The news=record. [volume] (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon) 1907-1910, 1910-10-05

"a Jay Gaynor of New York is
~ the sixth of the kind made on
prominent Americans while .oc-
cupying public office.
Presidents Lincoln. Garfield and Nc
Kinley were victims of assassins. as
were the elder Carter II. Harrison
while mayor of Chicago and Governor
William e. Goebel of Kentucky. An
unsuccessful plot was laid to slay
James ii. Peabody while governor of
Colorado. and Frank Steunenberg was
killed, though after he had left Idaho's
gubernatorial chair.
Gaynor Born on Farm.
Mayor Gaynor's career was that of
a farmer boy who rose by sheer force
and ambition to an enviable position
| at the bar, on the bench and in poll
tics. His success as an executive was
marked in the comparatively short
time he ruled New York before James
j. Gallagher threw the nation into ex-
citement by shooting the Gotham
mayor on the deck Of the German
liner.
Mayor Gaynor started his political
career early on the basis of the old
fashioned town meeting. and on the
efficiency of that factor In the system
of popular government he based his
confidence all through his career, right
up to his. election as mayor of New
York, during his campaign for which
he repeatedly said to his audiences tn
Brooklyn
why should answer the lies they
tell about me-tell about me to you.
my neighbors, who know met+
First Purifes Flatbush.
He found himself as a young man,
countryman from up state in the old
town of Flatbush, where corruption
ruled and forty saloons did business
with only one license. He went to his
neighbors and so far worked upon
their feelings for righteousness sake
a generation before Mr.. Roosevelt had
made the phrase from the Bible popu-
lar with voters-that they supported
old Flatbush political ring and force
the saloons all to take out licensees
He moved to Brooklyn and found
there the Old Hugh Mclaughlin ma
chine mufcting the city by the ancient
and present method Of selling to the
municipality private property at an
exorbitant price--$1 .2D.000 for a wa
ter supply plant which the ring mem,
bers had purchased for $1S5.OOo-and
appealing to the people. his neighbors.
against a ring which had been regard
ed as all powerful he beat the ring
through the popHhr suffrage.
He found John Y. McKane doing at
Coney Island what be had seen done
In Flatbush and In Brooklyn. and, de,
nouncing him in appeals to the public.
he beat him at the polls and sent him
and sixteen of his followers to jail
At the time of the Columbian aele.
! bration he found more bands charged
for than could be got together im New
York and Brooklyn. He published the
knowledge Of the graft and challenged
the bills that were presented. but the
ring. still powerful got bill through
the legislature authorizing the payment
of the exorbitant claims, Gaynor went
to the governor and got the bill vetoed.
Serves on Bench.
He declined office on several occa-
sions after some of these successes,
hut ran for justice of the supreme
court after the McLaughlin machine
had been started on the run, and his
triumphant election with the Brooklyn
city ticket led to the tinai overthrow OF
that machine.
While ON the bench he continued his
political activities both as citizen and
magistrate, not hesitating to appeal to
the popular Alteration even against the
practices Of his fellow justices. all
though not attacking them personally
He set forth that 1t was on the GROUND
of popular rights that he interviewed to
protect George Duffy from the polict
In the imbrogllo which resulted In
Mayor McClellan's dismissal of Police
Commissioner Bingham. and within a
| AVW mVhtus lN WIS uOuiiudttQ Aoi
mayor of New York.
Upon resgning as supreme court jus
tice to qualify himself to run he said
II had thought to pass my life in my
present exalted Office. but man pro
poses and God disposes. and am con
tent must now resign in order to b,
eligible under the constitution to re
ceive votes for mayor. hope shall
never regret 1t. for am acting solely
from sense of duty"
Appeals to People.
Since his election as mayor. address
ing the larger community either di
rectly or through letters to subordI
mates or by his own physical acts, b
has appealed TO the people at large ex
actly as he had done earlier. albeit b,
could scarcely command the direc
medium Of his old fashioned tow
meeting,
"Nagging at me does no good; com
and help ME. My job Is not easy" b
.