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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (March 9, 1902)
fib mm LEWIS NIXON. THE NEW KjSAD OF WANTED A MAN FOR THE PLACE SAID I'D TAKE IT." (Copyright 1902, by S. S. McClure Co.) EWIS NIXON, the young .man whom I Richard Croker appointed for his ' t I . thn Turn. urn many Hall organization of New York, is an Interesting object les son to any political municipal body in the United States. He has had the amazing courage to take up the defeated elements of a great city, (defeated under most violent accusations of dishonesty and demoraliza tion) to rally the scattered forces for future electioneering warfare. In spite of flagrant proof against Tammany Hall, showing the personal audacity of many of Its most prom inent members, Mr. Nixon has stepped quietly In front of those Crokerites, and said; I will be your leader; I'll take the Job," and shut his Jaws tight together, com mitted to a most difficult undertaking for better or for worse. "How do you like it?" I asked him dur ing a talk at Tammany Hall. "Don't like it, but I'm In it, and I'll stick to it to the end. I'll see it through," he said crlsoly. , "What made you take it?" He was amused at this blunt inquisition and in his answer was an indication of the sterling sincerity of the man. "They wanted a man for the place and I just stepped In and said I'd take It." "They were glad to get you!" "Don't know, they took me at any rate, and I'm going to stay." "What are you going to do with all the old fellows, the trained henchmen of hard Croker?" I asKea. lor mere is tfcat In Mr. Nixon s appearance mat is noi strictly political: he Is built on ver square outlines. "I have absolutely nothing to do with selecting the officers and district leaders of th's organizaticn. The primary laws govern all members in official capacity, and nothing could put any member out of the organization." "But you are enrolling new members all the time?" GrtiliiK Thrni All. "As fast as we can. and we look Into their private histories, their political affili ations. We propose to get the 300,000 demo crats In New York City on our list, for I consider Tammany Hall is the democratic headquarters, as much as the Union League club Is the republican headquarters. Every democrat in this city can come here, whether he be a member or not, and re ceive any advice, patronage, support or as sistance the Tammany Hall organization can furnish." "Tammany Hall is to become a straight democratic organization?" "That's what we want, and that Is what we are bringing about." "And Mr. Croker has really and truly and positively retired forever and ever?" "Positively; he Is an old man, and he has earned his holiday." It Is a remarkable thing to see the Tam many men gather In the executive room of th9 organization, to get a little Inspira tion and confidence from this self-reliant, cheerful, determined leader. They are list less, disinterested, they lounge about with their heads bowed, their eyes dull , a ghostly crew of gloom then Mr. Nixon EE: Lewis Nixon, New Head of TAMMANY HALL ''THEY AND I STEPPED IN AND grasps each one by the hand, pulls him into a chair beside him, looks him straight in the eye, infuses some of his own vitality Into them, and they walk out, heads erect, hopeful, elastic, freshened up. Nixon U the human symbol of success, he breathes it, looks It, is it. There is something in the confident atmosphere of the man, ln his business reputation, that makes him an ob ject lesson for any political party, muni cipal, or state, or national. Not the Political 1e. He is the Jerome of the democrats in New York, with a good record for conserv ative business habits, thrown In. He is not aggressive, and he has the refreshment of contrast in work, between his shipyard in the morning and Mr! Croker's old desk in the afternoon. He is not the type of man one would expect to And In politics. He graduated from the United States Naval academy at Annapolis, at the head of his class, then went to Europe and took a course of naval architecture and marine engineering at Royal Naval college in Greenwich, England. Since his return he designed the great modern battleships Oregon, Indiana, Massachusetts. This he accomplished in ninety days. Later he opened his own shipyards, built the gun boats Annapolis, Josephine, Margreve, and the submarine torpedo boat Holland. About twelve years ago he joined Tam many Hall, being a member of the Cham ber of Commerce, the Democratic club and the Army and Navy club in Washington. It does not seem reasonable to suppose that the new Tammany leader, in the face of an independent standing as a business man, with the cumulative interest In his profession of ship building, will be ham pered in his obligations by political ambi tion. And yet, why has he assumed these re sponsibilities, which involve a mass of detailed labor? He said himself that he does