The Washington herald., 1908-05-10


has achieved wide notoriety, because
Brayton, blind. continues to hold the lit
TEST State OF the Union In the hollow of
his hand as effectively as ever he did
when he had the full use of his eyes. His
moves in gas and politics have served to
place J. Edward Addicks among the no
table picturesque Mayor "Jim' Dahlman
has been nicknamed "the cowboy mayor" :"
and Roger c. Sullivan, Illinois Demo-
cratic committeeman, showed the pic
turesQde streak In his makeup, when
after Bryan's first onslaught against him
as national committeeman, he got the
State convention to indorse his famous
enemy.
Sullivan, in fact, owes his national
/ prominence since tho last national cam
paign to Mr.. Bryans several attacks on
/ him. Contrariwise Mayor Dahlman, Of
! Omaha. has been much in the public eye
| of late years largely because OF the most
! famous Nebraskan's friendship for him.
Bon Sullivan and Dahlman are compare
tiyely young men. Each has got up the
worlds ladder by his own efforts and
| each IS a party boss in his own State.
Sullivan shares with John p Hopkins.
/ OF Chicago, the leadership OF the Dem0c,
/ racy's cohorts in Illinois, and, Of course.
Mayor Dahlman listens TO the councils of
/ M. Bryan.
SuIIIVan's First Job.
When Sullivan hit Chicago In 1s7s-he
was then eighteen years old-he got a
/ Job as machinist in the shops of a street
railway company. His first political job
was that OF deputy collector of internal
revenue during Cleveland's first admins
/ tration. BY that time he had risen to be
| a general contractor and had begun 10
/ lay away for a rainy day
| The year before Sullivan sought out
! the Western metropolis Dahlman. then
! twenty-five, leaving his Texas home.
| journeyed to the plains OF Western Ne
| braska, where he took up the art of cow
| punching. He graduated from this siren
uous to the stir more exciting game OF
| politics six years later when he became
a member Of the little town Of Chadron.
Nebr. From that day to this his leading
hand has been political. and he has sat
/ so successfully In the game that next to
| Bryan. he Is the best known OF the Ne
| braska Democrats.
Dahlman. the politician, has not hesi-
| tated 10 be as unconventional and plain
/ spoken as Dahlman. the cowboy, ever
was. When he was mayor Of Chadron
/ it was his boast that the town was de-
/ lightfully wide open. When he headed
the Nebraska delegation 10 New York 10
welcome Bryan back home from his trip
around the world, Jim" brought along
his lariat. and when he spIed Mr. Bryan
on the tug that brought him up the har-
Dor, he swung that coil OF rope and the
moose settled gracefully about the dis
l tinguisbed travellers shoulders. Prior TO
the arrival Of the ship the mayor amused
himself and numerous natives OF New
York by playfully lassoing downcast cab
horses and proud automobllists.
When Dahlman was running for mayor
/ OF Omaha a couple of years ago the Re
/ publicans made the mistake of crying out
that he had once been a cow-puncher.
Jim" at once let loose this effective bit
OF political ammunition i'm the direction
OF the enemy: I was a cowboy I am a
I cowboy. And when I become mayor I'm
going TO use cowboy methods TO throw
and brand the gTafters." Then the oppo-
siuon tackled, and discovered that Jim"
was extremely fond Of sitting In the great
American game mot politics.. Dahlman
gracefully admitted the soft impeach-
ment adding that If any man had played
poker with him and didn't know II. he'd
ike to see what manner Of creature he
was.
Again Acknowledge Ii.
In sheer desperation the Republicans
finally announced that Dahlan wrote
English as she is often spoke. and tear
fully asked if that was the sort Of man 10
head the municipal government. Once
again Jim" admitted that his opponents
spoke the truth. stiH, he couldn't see
where this little matter Of grammar came
in. burned if he could. IF a bill comes
TO me 10 sign that I don't like" he said.
m going 10 write across that bill.
Nothing doing. jim Dahlman.' 1 guess
that's grammatical enough for anybody
to understand" Omaha evidently agreed
with Dahlman. for it elected him mayor
by majority Of 5000
Sulliyan's noteworthy victory at the
poles climaxed his initial race for Office.
Though nearly all the rest of the Re
publican ticket was victorious, Sullivan
was elected clerk OF the probate court
OF Cook County by 70,000 majority, From
that year he has been a growing power
IN Illinois politics. Slight of stature and
wiry IS Dahlman. in physique and move
ments typical man of the plains. Sui
livans on the other hand, weighs some
thing Ike 200 pounds and towers a head
or more above the Onahan. When If
comes 10 wealth Sullivan could buy ont
the cowboy numerous times over Suli- |
van has run gas and other manufacturing
establishments SO sucC essfully that he
now runs several yachts for pleasure.
Col. Guffey is as rich in dollars as he |
is In picturesqueness. His fortune esti- |
mated in seven figures, has come to him |
through lucky strikes In gas, oil. and
mining Guffey began humbly enough |
as a railroad and express clerk down |
South The years he spent there gave
him his distinctive raiment that he |
brought back TO his native State. Penn |
sylvanla, when he went into the oil fields |
in 1872 TO seek his fortune He found
what he was looking for about the dawn
OF the SOS.
Finally. however. he carried his pitcher |
to the well once too often This occurred |
just when Western Pennsylvania was
awaking to the fact that it had been
mighty foolish to waste for so many
years the natural gas which frequently |
had been struck when boring for oil. Cuff
fey nothing cast down by the fight of
his dollars, Immediately turned his at
tentlon to natural gas. He became a |
pioneer in piping it long distances to in |
dustrial centers and as q result another |
fortune was speedily his. The part he |
has played in the development of the |
Texas oil fields is recent industrial his |
tory Together with his pre-emInence
about that time in Pennsylvania politics
Il served to call the attention OF the ma |
ton to him. and since then he has been |
a national figure
Self-mRde Committeeman.
Dahlman. Sullivan. Gu6ey-each man
has made himself. But they are not the /
only self-made men on the two commit |
tees 1t is fact that the large majority /
OF the members have got there" through |
their respective individual efforts.
Chairman Taggart first made the ac-
quaintance Of indianapolis folk as a clerk