The Irish standard., 1907-05-25
It is the Common Belief That He Could, by
Mere Word, Displace the Present ;
Leader of Tammany.
1t is to Sullivan That Tammany Owes the
Establishment Of Its System Of Re-
lieving the Poor.

Great is a king. but greater still is
he who can make a king"
This tribute to Warwick by one OF
the knights who followed in the fight
ing earl's train applies with peculiar
force to the Tammany Hall of today.
says the New York Herald. In it
Charles F. Murphy sits upon the throne
of Kelly and Croker, but behind that
throne stands the power that can UNI
make the king-the stalwart figure Of
the chief of the Sullivan confederacy
It's long leap from newsboy to con-
troll of Tammany Hall. but Big Tim"
head of the Sullivan clan, with it's army
of dependants, has accomplished this
feat with an case that is bewildering to
those who do not understand or appre-
ciate the man.
Timothy d. Sullivan to a casual OBJ
server is one who swims with tho tide.
taking the goods that the gods send
without questioning the motives of the
donors. Nothing, could be further from
the truth.
Everything that he has is a reward
of long. persistent fight against a
world that looked callously upon the
boy who entered the world in a. Leon
ard street tenement and who lost his
father when he was a mere baby. OF
schooling Mr.. Sullivan has had but lit
tle-he faced the world as newsboy
when he was eight years old-but that
little, combined with native shrewdness
and complete course in the college
Of experience. has fitted him to cope
not only with the clansmcn but with
those who have been licensed by some
proud university to append an alphabet
to their names.
Mr. Sullivan's entrance into politics
was marked by picturesque incident
In old Center street, in the shadow of
the Tombs, local pugilist was beating
a woman-and "Tim" there and then
began his career as peacemaker. The
icu6H "oulu IoL OC uISSuduSu lIOIll ulS
brutal attack by words. so rosy checked
young Sullivan substituted his fists for
his tongue. and battle followed that is
still sweet in the memories Of old Sixth
warders. Suffice 1t to say that Tim"
was the victor, and one prize Of his
prowess in a district where pugilism
was preferred to prose or poetry was
the devoted adherence Of the young
element" who from that day forward
hailed him as their chief
This leadership was not an unmixed
blessing, for while these retainers
forced Thomas P. Walsh (yclept Fat
ty'D to nominate Mr.. Sullivan to the
Assembly in 1886, thus opening the
way to the career which has made him
the most powerful leader in Tammany
that had to be met when the need
arose.
Gangs were a feature Of downtown
New York life in those days, and the
"Whyo gang" one of the most notori-
Gus, had its home in Sullivan's district.
In its membership were young men
who were shiftless or reckless and 9TH
ers who were thoroughly bad but
among the members were some who
had been loyal to Sullivan in his poiti-
cal struggles. When they ran afoul
Of the law and appealed for aid Sulli-
! van exerted in their behalf all the in
| f1uence that he could command. AS
one result Of his action in these cases
Sullivan was. denounced by Thomas
| Byrnes, then chief of detectives, as
IAN associate of criminals and thieves" f"
In reply to this charge Sullivan rose
in the Assembly Of the state and in
simple. homely language told the story
Of his life.
Il am not looking for sympathy" he
said, but l think owe it to this
house to show you that you have not
been sitting with man who has been
a chum. of thieves. My father died