Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-11-14
STATE SENATOR ]. P. M'NICHOL
DIES SUDDENLY OF HEART ATTACK

grin, went to school AZ the Northwest High
School, at Fifteenth and Race streets. Then
he studied two years at a business college
That ended his schooling When he was
twenty he went to work for his father and
his uncle He learned not only how to get
a good Job Of street grading done, but how
to make friends with the men who worked
on the Job II the young men and the
older men liked young Jim" it was because
he was a likable lad.
"Jim" McNichol's first lob" was that of
janitor In the old City Hall. which was in
the east wing of the Independence Hall
group Of buildings, at Fifth and Chestnut
streets.
BY the time he was twenty-four he knew
all the voters In his division, then the
eighth. William r. Leeds was then boss of
the ward The word went out that Leeds
was to be overthrown. Jim couldn't see
why. He did the best he could to help
Leeds in his division. He got licked He
laughed.
Then he decided he would have a try for
election to the Republican committee of the
ward FROM his division. He got licked
again. Again he laughed.
HIS FIRST CITY CONTRACT
About this time he went into business for
himself going into the business of street
contractor with his brother. Daniel ]. Nc
Nichol. in 1890. He was then twenty-sx
They had little more than $1,000 between
them to start WITH and part of this was
borrowed from their father. Three horses
and two carts were purchased. Charles A.
Porter, who got most of the MUNICIPAL con-
tracts Of those days turned little street
grading work over to the young men Jim
was more excited over that first job than
he was when the first IS 900, 900 filtration
plant contract went TO his firm ten years
later.
"a ''rpty mo- no
politicians Of the ward. and in a year or
two after his first failure he found that he
was the strongest of them all. Leeds had
died. and In 1892, when McNichol was only
twenty-eight years old, he found himself
chosen to the City Committee and leader
of the ward in Leeds's place.
When the next mayoralty campaign came
on and David Martin. then the Republican
boss of the city, supported Warwick, Nc
Nichol worked Loyalty for Warwick in his
ward. After Warwick's election, McNichol
was bidder for city contracts. but lost
them TO John NJ. Mack, although Macks
estimates had been higher than his Nc
Nichol merely grinned his wide grin and
Joined forces with Israel w. Durham.
Dave" Martins rival for supremacy in the
chy's Republican leadership
RISE IN LOCAL POLITICS
After six years of building up his strength
In the Tenth Ward. Jim ran for Select
| four years that followed were the most
critical In his life. 1t was during them
| that he first measured his brains against
those Of the leaders in wards other than his
| own. 1t was then that he began to form
alliances with leaders Of other wards "rhe
| Ward Leaders Combine" otherwise known
as the Hog Combine" to which McNichoi
| had belonged until he broke with "Da- e"
! Martin, found new organization forming
| under the leadership Of Durham and Nc
| Nichol.
They found allies in the downtown wards
| in the persons of two brothers named Ware,
| street-cleaning contractors. who were just
| beginning to use their employees to form
| the nucleus of an army of voters, A dozen
years later the Wares were to become the
| worst thorns in the flesh OF McNichol and
| Boies Penrose, who. elected United States
| Senator to succeed ]. Donald Cameron,
had taken the place of Durham as the power
behind Philadelphias city politics.
From its formation in 1890 until 1901
| when Jim McNichol ended his term as Select
Councilman. the McNichol contracting firm
| had executed city and private contracts
aggregating more than 100000 A million.
dollar share Of this was the paving In con-
nection with the Hestonville Railroad
system. Work for the Philadelphia Traction
Company. the Electric Traction Company
| and the Union Traction Company was done
Callowhill, Wharton. Federal. Ellsworth and
other streets We're paved by the firm.
| on Cnristmdb Eve, leVl, tne Hrm Bot its
first big plum--the award CT contracts from
the city worth Sb,ooo,ooo for the building
Of the filtration plant at TUrresdale. The
award went to Daniel J. McNichol Jane.
McNichol had been working sedulously
in Councils for the plan to equip the city
with the great system OF filtration planti
which was eventually to give the McNicho
firm 100000 OF contracts.
JAMES p. McNichol. elected a State Sena
tor to represent the Third Philadelphia Dis
trict, which included the Fifth. Sixth
Tenth. Eleventh. Twelfth, Thirteenth. Four
teenth, Sixteenth and Eighteenth Wards
took his seat In the Legislaturs In 1902