Evening star., 1905-10-29
THE MAN TAMMANY
PITS AGAINST JEROME

tagging physical energy in the heat of hard
campaigns, waiting till time should have
mellowed him somewhat-confident that
when his lean waist should have given
place to a comfortable metropolitan girtn
he would be a tower of strength as can
didate.
1t was probably one of the greatest sur
prises Of Osborne's life to have Tammany
nominate him for district attorney. He was
an assistant under Philbin-Gov. Roose-
veIts appointee-when the famous Bissert
and Diamond blackmailing cases of the
Devery regime were to be tried. Philbin
told Osborne to prosecute them. Osborne
knew that Tammany toes were going to be
stepped ON, but he never faltered- He
drove both men from the police force, and
he supplied abundant campaign material
with which Jerome and Low could fight
Tammany in 1901. Osborne himself thought
that finished him politically, but he never
murmured.
Osborne came north in the same fight
with George Gordon Battle who the other
night nominated him for district attorney.
and the late Lindsay Gordon than whom
Tammany Hall perhaps never had an or
ator more naturally gifted. They had
learned their law in the south. a section
which seems to breed legal mindS-as well
as game-cocks. But in New York they
learned a new theory of practice. Osborne
cnce told of his awakening in this wise, the
story gaining a double value in the broad
southern accent and the inimitably graphic
manner of the man:
'I studied law with Judge Simonds away
down in Carolina. He was a lawyer of the
old southern school, and he taught US law.
not politics. The judge used to tell us this.
for example: When you are intrusted with
a case there are two questions you must
ask yourself: First. what are the facts?
And, second. what is the law applicable to
those factS?'
when / came to New York city to prac-
tice l soon discovered that in the minds OF
many the proposition entirely differ
ent. The two essential questions here
seemed to a large number to be: First, who
is this man? And second who are his
friends2'
That erystallized osborne's view of the
metropolitan existence, but as he went on
through term after term in the district at
! torney's offlee-and changing adgninistra-
| tions did not avail to force him Quit be-
| came very plain that he was still prac-
| ticing law on the basis taught him by the
| revered old North Carolina mentor.
| II case In the district attorneys office
| was ever to be garbled or ridden to a fall
| It was ruin to put it into the hands of Os-
| borne. AS well try to whistle off a blood
hound once he had got the scent.
His methods of procedure are original to
the last degree. His audacity In trial of
case Is unbounded. Many judge has con-
fessed himself unable to ''hold Osborne"
He has probably been reproved from the
bench more times than any lawyer in New
York, and always took 1t with a grin, or
with grotesque humility which was worse
X
On the surface Osborne Is the most err
ratic man that ever appeared at the New
York bar. He lays ponderous stress in
times on the inconsequentiaI, fights for
picayune testimony glares and knits his
face and almost gnashes his teeth at wit
ness over nothing.
A multitude OF men have been SO misied
as to fancy at times that he had discon-
nected his trolley. That was the biggest
compliment that could be paid to Osborne.
1t was just what he wanted. He is an un-
relenting cross-examirer, but more thor
oughly than most lawyers he has mastered
the art of taking the witnesses attention
away from the really vital matter and
wrestling confession from them by mad
vertence
He is hard student OF applied psychol-
egy." SO to say. A man who was helping
Osborne frame summing up in one of his
cases h&ited him to say: There. You are