Proceedings of the Legislature of the State of New York : commemorative of the life and public services of Patrick Henry McCarren, held at the Capitol, Monday evening, May 16, 1910

Book

PROCEEDINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE

OF THE

STATE OF NEW YORK

COMMEMORATIVE OF THE

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OF

HELD AT THE

CAPITOL,

MONDAY Evening, May 16, 1910.

ALBANY, N. Y.

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IN MEMORIAM

Jlatrtrk %mxvi Mtdlnvrm

BORN JULY 8, 1849
DIED OCTOBER 23, 1909

SENATOR, 1890-3, 1896 TO 1909
MEMBER OF ASSEMBLY, 1882-3, 1889

(Eommtttet of tl|p &?natf

GEORGE ALLEN DAVIS THOMAS FRANCIS GRADY
THOMAS C. HARDEN GEORGE H. COBB

HERBERT P. COATS FREDERICK W. GRIFFITH

(Enmmittfp of tijp As0cttibly

EDWIN A. MERRITT, JR. JOHN H. DONNELLY
FRED J. GRAY JAMES E. FAY

JOHN J. O'NEILL ALEXANDER MACDONALD

SANFORD W. ABBEY MARVIN I. GREENWOOD

LLEWELLYN J. BARDEN

Sntrointrtorg

Honorable Patrick Henry McCarren, Senator
representing the Seventh Senatorial District of the
State of New York, died on Saturday, October
twenty-third, nineteen hundred and nine.

He had been a member of the Senate since
eighteen hundred and ninety, with the exception
of the years eighteen hundred and ninety-four and
five, and was a Member of the Assembly in the
years eighteen hundred and eighty-two and three
and eighteen hundred and eighty-nine.

He was a Democrat, one of the most powerful
and influential members of his party, and for sev-
eral years previous to his death had been the
leader of the regular Democratic organization of
Kings county.

Ready and powerful in debate, skilled and
astute as a parliamentarian, ripe in legislative
experience and political knowledge, he was a
leading figure in the Senate.

T^rattihm^ nf t\]t Upgtalature nf tl|f ^Ute of Npm ^ork

At the opening of the legislative session of
nineteen hundred and ten, concurrent resolutions
were adopted expressive of the sorrov/ of the
Legislature, providing for suitable memorial ser-
vices in honor of Senator McCarren, and Senators
John Raines and William T. O'Neill, who had
died during the recess of nineteen hundred and
nine, and the following were appointed as a joint
committee to arrange and conduct such exercises:
Senators George A. Davis, Thomas F. Grady,
Thomas C. Harden, George H. Cobb, Herbert
P. Coats and Frederick W. Griffith; Assembly-
men Edwin A. Merritt, Jr., Fred J. Gray, Alex-
ander Macdonald, John H. Donnelly, James E.
Fay, John J. O'Neill, Sanford W. Abbey, Mar-
vin I. Greenwood and Llewellyn J. Barden.

Pursuant to the recommendation of the joint
committee the Legislature met in joint asssembly
in the Assembly Chamber, on Monday evening,
May sixteenth, nineteen hundred and ten, the
families and relatives of the deceased Senators
being present as the guests of the Legislature, and
a large audience of friends, including many State

9

officials and a delegation of two hundred and
fifty members of the regular Kings County Demo-
cratic Organization being in attendance.

Senator George Allen Davis, Chairman of the
joint committee, introduced Lieutenant-Governor
Horace White as the presiding officer, who briefly
stated the purposes of the joint assembly.

