Omaha daily bee., 1905-06-12
TRAITS OF SCRAPPY LEADERS
Sketches Of Philsdslphia'S Boss and ItS
. Ring-smAshing Mayor
VICTOR AND WNoUIsHtD IN ulMtLleHT
How the Boss Attained and Retained
Power--The Man with the Big
Chin-Cause and COnse-
auence of the scrap.


remarkable municipal battle in the history
of American politics.
Durham. the defeated leader, is one of the
shrewdest politicians in the country, even
though his domain Is restricted 70 local
politics. Weaver, the victorious leader, be-
hind whom all Philadelphia was ranked, is
no politician at all. and for him Durham
and all the ring bad contempt so pro-
found and bottomiess thai it could not find
its expression in words.
Durham is a quiet, silent. sef-contained
man. Weaver is a bubbling effervescent,
enthusiastic sort OF person. Durham is
man who makes no pretenses at religion;
Weaver Is a great Sunday school man, and
thereby hangs much of the tale of his re-
volt. For weaver's break with the ring /
did not come until the clergymen and Sun
day school leaders of the city had de-
nounced him bitterly as reereant. He had |
stood by the ring until that happened.
Weaver has been In the limelight for so
short a time, far the country at large |
is concerned, that his character and his
true relations with the ring are not gen
orally understood When the limeight came
his way he was in the act Of smashing tho
ring and It is a ring smasher that the
country knows him AS fact, he was for
two years, a full half of his term, a ring
mayor.
But this is not 10 say that Weaver was
ever a ring man In the full sense of the
term. He writhed IN his fetters. He carried
out the rings bidding with bitter protest
because he had to. When he received his
orders and obeyed them It was with such
open disgust and anger that the ring that
had elected him hated him.
Choosing His Time.
In choosing his time for his revolt he
acted with a shrewdness that astounded
ba ri To ba vie eIntY hod
- adjourned. II he had revolted before a
rpper bill would have been put through
The legislature in twenty-four hours and
Weaver would have been ripped" out of
ONCE. Therefore Weaver bided his time.
When he acted. even though he is no
politician, his plan of campaign some-
thing that could not be surpassed and he
acted with decision that put the ring
the run from the start.
The fight was over the gas lease. First
the mayor announced that he would veto
4 the lease, and then he removed from Office
= he director of public safety and the dlrec-
4Ittbpr OF public works. The former had moth
~0t Ing whatever to do with the gasworks ofi-
cially, and the latter had nothing to do
with the lease. The blow was struck for
the purpose of paralyzing the ring.
The man who has done this thing is a
short, ruddy Englishman with chunky
face. He has one Of the biggest chins that
ever completed human face. He is so
short that he is called "the little mayor "
but his figure is so square and chubby that
he does not really look little, even to the
medium-sized men who tower over him and
20 whom he has to raise his eyes when he
talks. Down his jaw there runs a long and
very deep cash, made in his youth by a
man who was aiming a blow at some one
else and caught the innocent bystander
English born, Weaver started at the bot
tom when he came to America as a boy He
was an errand boy, but he saved up enough
to go to a business college and thus became
a clerk. Then as clerk he saved up enough
to go to a law school and become a lawyer
But he was an unknown lawyer. a re
spectacle but anonymous nobody when tn,
ring took him up. Once he had Joined al
independent movement to best ring coun
Gilman for reelection, which had failed bu
this alteration had been atoned for by
continuous regularity thereafter.
Now he has beaten Durham down to hi
knees He has done 1t not alone by re
voting, but by revolving at precisely tn
right time and striking just the blows tha
go to the collar plexis. The ring hates hir
as bitterly as ever, but 1t does not despis
him now.
~ The Bose.
The man whose power has been so shat
tered Is far from being a detestable char
4STeter bosses go. The human side O
Durham, beneath his brutality as a bos.
makes him a more engaging figure tina
Croker was for instance. There is abou
him good deal of the charm which boun
men TO Tweed.
He was the practical creator of tn
present organization, which is quite a ne
thing, In days not long gone by the tow
was ruled by the Hog combine, of whic
State Senator David Martin was the hea,
a ring which was infantile compared wit
Arham's The Hog combine never dreamt
Of the far-reaching grip which Durha
has fastened on every department
human life In Philadelphia.
purham's machine subsists PRACTICAL
on the funds raised by oficehoders. A
OF such holders belong to the ring, and
specihced portion of the salary of each
set apart for the organization. Durha
decides the distribution of this immen
fund No one would dare question his dl
tribution even ask what had been doI
with the money. Durhams will is law.
The whole government of PHILADELPHIA
prior to Weaver's revolt was located
the eleventh floor of the Betz buildin
where Durham has his once. He go
there every day and Issues orders for [
government of the city. Contractors
there TO ask that city contracts be Civ
them. officials to have their duty in I
to ask for decisions patronage. II
all done perfectly openly and above boal
They are waiting for Durham on t
street. and he is held up and buttonhol
before he can enter the building, He stan
there with immOvable patience, decidi
each case in a few words, until he has d
missed them all and then goes up to
once. where he finds another crowd ava
ing him, and where he enters upon
duties as governor of the city and pla
out the days work.
Factors in His Popularity.
His decision in each case is irrevoca
and cannot be appealed Durham ne,
lies. That and his patience are strong Il
tors in his personal popularity. In ansv
10 a request for a position he will say,
his calm and passionless manner, mo
can't give you that" and that ends
There IS no protest, for Durham never
cides from whim, and cannot be mo,
from a decision
~,