Perth Amboy evening news., 1909-10-23
Brooklyn Democratic Leader
Dies in Hospital After
Appendicitis Operation.
CONSCIOUS UNTIL LAST
Made Heroic Struggle to
ReCuperate But Heart and
Stomach Failed.
SUFFERED HICCOUGHS
At the Last He Had Wasted
Away Almost to a
Skeleton.
SUFFERED HICCOUGHS

in his hands, State Senator Patrick
Henry McCarren, the Brooklyn Demo-
cratic leader, died at 1:05 a. M today
in St. GATHERINGS hospital, Brooklyn,
ten days after he had submitted to an
operation for appendicitis.
He was conscious to the last The
doctors had hopes of his recovery at
times during his illness, but his heart
and stomach proved too weak for the
demands upon them. At the end he
had wasted almost to skeleton and
suffered continuously from hiccoughs.
His last words were: I'm glad it's all
over. Goodby."
Father thinner was with him at the
end McCarren's mother, who is
eighty-seven years old, is so feeble
that she was not even told that her
son was Ill, but his nephews and nieces
were at his bedside.
Fslt He Would Not Recover.
Or. Peter Hughes, his physician,
said: "The senator felt from the day
he was taken to the hospital that he
would never leave ii alive"
years old last June, had been the abso-
lutte master of the Brooklyn Democ-
racy since 1908, when he overthrew the
old leader, Hugh Mclaughlin. He had
been power for years before that,
but with the fall of Mclaughlin Nc
Carren became something more than
local figure. He grew suddenly to the
CD .f
tional figure, man to reckon with
when presidents were nominated.
For six years he held the Demo-
cratic organization in Kings county
gripped in his fingers. He held II
against Tammany raids, the rebellion
Of district leaders, the furious assaults
Of pulpit and press, and gained the
distinction Of being the most astute
politician developed in many years.
Father e Born Politician.
McCarren was born June 1S, 1S49. in
East Cambridge, Mass. His father was
Owen McCarren, who was natural
born politician. In 1851 the elder Nc
Carren moved from Massachusetts to
Brooklyn, where be ran for alderman
in the old Fourteenth ward and was
defeated.
Young Pat was apprenticed to
cooper after picking up a common
school education, and while making
barrels he got to thinking about poIi-
tics In 1881 he was elected assembly
man from the Fourteenth and Fif-
teenth wards. After that his influence
spread rapidly.
He was returned to the assembly in
1883 and in the following year at
tained his senatorial ambition. With
the exception Of the years 1894 and
1895 he was continuously in the SEN
ate. In 1893 he went down with the
general overthrow Of the Democracy.
His First Great Opportunity.
His big opportunity for leadership
came in 1903, when George B. McClel-
Ian was first nominated for mayor.
Hugh Mclaughlin. the veteran Brook
lyn leader OF the Democrats. and his
lieutenants, James Sheylin and John
L. Shea, rebelled, but McCarren stayed
with the nomination and became the
party leader.
For short time after the McCIel-
Ian victory in 1908 Lender Murphy of
Tammapy and Leader McCarren of
the Kelgs county Democracy were
friendly, but in 1904 the break came.
when Murphy attempted to overthrow
McCarren's leadership and make the
Kings Democracy TammanY adjunct.
McCarren, without consultation with
Murphy, declared himself in favor of
Judge Parker for president
The breach widened when Murphy
forced Hearst's nomination, at the
state convention Of 1905. McCarren
was savagely against Hearst. In the
campaign McCarren worked so subtly
that many persons attributed Mr..
Hearstfs defeat by Charles 70. Hughes
to the remarkable Democratic defec-
tlon In Brooklyn.
5itterest Fight Last Year.
Perhaps the bitterest of all the fights
between the two leaders came last
year, when Mr. Murphy's power was
sufficient to have the McCarren dele
gates excluded from the state conven-
tion.
For many years Senator McCarren
was said to be the particular friend OF
the Standard OIL company and the
sugar trust. In 1897 when the Lexow
committee was investigating the sugar
trust in Brooklyn McCarren came
right out as the defender Of the sugar
trust He fought for the trust in the
committee and dIssented in d minority !
report from It's findings.
McCnrren was lawyer. having been
admitted to the bar when he was for
ty-three years old. but he rarely ap-
peared in court. He never married.