New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-04-18

.sr ,x,or,Ia sooner have the hate OF any man
than his contempt" said the subject OF TINS
b,o1ranbv a few years ago. This perfectly SIN
cere utterance is significant of what we may
regard as the dominant trait OF Ihe Hail. ~
wit memorable earnestness. In the course vi
his career he has provoked many en1llues anu
much hatred but the contempt that is De
slowed upon the weak, the vacinaung OF 'he
unsuccessful has never been his portion we
might almost cay that he was earnest 10y III
be-,-arce His ancestors were among the heroes
and martyrs of Kiddernlinster. Those VINO re-
sisted the brute fury Of Jeffreys may well have
had something in them destined to endure 10Y
generations His early life, too, was so cast as 10
induce strength of character in him The loI
of the Nonconforrnist in England at that time
was not an altogether joyous one. He was
made to feel his social and political inferlorty
TO the elect of the Establishment Nhle thls
NAV sometimes have crushed him. 1t just as
often stiffened his backbone and made him ag-
gressive Nonconfornty and Radicalism thus
became Intimately associated, even in the con-
sentative mercantile class Of London, where
Joserh Chamberlain was born and lived unul
he came to manhood; Unitarian in creed d
radical in politics. and an industrialist in
calling
His first undertaking after reaching the age
He became q screw manufacturer IN blrnhns-
ham Concerning this part OF his career Varl-
,us tales have been told. some Of them not alto
pethe- credita bic TO him. The simple truth, as
narrated by his present biographer, Is that MS
business career was conspicuously creollaple'
The secrets Of his success may be expressed IN
two words-adaptability and enterprise he
found for example. English made screws prac-
ticallv debarred from the French market, De
cause they were all made in inch and fractonai
and rau1tiple sizes, while the French wanted
them measured by the metric scale he I'M
rnediately introduced the metric scale into his
works and soon had almost a monopoly Of the
French market. Again wishing to rid hinlseh
os detrimental competition and to lessen the
cost of production he purchased and ABSORBED
into his own establishment various rival 1ac-
tories Against his integrity as a business
man 10 word is to be said; nor any elihei'
against the record of his relations with ms EN-
Moves Finally, he set the uncommon example
of being content with moderate fortune re-
firing from business in the very noontloe OF MS
prosperity.
BEFORE he thus retired, however, he became
interested in politics, on parochlal scale ne
bacame an alderman and Mayor Of Birmlng-
ham. That city had long been notorious loi
its unsanitary condition, its squalor and It's uii-
,ope,iness L was one of the worst governed
-,,,nicinalities in the kingdom. To the correc-
+;on of these evils Mr. Chamberlain addressed
himself with the same earnestness that ne was
showing in his private business. lie prloeo
himself upon his model factory system NO"
he would apply similar system 10 municipal
administration. We cannot here rehearse IN
detail the story of Birminghams rehabilitation
Suffice It to say that it became almost every
thing It had not been. Sanitation, streets tehc-
rnents lighting. water supply, all were mace as
GOOD as they had been bad. The government
was reformed. Libraries. baths and other bene-
fcent public institutions were provided And
+,,e credit Of 1t all was due to Joseph Cham
be,lain more than to any other man. Biz
rnineham to-day remains what he made 1t, an
example of excellence in municipal adTninistra-
ton and if he noted for nothing else ne
would still merit lasting fame for his achleVe-
rr,ents as a parochial reforIner Even while en-
Gagged in this benefcent work however, he
did not escape hatreds. Men rallied at him as a
Republican" and an enemy Of society
Touhtless he was and is still a republican"
in that he is devoted TO what he conceiVes TO
be the res publica,'' the common veal For
this reason some expected that when the Prince
and Princess of Wales visited Birmingham, Mr.
Chamberlain then Mayor. would treat them
with some boorishness. if not with open hos
tility He was pictured greeting them in his
shrtsleeves and wearing a Phryglan cap
.'These people said Mr. Chamberlain him
self seem TO forget that man may be re-
publican and a gentleman" AS a matter Of
fact of course the Radical Mayor of Birming-
ham displayed toward his royal guests a cour-
tesy to which even the most fastidious could
take exception
Having first served himself and next his
adopted city so well. it natural that Mr.
Chamberlain should presently be elevated to
the broader plane of national politics, in the
House of Commons and in the Cabinet. He
went TO Westminster as a Radical But where
as when confined to parochiai municipal
limits his radicalism seemed so intense TO
suggest socialism. when applied to the full
scope Of the nation it Appropriated so closely
of Gladstone in what the latter's best
days. When he was alderman and Mayor Of
birmingham he had devoted himself to the in
terests of that city with little thought Of the
rest of the kingdom. So in the House Of Com
mons he began to work for the welfare OF the
United Kingdom with little thought of the
remainder of the empire. In the important
doinss IN Egypt and in South Africa he seemed
quite content to follow Gladstone's lead un-
ouestioningly He was himself thinking Of
other things Of social and industrial reforms
to ireland. he was outspoken in favor Of con-
Citation and policy Of do ut des In
letter written in the stormy days Of Kilmain-
ham he said that England Ought TO welcome
suggestion and criticism from every quarter