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•: :.-S' i*-~ *:K. ..v% |B§^||p^p?^53l ERNEST M'GAFFEY yym <t / 2XJ(?m Gef?8B£I> HfiS wr £uSH£l>/#aM 7/t£ /eoart Buesr/s/G w/r* xS Y/iPttr*/r ro& rnf Poo& 0 ffsp//e£j ro sjf /f 2?££5S£e " /f/vD # w/r T/M.p was WH£H *r *SOJS W/7J TO &B /V/r&<£0 By ///J uTfrr/or* /eve p/fyj/c/r/. p&owjsjj •* 7"^" T f s y , '/ *"> r ^ ' BEHIND THE SCENES IN POLITICS THE WARD BOSSES m/yy of THfM COUlZ> G/Vf GOOD. KxxfMon r̂tŝ TftjLKJ WARD "bosses" come and go. They rise and fall, and one makes room for another. The fluctuations in politics are as sudden and abrupt as the changes in the stock mar­ ket, and the "boss" of last year may be the plainest of plain citi­ zens the ensuing year. One thing IS morally certain, there will never be an elimination of "bosses" in politics, because leaders are an absolute necessity in every move­ ment, and prime ministers and presidents are as surely political "bosses" as are the ward politicians who hold their wards in the hollow of their bands. Some people, good people, too, have started in to fight "bosses," and have ended up by co-operating with them and getting their aid to improve con­ ditions in certain districts. Fighting a political "boss" is an uphill job, for "the respectables," so-called, are usu­ ally too busy to give any assistance, and the "boys" are all with the "boss." I remember a reformer who tried to win out on the presidency of a ward dub against the "boss." He tried two years and was defeated, but the third term he seemed to be sure of success. Nearly every one of the members of the club promised him aid, and Dugan, as I will call him, had high hopes. The night of the election, with 189 members present, Dugan's name was put before the club amid a storm of applause. His nomination was seconded by at least five addi­ tional speeches, each a glowing eulogy of "Danny Dugan's staunch qualities and services to the party." Dugan sat entranced with the praises which were being handed out to him. The "boss* " candidate, Casey, was nominated in a half-dozen words and feebly seconded by only one individual. Dugan himself was appointed one of the tellers, and a roar of approbation shook the hall as the chairmafa an­ nounced his selection. Dugan went up and down the aisles, and everybody gave him the "glad hand" and folded their ballots and tossed them into the hat he carried with "There's another for you, Dan, old boy," or "Hurrah for Danny Dugan." He had a ballot shoved at him with the injunction, "Make it unanimous, Danny; hurl in a vote for your own ticket," and he put his ballot in the other teller's hat and sat down in the seventh heaven of anticipation. The counting was finished in a few min­ utes and Dugan smiled as he saw the ballots all going over to one side. "It's a walk-away," he whispered to the man next to him." "It's a landslide," said his neighbor. The chairman stepped to the front of the platform and announced the vote for president as follows: "For Peter Casey, 188 votes; for Daniel Dugan, one vote." Dugan grabbed his hat and madly rushed from the room, with a perfect howl of cheers following him. It was his last appearance in politics. The term "political boss" images to most people a stoutly-built man with a plug hat and a large diamond, who smokes long black cigars and rules his ward or district with a rod of iron. Sometimes he is represented as a man with a heart bursting with sympathy for the poor, who squeezes the rich citizen to help out the constituents whose votes he harvests on election day. He is generally typified as, elo­ quently profane, and story-writers de­ light to set him down invariably as of Irish birth. As a matter of fact, however, there are just as many different "bosses" as there are nationalities in the larg^ cities, for a "boss" is simply a leader for the time being, and that may be for a few months, a few years or longer. And some of the most suc­ cessful of all "bosses," politically speaking, have been Americans. The present president of the United States is one of the most masterful of politi­ cal bosses. Who in his party dare openly say him "nay" with any hope of winning out against his rock-rooted strength? The "boss" in the cities, however, especially .the typical ward "boss," is often a man who may be evolved by either accident or design. Sometimes a man goes into the game to help a friend out, or to satisfy a grudge, and Uie glamor of the thing attracts him and he stayB in, to finally emerge as a full-blown "leader." And some one of the young fellows who go into poli­ tics deliberately will work on for years in the same ward, growing up with the people who live there, identi­ fying hhnself with them and their in­ terests and finally winning the confi­ dence of his constituents so lastingly that they will vote almost to a man as tfe wishes. A