The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-01-22

panied him In his new>f,eld of endeayor I;
ne grasped his new opportunities firmly
ana step by step he made his way to
professional prominence and leadership
and financial Independence.
MT. Sheehan might have excelled as
an advocate before juries, for he had the
power to persuade and convince: or be-
fore the Appellate tribunals, for he
srasped as by intuition all tho subtleties
and hne shades Of meaning OF the law.
In the complexity of modern life, how
ever IL fell to him to assume the role
OF counsellor and organizer.
He possessed In large degree the or
sanining faculty, and made the law
nrms with which he was associated fac
tors In the industrial financial and legal
lie or his time. He typifed a new de-
Velopment In the practice Of the law
which came in with the Industrial en-
largement of modern life lie was the
s1gacious counsellor of men dealing with
large affairs He comprehended their
problems and could skilfully and wisely
solve them whether legal, Industrial or
financial.
Men have to compete in their own
times, and must submit to the COMPARE
sons presented then. More talent of the
first order Is attracted to the New York
In this envirmonment Mr.. Sheehan at
tained a position among the very first
in professional Importance and standing
At National Convention.
while Mr.. sheehan devoted himself
assiduously to the law in New York
city. he could not altogether sever his
connection with politics, and In 1899 as
a delegate to the National Democratic
Convention he cooperated with the
friends of David B. Hill and sought to
bring about that statesmans nomination
for the Presidency. That was not. how
ever. to be, and instead Grover Cleveland
became for the third time the party q
choice for that high honor.
Chairman OF the compaign commit
tee during the contest that followed. Mr.
Sheehan gave such energetic. intelligent
and effective support to the cause that
he won a nationwide reputation as a po'
lltical manager who comprehended in the
largest sense the issues which were al
stake. This was the beginning of that
reconciliation between Mr. Sheehan and
Mr.. Cleveland which finally led to the
bestowal by the latter OF this cordial
and sympathetic praise:
"T do not know of any other man ir
our politics who has grown more rapidly
shown himself more Independent or has
impressed me more with his capacity FOL
usefulness II he should ever return &c
public life
THE only time in his career that Mr.
Sheehan refused to abide by the actor
Of a Democratic convention was after
the national convention OF 1925, Hit
strong business sense led him to the be
lief that the financial policies to which
Mr. Bryan had by matchlesS courage
and eloQuence committed his party coulc
but lead to national disaster. and ht
boldly proclaimed his belief, saying:
My duty is clear to me When the
Democratic roll OF honor is called l de
sire to be among those who had th'
courage>to refuse to follow the banner o.
Populism, falsely labelled Democracy
becomes National Leader.
II am not here to thresh out the con
fcting views OF members Of the Demo
cratic party. but | know that Mr.. Shee
han was SO intensely imbued with tn
thought that the historic party to whicl
he belonged should be turned from tn
| path of what he deemed financial heres!
| that prior 10 the national convention
| 1904, by untiring and intelligent effort
he made himself the undisputed nations
and brought about the nomination O
! Alton B. Parker, the able chief Judg
OF the New York Court of Appeals. on
gold standard platform.
| 1T was in this campaign. more thai
at any other period. that Mr.. Sheeha
displayed what all impartial men no'
admit he possessed, that wide and dee
understand OF the large problems o
national life which entitled him 10 ran
as a statesman OF a high order.
| Mr.. Sheehan was most useful mem
Der Of the Constitutional Convention @
1915. but though he did not realize it nj
health was then being undermined by tn
| insidious disease which caused him s
| much suffering. and which he SO pa
tientlv bore saw him once during thu
long final illness ] shall never forget /
He was weak and emaciated and shad
Of sadness was in that wonderful smil
but no word OF complaint or bitterness
escaped him He loved life. He wante
to live, but he did not fear the end {
shrink from II. His courage and fait
were alike supreme.
own Version of Early Career.
I'm an address to his fellow citizens {
Buffalo years after he left there, whe
his political fortunes were in tho ba
ance. ne said of his early career:
-Thirty-fve years % my life wer
spent with you. You saw me enter p'
htical life with everything young ma
desires except money. You saw me leaN
II ten years later with nothing but pc
litical scars
This was written IN connection wit
his honorable aspirations to represer
the State Of New York in the Senat
Of the United States. and at tim
when the opposition to his canddac
had assumed formidable proportions.
Personally. I do not regard NJ
Sheehan's failure TO have been se!ecte
for the Senate to have lessened h
prestige materially. although it migt
be said that in the stirring times whic
we're to confront the country his grea
abilities might have been OF incalculab HI