The Irish standard., 1902-10-25


camo across the Twemy-thild street
ferry last night, with his slouch hat
pulled down over his ,Elrk-hrown eyes
and a hlud look about hiS tirmsct lips.
Ills long, black coat and his clean
shaven face, with the lines of work
and worry burned deep, gave him the
look of u priest. With him were three
other men, who obeycd his lcck and
call, and mt his heels troopc,l the rep
rcScntativus of every newspaper and
press association in New York city.
Tll2 crowd ON the boat, who possibly
would not have noticed the man had
there not been such evidences OF cN-
citcmcnt in his train, swlrlcd around
him and pushed their way to the front
to get Il glimpse of llim, says the N.
Y. World.
IS, And we'll they might, for this little,
quiet man was John Mitchell, who
with the possible exception of j. Pier
pont Morgan, with his millions Of
money, wields more power in this
country today than amy other man lln-
backed by the authority of the nation
Call him labor leader, ngitator, dcma-
yoy,lc, or what YOU will, he is one Of
the unique ana commanding figures
this country lHs produced in recent
years. and young and poor though be
be- he is a factor in the economic and
social life Of the United States which
men of sound sense must recognize no
matter what their prcjudiccS.
Here he u.s. tilirty-four years old, Il
graduata Of the mines, with 10 cduca-
tiun save that which his own natural
ullckncSs of intellect has enabled him
to acquire in the hurly burly Of a COM
mon labor LEADERS, life, the master alb
solutcly Of the wills Of 100000 men,
ami holding mt his mercy the indus
TRIES of the greatest nation in the
world. Morgan commands men by his
millions-with genius, to Ike sure-but
with all tlIc glanOr of his financial
greatness, with the prestige of audi,
ences with European kings and kai-
scS with the culture and refinement
of hcrality and training, lhc cannot lay
claim 10 the personal devotion Of such
horde of rude, rugged men, who look
or this Mitchell mot only as their
leader in the struggle for their rights,
but half defy him i'm their own ignor.
ant way.
There have beem other leaders of
labor in this country, and they havc
burst into public view with greater
blarc Of trumpcts, lasted tlheir brief
spell and gone down, Through dis
honesty or utter radicalism, TO dis
grace and defeat. But none has ever
gained the influence over so great a
body Of men, none has ever had such
faith rcposed In his honesty, none has
ever had to resist the temptation to
sell out his men that faces John Nit
chell to-day. Five months he has
fought this fight, his subordinates look.
ing always to him for the last word
and he looking always to his subordi.
mates fOr the first. Therein has been
one Of the secrets of his success With
the opportunity and temptation before
him all the time 1le llas never AFRO.
gated to himself the mastery that
might be his He has recognized that
the hope Of success lay always in the
democracy of the great union of which
he was elected the executive, and he
has never allowed himself to forget
it. Dignificd and reserved, lie has
been at the same time approacllablc
and amcnable to the advice, not only
of the officers Of his organization, but
Of the men themselves.
And so it is that the rough Slavs
and Huns, the Welsh and Irish just
escaping from the bond Of Nn Old
World tyranny, have listened to him
as though he were a Moses, and let his
word be law. If you go into the
mining regions of Pennsylvania to-
day and ask these men who is the
greatest man in the world, they will