true "boss" both follows and leads. He knows what his "people" want, and he does not stray far away from their desires. If his ward has a constituency which favors a liberal in­ terpretation of the liquor question he is for the "open" Sunday, and even the all-night saloon, if necessary. He is strong on the subject of "the poor man's club" and hot against "blue laws" and for the maximum of "per­ sonal liberty." Incidentally, he favors a low license, usually. If a "boss" lives in a Prohibition dis­ trict he fulminates against "the de­ mon rum" and points out statistically the ruin wrought by drink. This may not prevent him from having his "high-balls" at the club, or his cham­ pagne at the political banquets, but makes him strong with the voters whose support he seeks. He is on the alert for "blind pigs," or places where liquor is smuggled in and sold secret­ ly, and he leads delegations to the mayor's office and to the legislatures to protest against the vice of drink- ing. The average "political boss" is In politics strictly for "what is in it," and that means that he is neither in the game for his health, his recreation nor his spiritual welfare. And why not? Do business or professional men enter into their respective avocations for any of the above reasons? I trow not- The "boss" has one fixed, set idea, and that is to "get there," as he would express it; to accumulate a large roll of simo- leons and then retire to some respec­ table residence portion of the city and forget the low, coarse mob with which he was compelled to associate while he was getting his start. The success­ ful ones do this, and the unsuccessful ones remain at the same old stand, re­ viling the ingratitude of the ones who "made the riffle" and got away with their "bundle." Ward "bosses" ofGen combine to ac­ complish results, and they often cut the ground from under one another without the slightest compunction. I never knew but one "boss" whose word was absolutely and entirely to be depended on both as to what he could do, and what he would do. He could tell to a certainty about how his ward would go, and if he gave his word as to the delegates he never un­ der any circumstances broke. He was a man of strong likes and dis­ likes and exceedingly blunt in his way of putting things. But he could neither be wheedled nor intimidated. The mere fact that he had promised the support of his delegates in a con­ vention to a certain candidate did not determine that be would support that candidate at the polls on election. But' just ,so far as his word went, that promise was iron-clad and irrevocable. Time was when a "boss" was to be marked by his reputation for physical prowess. But those days are in the sere and yellow leaf. Strange to say, even in the toughest of the "tough" wards, the "leaders" are very seldom now men who depend on their "knock down and drag out" abilities. Thjg "boss" of to-day aspires to be "dresser" and a wit, not a "slugger." Pugilism is left to its regular expon­ ents, and though many of the "bosses" may be patrons of the sparring matches, they have given the fough- and-tumble method of the past the good-by, and plume themselves on smoother plans to achieve success. Such a thing as a conscience is something that no unscrupulous ward "boss" will harbor, for to him con­ science is a dead letter in politics. Be­ sides, a "boss" may be in one party one year, and on the other side of the fence the next year. He may support a measure at first and then "switch" and fight it. Expediency is his watch­ word, and he will support a man whom he cordially despises if he can see advantage to himself in the end. The questions of party principles have an exceedingly hazy interest to him, for the class with which he mingles, and the interests which he represents, have no time at all to study political economy, and no inclination towards the ethical side of politics. It was a matter of genuine interest to meet the various "bosses," big and little, and weigh them and analyze them as they came into my perspec­ tive. They were always a trifle curi­ ous as to just how I happened "to be in politics, and I am quite certain they were decidedly uncertain as to just how I came to be holding down a fair- salaried position when I could not de­ liver delegates; and yet, meeting me in the game at every turn, from the primaries to the national conventions, they knew I was "keeping cases," as they may have expressed it, and that in some mysterious way I must be of some value in the sum total of ele­ ments making up political life. The question of silent "bosses" and talkative "bosses" is one which has been variously reviewed, and the av­ erage judgment has been that the silent "boss" was the great • power. The fact was that the "silent" boss could talk fast enough when he want­ ed to, and the talkative boss could "stand