10

J^rogrammf at tije iHrmnnal ^xttt'mtB

PRAYER— Right Reverend THOMAS M. A. BURKE

"Lead. Kindly Light" - - - Buck

MEMORIAL ADDRESS— HON. JOHN Raines

Hon. W. W. ARMSTRONG

"Forever Blessed" ... Mendelssohn

MEMORIAL ADDRESS— HON. PATRICK H. McCarren

Mr. ANDREW McLEAN

"God's Angels" - - - - Bremer

MEMORIAL ADDRESS— HON. WILLIAM T. O'Neil

Hon. JOHN P. BADGER

"Remember Now Thy Creator" - - Holden

BENEDICTION-
RIGHT Reverend WILLIAM CROSWELL DOANE

Music by Double Quartette from members of the choir of All Saints'
Cathedral of Albany.

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^ragfr bg tl|f Sigl]t Scofrfui» Slliontaa HI. A. Surkp

In the name of the Father, Son and Floly
Ghost, Amen. Oh, Almighty and Eternal God,
we beseech Thee to look down with benign coun-
tenance upon all those who are here assembled to
pay a tribute of respect to the memory of three
of Thy servants, Senators of the State, whom
Thou hast pleased to call to Thyself. All
authority comes from Thee, whether it be execu-
tive, legislative or judicial, and these. Thy ser-
vants, shared Thy authority under the power of
Thee, the great Law-giver, and they devoted their
time and energy to making laws for this State,
and to the interest of their fellow citizens; and
hence, we deem it our duty to pay a tribute of
respect to their memory. Death brings sorrow to
us all, and many hearts have been saddened by
the death, especially the families and friends of
these departed Senators, but we are consoled with
the hope that they have only changed this world
for a better and a happier life. We beseech
Thee, in Thy infinite goodness and mercy, to con-
fer upon the sorrowing families and friends of our
departed Senators, and to send into their bleeding
hearts the balm of Thy divine consolation.

13

Sn lEnnnnam

We bow down in submission to Thy holy will
in having sent us this affliction; we beg of Thee
consolation for their families and mercy for our-
selves. We pray Thee to bless our government,
bless our Legislature, bless our Judiciary; we
beseech Thee to bless our Nation; to bless the
President of this Republic, our Congress, and all
the officials of this Republic; to grant that we
may serve Thee, and in serving Thee, and in
living under just laws, we may enjoy peace, pros-
perity and happiness.

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be
Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be
done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread, and forgive us our tres-
passes as we forgive those who trespass against
us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us
from evil, for Thine is the Kingdom, and the
power and the glory, forever. Amen.

14

Patrurk ^enrg Mtdlutrm

Mexnatml AWJ«aa — l^nn. Patrirk % MtdLtinen
Sg Mr. AttJirrui flIrEcan

It has been the good fortune of Kings county
to be represented in either branch of the State
Legislature for nearly half a century by men of
exceptional ability and influence. The names of
Henry C. Murphy, Frederick A. Schroeder, John
C. Jacobs and Alfred C. Chapin are not likely
to be forgotten by any one who has given atten-
tion to the history of legislation in this State since
the period of the Civil War down to the present.
Murphy had been United States Minister to The
Hague and Mayor of Brooklyn before he entered
on his legislative career, and it was his own opin-
ion, often expressed, that in no sphere had he
been able to render better service to the public
than here in Albany. Jacobs, who succeeded
him, was recognized as one of the ablest debaters
who had up to that time appeared in the legisla-
tive arena. He was the right-hand man of
Samuel J. Tilden, and in many ways left a mark
not to be effaced on the records of the law-
making power. Schroeder came to the Senate
after having served Brooklyn both as Comptroller

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3In ilifttuiriam

and Mayor, and was recognized here, no less
than at home, as one of the most intelHgent and
high-minded of our public men. He was largely
instrumental in obtaining a new charter for Brook-
lyn, which is still pointed to by the students of
municipal affairs as one of the best ever framed
for an American city. Alfred C. Chapin attained
to the distinction of bemg chosen Speaker of the
Assembly, later to the honor of being Comptroller
of the State, and still later to the honor of being
twice elected Mayor of Brooklyn.

