TIIE STJTAY OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND, MAY 21. 1911.
W
M- ' ;Si lair v - ' ' i s&p.-- KlfcrJ3jtsyCpJa:fovc'yr
Nine Members in Their
Twenties or Under Thir-
ty-tyo Harvard Boy
the Chief Prodigy of This
Congress Was a War
Veteran at Sixteen, Cam
paign Orator at Seven
teen and Candidate While
a Junior Quick Climbs
by the Others Spanish
War Records and Direct
Primaries as Factors.
BT JOFI.V EUlvETH WATKIN3.
ASHING TON'. My 10. Of human
y prodlRlea. Ilarrard has long
our mouiBcior7 r ficci
iTr.. Th other month hr ll-rcar-oid
S:i2l astoutkllnj hla profess on
with luc!4 th'a on th flfth rtlmen
1'in. and hl ccntrr.porary. Wrnr,
had been a phenomenon at the same
a. ii had her Truman SafTord. who,
a: jo at 11. reduced bjr one-fourth the
labor of c&lculatlnir the time of moon
rl.e and moon -Bet. And anionic ber
nnr other prodlgtea of the past were
Kdward Ereretr. who while still In his
tnena. made his mark aj an eloquent
(Mvlne. So It Is not surprising; that
Harvard has contributed to the present
House et Representatives Its ne
hsfcjr- member William Francis Mur
ray-, who Is only in bis twenties.
Mistaken for Paje.
Indeed, so youthful tn appearance Is
Mr. Murray that upon the day of hi
wesrtnr In. Chairman Sulxer of the
commltte. on for. lea affairs mistook
!m for a page.
"Here! Ot me the last Canadian
ear book I commanded the reincarna
tion of Henry Clay, snapping bis pre
hensile fingers at the new member
from Boston.
"All rltrht. Pill.- retorted Murray:
but the next time kindly address me
as the member from Mas.achus.tta.' "
The other day I asked Mr. Murray the
uual question as to how he cot beaded
toward pub.lo life.
"I cot Into politics by accident a cood
many years ago." he replied, "and I
have stayed In ever since by deslfrn.
And more than once I have bad to de
slim with more or leas skill to stay In.
"Tou see my late father, whose name
I bear, was for many years a short
band political writer for the treat Boa
tun papers. He landed In Boston as a
friendless Immigrant from Cardiff.
Vaira. In Tt or '90. when be was about
J' yars old.
The kind of work that he was as
s!rn.d to do. writing- political speeches
snd so-iatlns; with the foremost pub- i
Uc men of M.issachusotts and the coun
try, developed strongly la him a natural
aptitude for the science of government.
"But he wlsrly spent his time from
:o on In Catherine about him a family
of hla own flesh and blood. Instead of
a political family, like I have been
Catherine tocether since I was 20 and
before.
"lie never rnt Ms chance, therefore.
to bold elective office In this country of
Ms adoption that he so strongly loved.
But be made op his mind that his first
born baby should have every opportu
nlty that energy and Industry and plan
ning could clve him.
Went to War at Sixteen.
"Well. I nearly broke his heart In 1S9S,
when I was only 14, by enlisting In the
United States Volunteer Signal Corps
for the war with Bpaln. I served
private and corporal under Captain
Thomas F. Clark, who returned from
Cuba to become a candidate for the
Boeton Board of Aldermen.
"That was while we were still in the
sen-Ice. The captain said to me one
night, before a meetlnc waa called to
order. 'Murray, you ve cot to make a
speech here tonlcht!"
err cood. sir.'
Well.lt doesn't seem to bother you
very much.'
"We are eilll In the service, sir'.
'And whst would you tell them- If
you mnde a speech 7
That I eerved. sir, under the finest
captain In the Vnlted States Army and
I know bo's the man they need for
alderman.'
Well. I made the speech age IT
years and 1 months. I've been mak
ing them ever since. And tbe end Is
not yet"
The new "bsby of the House" was
not for letting me lead him farther, un
til be might explain that, althourh that
hopeful f.ither of his had been a Welsh
man by birth he had been a rood Irish
man by blood, and that his mother.
I although a native of Booth Boston, had
I been bom there of Irish parents.