pat" when he so desired. If it was the nature of a "boss" to talk he did so; if he was naturally a secretive man, he kept still generally. The most effective combination was the "Boss" who could talk or keep still as occa­ sion demanded, and who could neither be goaded nor coaxed into either silence or speech against his better judgment. It could be said In favor of nearly every real ward "boss" that he was not an orator. Not in the sense of a "silver-tongued spell-binder." Many of them could give good, common-sense talks, and effective ones, too, but they did not essay to split the welkin with their perorations, and rather despised in their hearts the "wind-jammer" and his periods. At the same time, for a genuinely great speaker they had a deep respect and enjoyed hearing him. As for the "man with the pen," they were never unwilling to avail them­ selves of his services if he could "make good" with anything to help on a campaign. ERNEST M'GAFFEY. (Copyright, 1908, by Joseph B. Bowles.) Too Hasty. "Laura," said Mr. Ferguson, cross­ ing his knife and fork on his plate and folding up his napkin, "what is the difference--" «=> "Now, George," impatiently inter­ rupted Mrs. Ferguson, "you know I'm no good at answering conundrums!" "I was going to ask you," he re­ sumed, looking at his watch and ris­ ing from the table, "what the differ­ ence In price is between the parlor rug I picked out for you at the store the other day and the one you thought you would rather have, but if it doesn't interest you we'll let the rug Blatter go by default. It's time for me to start downtown. Don't forget to leeft Rover. Good-by."--Chicago Trib- Probably. "Pa, why did they kill the fatted --w when the*.prodigal son returned? "Probably because the meat trust had made prices so fcigh that they couldn't afford to patronize the t>u$Btk«r.--Cfcicago Record-Herald. Luck. "I suppose you wouldn't part with this dear old farmhouse for anything," said the enthusiastic girl. "No," answered Farmer Corntossel. I don't expect to." "You regard it as a kind of mas­ cot, don't you?" "Well, the fellow that managed to sell it to my father was pretty lucky." --Washington Star. He Could Prove It. "What was his excuse for not meet­ ing you last night?" "He said he was run down by an automobile on his way to the appolnt- rd place." "You didn't believe any such yarn as that, did you?" [ "Sur^r, I had to. You se^, he was In the hospital when he told it to me." --Detroit Free PresB. The True Art Lover. H6w oft 1B genius without heart. Insensible and cold. We listeners humbly pay for art. The sluger slags for sold. Strange, If True. "A curious thing happened at a lit­ tle gathering which I attended a few nights ago." "Did somebody, mistaking the host for one of the guests, tell him it was stupid?" "No. A young lady who was asked to sing got up without any urging." "Oh, I've seen girls do that." "But this one could sing."--Chicago Record-Herald. Forcing His Chances. "So Shadlboy is in trouble again?" "Yes, a bit of a card scandal." "I told him not to play unless he could affbrd to lose." "He must have gotten your advice mixed, and decided he couldn't afford to play unless he didn't lose."--Wash lngtori Star. 8ecret of Success. Thin, Boarder--I don't see how ydu manage to fare so well at this board­ ing house. I have industriously courted the landlady and all her daughters, but I'm half starved. Fat Boarder--I courted the cook.-- New York Weekly. Commercial. "Jones never can forget his busi­ ness for a minute. Even at the ball last night--" "Well, what happened?" "When a young lady told him that her partner had engaged her for the next dance he immediately offered to buy out her partner."--Detroit Free Press. Mathematical. "Are you going to make an example of that grafter?" said one statesman. "He's worse than an example now," answered the other. "He's a problem." The Business Blot. Mrs. Spriggs--Why do you leave those horrid blots in your letter to Mr. Richma,n, asking for a business in­ terview? Mr. Spriggs--I want him to see thai I am business man enough to use m fountain pen.--New York Weekly, LIKE SIR GEORGE KNIGHT OF OLD WHO FOUGHT DRAGON FIND8 COUNTERPART. Duke of Westminster to Hunt Ante­ diluvian Monster--8aId to Have Been 8een Alive In the Arctic Circle. The young duke of Westminster, of ample fortune and venturesome dis­ position, in the spirit of his fellow countryman of old, Sir George, is pre­ paring ja" give battle to a monster creaturlrwhich Is reported on reliable authority to have been seen roaming in the inaccessible regions of the arc­ tic circle. He Is coming to America soon to prepare to trail this antedi­ luvian creature to its lair, there to att,ack it and either capture It alive or kill it and bring back its carcass as proof of his prowess and courage. On his yt&y to America the duke stopped