It was from a community thus ably served from
time to time that Patrick H. McCarren came to
the Assembly in 1882, filled with zeal for the
cause of the party with which he was identified,
and destined to accomplish not less for the good
of Brooklyn than the most efficient of his prede-
cessors. Having been elected when just tumed
twenty-one to the General Committee of the
Democratic party in Kings county, he may be
said, from that time forward, whether in office or
in private life, to have made politics the chief
subject of his thought and exertion. He had
other interests, of course. He had his living to
earn, and he earned it in his profession as lawyer
as he had at an earlier day supported himself at
his trade as a cooper, but at no time, from the
dawn of his manhood until the close of his

16

career, was there any vacillation of purpose shown
in his devotion to public affairs. Far from being
offended at being called a politician, he took
pains to emphasize his right to the name, and
became a power both at home and in the State
because of his essential singleness of aim. That
he was able in the conventions of his party, as
well as in the Senate, to exert so much influence
was unquestionably due to this concentration of
ambition.

The error into which not a few friends of
reform fall, when they imagine that the desire to
do good IS sufficient to msure the achievement of
it, without any mastery of the means by which
practical results are brought to pass, was never
countenanced by Senator McCarren. Whatever
else may have been denied by his opponents, no
one ever failed to recognize him as master of the
business to which he had addressed himself. He
studied men, studied the principles of government,
familiarized himself with the arts by which the
public mind is moved, and did not forget that the
key to the present was often to be found in the
history of the past. Realizing fully that knowl-
edge is power, no less in the political arena than
in any other, he was careful to accumulate infor-
mation. He was in this respect a typical Ameri-
can of what is sometimes called the older school.

17

3u iifuwnam

Denied by the necessities of his parents more than
a public school education, when he went as an
apprentice to the cooper's shop, he took pains to
obtain by persistent study at night the culture
which colleges and liberal ease bestow. The
lamp of the student was one of the lights which
never ceased to shine across his path. In this
way he qualified himself for admission to the bar,
learned how to express himself, both in debate
and with his pen, with grace and gentle-
manly vigor, so that when the time came for him
to take a conspicuous share in the work of mould-
ing public affairs, he was at no disadvantage in
point of refinement with any of his rivals.
Looked at from this point of view, it is evident
that the deceased Senator had his full share of
the self-helping spirit which has done so much
for the upbuilding of the Republic, and which
has its highest examples in the biographies of
Franklin and Lincoln. The pride he unfeign-
edly took in the fact that he had been bom in
Massachusetts was evidently due in no small
measure to his belief that nowhere has the gospel
of self-help in education, no less than in other
matters, been more effectively preached and illus-
trated than in that Commonwealth. Without in
any degree abating the fervent love for Ireland
communicated to him by his parentage, and cer-

18

patrtrk ij^^nr^ Mtdlarvm

tainly never less at any time in his relation to the
country of his birth than an American loyal to
the whole of it, he never failed to feel a special
sense of obligation to the State which from the
beginning has gloried in the intelligence and self-
improving spirit of its toiling masses. In this rela-
tion, too, it is proper to mention what was ever
characteristic of him as a member of the Legisla-
ture. Never was the cause of public education
neglected by him. Never was there any occasion
given by him for complaint of neglect, when the
problem of adding to the means of education, in
all its forms, both primary and advanced, was
under consideration. An appeal to the records
will show, I am confident, that gratitude and
statesmanlike clearness of vision, combined at all
times in his own breast, to make him one of the
most ardent of the friends of the public schools.
I have referred to four of the most distin-
guished men by whom Brooklyn has been repre-
sented in the Legislature, namely, Henry C. Mur-
phy, Frederick A. Schroeder, Alfred C. Chapin
and John C. Jacobs. I refer to them for the pur-
pose of emphasizing what is the judgment of
many well-informed people, that Senator McCar-
ren, in the course of his eighteen years in the
Senate and three in the Assembly, was more suc-
cessful than any of them in obtaining the passage

