Evening star., 1924-05-02
Editors See Passing of Old Time
Boss in Death of Tammany Head

In the death Of Charles F.. Murphy.
undisputed leader of historic Tam
many Hall for more than twenty
years. editors see the passing Of the
last of the old-time, big political
bosses.
Probably no more interesting fig
ure has been in the background and
the foreground of American politics
in generations than Charles F. Mur-
ply" in the opinion of the Albany
News Independent Republican,. while
the Little Rock Arkansas Democrat
(Democratic) characterizes him as
acter in the nations political his
tory" The fact that he was undis-
.puted boss of Tammany Hall for
twenty-one years and seven months,
according to the Springfield Republi-
can (Republican), "is testimony to re-
markabie qualities of personality, or
.ganizing and executive power and
diplomacy" The strongest tribute
which can be paid his leadership of
Tammany, the Scranton Republican
Undependent Republican, claims, ''is
that no one made serious effort to
dispute It dfring all the years that
he headed the organization" The
strength of his leadership, the Min
neapolis Tribune (Republican) .sug-
.gests, clay largely in his playing the
game squarely with his political
friends and with the lieutenants who
worked under him to keep Tammany
a going concern within the Demo-
cratic party" The st. Paul Pioneer
Press Independently indorses this
view and adds, THE length of his ca
@reer,, the comparative exemption
which he enjoyed from personal abuse
and the success of Tammany, with
few interruptions, while he was lead
er, are evidence of his high qualities"
1t may be significant OF progress, con-
tinues the Newark News (independ-
ent) ,E''that for the last ten years, un-
der the guidance of"Murphy, Tam
many has given less cause for sharp
criticism; furthermore, the Spring
field News (Democratic) believes the
vast majority will agree that the well
fare Of Tammany was promoted by
seemingly imperyious to denunciation
as Murphy"
X r X X
& Referring to him as "the softest
man Of iron who ever lived" the Bos-
ton Transcript Independent Repuo-
lican) declares ''he wore the iron
heel, but he did not put, it conspicu-
ously on the table before him; he was
at least outwardly, and in a certain
formal way morally, an improvement
on Croker and Tweed" To which
the Cincinnati Times-Star (Republt-
can) adds; His potency was of the
silken strings of, invisible e.. power
rather than of the actuality of the
fist
The Cleveland Plain Dealer (inde-
pendent Democratic) admits the evil
of the boss system, but comedies that
"as long as we must have bosses 1t
Ills well to have men of the type of
Murphy" because Murphy was SO
strong that he did not have to bar
gain; he was so mighty that he did
not have to be conciliatory"i more
over, 'he was a shrewd judge of men
he could appraise both their ability
| and their feaity." The Baltimore
Evening Sun Independent Democrat
ic) believes, further, that "the mass
Of people in New York looked more
to him for justice and for charity
than they looked to the laws on the
statute books" and he capitalized
I their faith in HIM but he did not
betray IT, once Murphy took the
reins OF ieadership. the Lynchburs
Advance (Democratic) points out, "h<