in Paris, and there laid plans for the expedition up to the McQues- ten river in the Yukon in search of this monster, which scientists have named the Keratosauru3, and which certain parties, including a Jesuit fa­ ther located in the far north, are said to have seen and photographed, be­ sides taking measurements of its foot­ prints. There seems to be much mystery and many rumors concerning the mon­ ster, but report has it that a miner of the Yukon, Tom Leemore, who with Geprge Dupuy and James Butler and the Jesuit father, saw the Kerato- saurus in its rage and photographed it In its rampage when it flicked an avalanche of great rocks down around their heads. Who has seen the photographs of the Patridge creek monster? Not the Dawson authorities, who refused to lend 100 mules and 50 armed men to go hunt it. Not the editor of the Daily Nugget, who dubbed George Dupuy "a rival of Edgar Poe." The miner Leemore, who remained at Arm­ strong creek, pigheadedly confided them to Father Lavagneux alone, "to interest some rich and seripus French or English sport," and now that George Dupuy is back in Paris with the duke of Westminster behind him, one of the most extraordinary photographs on earth is in the young duke's pocket, while Dupuy has in his pocket a lib­ eral contract to indemnify all those concerned and fit an expedition that must include a 4-000-ton tramp steam­ er--to bring straight to London the live monster weighing 80 tons and more! The duke of Westminster has also In his pocket a letter from the Jesuit missionary to George Dupuy, after his return to Paris, in which he says: "And now would you believe that I and ten of my Indians again saw, on Christmas afternoon, Leemore's terri­ ble monster? "It passed like a hurricane across the frozen river, smashing, dashing, crashing immense blocks of broken ice into the air behind it. All its long bristles were covered with hoar-frost and its red eyes flamed in the twi­ light. "The monster held In Its mouth a cariboo that weighed at least 700 pounds, while it careered along at 20 £§! Jlk! •fPo'" The Monster, from the Alleged Pho­ tograph Taken of the Creature. miles per hour! At the corner of the cut-off it disappeared. "In company with Chief Stineshane and two of his sons, I took prints of its tracks, exactly as you, Butler, Lee- moore and I did that last day in the moose leak." The positive good faith of George Dupuy is beyond doubt in Paris, where he Is so well known. His place as a writer and sporting explorer is quite fixed. When the New York-to-Paria automobile race was being organized his mere word convinced Parisians of the impossibility of crossing Bering strait upon the ice--which doesn't ex­ ist. Three times in the last eight years Dupuy has made long visits to the Klondike, always as a sport with money, and it was during this trip that he saw the Keratosaurus, and it is the result of these facts that la leading up to the duke of Westmins­ ter's "American Vacation." FACES A NEW ERA •X- KEY WE8T, FLA., MOVING ON TO LARGER THING8. Romantic History of the Past to Give Way to the Push and Rush of Commercialism by Way of New Railroad. Key West is already scenting from afar on its thirsty little island away down at the southernmost tip of Flor­ ida, the coming of the transformation which is to be wrought by the comple­ tion of the remarkable railroad which, like some amphibious monster, has been crawling seaward out across the Keys from the Florida mainland, and is now only 47 miles from the queer old cosmopolitan town. She is dreaming dreams of a great future as the Tyrol of an American Mediterran­ ean when the steel rails have linked it with the mainland and it has be­ come the nearest port of the United States to Cuba, the Panama canal and the countries lying around the Carib­ bean. Meanwhile the Keys, those isolated outcroppings of coral rock which lie in a long, sickle-blade curve of 150 miles between the waters of the At­ lantic and those of the Gulf of Mex­ ico, are getting used to |he phenomena of the new era. It is believed that even the ghosts of buccaneers may in time come to accept the developments of modern progress and resume busi­ ness at their old stands--strictly for the benefit of a romantic touring public. Their successors, the unromantic present-day ConchB, have already learned to take the revolution with a matter-of-fact eye to the jnain chance, and the commotion In the least up-to- date circle of piratical ghostdom when the first engine whistle tooted through the palm groves could hardly have been greater than among the dwellers on some of the remote keys. The engineers tell how terrified in­ habitants fled from the first trains with the, same panic fear that led dwellers in backwoods communities to see the devil, or worse, in the first apearance among them of smoke-spit- ting steamboats. It would