19

3n Memnrtom

of measures of large practical benefit to Brooklyn.
By this I do not mean to intimate that he was
either abler or more zealous for the good of his
constituents than they were. He harbored no such
thought, nor do I. The point is that as a result
of his better fortune, combined with similar quali-
fications, he was able to effect more. Secure in
the confidence of his constituents, he had for a
span of nearly thirty years, with insignificant inter-
missions, an exceptional opportunity for usefulness,
in this respect illustrating what is too often for-
gotten, that time is an element in the development
of influence, and that it is rather the fault of
fickle constituencies than of incompetent representa-
tives, that so many of our legislators come and go
without affecting the course of events. It is
unnecessary to tell any experienced member of
either House, or of either House at Washington,
how much is involved in this, but it is necessary
to have it laid to heart by the people of any dis-
trict who would covet the distinction of being
represented by able and influential men. What,
at least, is not doubtful, is that Senator McCar-
ren was both able and influential, and that the
stability of his supporters furnished him the oppor-
tunity to serve them as he could not have done,
despite all his ability, had they been less firm in
their support. Ignoring, as it becomes us on an

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Patrtrk l^ptir^ Mtdlurrtn

occasion of this kind, all narrow controversies, the
tribute which we come to pay to the dead Sen-
ator's memory flows from the heart of a com-
munity which is deeply sensible of the loss it sus-
tained when he died, and of the large and varied
benefits he conferred upon it when alive. The
bridges, the parks, the improved means of transit,
the better paved and lighted streets, as well as
the freer and vastly greater educational facilities
by which the Brookljoi of to-day is distinguished
from the Brooklyn of twenty years ago, are due
more to the legislative efficiency of Senator
McCarren than to the influence of any other indi-
vidual either in public or private station.

In this relation, and without re-entering, even
remotely, upon any matter of partisan controversy,
it is, I think, not too much to say that Brooklyn
has never in her history had a representative who
was more sincerely devoted to her welfare than
Senator McCarren. Although, as I have already
intimated, he was not born within her limits, his
whole active life was identified with her, having
in the eighth year of his age been brought from
Massachusetts by his parents. It was no affecta-
tion of pride in the city of his adoption that made
him in his later years the most distinguished cham-
pion of her right to political autonomy, and to
every other right of self-control not inconsistent

21

3ln iilemanam

with the orderly government of the city, as a
whole. Without at any time forgetting what was
due to the State, or to the whole of the metrop-
olis, he could not, without being false to all the
impulses of his own heart, have refrained from
antagonizing whatever seemed likely to diminish
the prestige and future standing of Brooklyn.
Looking upon her with the eyes of a loyal son,
as well as with the vision of a discreet political
student who had been intrusted by his fellow
Democrats with the task of leading her organized
Democratic forces, it was impossible that he
should have taken any other position than he did
in opposition " to everything that tended to diminish
the importance of Brooklyn, either as a great cen-
ter of population, or a distinct factor in the politi-
cal life of the city, the State and the Nation.

Of the principles by which he was governed,
the proprieties of the occasion permit me to say
only that they were in the broadest sense of the
term democratic. There was nothing of the wea-
ther-cock in his composition. He did a good deal
of thinking for himself, and he declined to be
frightened from his more important conclusions by
any clamor. Believing in the indispensability of
party organizations to the efficient carrying on of
the American system of government, he never
declined to abide by the will of the majority, so

