The Washington times., 1925-09-08


I am Mayor Hylan's friend,
that is all, and he is my friend,
and friendship means something
to each of us. 1t means faith
in the honesty of each others
motives. 1t means confidence in
the integrity of each others acts.
1t means understanding and ap
probation of the sincerity of each
others desire to serve the public
although the means and methods
adopted may be different and
our viewpoints on many matters
divergent.
It does not mean presuming on
each others friendship to ask
favors or to impose opinions. In
all the time I have known Mayor
Hylan, have never asked a ia
vor of him, nor has he asked one
Of me. / have never sought to
modify his opinions or courses in
political matters, nor has he ever
sought to influence my utter.
ances in journalistic matters.
have, never even discussed
his political acts with him pri-
lvately, and If / have had any
thing to say concerning him, or
his opinions or his actions,
have said it publicly in the col
ums OF my newspapers.
am a sincere friend OF Mayor
Hyland because 1 like him and
because greatly admire his
sterling character, his genuine
ability, his uncorruptible honesty
and his uncompromising devotion
to the service Of the public.
think his whole career is an
example and an inspiration to
every poor American boy and to
every rich one, too, who has am.
bition 10 be- Of use in the world.
Mayor Hylan began life as a
poor boy on farm, and he edu.
Gated himself, very much in the
manner that Lincoln did. He
learned because he was deter
mined to learn, and he read
everything instructive that he
could lay his hands on. He was
ambitious to amount to some.
thing in the world and at an
early age he left the farm and
came to the city.
He had no opportunity there at
first but to become a laborer.
Still, he was not willing to re.
main day laborer and when ne
had done his hard days work and
carried home his dinner pail he
sat awake at night studying
mechanical engineering.
He soon advanced and BECAME
a locomotive engineer. And let
no one think he was not a good
engineer. When 1 was travelling
with him in the West, the train
stopped for half an hour in the
middle of the fields. At length
Mayor Hylan looked out and saw
there was something the matter
with the engine. He walked for.
ward and investigated. Presently
he climbed into the cab and said:
My friend, your driving brakes
are 1ammed down. By backing
a little you will release them
and then you can go ahead"
The engineer looked Hylan
over and said: by golly, l be-
lieve you are right. Who are
your"
"Hylan said: "oh, 1 am a
locomotive engineer"
Then the man did as Hylan
advised him and the train went
ahead. So it can be seen that
when Hylan was a locomotive en-
gineer he knew his business, just
as he has always taken the
trouble to know his business in
anything he undertook.
While Hylan was running his
engine during the day time, he
still studied at night. He studied
law and soon knew enough to be
admitted to the bar.
He was a good lawyer and an
honest one. He Won his cases
and he took a kindly interest in
the plight of poor people and
often took their cases for nothing,
and got justice for them.
He was popular and eventually
he was drafted into politics and
elected a judge. He was a good
judge, a just judge, an honorable
judge, sound in his decisions and
democratic in his expressions of
them. His comment on the cases
before him had the genuine demo
cratic ring of some of the great
early leaders of democracy. And
vet his rulings and opinions and
judgments were seldom if ever
reversed, even by the reactionary
courts to which they were some.
times appealed.
1t was the sentiment and phrase
Ology OF these decisions that first
attracted my attention to Hylan.
/ quoted them in editorials and
commended their genuine demo.
cracy and popular sympathy.
I had never met Hylan and did
not know anything about him
personally when, eight years ago,
some friends of mine called on
me and asked me to run for
mayor. Singular as it may seem,
did not want to run. had
run for mayor once to try to
discipline Tammany, and had al
most succeeded. had run for
mayor again to help elect the
fusion ticket and had succeeded
in my object.
j did not want to run again and
declined. But / said / would
support any honest man and
genuine Democrat.
A little while later my friends
came back and asked If would
support Judge John F. Hylan. /
said / would gladly support him.
did support him and he was
elected not on account OF nv