This precocious Representative him
self was born In Boston the 7th of Sep
tember, 1KS1, H days before President
Garfield died from the assassin's bullet.
While he waa a lad his parents moved
over to Charlestnwn, his present home,
where he entered the grammar school.
But when be had finished here he went
across the river every day to attend the
Boston Latin school, where he entered
the cadets.
Here he was saying but conjugations
and shifting; his little musket on the
day when news came flashing over the
country that the Main had been blown
up In Havana harbor.
Murray waa a tow-beaded, blue-eyed
stripling of If years, 4 months and
17 days on the day thr.t our war with
Bpaln began. With Irish blood tn his
veins and a knowledge of Infantry tac
tics In his brain, he was not despite
his youth a lad calculated to remain
behind when McKlnley called for vol
unteers.
After escaping both Spanish bullets
and yellow fever at Santiago, he re
turned to Boston to be honorably mus
tered out and to return to the Latin
School, a war veteran and a young
Centleman with a political record a
prodigy which that institution welcomed
with mouth agape and eyes staring.
He was now commissioned lieutenant
of cadets, the highest rank obtainable In
the junior year, and when a senior be
came colonel of his regiment, which had.
never before been commanded by a real
soldier with a war record. He was also
made manager of the school's baseball
team and vioe-prestdent of the Hub's
tnterscholastio Baseball Association. And
when be was graduated In June. 1904,
he waa 18. Then he went right Into
Harvard.
Perhaps Harvard, so accustomed to
prodigies, showed little surprise when
this precocious youth, just become a
Junior, received the Democratic nomln-
tlon for the City Council. But It was
an event that would have made any
other orthe great Vnrslties sit up and
take notice. The spark of political am
bitlon. which William Murray the elder
had Implanted In his son's breast, had
been fanned to a flame by Captain Clark
and had continued to blaze during these
four years. Young &.urray was barely
past his majority when nominated, and
Father Murray was fittingly proud,
though doomed to disappointment, for
the youngster that Autumn suffered his
first political defeat hlsaonly one up
to present writing. But Villlam Mur
ray, Sr., was thrilled with pride again
two years later, when his namesake did
three things within the stretch of a
single season received the stamp of a
Harvard B. A-. entered Harvard Law
School, and succeeded this time to the
coveted election to the City Council.
So this phenomenon of precocity sat
In the law school and the city council
at the same time for a two-year
stretch, but his proud father died the
year of his becoming a full-fledged at
torney. That was In 1906, and there la
much pathos In the fact that this pa
ternal pride was denied the exultation
of seeing the son win a nomination to
Congress within four years and three
months after finishing his education.
School to Congress in Four Tears.
That Is going some, you must agree
from schoolroom to congressional nom
ination In four years and one brief
Summer! But what young Murray did
within these four years makes the won
der of it grow the bigger. From the
city council he went to the Legislature
at 18. and after leaving the Legislature
he jumped to the Governors council
when 28.
The knees of only eight select men
are thrust under the council board of
the Governor of Massachusetts, and as
tute politicians declared that a "kid"
like Murray could never make It. But
be won. and was the only one of the
eight belonging to his political faith.
At that time Murray's district was
Uyi oat J?.fOuzji.t?a fSfJS
represented In Congress by John A.
Kellher, a Democrat, who had , been
elected to eight years' service In the
National House of Representatives. He
was a tried politician. 15 years Mur
ray's senior, and when be heard that
a youngatcr In his twenties would try
to filch his party's nomination from
him he went home and slept aa usual.
Last Fall Boston awoke in astonish
ment to read that the South Boston
prodigy had made good his boast and
"lifted" the nomination from Kellher.
After he had recovered from the shock
that veteran decided to run as an inde
pendent, thuB starting a three-cornered
fight.
It was a bitter struggle, and on the
morn following the balloting the Hub
got up early to see .what had happened
In the ninth district.
That the "boy candidate had beaten
Representative Kellher by over 1600
votes was a rare morsel for old Boston
to digest with his breakfast beans and
crullers.
Another Yet in Twenties.'
But Murray had Quite a olose shave
In the contest for the honor of being
the "baby of the House." Only nine
days behind him In the running waa
Byron Patton Harrison, of Gulfport,
Miss, who was born August 29, 1881.
