The San Francisco call., 1910-08-13


know what baseball club is
going to win the pennant or what party
is going to win the next election send
for the little man with the bulging
forehead and the outstanding. indie
pendent ears. He calls himself W.
Murray Crane. but his right name is
Mr.. Fixit
Incidentally. he is the original Mr..
Fixit. All the other Mr. Fixits that
you have ever heard about have been
named after him just as most of the
Theodores have been named after
Teddy. Not yet has he reached the
point where he is caricatured and an
alyzed like Uncle Joe" Cannon and
Senator Aldrich. but the boom is on and
within year he will be one of the
most discussed men in the country.
w. Murray represents the state of
Massachusetts in the senate. Personal
ly, he is always in a state of curiosity.
He finds out about everything and then
he fixes it, He has been in the senate
only since 1904, having been appointed
to fill the vacancy caused by the death
of Senator Hoar In that short time,
however, he has become as powerful in
HIS W cy DIS t1OdI WAS III his way
The next time you come TO Washing
ton, therefore, be sure MOTTO overlook
Mr.. FiXit. You will see on the floor
of the senate-if you arrive before next
March 4-such celebrities as the quiet
spoken Mr.. Aldrich, the hoarse and
rampant Mr.. Hepburn. the forid Mr.
Elkins, who looks like a jolly bue-
cancer; the stately. if no longer humor-
Gus Mr.. Depew; the handsome Mr.. Bev-
eridge. and the sObbing Mr.. Bailey. who
talks as much as if he were triplets-
Mr. Fixit is so quiet that you might
overlook him. But look sharp for a
man who is never still for a full min
ute and you will find him You will
find him bobbing up and down in his
seat, circulating among the democrats
as well as the republicans. talking al
ways privately, talking never publicly.
He is about as big as a minute, and
he gets around as swiftly. His fore
head bulges as though the stuff in
side were having fight and wanted
to get out into the open air. His nose
is large, just to show his forehead that
it is not the sole lord of the landscape
Between the forehead and the nose, the
rest of Mr.. Fixit has been dominated
and subjugated. The eyes have been
given a small playground, but they
twinkle shrewdly and sometimes kind
ly and sometimes merrily. There is
mustache to go with the nose, but its
character has been warped and it never
speaks until prodded reflectively- Then
it says that Mr.. Crane is preparing to
fix something.
The ears? All. yes. the ears. They
are fine listening ears, almost eloquent
ears. They are eloquent not only in
the sense that they listen rapturously.
but they might be said to speak for
themselves. They stand out bravely in
the wind, buffeting the storms and fire.
quently impeding Mr.. Cranes progress.
Mr. Crane himself says that his ears
are the most impressive part of his
personality.
With all his shrewdness and pOliti-
cal horse sense, Mr.. Crane might be
called a papier-mache statesman. Per-
haps the term can be applied to no
other man in the world more truly
Certainly it cannot be applied to any
other statesman more respectfully. For
Mr.. Crane, before, he entered the SEN
ate was the biggest paper manufac-
turer in the United states. And he
made money. Literally he made money.
And right in his own factory.
You have frequently heard of men
making money. Some earn it, some
make others earn it for them, and some
make it, Usually those who make it
are sent to Jail. if the government
catches them at it. Mr.. Crane, how
ever, earned money by making it, and
the government smiled its blessings.
This was because Mr.. Cranes great
plant at Dalton Mass, had the
exclusive contract for supplying the
paper on which the government makes
its financial impressions.
Even in those days, when he was
confining his attention to the paper
business, Crane was clever politician.
His first active part in the game. how
ever, was played as a delegate at large
70 ion,
of 1892 He became lieutenant gov
ernor of Massachusetts in 1897 and
governor in 1900.
1t was while Crane was governor
that he first gained notoriety as MIR.
Fixit. The great teamsters' and long
shoremen's strike started. Commerce
of Boston was at a standStill Any
teamster> who appeared on the street
driving wagon was mobbed. Wheels
were ripped from the wagons. Horses
were stabbed Men and women en-
gagged in the fioting. Cargoes were
thrown about the streets Many per-
sons were being killed and scores We're
injured. All efforts at arbitration had
failed
Finally an appeal was made to Gov
ernor Crane. The governor called the
representatives of the employees and
the employers to has office. The repre-
sentatives of the two contending par
ties had been meeting every day and
had made no progress. Another con-
ference was deemed useless. but the
parties agreed to meet again in the
presence of the governor
Thre was a half hours conference.
At the conclusion of it, the employees
and the employers emerged from the
governors office. They We're smiling
What are the prospects," asked the
reporters.
The strike is over chorused the