The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-07-27

New York July 26.-At this season last
year the citizens of this great city were
RECALLED by a picturesque fight for pm
mary leadership in the Second Assembly
District The contestants were big
Tom" Foley vs. Judge Diver. This year
the scene changes to the Ninth Assembly
District, where a fight equally pictur-
esque is now being waged for the leader
ship. William s Devery, Mayor Van
Wyek's best Chief Of Police New York
has ever seem" is eontesting the present
Tammany Hall leadership with Messrs.
Goodwin and Smith. He has announced
himself as the anti-Croker candidate
Another factor is introduced into TINS
fight in the person of John Sheehan, It
being his own district. 1t becomes IN
the local parlance, three-cornered hight
and each candidate is sure OF election
Devery is nothing if not picturesque
both in appearance and language he
has made his headquarters q fire hydrant
on the street corner, and here he is to be
found every evening giving utterances to
those remarkable expressions which are
similar in character to those he made use
of as trial judge at police headquarters.
OF his opponent he says: Il am so far
ahead of them that you cannot see them
for my dust" Like all candidates Tor
leadership, he has put himself at the
head of the discontinued to be their
Moses to lead them into the promised
land which Goodwin failed to do Dew
cry says his motto is: BE as good to
everybody as you are to yourself and
he finds that while Smith and Goodwin
have been good to themselves, have en-
joyed the best cigars, have attended the
races, and even taken trolley rides, they
have never taken the folks In the district
to a trolley ride up the Bronx, or sail
on the Hudson with the band playing;
ION a Sunday Afternoon" This Devery
proposes shall no longer be the rule If he
is elected. He proposes to find work Tor
those who are out of employment. The
City Magistrates Court shall never have
dispossess case against poor man IN
the district and he will be ready to fur
nish bail for his constituents in trouble
and guard the general welfare of the
people in the district as if each and every
one were his own child. Beyond the To-
cal advantage to be gained he wants It
| to be distinctly understood that his de-
sire is to be sent to Tammany Hairs
Executive Committee in order that he
can put a lot of old chestnuts out Of the
organization" He also states that while
man of little means himself he has two
philanthropic gents behind him who
placed money in his hands saying: Here
is some money; you use it for the poor OF
the district" With this money Devery
has now opened a commissary depart
ment, and this is what that department
is to do. They are to hire two or three
doetors-more If needed-to go around the
dis trict and take care of the sick folks
Every man who is SICK every woman and
every baby that is knocked out can send
for the treatment he needs. Ice is to be
bought by the ton and distributed gratis
/ Agents are to visit the grocer and butch
err shoDs in the district and find out If
there are any poor people who need sup
plies When these agents make dis
.coyery they are to Immediately stock up
the INDECENT people and send the bills to
the department. My plans" says Dew
ery. ''for general relief will keep things
hustling till Christmas" At the pump, "
his most devoted followers call him
Santa Claus Devery. Is 1t not re-
markable that so many people can throw
away their votes through such artifice?
There is a well founded rumor that
| Croker will return in the fall. IL seems
that the squire of Vantage has not had
much success with his stable, and at the
last meeting he appeared both IT.
ritable and worried. Some of the
| improvements that were to have
been made on the 'Squire's do
main have not been completed; in fact
work has stopped No barometer can
tell more accurately the state of the
weather than the conditions prevailing
at Vantage 1t would seem that the
| Sources dough bags are empty; and
when the 'Squire's dough bags are empty,
Richard himself is pretty certain to turn
up. In view of the Gubernatorial cleo
ton the collection for Tammany Hall
would not be Insignificant, and the Squire
of Vantage may revisit his tenantry in
order TO levy contributions to complete
the repairs of his English estate.
-
Perry Belmont will again try to win
the Congressional plum. He was beaten
at the special election In January by
Montague Lessler because of the split in
| the Tammany ranks. Battery Dan
Finn is making an active effort to cap
ture the Tammany Hall leadership from
ex-Police Commissioner Michael c. Muir
ply, and he is receiving financial assist
ance from the Hon. Perry. If Finn wins
there will be no doubt as to the nomina-
ton for Congress going to Belmont.
There is little doubt that in the event of
his receiving the nomination the fight for
! Congress will be about as picturesque rs
1t was last year, at which time the Hon.
| Perry distributed wash-boilers to the
women and silk hats to the men. This,
| the Eighth Congressional District, has
| Democratic district and the loss of 1t is
ascribed entirely to the split. in Tam
| many; but the politicians are figuring on
| the then status of the district, and not
| upon actual facts. The district includes
| the whole of the Borough of Richmond
and some of the lower districts of Man
| haitian 1t was these lower districts that
gave the great majorities. Since the
| erection of large buildings in these lower
districts the population has been driven
| out and northward, while In Richmond
| which is in fact Staten Island-has grown
enormously with classs of persons who
| are wholly independent. 1t was these in
! dependent voters that defeated Belmont,
| not liking him or his record. They gave
their vote to Montague Lesser, young
Republican lawyer whose circumstances
| did not allow him to contribute dollar
to the campaign fund, while Perry Bel
mont made nothing but money cam
paign. Mr.. Lesser's record, though short
was exceedingly good, and his chances
for reelection are more than good.
New Jersey, the native as well as the
| adopted State of Grover Cleveland, is, SO
far as the Republican party is concerned
| in condition of turmoil at the present
| time, but 1t Is nothing serious. The ques-
| ton is simply who shall be the Repub-
| lican leader to succeed the late General
! Sewell and it will be settled after the
usual Republican fashion, quietly and
| iudiciously, without leaving any scars or
dissentions. The State is now solidly Re-
publican. Organism did 1t, and even If
ex-President Cleveland should succeed in
his Democratic reorganization schemes
the State can not be shaken from its Re-
n