The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-02-21

him Of it. he and President Mckinley
laughed heartily. and the Senator admit
ted that it was n good one on him..
Il confess" added Senator Hanna. '.that
j was not quite at ease during periods OF
the trip. But when the order was sent
below FOR additional speed l was truly
shocked. And the funny part of it all was
that Corners stood there telling us stories
as complacently as though we were seat
ed in his drawing-room at home. Herrick
and Evans We're frightened out of their
wits. l guess they thought we were surely
going over the falls when they heard our
host tell Kelly to wake up the engineer.
That afternoon was certainly one of a
lifetime
HAD MARKED INSISTENCY.
One of Senator Hanna's marked charac-
t%eristics was his way of insisting upon
knowing everything about anything in
which he was interested and of finding it
out for himself.
In 1850 he bought for $4,000 the Euclid
Avenue Opera-House in Cleveland, which
had cost 1886. 900 to build. and had proved
a failure from the day of its opening. He
put a nephew, l. c. Hanna. in charge as
that the opera-house would present the
best attractions and make every effort
to please the public.
] For some reason. possibly because the
+, times had at last caught up with the en-
terprise. financial success attended the
new management from the start. That
was ciIlliltIltlS satisfactory 10 MI. Hanna,
but he wanted to find out Just how the
money was made. so night after night
found him on the stage talking with the
carpenter, the property, man. the stage
manager and everybody else employed
thereon.
As a result. he soon began making sug-
g%estions about this piece of scenery or
The method of operating some particular
mechanism.
Why don't you do it this way?' he
would begin, then outline his idea. and
close with tNOril that hp an Jmnrnye-
ment?"
If the carpenter. or whoever he might
be. thought the idea a good one. he would
say SO: If not. discussion was sure to fol-
low until one or the other was convinced
that he was wrong. Sometimes it would
be nth the earpenteT something's ,dne Mr. t Hanna;
ideas of the kinds of attractions that he
wanted at the opera-housc., This was
shown sSi IN - lSs2. VIII when ,,, his N neP baeT = thought Msst
ling match between DUNCAN Ross, the
Scotch athlete. who was then touring the
country. and a Detroit wrestler named
Mclaughlin.
Mr.. Hanna held a different view.
It's not the right sort of thing for the
opera-house." he said: Don't book it,"
vice. The match was booked and pulled
off. A few weeks after the opera-house
had a new manager.
with whom Hanna was on intimate terms:
He and Garfield were great friends. almost
chums. in fact. both before and after the
~latter's elevation to the presidential chair.
The friendship began early in Gaifleids
career and continued unclouded to the
day Of the Presidents death. Residents
of Cleveland will tell the lnquir1nS
stranger that whenever Garfield came To
Cleveland 1t was not an uncommon sight
to see him and Hanna walking arm IN
arm along the streets and laughing ana
joking as heartily as two care-free
schoolboys.
LOVED BY EMPLOYEES.
Senator Hanna's attitude toward his
employees is neither standofish nor off
hand. Many a coal miner or a street
railway conductor can testify to the fact
that Mr. Hanna has slapped nm sauareiy
cheerily: Coed morning. Bill But not
one has ever had the Senator crack jokes
with him.
A Joke was never looked for. but when
an employe met Hanna the former knew
by experience that he would be asked such
questions as these:
How Is the fami.y?',
might be improved?'
AS a result of this show of good will.
which also not infrcquent'y made ltseif
evident in the shape OF comforts and deH-
cacies. if the man had answered that his
wife or child were i'll. the Senator was ia.
miliarly known among his thousands OF
employees as Uncle Mark.
AS IldilDIldi tdiupuiSh
Alonzo Hanna was the most businesslike
man who has ever filled the place. He
did more work in less time; ne saw
every one he had an appointment with eA,
actly on TIL. minute: he was pleasant anu
agreeable TO all with whom ne came IN
contact; he never failed to laugh at a JOKE
cracked by a visitor. II there's rehI a
augh In it; but he rarely tried 70 pc nu-
morous himself. and he never wasted time
in argument.
1t is accepted as truth IN certain quarters
that ME-. Hanna dominated Mr.. Mckinley
when President. that he was really Inc
power behind the throne. But those VINO
knew them both best have always Sa'd
that it was exactly the other way. tEat
the President looked often to MIR. Hanna
for advice but failed to accept 1t quite as
frequently as otherwise.
Once q close friend of both Mr.; McEin,
lev and Mr.. Hanna. who may be called
John Smith. called on the latter 10 sus,
gest a change of policy, Hanna listened
long and %atentively to the proposed pro
gramme and the reasons for adopting 1t:
Then he told his friend tnat ne wonid
briefly like TO breach the subject to the
President.
For" added Mr.. Hanna: II have gone
over the same ground exactly with
lev, and he is against the proposition
but have YOU and has the President
thought of this INQUIRED the other. ad,
vancing his strongest point. winch mad
been withheld for a last resort.
Mr.. Hanna admitted that he had not.
He then took a card and handed II 10 his
visitor after writing upon 1t as follows:
......-....