Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-01-23
THE PASSING OF
BIG TOM McAVOY
And Word About His Memorable
Fight With Wee Bobbie
Henderson

DIG TOM McAVoY. who passed away on
ID Saturday at the green old age of eighty,
will be laid at rest IN Mount MOriah Gene.
terry today, and there will be many in the
automobiles following the hearse who Will
recall for discussion tho great fight between
"Big Tom" and Wee Bobbie" Henderson
for the Twenty.siXth Ward seat in Select
Council more than quarter Of century
ago.
The election Of Edwin :. Stuart to the
mayoralty in 1891 left vacant his chair in
the Select Chamber, and Thomas Il. McAvoy,
brick manufacturer, and towering sNfoot-six
of good nature and pugnacity, jumped at
once into battle for the place.
But there was a little plumber on South
Broad street, wee wisp of man whom
Tom could have carried off in his Overcoat
pocket, but who was full Of fight, too, This
was Robert i. Henderson.
The two men were big figures in the councils
of the 4. p. A., which had pretty much the
whiphand in that district in those days. and
the war became at once interneCne, and gem
orally was spoken of as the fight of Big Tom
and Wee Bobbie." The battle began over the
nomination, and the vote I'm that convention
was that close flea couldn't have walked
between it," The leader of the old McManes,
or gashouse, crowd, was John ODonnel, who
had been Recorder Of Deeds and who was the
head of the Harmony Legion the strong-arm
men Of the Twenty which then took in
the present ThirtY-siXth Ward The distin-
gushing full dress Of these huskes the
red tlunncl SRliJ. adOrncu WIFI Il bB u, ana
the white knitted tie affected by the Old
volunteer tremen. When these lads came
swinging down the street on parade It was
faugh ballagh for everybody else.
ODonnel turned in for McAvoy and the
fight for chairman of the convention,
have said, was close. one vote decided il.
Nobody TO this day, perhaps, knows for
whom the vote was cast, but O'Donnel
claimed it and. sezing the gavel, called the
meeting TO order. But there was no order 1t
broke up in row. McAvoy and Henderson
were now both firmly fixed in the saddle.
Mayor Stuart in his campaign had beaten
the regulars having the younger fellows and
the substantial citizens with him, but this
fight split the district In all directions. Hugh
Black who was chairman of the regular
Twenty-sixth Ward Republican committee,
turned in for Henderson and O'Donnel car
ried the banner for McAvoy.
A Paroxysm of Parades
The Henderson headquarters were at
Broad and Ellsworth streets and McAvOy's
gonfalon few 70 the breeze Mt Broad and
Dickinson streets. Between the tive, say, at
Federal street. squattcd the unlmportant
Democrats. Parades Of the rival factions
broke loose and at once became nightly oc-
currences, And for the first time in the
political history of the city women appeared
upon horseback. Arabian steeds? Well
they were commandeered from the coke
wagons and brick carts in which they earned
their daily oats Nearly every family in the
The newspapers gave columns of space to
the South Broad street doings.
The city at that time was full of political
unrest. Honest John Bardsey had just been
| exposed as looter OF the City Treasury and
| councilmanic Investigations were on. Gov
| ernor Pattison had appointed William Red
| wood Wright to the office of City Treasurer
| for Bardsley's uneXpired term and the
| Democrats had nominated him for con-
| tinuance in that office. They were prepared
TO deal with any faction OF the Republicans
| which might help toward his election, and
| the two belligerents in the Twenty-sixth
Ward were no less anxious 10 get in on
such a deal But Mayor Stuart refused to
give his sanction to any such arrangement
| between the Hendersonites and the Demo-
Gratis and the alliance of Democrats with
| the McAvoy faction was brought about. The
pact was made at a conference In the rooms
| Of the Democratic city committee at Broad
| and Chestnut streets, at which were present
| William f. Harrity, John r. Read. John j.
| Curley. Matt Dittmann and other lesser
| lights.
The fight in the Twenty-sixth then waxed
| more and more furious, South Broad street
| became a maelstrom OF parades, and there
| was SO much activity by night that there
was mighty little work done by day. Though
some bricks were thrown, very few were
| made In the yards OF the McAvoy and other
| like establishments. There are some who
| will tell you that when election day came.
| resulting in the election OF McAvoy and cul-
| minating in clmactic demonstration when
the vote was known, there was nobody sober
| In the ward. But that's exaggeration. Some
/ Joy or drowning Henderson sorrow 20 be
Rf1icted with temporary strabismus, and 10
these all men were brothers. or at least for
| the moment. kin.
II took the ward a long while to settle