New Britain herald., 1928-07-14
7AMMANY SACHEM
 STILL IS ALERT
Active Despite His 99 Years
 Of Life

A>S~ UT S04S - oO"+iA ~~' Coorheis. grand sachem of Tam many and president of the New York board of elections, will cele- brate his ssth birthday this month. working at his desk from g until 1.
 Since he was a lad of IS, he has been working. A habit of s6 years formation is hard to brsak.
 And why not?" he asks. Why save myself? I have no ambition to break any record for longevity. The only excuse for living is service. So long as I am good for a days work. l will not retire."
 So every day he takes the subway from his home to the municipal building, rides the elevator up to the office on the 18th floor, and is on the job as long as anyone in the office His associates will tell you he is no mere title holder, but that he actually manages the voting ma chinery of New York and superin- tends personally. all the details Of his job.
 Still Is Physically Alert
 His face is lined. his white hair Is thin. But he doesn't wear glasses; his shoulders are unbent. his hand steady, his eyes keen.
 A foxy necktie and pin, and fas- tidiously polished shoes revealed a pride in his appearance. Noorhels feels no pride in his years. To him they are accidental. He has no fond ness for reminiscence, he prefers to look forward.
 His windows look out upon the Woolworth tower, the new Trans portation building. and that jagged skyline that is the pride of Manhat- tan. Voorheis loves that outlook. and the progress and the spirit Of adventure it represents. He himself Is a part of the spirit that made that skyline.
 It was Voorheis himself who sign- ed the deed of sale for the Old Tam many Hall on Union Square, where he himself had built the stairways hack in 1867. He was all in favor Of the new modern building that Is rising at l7th street and Fourth avenue.
 Buildings go out of date-like people," he said. New ideas, new conveniences. and new methods make enterprises burst their shells and grow. It is futile to cling to the past. The good old days are nothing to what the future may be-" voorheis is only 37 years younger than the Tammany society itself; he has known most of its famous bosses but he has not always been q Tam many man. He received his first political appointment, that Of police court justice in 1873. when the state organization was anti-Tammany. He did not become identified with Tam many until 1892, when the state democratic machine recognized 1t
 He was four times police com missioner, was dock commissioner, and held several political offices. Seventeen years ago he was made Grand sachem of Tammany. which really means that he Is presiding officer.
 Do I consider life worth l!vins,' He repeated the question, then re- piled:
 T don't know that do. but don't know anything else to do about it but live it. Certainly never aspired 10 be q centenarian. and had I been obliged to think about it all these years, 1t would have been terrible.
 Ivory Shortcns Lives"
 Y never could understand why mere longevity should be any per sons ambition. If man wanted to live comfortably. I should advise him to do the right thing so as to avoid worry. It is worry that not only shortens lives, but embitters il and makes it unbearable.
 Today I think We all try to dc too much. We run into debt. We spend more than We need. We covet more than we can enjoy. Since we can only eat so much, wear so much and live so much we might as well take it slower and easier and enjoy life as we go along"
 Voorheis has two daughters, three grandchildren and one great-grand- child. He has accumulated a rod. crate fortune. and says there is nothing he wants that money could buy. He tried. but could think oi nothing he wanted for his birthday except the celebration the boys a, the nffiee u,nl1ld ai1.n {oH Lix,,