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About Corvallis daily gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Oregon) 1909-1909 | View Entire Issue (June 15, 1909)
! Lorimer, the New Illinois Senator s . Former Street Car Conductor, Who Cot His Start !n Politics by I Organizing His Craft, Is Known as the "Blond Boss." ? XaAA AAA A AAA AAA A A A - . Father of a Ship Canal From Chi cago to the Gulf Breadwinner From an Early Age Good Mixer and Popular Loyal to Friends traitor, and his pursuit is relentless. The foes of ex-Senator Hopkins ex plain the downfall of that gentleman as an effect of that very cause. They aver that it -was Lorimer who made. Hopkins senator in the first place, and when Lorimer was trying to nominate Yates over Deneen they accused Hop kins of trying to carry water on both By JAMES A. EDGER.TON. THE main facts about William Lorimer, the new senator from Illinois, are that he was born In England; that he is forty-eight years old; that he came to the United States in childhood; that his father, who was a minister, died when the lad was ten years old; that from then on he has been a breadwinner; that he shoulders. These are the charges, and, whether true or not, the result is the same. Hopkins is out, and Lorimer is in. The "Blond boss" turned the trick in the face of a plurality for the for mer senator in the primaries. Perhaps the Democratic vote for Lorimer is explained by that very fight for governor, in which It is charged that after Deneen was nomi nated Lorimer threw his forces to 840 acres, 1 1-2 miles from Summit. 700 acres fenced in five pastures run Ining water between each pasture, fair buildings, 72 bearing fruit trees-will pekp S vears straio-Vit. Alan koiro fnr rocacy of this gigantic undertaking j and 4 0 d j !e attention "was paid to him even e , Tr jj. r. xoung. 203 N. 14 St., Corvallis. . ' 6-4-4 tw. had little or no schooling; that he sold papers, blacked boots, wheeled salt in the packing houses and was a horse car conductor; that he became a ma chine politician and is now known as the "blond t boss;" that he has been widely and vehemently denounced as being a representative of the vicious elements and "the interests;" that nev ertheless his private life is notably clean and his family life ideal; that he Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic can- j does not smoke, drink or swear; that didate, and ran him a hundred thou- he has eight children, to whom he is sand or so ahead of his ticket. After- j devoted; that he is a large man, se- ward an anti-Deneen bipartisan com-1 rene, unruffled, a good mixer and pop- bination organized the legislature, and ! tilar; that he never goes back . on a Lorimer is given the credit for that. ' friend; that he has been in congress These intricacies of state DOlitics have 1 seven terms; that he is known as the peculiar twists. After all the battle hich was In the interest of some f.iicago corporation. Billy Lorimer Is If Chicago and for Chicago. The Ship Canal.1 Of all the things Lorimer has done or attempted to do for his own town :he dwp waterway project liithe most momentous. When he first began the aov little la his own city. Gradually, however, hk-a.sro began to awaken until today he ship canal from the lakes to : the a:f is about the livest wire in the ''C'o west. After fighting for "it n-'i many congresses and on the U tivr .Illinois the new sena ; the pV:iure of seeing a great ion i in Chicago in its be . -,-':,! i both President Taft na-1 .1. nr. an spoke in Its fa- r-t ie is in the senate hg let- a Mil harder fight for his t " d nys that he will carry u -,'.!. Ft hH advo.-acy of this !fYe"t pi!tenTi.e mn"h can -be i him. There are many exam- For Rent "father of the deep waterway project" cf a ship canal from the great lakes to the gulf; that he is a fair speaker, but prefers to work on the quiet, and that his election as senator came as a sur prise at the end of the longest dead lock in the history of Illinois. This is but a skeleton outline, but it gives an idea of the man. His career is not commonplace or usual by any means, and perhaps the strangest thing in it is that he, a party boss, was elected to the senate by a combi nation of Republicans and Democrats. Another striking feature about Lori mer Is that several times his enemies ihave gleefully proclaimed that the "blond boss" was down and out. . Tet. between the new senator and the gov ernor, both Chicago men, by the way, and former friends, one of Lorimer's first moves after his election was