The Washington herald., 1907-12-14

New York. Dec. fS-One might have
thought that there was a death in almost
every house in Forty-ninth street from
Ninth avenue west to the river to-day.
when the neighborhod heard that the
mother Of The" McManus. the political
leader of the Thirteenth district. had
died.
The women stood whispering and cry
ing at their street doors. with shawls
pulled over their heads. Even the little
boys and girls. who. in the spring time.
used TO march along all dressed in white,
wearing gold paper crowns. and singing
bravely. 5000 and 1000 strong led by the
tall mother. were grief stricken. The little
girls told of the fine black silk dress Mrs.
McManus wore TO their parties. and the
cameo brooch that held the bit Of lace at
the throat, and the jet black hair with
never streak OF gray. And the little
boys who had been to the May parties
with her said she could throw a baseball.
Not one Of the women who stood
huddled in the doorways and told OF the
big-heartedness and the political dip
lomacy and skill Of the woman that had
just died. spoke Of her as Senator Nc
Manus' mother. They said the senator
was her son.
Raised Large Family.
For almost sixty years Mrs McManus
has lived in the neighborhood. When her
husband died some years ago she took
it upon herself 10 be father and mother
TO her eight sons. and she found time
in between to be a mother to everybody
in the Eleventh district or beyond the
rim Of it, that needed help. They said
to-day that she "sneaked" into the tene-
ments with her basket OF bread and meat
and made the old women promise that
they wouldn't tell.
Every Saturday each Of the eight sons
came TO her with their weeks wages and
the mother put it in the bank for them
Then as the boys grew older the mother
began TO see her way toward realizing
her ambition 10 send them 20 college.
Five of the boys -c-e too old by this
time TO go back to the books they had
dropped when their mother had been
compelled 10 take them from the schools
and place them at work. but one son.
Patrick. she promptly sent 70 St. Francis
Xavier's College. The two youngest she
sent TO Georgetown.
Pneumonia Took Pat
Pat got pneumonia the autumn after
he left college. twelve years ago. He in
sisted. Notwithstanding the doctors or
ders to the contrary, in going out and
campaigning for his brother Tom. who
was a candidate, and he died Of pneu-
monia the next morning
All the district could tell you that Mrs.
McManus' was the last word always in
guiding the political fortunes OF the
family. But the neighbors wouldn't tell
you much about the political part Of It
yesterday; that should be got, they said.
from the senator.
But she was one of the finest jiggers
in New York" said one old man to-day,
who stood In the doorway of the sena-
tors home. And she says TO my wife
when she dropped in to see us only three
weeks ago. he continued. Mary. tbs
a hard neighborhOd in spots, and
brought all my boys up in the middle of
IL, and nobody can say a word 'gainst
thin and tell the truth and she could
sing, too, about the Boys of Ballina-
muck'-her name was Maria Quinn before
she was married. and she came from Bal
linamuck to New York when she was a
little girl. That was the song she liked
TO sing best
Shed be alive to-day, DR.. Gavin says,
only that she disobeyed his orders TO
stay in bed the other day. The boys will
tell you that not one of them ever an
swered her back In their life, and when
she told them last Sunday morning that
she was going to get up and go to the
Sacred Heart Church to mass they
couldn't stop her. SO she went"