather than
Judgment he foreSaw the city'S future
greatness at the beginning of the civil
war and predicted then the wonderful ad-
vance in real estate values. Thought
meant action to him, and disposing of his
growing business he began investing in
real property. AS usual, his judgment
proved unerring, and successful were
his ventures that he retired practically
| twenty-five years ago with an assured
competency from the profits on his in
vestmCntS He crowned a youth of labor
with an age of ease
Mr.. Riley was ever an humble, modest
man, retiring from rather than intruding
himself upon the worlds observation. His
friendships were few, yet when once form
ed they were solid and lastrg as red rock
There were those who reading these lines
will confirm this truth when they remem-
Der that their first business efforts were
due 10 his generosity, and their rougn
places in early life were smoothed by his
help. He was a charitable man, and his
bounty knew no sect nor creed The
orphans will miss him. Families long
hidden from the world to screen their
descent from the high social plane they
once adorned, Will regret his death, for
he carried them for long years, unknown
to any man, as his pensioners. In re-
hson he was Christian, rather than sec
tartan. His charity equaled his faith and
his hope was founded on Christ's promises.
To merit them he lived a life prayerfui
and I.nI-f -faa ,jr
and bigotry. and hypocrisy he despised.
All essentials Of the non-essentia1s he left
to men wiser than he, and did his duty
as God gave him light to see it.
Gentle as was his manner in his dealings
with men, and pastoral in its simplicity as
was his life, where a principle was in
volved Mr.. Riley rose to the level of hero
ism. Any imposition of his rights he
fought to the bitter end, regardless of per-
sonal sacrifice His stand against Know
Nothingism proved this. 1t is part of the
history of Washington that toward the
close Of the fifties the Native American par
ty was in power in the city. mob of i'm
ported ruffians terrorized the handful of
police, drove Catholics and Irishmen from
| the polls and burned their property. Mr..
Riley was among the first to suggest
counter organization and to contribute
largely of his means toward the importa-
ton of another set of thugs, whose duty
| it was to cope with the Know-Nothing mob
Riot and bloodshed followed, and so like
American party in the District. 1t required
| the courage of ones convictions for The
performance of such an act in those days,
and Mr. Riley was q man marked for ven.
geance for long time. He bore the ordeal
without fiinching. Men of his class possess
! the dogged, staying qualities of splendid
| fighters, and he was no exception to his
class.
| Afiliatng with the southern people for
many years, he imbibed the doctrine of the
sovereignty of state rights in its fullest
| sense. 1t was treason to advocate such
doctrine during the war 1t meant the loss
| of property and personal liberty. Yet at
| all times, in public and private, he protest.
! ed against what he believed to be the
| iniquity of a war of coercion. He had
never heard of Emmanuel Kant yet the
| German philosopher had never tirmer be-
| lever in his doctrine, Liberty of thought
| is nothing without the liberty of speech
1t was in his home life that Mr.. Riley
| was at his best He was loyal to his flesh
| and blood. A good son, he was a good
! husband: good husband, he was q good
| father. The noble woman who survives
| him had been his consort for fifty-two
years. Hand in hand they climbed the
steep of poverty to the height of aftiuence.
No thought of one was ever hidden from
| the other, no enterprise ever undertaken
without mutual consultation of its results.
They We're friends, companions, lovers
Their honeymoon lasted from their wedding
| day till the life of one was closed forever
more. The deathbed scene between the
TWO was exquisite IN Its pathoS Realizing
in the sentient silence the gathering gloom
of death, the aged husbands hand wan
dered among the coverlets till 1t found that
other hand that had soothed and helped
MIN, and grasping 1t he held it firmly all
the way on his passage from the transient
present to the everlasting Beyond.
1t Is said that death comes gently to
lives gently led, for nature, In her tragedy
OF me, is consistent playwright and
makes her characters play their parts ac-
cording to the unities from their first en-
trance to their final exit. Death came 70
him as sleep comes to the drowsy chilli IT
nlghtfall. In the last hours the DARK
Hand waved away the ugliness and bitter
ness OF pain, and with smiling lips and
hopeful eyes he went down TO eternal
sleep In the rich, cool, sombre shadows of
death. There We're tears about his couch
but none came from him, reminding one of
the words pronounced over the Persian
child at birth, Weeping thou comest into
the world while all about thee are in
smiles. So live that thou mayest leave the
world smiling, while all about thee are in
tears" 49, "
SO he lived and SO he died He wrote his
me page in bold hand and he left q
| cleanly written record. He meant to do