The New York herald., 1922-02-25
TAMMANY'S ANGEL
jim BARKER, BURIED
Old Time Cafe OWNER Who
Saved His Organization
Dead at 92.
DISCOVERER OF DEVERY
Put Most of $300,000 Into
Hall After Tweed Exposure;
Got Nothing Out.
DIsCOvERER OF DEvERY

The man who saved Tammany was
buried yesterday. His name was James
Barker and he was go. To the present
generation of newspaper readers and Of
Tammany Hall the name may not sug
gest important matters. To the genera
ton that has passed out of life or au-
thority it would have meant volumes.
The only man alive in Tammany to-day
who started even with Jim Barker is
John r. Voorhis, Commissioner of Elec-
tions, and he is two years past the 80
mark.
Half century ago Tammany was in
such a bad way that 1t could have held
a meeting of the general committee in
a ballroom. The revealed rascality of
Bill Tweed, Slippery Dick Connolly and
Sweeney and the relentless prosecution
engineered by Tilden had put Tamniany
on the rocks broke and discouraged.
The ancient organization had never been
up to then and has never been since In
such desperate straits
Made Fortune In Cafe.
Jim Barker was running a famous
cafe in the Tweed days-the Linwood
Cafe. at Eighth avenue and Twenty
eighth street. a great money maker. 1t
had made somewhere between 100000
and 100000 for its proprietor when
Tammany began to totter. He was one
of the old timers who held allegiance to
the organization second only to fidelity
to church and family, and without hes-
tation he began to pour his own money
into its empty Golfers.
Thousands on thousands went into
Tammany's fighting chest out of Bar
farft I,II -
counted heavily. The County Democ-
racy was rising in favor and probably
would have demolished the older organi-
zation had it not been for Barker's aid.
SO the old timers say. Their word for
1t is. "Old Jim saved the Hall, but no.
body remembers it nowadays"
1t exhausted his fortune. He never
got back a dollar of the cash he handed
over to the organization-never asked
for the return of a dollar His friends
say he regarded the service as his SIM
pie duty, expecting neither honors nor
reward. 1t is true that he was leader
Of the district now called the Thirteenth,
Frank j. Goodwin's district, and that ne
was an Alderman fifty-odd years ago.
but that's all the honor he ever obtained
or sought. "Old Rough and Ready" was
the name the boys had for him in those
days.
Once Employed Devery.
When he kept the Linwood Cafe he
hired one day husky young bartender,
strong enough to flatten an OK with
blow and who talked out Of the corner
of his mouth. The name of this Irish
lad was Bill Devery. and it got around
among the roughnecks of the old Fifth
district that Bill was mighty good
fellow to let alone. Then came the
Orangemen troubles and riots, and often
contending parties thought to use Jim
Barker's cafe as an arena of conflict
Bill Devery threw them out swiftly
and thoroughly and so impressed the
proprietor that he persuaded Devery 20
get a job on the police force. A num-
Der OF years were to pass before the
ex-bartender became Chief of Police, but
it was the same Devery. After he quit
the force and ran the famous Pump
many of his stories of the old days had
to do with Jim Barker.
Barker kept his Zest for life almost
until the day of his death. He was
fond of the old amusements and played
his favorite game of poker the last time
only a few days before he was ready
to quit this world. For most Of his later
life he was attached to the Building
Department. He was the father of Mrs.
William f. Mccoy, wife of a police lieu
tenant, and of another daughter who is
a school teacher. His funeral took place
yesterday at 80 A. NJ. from the
Church Of Our Lady Of Lourdes. at 143d
street. near Convent avenue. and was
attended by many of the older figures
of Tammany