This statesman, also still in nis twen
ties. Is one of the Harrisons of Harri
son his native county Mississippi.
After graduating from the state univer
sity at Baton Rouge, .La., ne was
elected District Attorney at the age of
24. was re-elected and was serving in
that capacity when elected to Congress
last Fall. He Is a product of the pri
maries, wherein he was nominated over
two strong fellow-Democrats, whom he
led In the first primary by 1500 and In
the second by 3000 votes. His coming
to Congress Is all the more remarkable
In that the far Southern States have al
ways been noted for sending old and
tried politicians to Congress. Unlike
his fellow-prodigy. Mr. Murray, he is
a married man, having taken a wife
unto himself when he was 23.
As in the interesting case of "Baby
Murray, a Spanish War record was a
factor In the political success of the
third youngest of the new representa
tives. Sydney Andersen, of Lanesboro,
Minn., who is 80. Although but 17 when
our brush with the dons started, he
shouldered his musket and went to the
front as a private of infantry. After
peace was declared he went through
the University of Minnesota, studied
law and started in practice. He. too,
is married, and he is the father of two
little Andersons.
Another HSnrard Prodigy.
Another Harvard prodigy comparable
to Murray is Robert J. Bulkley, of
Cleveland, O. He Is a year and one
month older than Murray and they were
In Harvard at.he-same time, although
Bulkley was aunlor when Murray en
tered as a freshman. And Bulkley, at
the age of 21," received his B. A., two
years before Murray, at 22, received the
same degree. After starting in at Har
vard Law School, Bnlkley finished his
legal education in Cleveland and then
went back to Harvard four years ago to
be made a master of arts. Before com
ing to this Congress he was never a
candidate for anything except matri
mony, in which campaign he was a win
ner, two years ago.
The case of the fifth youngest of the
new representatives, Thomas F. Konop,
of Kewaunee, Wis., Is all the more re
markable In that he la a self-made man
who had a harder struggle getting to
Congress than any of the others men
tioned. When IS he became a school
master, and while teaching until 21
saved enough to take a law course at
the University of Nebraska. Having
thus had to work in order to enter col
lege, It Is not surprising that he had
nearly reached his 25th birthday when
graduated with an LL. B. He had been
in practice but a short time when his
neighbors elected him District Attor
ney of his county and two re-elections
followed right along In a row. Only six
years after earning his law degree he
was nominated for Congress In a dis-
trict opposed to him politically, and !t.
was an uphill fight, but he won by Just
five votes. He is now 31 and the father
of four children.
Glancing at the rungs by which
Claudius Ulysses Stone, the sixth young-,
est of these new Representatives,
climbed, we come for the third time
upon a Spanish War record, and are
brought further up to the realization
of how the present generation, like that
going before It, seeks to reward mili
tary prowess with political honors.
When this modern Ulysses oommenced
upon his warlike wanderings far alleld
he was a youth still in his teens. He
left his horns' in Peoria as a Corporal
of Infantry, and after serving Tour
months in Cuba and eight more months
on his native soil he was mustered out
to become a teacher in rural, village
and high school, then, finally, in a small
college. When only 23 his fellow-Peorl-ans
elected bim County Superintendent
of Schools, and he was dlreotly after
ward re-elected.
While teaching the teachers how to
teach he studied law, bit while still
serving out his superintendency was
nominated to Congress last Fall, at the
age of 31. Although there was no Pen
elope to wait at home for this Ulysses
while he was off to the wars, he wooed
and won one when only 23.
Just nine days younger is James F.
Byrnes, new member from the fashion
able Winter resort, Aiken, S. C. After
finishing at the common schools he
studied stenography, became an official
court reporter, and when 24 began prac
tice. After marrying at 27, he became
solicitor of the Second Circuit of South
Carolina, and whin he took his seat In
the House was only 31. ' " -
All of these men are. younger than
Luke Lea. of Tennessee, the new "baby
of the Senate." All told there ore an
even dozen of new Representatives still
under 40. And this infusion of so much
young blood into our National body of
Representatives is principally due to
the direct primary, although this was
no factor In the sudden climb of "Baby
Murray."
(Copyright, 1911, by John Elfreth
Watkins.)
