The Irish standard., 1903-11-07
They Are Men of Extraordinary Natural
Capacity and of Long Experience as
Leaders of Men.
Ninety Per Cent of the District Leaders
Are Either Native Born Irish or
Sons of Irishmen

The following cNIfaclS are ldASA
from an article contributed to the Re-
view of Reviews for November, by
Erwin Wardman, editor of the New
York Press:
"Although the German population
now outnumbers the Irish population
of Greater New York, and although
the foreign population coming from
Europe proper outnumbers the Irish
nearly two to one, about 80 per cent
of the Democratic Assembly district
leaders in the boroughs Of New York
City are either native-born Irish or
SONS of Irishmen. German leaders in
Assembly districts are not only few,
but they rarely survive the Tammany
primary contests. Only two of the
sixty Assembly district leaders have
a college education. About 20 per
cent never had common-school edu-
cation, except in the primary grades.
"But the Tammany leaders and
their organization fellows in Brook
lyn are men of extraordinary natural
capacity, and of long and tried eX-
perience in bending and holding large
followings of men to their will and
their uses. Able and successful are
they from the James Kanes in Kings
County, the John Morrissey Grays,
and the William R. McGuires, to the
three big men of Brooklyn, Hugh Nc
Laughlin, James Shevlin, and Patrick
Henry McCarren, who have been the
center of the savage conflict between
Tammany Hall and "Willoughby
Street,"-as the Mclaughlin organiza'
tion is locally designated. 1t was the
McLaughlin-Shevlin Boss-ship which
denied the right and the power Of
Murphy to name the whole city ticket
and to force Grout and Fornes down
4he throats of Mclaughlin Democrats.
It is McCarren, on whom Murphy has
relied. the one-man ticket having been
named, to fog the Mclaughlin Demo
Gratis into the Tammany harness.
Hugh Mclaughlin, the Richard Croker
of Brooklyn for thirty years, from a
job in the navy yard to politics as a
member of the white House Gang"
and then it's leader by virtue of his
physical prowess; hunter and fisher
man for sport; for business a peace
maker within the organization when
possible, the strictest sort of disciplin-
arian when harsh measures were nec-
essary; possessed of fortune, the
lowest estimate of which is seven mil
lions, the highest fourteen; owning
more improved and unimproved prop
erty in Brooklyn than any six other
men, probably the largest holder in
that city of telephone, electric light,
and gas stock, yet never owning a
carriage and taking his most expen-
sive ride, except to a funeral, on a
trolley car; - James Shevlin, the
4'workingman'' in the organization,
known as the Sphinx, advancing from
his first job as a fighter on the frigate
Constitution in the Civil War to the
wealth of millionaire, though he
never held any political office except
that of warden of the penitentiary
twenty-five years ago, but having had
personal charge of the organization in
all the details of government that api
ply to party politics in respect OF
franchises or contract Patrick Hen
ry McCarren, who went from coop
er's shop to politics with his first vote
and who now is six feet tall, sallow
of light weight, clean-shaved, and
with a cowl would make typical
monk of centuries gone by. He has
been in the Legislature twenty years
at a salary of $500, and has had nc
other visible sources Of income until
recently, when, with Tim Sullivan, he
bought interests in local race tracks.
'In. .New,1York City, the men: re-
sarded as of the largest brain power
overshadowing the Tammany candi
dates beyond measure, are James J
Martin, Timothy D. Sullivan, George
W. Plunkett, Patrick Keenan,, Charles
+. Murphy, and William Dalton