Evening star., 1915-01-31


& ton, nor yet with the $4,000
employees of that department scattered
all over the country.
They do tell ii to sweeney" whose
tirst name is Bo in all earnestness and
good faith. for Sweeney knows the
answer He is assistant secretary of the
department.
You see, this department has much to
do with the west. II administers the
general land Office. the reclamation serv
ice. the geological survey, the bureau OF
mines and d flock of other bureaus that
concern the west intimately and vitality.
and Ro Sweeney is of the west, western.
Ot course. there are other western men
IL "abiret and near cabinet positions in
this administration, but they do not bear
the brand as 10 Sweeney bears ". He
was born in Missouri and has been fol-
lowing the westward moving star of en-
pire pretty consistently since his boy
hood.
Tie sweeney breezy personality adds
that bit of western atmosphere to the
administration necessary 70 make It
truly representative of all of the people
Of the United States.
\ vtrltsbls giant of : man. big. pow
erful, rugged. intense. active. but never
tbcless imp"rturhablc. this typical west :
eruer completes tho picture in national
public life.
II was WAY back iu 1896 hat dcscrip-
i've writers of national political affairs
first seized on the Sweeney personality
~ typifylug the west. That the
wear il will hc recalled. of the famous
dcIuccr,.ti, national convention at Chi
t.sigu, where the then little known Boy
Orator Of the Platte William Jennings
Bryan, set the convention aud the coun-
try afiaine with his eloquent and oratorl-
cal protest against any attempt to press
down upon the brow of labor crown or
a IA Hr rtPr
rninatio,i TO oppose cruelty in. mankind
upon a cross Of gold. which declarations
brought him the democratic nomination
for the presidency.
go Sweeney WAS there. very much
there The star OF empire then had led him
ouly as far west as Colorado. and Colo
rado had sent him delegate at large
to tho convention The tenor Of Mr.
Bryan's remarks was infinitely pleasing
TO Colorado, for Colorado was a silver
state.
So, when that historic ovation TO Bryan
started In the convention. Bo Sweeney,
physically the biggest man in the hall.
was d figure Of prominence. He seized
Bryan banner and led the wildly cN-
cited delegates and audience in that
wonderful outburst of enthusiasm.
Big 30 Sweeney said the Chicago
the following day, stuck the banner in
the cobwebs of the ceiling which Is
some flight of imagination Anyhow. he
stuck It higher than banners arc usually
elevated.
That suggestion, found in the book Of
EcCles,astes, that Whatsoever thy hand
iindeth 10 do. do it with thy might" has
always appealed to Bo Sweeney as
eIuineutIy sound. Which. being inter
preted. means that he puts a punch in
what he does.
That. no doubt is why Bo Sweeney
is known as one of the successful men
of the west. Like many another sue
cessful niali, he had fad for collecting
Instead Of collecting works Of art or
postage stamps or oriental rugs or things
like that, he collects real estate. big
law practice has made the collection pos
aIble.
To start with, Bo Sweeney did not have
even a woodshed to his name. He was
born in 1863 on his fathers plantation
In Henry county. Missouri. That WAS q