L.CK.0WE loiicte oi5 AlATIOn
t
Wallace Irwin Sends
the Colonel Up in an
Aeroplane and the
Man From Cripple
Creek Goes Into the
Tender Topic of Fly
ing Quite in Detai.
' HAT can be more wonderful
man's conquest of the
said I. looking up from
the aviation column In the morning's
newspaper.
-Nothing." said Colonel Crowe
"What's tbs bajeball score?"
"Oh come off." said I. rather tartly.
d!reK-ard!r. bis countor - question.
"Just look at this latest Item from
1 "ranee. Here's a Belgian aviator who
starts from Brussels In a giant mono
plane, takes up Are passengers, flies
across England, circle three times
around Parliament Building, re-crosses
the Channel and finally lands on
Franca."
"How hardf" Inquired Colonel Crow.
"Now look here. Colonel "
"8on. son " said tbe Colossus from
Colorado, Tv been read In' about them
breeoe-bustln' fellers aulte som lately
In fact I get nearly all my aviation
out o" the newspapers. I guess that's
about the healthiest way to take adrto
planes. Tes, slrl Oot my head Jam
full o' foreign words and other statis
ticscan tell tha speed, endurance and
distance records of our leadln' blrdmen
an' the exact height that most of 'em
has been killed from. It's an enter
tainln' and unexpected pastime as the
com puncher said when be belped the
tenderfoot onto a wild bulL"
"Flying la an acquired taste," I sug
gested. "It must be," agreed the Colonel. "I
ain't acquired It yet. 1 only been np
once."
"I'p once! Too In an aeroplane?"
"Yep." he admitted. "Yesterday at
Belmont Park. Want np with one o'
tlMm breexe-busters who established a
new world's record the only llvln'
man that ever toad Colonel Crow, of
Cripple Creok hold his breath for eight
consecutive minutes."
W. sat In silence while the waiter
refilled our coffee cups.
"Up to yesterday I could say that I'd
lived nearly 0 years and passed every
minute of It on solid ground banin'
the time I slipped off a ledge near
Pueblo and took a cross-oountry bump
of about 190 feet, hlttln' eight cliffs on
the way down and finally land In"
brain-end first In a 40-foot snow
drift."
"Broke a record then, I suppose?"
said L
"I did for cussin. But It was un
official. I thought I was a-rlppln' th
side plumb off o' Perpetual Motion and
jammln the Everlastln Flrmiran
Into th tall-end o Creation. But
dunno. I suppose wbat I went throu
would be called a sort o gray, un
eventful afternoon In aviation circles.
"Y'seo It was this way," ho resumed.
"I was mlllln' along Flft' avenoo yes
terday a-watchln' a suffragette parad
and tryln' to tnlnk of some good ex
cuse why women shouldn't vote, when
who should I see a-dodgin' teams and
taxic&bs like a wounded chipmunk but
Sandow Jones, the bandit of Soda Gush.
Jvr sea SandowT Stands nearly five
feet tall when he's got on high-heel
nQ n eg
'HtWHmvmimmm '' m m n m 1 i if i i si m m mrmiiSsS s waiisi iimiiT""
boots and feelln' proud. When me and
Sandow walk together It reminds folks
of the Flatiron building elopln' with a
push-cart. Yet In manhood, politics
and other eccentricities me and San
dow Is about equal. I guess."
"Put Sandow on the side of a moun
tain with a gun In his band and there
nln't no braver man In the. West.
Trouble Is his specialty, murder his
pastime. But get him Inside the city
limits of New York, and honest, I'm
ashamed o' Sandow. He's a motherless
fawn. He's that afraid of automobiles
that it takes me and two cops, all
pnllin together, to get him across Flft'
Avenoo. He s one o them fellers mat
addicted to the Great Silence. When
be goes to Brooklyn he says the noise
makes his head ache.
" 'Colonel, I'm a crushed and busted
character,' he says to me as soon as I
separated him from the bunch.
"Tut. Sandow I' says L 'Where'
your norve? What you scared of?
Ain't I often seen you stand off five
men. single handedr
"Five menl' yelps Sandow. la New
Tork y" got to stand off five million.
And tney don't fight square, nenner.
They come at you and smash you aow
with cold. crueL mechanical devices
like automobiles and head waiters.'