22

Patrtrk ^ttlr^ Mtdlnrrtn

far as the ticket to be supported at the polls was
concerned, but he did steadily decline to subordi-
nate his judgment on great questions of policy to
any mere passing gust of emotion. If this were
the fitting time or place to explain why he refused
over and over again to conceal his disapprobation
of propositions advanced by the Democratic party,
it would be easy to show that his motive lay in
nothing but his firm conviction that loyalty to the
principles of the Democracy required him to do
so. It is enough to say of him in these respects
that he was no mere time-server, no creature of
the passing hour, no political Vicar of Bray,
changing his coat to suit the latest fashion. This
rooted self-respect goes far toward explaining the
esteem in which he was held by his neighbors,
and held, I am sure, by his brethren in the
Legislature. The people knew where to find
him. There never was the least danger that what
he said over night would be changed in the morn-
ing. In National, State and local politics alike,
this characteristic was never obscured. As he
ripened with years his sense of obligation to the
country, as well as to the State and city, deep-
ened. He stood for the things which, in his
judgment, meant liberty, social progress and indus-
trial prosperity. Less and less, as time advanced,
did he suffer himself to be diverted from these

23

3n ^Fttwriam

vital ends by any considerations of immediate
expediency.

That he was often the subject of adverse criti-
cism is well known. This was inevitable. Hav-
ing convictions of his own, he inevitably came into
conflict over and over again with men who were
equally positive. Nor were his motives allowed
at all times to pass unquestioned, and this, too,
was inevitable, for it is one of the commonest of
common weaknesses to attack the motives when it
is impossible to repel the arguments of an oppo-
nent. But along with the exceptional firmness to
which I refer went courtesy. The times were
few and far between when Senator McCarren
forgot in the heat of debate, or of more formal
oratory on the platform, what was due to the
opinions of others. In this, as in not a few other
respects, he set a good example. Because he
thought clearly, he was able to express himself
without turbid denunciation. Required, in the
course of his career, to take as many blows as
any of his contemporaries, he never struck a foul
one. How far these qualities went toward win-
ning for him the good will of his opponents in
the Legislature has been abundantly testified to.
By many of the Senators and Assemblymen who
were rarely able to agree with him on public
measures, the public have been informed since his

24

f atrirk Sfrnrg MtdlwiVin

death with how much of friendUness they
regarded him.

Were there no other memorial of the deceased
Senator than that which could be drawn from the
tributes to his memory from the Republican side
of the House, there would be proof enough that
his disposition was generous, his temper equable,
and his whole outlook upon life liberal. It is,
perhaps, not out of place to accentuate the sig-
nificance of these merits. The qualities involved
in the man who can contend effectively for what
he believes without giving unnecessary offense to
fair-minded antagonists are not so common that
they ought to be passed over without mention. It
requires breadth of mind to allow for the integ-
rity of men who are urging what we utterly dis-
like, and few things would do more for the
improvement of political conditions than the culti-
vation of such liberality. Our fierce assaults upon
each other during flaming campaigns would be
kept within the limits of rationality were it recog-
nized on all hands as a duty to begin and end
our discussions with a frank recognition of the
honesty and patriotism of our adversaries.

That a speaker may be in error, and still be
bent upon nothing but what he deems good for
the State, is one of the easily expressed truths
which is too often forgotten. Senator McCarren,

25

3n iipmnriam

however, did not forget it, and, as already said,
this is one of the things for which he was notable
while alive, and has been sincerely praised by not
a few of his most uncompromising opponents smce
he departed. Not to involve in a common con-
troversy things that are quite irrelevant to it; not
to raise temporary policies to the dignity of first
principles; not to forget that a middle course,
rather than either extreme, may be right; and
never, under any circumstances, to base respect for
your fellow man on his concurrence in your opin-
ions, were elementary rules of conduct to which
Senator McCarren instinctively and habitually
conformed.

Concerning what may be called the more per-
sonal or private aspects of his character, it would,
perhaps, be improper to dwell at length in this
chamber, where the main thing commemorated is
the public career. Yet a few words may be per-
missible. Patrick H. McCarren was an exem-
plary son, a good neighbor, and one of the
staunchest of friends. The venerable mother, who
survives him, was the idol of his heart, and the
tenderness of his nature was attested by the care
he took, in even the stormiest hours of his career,
to have her beloved form covered by the mantle
of his unwearied affection. He was an excellent
neighbor. No politics, no religious differences, no