not like It. The reasons are such as appeal to the most valuable prospects in the political future of any American city--he is a patriotic believer in the integrity of his party a staunch democrat. In this fact he is an object lesson to the young man who hesitates assuming political office, Because he sets only the entanglements and not the principle. You ii ir Men Are Loyal. "It Is perfectly wonderful to see the number of young men who will d 'vel )p loyalty to their party, when the principle Is shown them, instead of the spci'.s!" said Mr. Nixon warmiy. "All they need Is" a little advice, a sug gestion, and they will go into their districts and work night and day, to accomplish re sults," he added. "Without self-interest?" I asked. "What is a party principle, but self-interest. It acta upon every citizen who votes." Tammany Hall under Mr. Nixon's leader ship. Intends to re-establish its standing upon the platform of democracy, and after all, a clean democrat is as much a reformer against dishonest conditions, as a clean republican, and in expressing this fact by industrious advice and close perception of the agents of his organization. Mr. Nixon !!, I I H I Hi: ! ; : !!) ' . Jy " -1 l - , , , IT IS PERFECTLY WONDERFUL TO SEE THE NUMBER OF YOUNG MEN WHO WILL DEVELOP LOYALTY TO THEIR PARTY WHEN THE PRINCIPLE IS SHOWN THEM INSTEAD OF SPOILS." sets an example as a political leader, for any municipal government. "How are you going to purify Tammany Hall?" I asked him. "Well certain men who have done the organization no good, will not be encour aged. I cannot arbitrate the characters of our members, I have no authority over their morals, but, when they come to see me, these men who are not wanted, I make my wishes quite clear to them. They aeem to understand me too, for they don't come around here very often." "You do not absolutely dictate, as Mr. Croker did?" "I define my province here as a chief counselor, a sort of balance wheel on the organization. It is a leader's duty to or ganize, and the reconstruction plans I am making exclude everything and everyone that can in any way clog the smooth, clean tunning of the machine. It would not bo within the principles of democracy to dictate, rather let us say we shall utilize all parts of the organization, to make it a useful unity of power, towards the best Interests of the entire community." "So you find the man who has made poli tics a life-study, a useful member?" "We want the places of the older men filled with young men. We need the young men In politics, and we are going to train them to fill the places of the old," said Mr. Nixon warmly. "You are an optimist," I said. "I believe the general welfare of the community should be the ideal a politi cian must follow. Provide for the aafety of all by selecting honest political agents." "Young men are more honest in politics than the old?" I asked. "The young man 1 more likely to have singleness of purpese, his ir.tillig nee de velcpes the advantages tf integrity of character. over craft and shrewdness. Ycung men, I think as a whole, are more temperate too in their hubits, than the old." Goverurd liy Itenaoii. Richard Croker has been a politician all his life: Lewis Nixon has been trained as a shipbuilder. The trend of his mind is constructive, exact, accurate. To muke a ship float, it must ba built on certain standard 1'nfs. There are definite rules to observe, and there is no mystery about them. The oiler n-embers of Tammany Hall did not take kindly to Mr. Croker's statement thit L?wl i Nixon would be the'r chief when he re signed. He had not grown up with tin organization. How could he know any thing about the intrlcac'eB of the ma chine? Mr. Nixon did not care anything abcut the previous plans. L'ke a'l youn men, he was a straight out and out voter, lie had certain intelligent reasons and convlct'ons that governed his vote, that made him a democrat, as different con victions might make another a republi can. "I made a personal sacrifice In accept ing the leadership of Tammany Hall, but every man has some duty to his country, and I had mine." Gradually the eld heel ers, the men who have lived off the po litical revenue of Mr. Croker's wonderful political system, will find a different spirit Tammany rr li it "I MADE A PERSONAL SACRIFICE IN ACCKPTNO THE LEADER SHIP OF TAMMANY HALL. BUT EVERY MAN HAS SOME DUTY TO HIS COUNTRY AND I HAD MINE." in Tammany Hall. The man who designed Oregon is planning a great democratic ship, which he will launch in New York and send out as a specimen of what party principles look like, apart from personal political ambitions, and tho private greed of municipal control. I asked Mr. Nixon if he bad political ambitions, if he would run for office. "If this organization required me to do so, no doubt I should," he said, and ex cept for those conditions I do not bellevJ he has any great political aspirations. Example