be hard to find within the frontiers of the states a stranger or more out-of-the-\qprld region than this of the Keys before the coming of the railroad. Stranded at the threshold of the continent these islets lay out­ side the path of even maritime trade, although they form the northern and western barrier of the straits of Flor­ ida, the gateway from the Atlantic to the gulf. About the only persons, ex­ cept their inhabitants, who had any real knowledge of the Keys, were a few enthusiastic sportsmen who had cruised and fished in the waters of this angler's paradise. The seas out of which the keys rise are everywhere shallow, averaging less than ten feet deep in their sounds and channels, and a long line of light­ houses follow the curve of the archi­ pelago on its Atlantic side, warning vessels off its perilous reefs. Even with these sentinels on watch this is known as one of the dangerous coasts of the world, and wrecking is a regu­ lar occupation of the island inhabit­ ants. In the old days it was a great­ er and more profitable occupation. The pirates and buccaneers are now only objects of vague tradition, but there is plenty of that to show that they haunted this as well as other regions of the Spanish Main. Caesar's key and creek in Biscayne bay are the more or less well-authenticated re­ treat of one of these worthies. Key West was originally Cayo Hue- so, or Bone island, from the quanti­ ties of human bones found there by the first settlers, but whether the bones were those of murdered captives of the desperadoes of the deep or those of Indian inhabitants is a mat­ ter of opinion. Piratical tradition has also been attached to Knight's key, the present terminus of the railroad with which Henry M, Flagler is open­ ing the region. The name of the island is alleged in this legend to be de­ rived from a buccaneering worthy who pre-empted it as his particular haunt and who either bore the name of Knight or was an outlawed knight turned sea rover. The tradition b> ing a little hazy on this point, the more romantic version is perfectly tenable. Plans are making for supplying Cairo, Egypt, with a modern sewerage and drainage system In the near fu- me- GETTING EVEN. She had refused him, and he stood twirling his mustache and looking quizzical until she was in a tearing temper. "What are you standing there for?" she demanded, stamping her foot. "Well, I am wondering," he said, slowly, "whom are you going to marry, since you won't marry me?" "It's none of your business," she flamed, angrily. "Oh, yes It Is," he drawled. "At any rate, I'm interested. I shouldn't like you to marry a fellow I didn't think well of, you know, since I came near marrying you myself." It seemed to her that she should faint with indignation." "You never came near marrying me," she at length managed to gasp. "I didn't think even of marrying you, and as to whom I do marry, you have nothing to do with it. I shall marry anybody I please!" "That's just It," he returned, thoughtfully; "suppose you don't please anybody V" Then there was nothing left to her but raving hyster­ ics. Terrifying Mix-Up. "Did you ever see a 'roaring well,' Bonny?" asked the wandering peddler who was selling photographs of na­ tural freaks. The freckled lad on the fence grinned his broadest. "Did I ever see a 'roaring well,' mister?" he echoed. "Wall, I reckon-. Last week the old yel­ low tomcat chased a toad to the edge of the well and they both tumbled in. Then the dog tried to catch the cat, and he went in, too. Dad tried to grab Towser's tail, tripped over the gray mule t|iat was grazing by the trough, and they all went in together. Was that a 'roaring well'? Well, mister, for two hours, until the bunch was fished out, there was more roaring in that well than in all the earthquake predic­ tors put together."--Chicago Daily News. A Killing Compliment. He--You are a perfect duck of s girl. She--Now j*Bu are making game 9t me.--Baltimore American. 'SW* RAILWAY ENGINEER. There are horoes famed ia story, rights famed, for deeds of arms; Ken who've fought their country's foe- men, and In sudden night alarms Have rushed out to shots and shouting la the smoke and reek and dark. Never pausing, never heeding, offering themselves a mark; Going where their duty called them in the nation's game of war; Finding death or finding glory never questioning what for. But peace has its greater heroes, men of throttle and of wheel. Men ]J*ho. crouched in their cab windows, drive their panting steeds of steel Over moor and fen and mountain, dash- ing over trestles high Thrown across deep cleft and chasm like mere cobwebs 'gainst the sky. On whoa* nerve hang lives of hundreds as they leave the station light And with straining of steel sinews plunge afar into the night. Men who, facing swift disaster, are keyed up to such a height That each nerve and