"Let's go to Long Island and take
In Belmont Parkr says I. thin ting in is
would aulet his nerves.
" "What hellish contrivance Is at Bel
mont Park? asks Sandow.
" "Flvln" machines.' says L
"Might as well be killed a-wing as
foot.' says Sandow. So we went.
"Biplanes and triplanes and Jack
nlanes every Imaginative sort
breexe-buggy was sky-hootln around
when we come up to the grounds. At
the sight o' these Sandow begun
chewln' loco-weed and showln' the
whites of his eyes. Every now and
then a mechanical buzzard would start
slngln' br-r-r-r and kick up the dust
till she caught the breeze then np
she'd start in the general direction o
Mara
A Conversation Between Scientists).
"Leanin against a pile-on near the
grandstand, we heard a couple o hu
man birds talkln'. They was both Dis
tinguished Aviators. Me and Sandow
thought It would be a great privilege
to hear two such famous scientists
conversln' together on equal terms, just
like the presidents of Tale and Har
vard. So we edged close and listened.
" Tou stole my patent,' says the first
Blrdman. who was wearln' a suit o'
cowhide pajamas.
' "You're a liar!' says the other one,
.vin" a monkey-wrench. Tou swiped
my 3100.000 prize on a foul.'
Thief!' says the first one. "My law
yers' 11 see yours In the morning. Be
sides, you owe me 810,000 for that mon
oplane you borrowed and broke.'
'Bone-head! answers the second
ports man. 'You're a four-flusher and
anarchist-
"I thought there would be a little
gunplay after this conversation. But
just then two sassiety girls and a act
ress, each with their press agents, come
p. The heroes accepted siooo apiece
from the press agents and in another
minute the girls was buggy rldin'
among the clouds, while their press
agents stood below and took photographs.
"One o' tit Aero fellers came arouna
to us sort o' smiling and platitudinous.
" 'It's fine sport,' says be.
" "More scientific than baseball but
th language is tbe same.' says I.
What d'y charge for a plain, cheap
back drive on one o" them things?"
Tan dollars a mlnut for th first i
five minutes, and five dollars a minute
for th rest o' the time until the acci
dent:' " 'It ain't for myself I'm askln',' says
L I ain't selfish. But If yon don't mind
I think I'll blow my little friend .here
to about ten minutes of aviation."
"'What, me!' hollers Sandow, tryln"
to escape. A minute later some swamp
ers wheeled up a gentle, family airio
plane with a sway back and a soft,
affectionate look around the propellor.
Eandow nearly faints away when he
sees this.
The Desperado Rides the Air.
'"Don't be scared, little one,' says the
manager. This machine Is specially
built for ladles. Tbe Queen o' Sweden
and Maud Adams has both rode In it,
and they say the motion is delightful.'
"Well, we got Sandow aboard. He
told me to ship the remains to' the Odd
fellows' plot. Cripple Creek. Tears was
in his eyes as he shook my hand. Then
he sat lookln' sadly toward the Rocky
Mountains, waltin' for the worst. The
aviator gets in next to him and grabs
a handful of brakes and cogs. Six hus
kies holds the machine from behlfid
and gives the propellor a double llip.
Somethln' begins goin' crack-crack-crack
I didn't know whether It waa
the engine or Sandows kneqs knockin'
against the seat. Suddenly the pro
pellor gets tired and beginswavin like
a broken wing, while the engine dies
down with a moan. The aviator flps
on his knees and caresses the engine
with a monkey wrench. About Si 5
worth o" time was gone already.
Durln' the wait Sandow jumps dom
and comes runnin' up to inc.
' 'Better make It the Evergreen i
Cemetery, Leadvllle, I got an uncle
burled there,' says he. "Here's a lock o'
my hair, ' my Waterbury watch and
bankbook. Hand 'em to my wife. I
never treated 'er very well."
"So Sandow gets back on his seat,
tears tricklln' down on his 60c necktie.
I now calculated we'd used up 327
worth o' time and the trip hadn't begun
to commence. The swampers give the
propeller another twist. There was a
loud report.
" "Whoa!" hollers the aviator. Th
differentials Is hlttln' the rear struts.
If that should happen In the air we'd
all be killed."
"During the wait for repairs which
follered Sandow again got down and
come to me.
