Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-07-20

citadel of commerce and the financial
center of the new world at least, if not
of the entire universe, for, as our ex-
ports last year for the first time in his
tory, surpassed those of Great Britain,
New York, not London, is in conse-
quence looked upon as the Gibraltar of
finance by the patriotic on this side of
the water.
But this is DEPRESSION. The king re-
ferred to is Richard Croker, ruler of
New York. He is not king by "divine
right" or selected as such by the will
of the people. Indeed he holds no office
of any sort, yet king-nay, czar--he
unquestionably is of the imperial city
of the sovereign state of New York, the
arch of the Union
The wise men" of New York of
course know the potency of Richard
Croker, hut the men of other states of
the Union do not. For their benefit
will quote two sentences from pithy
smile made not long ago by that prince
of satirists and cleverist of delineators,
Joseph Hodges Choate, ambassador to
the court of St James: "No Roman
proconsul ever sent to administer dis
tant province, no Spanish captain gen
eral ruling transmarine colony, en-
ioyed equal power to benefit himself and
his followers Give walking through
the nabob treasury at Moorshedabad-
where sacks of gold and silver, rubies
and diamonds, the accumulated fruits OF
a tyrannical and unrestrained taxation,
were piled on every side free to take
what he chose, no power to question
him, no limitation upon his greed ex-
cept such as was imposed upon him by
his conscience-enloyed no such oppor-
tunities ~ the boss of this great Ameri-
can city"
Who is this modern Caesar and upon
what meat doth he eat that he has
grown so great? An "exile of Erin, "
but, strange as it may seem, of an old
English family. No plebeian blood flows
in Croker s veins, the general belief to
the contrary Notwithstanding. Croker
ancestors came over to Ireland with Oil
yer Cromwell the great Puritan leader,
the first and greatest republican of Eng
land, in 1919. To General John Welsted
Croker, who aided the lord protector
materially in the siege of Limerick and
the subsequent ront of the royalist
forces, Cromwell gave a great tract of
land in Limerick county. There the far
famed Ballngar castle was built in a
later generation, and that castle is to-
day occupied by cousin of second de-
gree of kindred of New York s ruler,
Sir Henry Croker. Others of Cookers
ancestors We're Richard Croker, quarter
master general Of the British army,
and John Wilson Croker, author, pub
liCist and statesman.
The Crokers. like other English Irish
families, were prolific, and in time some
of them arrived at that state of affairs
that guineas became as big as golden
chariot wheels. All could not be lords
of the manor; so those who did not go
to the "wars" England has been eter-
nally waging III some part Of the globe
or settle down to the professions were
obliged to become gentleman farm
ers To that class belonged Richard
Croker s father. The famine of lS4S, "
which depopulated Ireland of half its
inhabitants, brought the older Croker
with his large family over to America
They got no farther than New York
Richard, then a boy of 10 years, went
to the public schools. At IA he went to
work in the machine shops of the New
York Central railroad, then on Forty
second street, the site of its present
grand depot, remained there until he
learned his trade, and at 81 became an
assistant engineer in the New York fire
department. That was his first political
position. Since that time he has been
mayors marshal, alderman, fire COM
missioner and chamberlain. He never
hold any other offices, He holds none
no., save as self appointed ruler of
New York.
As have already stated Croker
came within an ace of going to the
death cha mber, just like good Queen
Bess' three hundred odd years ago, and
all on account of homicide in which he
was absolutely guiltless, 1t was on cleo
tion day in 1874. Sheriff James o Brien,
then power in New York politics, was
running for congressman against Abram
S. Hewitt. John Kelly, then dictator
of Tammany Hall, had g<en the Eight
zenith assembly district O'Brien s
stronghold over to Croker on account
of his Spartan courage and subtle
knowledge of east side politics II took
a mighty nervy man in those days to