New-York tribune., 1920-10-03

hap1;. "outu nave been severely
~ s,eapped, on for he was the successor
and n 't tne most convincing takers
th ~" one one CT the greatest wits of which
'''s senate ever boasted. Senator Hnar
AZ was silent leadership that madn
1;;snaeor Crane a bulwark of the Renuh-
go san party AS mediator when fac
ssonai l diferences arose, it was CON
weueo that he was without a peer. On
enah one occasion between 1904
any 1913, when party measures were
endangered by dissension within tho
aaiks' ne demonstrated his ability bv
Using MS persuasive powers in per-
sonai interviews with other Senators.
Win whom he was popular, and restor-
ing peace. A story is told that at one
eilne an important bill was certain of
passage except for the vote of one man.
ms colleagues had tried in vain to
learn the attitude of this Senator.
Senator Crane, who had been TALKING
the matter over with group of Re-
Puolicans, remarked, "Wait a minute. !"
ne then crossed the Senate Chamber
moor and talked to the recalcit1ant a
lew moments. Returning, he an
nounced with smile:
He'll vote for the bill"
How did you find out?" somebody
asked.
81 asked him." was the Senator's
astonishing reply.
Inherited a Fortune
Unlike most of the statesmen the
country has given to the Senate, SEN
ator Crane was a business man, and he
earned millions through his own bust
ness sagacity, in addition to the for
tune which was his by inheritance.
He was in the seventh generation of
direct descent from Henry Crane, one
of the Colonial founders of Milton,
then part of Dorchester, Mass, and
was the grandson of the founder of
try in the Berkshires with which the
family name has for three generations
been associated.
His father. Zenas Marshall Crane,
made his mills famous for the manu-
facture of the paper on which green
backs, national bank notes and gov
ernment bonds were printed, dis
tlnction which was continued under
the sons management.
Murray Crane, as he always elected
to be called, was born at Dalton on
April %, 1858. and in childhood was
designed to follow the business ca
reer of his father and grandfather He
studied in the Dalton public school
and at Williston. Seminary, Easthamp-
ton. and while yet in his teens entered
his fathers mills in the humblest of
capacities at the smallest of weekly
wages. Thence he worked his way up,
step by step, until he was capable of
taking his place at the head of the
company. His business interests were
almost exclusively confined to the cor
poraton of Crane & Co., from which he
do rived an ar,r,1o fortuna
Saved Millions as Governor
1t was not until comparatively late
in life that he entered public Office He
served frequently as delegate to Re-
publican conventions and in 1892 and
1896 was a delegate at large to the
Republican National Convention. Then
in the latter year he was elected Lieu
tenant Governor of Massachusetts ard
reelected in 1897 and 1898. In 1899 he
WAC elected Governor, and in that office
won high repute for his devotion to
public interests. Soon after he became
Governor the great Boston g. Maine
F;tchburg Railroad deal came up The
former road wished to buy the latter
IN which the s.ate owned $4,000 shares
of common stock, and it offered the
state $50 a share for it's holdings That
was much more than the current mar
het value of the stock and the offer was
generally regarded as liberal one,
which the state should be glad to
accept. But Governor Crane promptly
rejected it and ultimately made the
Boston & Maine pay par value for the
stock, thus getting for the state S.
100000 instead of s1,50O,O00. In 1902
kc dealt masterfully with the great
strike of freight handlers. He was
twice reelected to the Governorship, re-
tlring at the end of 1902.
Upon the death of George Frisbie
Hoar Mr. Crane was, on October 10,
1904, appointed to succeed him as
United States Senator, taking his seat
on December following; and in Janu-
airy, 1905, he was elected by the Legis-
lature to fill out the unexpired term.
At its end, in 1907, he was returned to
the Senate for another term, ending in
1913. In the Senate he was recognized
as one Of the leaders of the Republican
side. He served on the committees on
Canadian Relations, Commerce. Inter-
state Commerce, Industrial Expositions
Post Offices and Post Roads, and the
Civil Service.
Favored Hughes in 1916
After his retirement from the SEN
ate he continued much political activity.
Although during the Taft Administr
tion he had been known as a leader of
the Old Guard, he was in 1916 fore
most in advocating the nomination and
election of Charles E. Hughes to the
Presidency, and he remained a men,
Der Of the Republican National Com
mittee until the spring of 1920 Then,
realizing his declining health, he an
nounced his retirement. He was, how
ever, active at the Republican National
Convention, where he strongly urged
platform plank approving, with ef-
fective reservations, the Treaty of
Versailles and the League of Nations.
He was then succeeded in the National
Committee by ex-senator John w.
Weeks.
Mr.. Crane had been an earnest sup