" 'I got relatives llvln' In Chicago,"
says he. "Look 'em' up their name's
Jones, but I dlsremeraber the exact ad
dress. Maybe they'd prefer to take
charge o' the remains.'
" '1 11 see that you're decently planted,
old friend,' says I wrlngln' his honest
hand. The bill was now 346.
" 'All aboard!' yells the aviator.
Again Sandow takes his seat and the
airioplane started proper this time.
She scudded along the ground for about
100 yards, then began to raise gently.
about six Inches. At the first move
upward Sandow gives a yell like a
banchee with a sore tooth and dives
headforemost out o' the seat. Annette
Kellermann couldn't beat it for reck
less grace. The aviator stops the ma
chine and begins cussin' sweet and
elegant in French.
'Sandow, you disgrace to the KocKy
Mountains, you Colorado Springs Eng'
I ... Jf&mne.Kttf.ia-.i:.
t -
rLYUG IS Alt AC4CIRED TASTE.
lishman!" says I. "Stay where you are,
if you're afraid. I'll give you some les
sons in high and lofty rldin'. There
ain't nothln' that flies, walks or swims
that I'm afraid to ride cow, fish or
cyclone I'll hang on till hell freezes
and the morning stars dry up.'
"With this prose poem I Jumps aboard
the airioplane and the next I knew
WHOOSHI The ground was shrlnkin'
away like a Bowery undershirt. The
nose of our machine pointed right at
the front door of Heaven and I began
thinkin' of tbe righteous life I might
Just as well have led as to fool around
careless the way I'd done most o' my
time. Up, up! Holy woodpeckers I
don't know how high we went, but I
guess we must o' perched right on top
o' the world's record and looked down.
Then all of a sudden WOOF! We
dropped right off the edge and started
slldln' to the earth. I ounno how fast i
we went. 1 reckon 860,000,000 miles an
hour Is a iretty fair guess.
" 'Ain't tuere no speed limit up heref ,
I hollers to the aviator. I guess he
didn't hear me on account of his ear
muffs. Anyhow, he was busy.
"The ground was now approachln' us
very enthusiastic and cordial.
" Tf we keep on this way we'll hit
it.' says I. And sure enough we did
almost before the words was spoke.
The first we knew the cow-catcher of
our cloud-engine had- smacked terra
lnfirma. We bounced twice, turned
three complete Boston flips. And there
I was layin' on the flat o' my back
with a 12-cyllnder engine on my neck
and about two tons of Dayton's Inven
tive genius restln' lightly on my left
lung. Peepin' out with one eye I could
see Sanrlow-lamentin' on the side-line
while the aviator was receivin' the
plaudits o' the multitude.
" 'Bully!' someone was sayln'. Tou
have won the $10,000 prize for quick
descent with a passenger.'
"'Where is the passenger?' asked a.
sassiety girl In a Mary Garden drape.
" 'Oh somewhere under the machine, .
said the aviator In a tired voice.
" 'Murderer!' hollers Sandow runnin'
up. 'Ain't you going to shovel my
friend out from the wreckage?"
" T ain't supposed to take care of
passengers after they land,' says the
aviator movin' away on the arm of the
heiress he was engaged to marry.
"Some swampers come and lifted the
mechanism off my neck. When I
emerged forth countln' my eyes and
fingers to see that nothln' had been
subtracted no one seemed to notice me
much except the girl with the Alary
Gardens who said:
Tm so relieved! It's only a Person
after aJL I thought maybe It was one
of the Long Island Colony."
"Rapid transit!" reflected Col. Crow,
ience workin' night and day Invent-
in' new ways to make folks uncomfort
able. Benz Blitzen automobiles goin
140 miles an hour for the purpose o
making the human carcass look like a
fsrey streak. Big German gas-ships
startin" out from Berlin to isew lorK
with 200 passengers and breakln' down
In mid-ocean. Half the chauffeurs in
America tryin' to rival Grahame-White
and bein' shovelled up In buckets. Say
the more I see of airloplanes the bet
ter I like mules!"
(Copyright, 1911, by the Associated
Literary Press.)
A Rising Inventor.
"Tou say he has covered the field ot
aviation?" '
"Thoroughly. Every bird tnat riles in
fringes on one of his patents." Wash
ington Herald..