to make a call at the executive mansion, and the Interview between the arch enemies was so cordial that the Chica go papers at once figured out an of fensive and defensive alliance. Waving His Candidate In. One of the most spectacular political stunts ever pulled off by Lorimer was the nomination of Dick Yates for gov ernor nearly a decade ago. It was on the third ballot when the cause that the Chicago man. espoused seemed lost and, according to report, another man I, Li If wsm&h -A- i WILLIAM LOHIMER, UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM ILLINOIS. at the next turn of the wheel he won greater Victories than ever. His pres ent triumph is a case in point. He had fought Deneen both in the prima ries and at the polls, and Deneen gave him a drubbing each time. "That is the end of Billy Lorimer!" yelled everybody. And now look at him one -minute dumped in the gutter and left at the rear and the next on the front seat of the band wagon at the head of the procession! Serene and Canny. ; Lorimer in his acceptance speech blandly and benevolently handed out bouquets to everybody, even his foes; looked as innocent and cherubic as a blond boss could; said he was a Repub lican, but loved the Democrats who had jumped the fence in his behalf; talked for tariff revision downward because it had been promised in the platform; spokp a good word two of them, in fact for his deep waterway scheme and looked so serene that no one would have dreamed that he had just pulled off a deal without a paral lel in the history of American politics. For an ex-street car conductor who had got his first start in politics by organizing his craft it was quite a piece of generalship. Lorimer is .dis tinctively a politician. The convolu tions in his gray matter are not in vain. They stand for something. He. Is crnny. as becomes one of Scotch blocd; which' he is. although born in Manchester. He plays the game. and. win or lose,, he is not a quitter. His was actually nominated. Suddenly Lorimer appeared on the stage waving a Yates banner. He kept it up until the convention was stampeded, and in the confusion the third ballot, was nev er counted. A fourth roll call was or dered, and the day was won for Yates. The act by which the new senator first forced himself into general notice was almost as spectacular. It was in 1892, and he was a delegate to the Minneapolis convention. Illinois was for the renomination of Harrison, but Lorimer would not be bound by the delegation and voted for James G, Blaine. As Blaine had hosts of friends in Chicago, the rising young politician lost nothing by the move. A third incident shows a streak of independence in Lorimer that would not be suspected from his reputation as a machine man. It was in the days just after the Maine had been blown up in Havana harbor and when Tom Reed and the administration were try ing to prevent or at least delay declaration of war. Lorimer served notice on Reed that he would lead a revolt, which he did and forced ac tion. He pulled off a similar coup in his salad days as a kid congressman. Though he was supposed to keep si lent, he made .so warm. a fight for the Chicago public building bill that.' in spite of everybody else who was look ing for pork, the Windy City won the day. It must bo said for him that he has always stood up for Chicago, Much of the criticism of him has been loyally to his friends is both his j due to his championship of his friends strength and his' weakness. So long as' and of Chicago interests. When Hoose- they stay by him he -stays by thein, j velt led the fight for ..meat inspection no matter rwhat else they may do. it was Lorimer who rushed to the sup This had laid him open to many at- port of the packing bouses. Only re tacks. On the other hand, he has a tently the Michigan delegation was in long memory for his enemies. Let a j high dudgeon becaufie Lorimer bad friend double cross him or play the fathered a scheme at Sault Ste. Marie .crarif, 7 ; Money To Pay Warrants Notice is hereby given that there is money, on hand to pay General Fund Warrants endorsed to November 22, 1904, and all endorsed street warrants. Interest will stop on same from this date, June 5, 1909,-. Z. H. Davis, . 