for Young Men. Lewis Nixon Is an Interesting example to young men who contemplate a political career, and a safe example. He looks upon his political obligations as part of his duty, a sentiment almost akin to the responsi bilities cf his conscience. Of course, there are backbiters and scoffers, and minds that warp the least intentions and endeavors. These hint at private motives that have urged Lewis Nixon to become the leader of Tammany Hall, but I can look at tlie facts as I know them, and the man as I see him. He is an athletic six-footer, dark, swarthy, genial, with the deep resonant voice that so many southerners have. He la a Virginian, born in Laesburg fcrty-one year ago. Of course he is one of those men who has no Interest in anything that does not involve work. "Success Is within everyone's reach. It simply means work," be said, and he does bis share. He is at his shipyard In Elizabeth, N. J., by 9 In the morning. In the afternoon he opens his desk at Tammany Hall. In the evenings he Jumps into an automobile and with his private secretary, Mr. Alfred T. Cha macho, as chauffeur, he scoots about the town, attending district meetings, four or five in a night. He lives at the Waldorf-Astoria, with his wife and child, a boy. "Don't you find the work exhausting?" someone asked him once. "Not half so exhausting as Idleness," he answered with a smile. This youthful steam, this impetus of a man's enrrgl s In full action at the prime cf life, 19 what Mr. Croker shrewdly rec ognized Tammany Ha l needed to revital ize its action. Only Workers Wanted. Lewis Nixon has no use for drones. He wants men about him who will work as be does himself, under the same impulse of party feeling that he believes In. "I see all kinds, sorts and conditions of men here," he said at the end of an aft ernoon's session. "Some I like, and some I don't, but the first and foremcst fact I satisfy myself about them 1b, Are they dem ocrats at heart? You have no idea of the mass of detail this work involves, and It must all be done accurately and faith fully." "And cheerfully," I added. "Cheerfulness Is the outcome of faith in a principle, and every good democrat has that." "Are the antt-Tamman) itrs ro.ulng back to the fold?" "The anti-Tammanyltcs were the chaps who believed in the principles of democ Hall I! SI 'if- racy, and since Tammany has sworn obed ience to the letter, to the democrats of New York City, to tbo democrats of the United States, I might say, the disgruntled members are returning to us dally." As a designer of the famous battleships the new Tammany leader has made Amer ica a Bca power. He made the plans of Oregon In ninety days. What won't he do for municipal politics, with 300,000 democrats to build with? This young man In politics will be an ex ample to every municipal organization In the United States, for he represents prin ciples, not spoils. Pointed Paragraphs Chicago News: A handful of common sense is worth a bushel of book knowledge. Habits are like porous plasters easy to acquire, but hard to get rid of. People who are always behind time should be fed on tomato ketchup. Nothing Is better than a good woman and nothing is worse than a bad one. It is easier to criticise the faults of an other than It Is to correct your own. Rest is the sweet sauce that is dished up only in connection with hard labor. The average man takes more interest in what ho suspects than In what he knows. The logical deduction from many a so i ailed statement of furls Is fully lot) per cent. Milliners' bills are (lie tax which the male sex has to pay for the beauty of the females. Many a girl's distant manner may be traced to the fact that she had onions for dinner. When you meet a man who Is thoroughly content you see one whr.se ambition hatt gone to seed. Be churituble. Every ton of coul given to the poor In th world will be so much fuel saved from utr in the next. The usual order of tl lugs is reverstd In matrimonial warfare. First comes the sur render, then the engagement and last, but not least, the call to crins. Expensive Fruits A Broad street fruiterer huB in his win dow a small baxket of peaches which he claims are the only ones in America, re ports the Philadelphia Record. "I'll give you $100 apiece for any olhtrs you may find lu this country," he said yesterday. "I don't mean to say that the peaches art realy worth that, but my ofTir Is Inspired by the confidence I feel that It cannot be takin up. These were imported from Lon don for P. A. B. Wldener's famous dinner to J. Pierpont Morgan. "Some time ago, when Mr. Widens r's steward was first beginning to plan the dinner, he cume to me and said he wrn'j.l some peaches. I told him there were none to be bad unlets we cabled to London for them. 'All right,' be said; 'do that.' So I did, and the peaches arrived in time for the dinner. I kept this basket for my win dow. They cost $1.60 apiece In Covent garden."