Joint and muscle springs to do the thing that's right; Men who, when they can't avert it, go to death clear-eyed and brave. With strong hands closed on the throttle In a last attempt to save; Hope of glory or of pensions is not theirs, no more than fear; b Aye, indeed, peace hath Its hero In the railway engineer. --J. M. Lewis, in Houston Post. WINTER TRAVEL IN SIBERIA, Passengers There Are Frequently Snowed Up for Days. When winter sets in adventures by rail are frequent, and the process of "roughing it" is trying. Often train* are snowed up at little squalid stations on the steppe, where the passengers can get nothing but black bread and tea. For hours? Aye, and for days. It depends on the authorities how long the ill-starred travelers shall abide. This year numerous trains were caught In the sndft% almost burled there, and generally on the open steppes 50 or 60 miles from a lemon and 100 miles from a beefsteak. The passengers besought the station mas­ ter and others to have them dug out and to clear the line. They even tel­ egraphed to the minister of ways arid communications, and received assur­ ances that the order would be given. It was given--and disregarded. Story telling and card playing la the flickering light of a candle were the most serious occupations of the prisoners on tfce steppe. In one case "he" and "she" met for the first time under these uncommon conditions, fell in love over a sausage, a stale roll and half a bottle of wine, which he happened to have, and they married shortly afterward. I Here is a copy of one of the tele­ grams from snowed-up passengers that were sent last season: "This Is the second day that we are kept by snowdrifts here In the lonely station, Pookhovo. In spite of the energetic telegram of the minister of ways and communications the manager of the line has taken no efficacious measures. We are doomed to linger on here for an indefinite period." (Signed by the passengers of the International wagon of the Rostoff fast train.) And they lingered on for two days. INCIDENT ON RUSSIAN ROAD. How a Student Thought to Relieve the Tedium of Travel. The tedium of railway traveling In Russia was relieved the other day in an unexpected manner. In a compart­ ment of the train going from Kursk to Klef sat a beautiful young lady next to a chatty priest, with whom she held an animated conversation. Opposite sat a student who envied the priest the causerie which he was enjoying. As the evening came on the girl fell asleep and the priest nodded his head in slumber. That was an opportunity which no self-respecting practical joker could afford to let slip. Bend­ ing forward, the student kissed the sleeping damsel and sprang back into his seat. The salute awakened the girl, who, thinking that it was her neighbor, the priest, who had dared to kiss her, jumped up and gave him a sounding box on the ears. The student re­ joiced greatly. There was a commo­ tion, the policeman accompanying the train was summoned, and he at once drew up a "protocol" against the wronged priest, while the student of­ fered to appear as a witness in the law court at Kief. But at the last moment & young Jewess who had been sitting in a dark corner unobserved by anybody stepped forward, exonerated the poor priest from the terrible accusation, and then it was the student's turn to feel mis­ erable. Railroad Stolen Overnight. Citizens of this community are much distressed over the fact that the only railroad they owned has been stolen. Everybody was proud of the railroad, and the fact that it was only five milea long did not make them any the less loyal. The railroad was stolen some time last Friday night. It was there when the citizens went to bed at the usual hour, and it was gone .when they arose Saturday morning. ' Where it went Is a mystery. There is a suspicion that some high financier hired a lot of men to roll up the track and carry it away lik* a carpet. President Botts, who Is al­ so general manager, conductor and en­ gineer, said: "Before going home I locked the en­ gine up in the barn and chained the railroad to the trees. I also took the precaution of nailing down the right- of-way. Wh% I came out the next morning there was not even a spike left. At first I thought the system had been mislaid, but careful search destroyed that theory." A reward has been offered for the railroad, and, meanwhile, all business here is at a standstill.--Sherr (Pa.) Correspondent Philadelpl North American. m Would Discipline Children. One of the Pacific ooast papers Is aroused to the fact that the children of the present day have no discipline In their lives. They are not taught obedience and are submissive to n# law. Such personal liberty is good neither for the child nor for the co» munity, and stringent rules are recom­ mended, if for nothing else than tsi have them obeyed. " fVfft*"" •