6-5-10-17 . City Treasurer. Daily Gazette 50 cents per month Why not take it. . Tzusiton '& Biartssp Cement Contractors ' Makers of Best Cement Walks in Town All work guaranteed first class. Corvallis 9 Ore The Best Paint There is no better paint made for appearance and durability than Acme Quality Paint . Specially prepared for exterior and interior use. "FLOOR VARNISH THAT WEARS" WALL PAPER AND PAINT STORE Second Street, Near Palace Theater MONEY LOANED LONG TIME RELIAALE ON REAL ESTATE EASY PAYMENTS REPRESENTATIVES WANTED The Jackson Loan & Trust Co. Fort Worth, Texas Jackson, Mississippi ELL Powerful and rapid well ma chine run by gascilne engine. MRS. WILLIAM LOUIMEK. - pies of poetic justice in the world, and not the feast of these is the general belief In Illinois that it was. his cham pionship of the deep waterway that was the deciding factor ip gaining for Billy Lorimer the senatorship. It would be an interesting psychological study to know whether he had such a result m view when he began the seemingly hopeless fight. Why hot give him the benefit of the doubt and believe that he was actuated by public spirit rather than private ambition? Or perhaps both factors entered, as they do in most men. In writing of many men I find that there is some thing good in all. Just as there are other things to be deplored. In strik ing a balance between the two some times the scale tips, one way, some-: times the other. In Lorimer's case that ship canal when It Is carried through, as It certainly will be, will redeem much and blot out much. It will be a monument ever enduring, one of which the greatest and best might be proud. In the end we are judged by oiir most conspicuous deed, whether .it be of good or of evil. -The deep waterway will certainly be the most conspicuous deed of Senator William Lorimer. Who can tell but that It may even swallow up his reputation as a "blond boss?" , - l- Getting at the Real Man. Fame plays queer tricks on; us all. And we who most abhor the political methods of men of the Lorimer type are forced to applaud efforts for the public good such as those shown in his long battle for this enterprise that Is to bless the future. I am not seeking to excuse Lorimer. I am only seeking to do him justice. A character sketch that shows personal or partisan bias Is not worthy of the name. The effort should be to get at the real man and set him forth as he is no more, no less. Kindliness and sympathy go a long way in getting at another's view point and angle of vision. TJntiJ that viewpoint ' is gained a fair estimate cannot be made. I am frank to say that my first feeling as" to Lorimer was one of repugnance.' Looked at more closely, there is gold beneath the dross. This Is not said of him because he Is a United States senator. It would be just as true If he were still a west side street car conductor, although there would be no palpitating Interest In him .as such. These things can be said of him and for him: He has made his own way: he never loses his tem per; In his home he is what every American man should be; his word never goes to protest; he sticks by his friends even though they go to jail; he is constructive and for his own town, and he has fought through good and evil report for at least one public work that will benefit mankind. - u Such things weigh. They contain substance and have meaning. Perhaps I have omitted the one element that counts for most in the world, though It may be rated "at more than its worth Mr. Lorimer has plucked the golden apple of success. That is the credit side of the account, and why cast up the debit? The papers have been full of it for years, and 'it is gen erally known of men. , r ' No sketch of Senator Lorimer would be complete that did not incliide Mrs. Lorimer. She was born in Canada, and he married her when he was a street car conductor. The same loyalty that has held him to his friends and to his city has welded him to his home,. In the life of this man there is none of the sickening story of the successful man outgrowing the partner of his humble beginnings. In personal appearance the "blond boss" is like his name auburn of hair, red of mustache, a good fellow and as democratic as sunshine. Here Is hop ing that his most cherished ambition may be fulfilled and that he may Iiv to build the Chicago ship canal. . Wind mill pump repairing, and drove wells a specialty. Place your orders now before the season's rushwork is on. ' A. K. HARLAN Box 526 Corvallis, Oregon Occidental Lumber Co. Successors to, Corvallis Lumber Co. We are here to supply your needs in the Lumber line. Please call on J. B IRVING for information and prices. And- take notice that if we have not got exactly what you want we will get it for you. G. O. BASSET r, Local Mar. Succeed when everything else fails. 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