26

business rivalries, ever prevented him from dis-
charging to the fullest degree all the little obliga-
tions of good will that do so much to distinguish
the well-ordered community from that in which
the minor morals are neglected. It was one of
the elements of his political strength that he never
sought to make capital out of the obliging deeds
which flow from the well-disposed spirit. He
was a friend of unchanging fidelity. He had an
open hand and an open heart. He was chari-
table to all. Among the last of his conscious
acts, before receiving the consolations of religion,
was to draw a check for the relief of the poor.
To have been able thus to think of others, even
while the pains of approaching dissolution were
upon him, was surely no meaningless sign of fit-
ness for entrance upon that larger life to which in
faith he looked forward.

The recollections of more than forty years of
friendly and often confidential intercourse with the
dead Senator, come upon me as I speak, and my
account of him would far outrun the limits prop-
erly to be observed to-night, were I to go on
according to the fullness of my heart and mem-
ory. I must, therefore, content myself with the
mere outline of his labors, already given. It must
suffice for the present to have shown that he was
no ordinary figure in the public life of the city

27

3n Mtmotxnm

of Brooklyn, or of the Legislature of the State,
and that within his tall and slender frame a
mind of singular strength and flexibility, singular
sympathy and power, singular capacity for public
affairs and the amenities of private life, had its
abode. He rose to conspicuity, not by accident or
the practice of any petty self-seeking devices, but
by reason of his fitness to give direction to the
energies and purposes of large numbers of his fel-
low men. He was distinguished in National
affairs, in the affairs of his owti State, and in all
that concerned Brooklyn and the city of New
York for more than a quarter of a century,
because he was wise in conference, calm in the
face of trouble, resolute in the presence of adver-
sity, and generous in victory. When he passed
away, the party to which he belonged lost one of
its ablest counsellors, the State one of its most
experienced and broad-minded lawmakers, civil
and industrial liberty one of its most resolute sup-
porters, and Brooklyn, as already said, a repre-
sentative who had done more for her advantage
at Albany than even the most influential and
zealous of his predecessors.

The people of the Seventh Senatorial District,
together with all the people of Brooklyn and
Kings county, irrespective of party differences, are
appreciative of the honor which the Legislature

28

Patrirk Ifrnrg MrQIarren

renders to the late Senator McCarren by this
memorial meeting. They join with unfeigned sin-
cerity in the tributes that are paid to his memory
by his colleagues. They feel gratified, now that
the first sharp sense of sorrow over his death is
abated, to be assured that the manly qualities by
which he had established himself in their confi-
dence were adequately appreciated by the leading
men of many other communities. The grave in
which his body reposes in Calvary Cemetery,
after the short sixty-one years of his instructive
and fruitful life, will seem all the greener in
their eyes because of the wreath laid upon it by
the Senate of the State.

Benediction, Reverend D. W. Brookman, who
officiated in the unavoidable absence of Right
Reverend William Croswell Doane:

The blessing of God Almighty, the Father,
Son and Holy Ghost, be amongst you and
remain with you always. Amen.

29

Jfuitpral &frui«a

The funeral services of Senator Patrick H.
McCarren were held at Saint Vincent de Paul's
Church, in the Borough of Brooklyn, on October
twenty-sixth, nineteen hundred and nine.

The following members and officers of the Sen-
ate of the State of New York were present:

Senators Orlando Hubbs, Dennis J. Harte, Thomas H. Cullen,
Reuben L. Gledhill, Barth S. Cronin, Eugene M. Travis, Alvah W.
Burlingame, Jr., John Kissel, Charles Alt, Christopher D. Sullivan,
Timothy D. Sullivan, William J. A. Caffrey, Thomas F. Grady,
Thomas J. McManus, Robert F. Wagner, George B. Agnew, Alex-
ander Brough, Josiah T. Newcomb, James J. Frawley, Stephen J.
Stilwell, George M. S. Schulz, Howard R. Bayne, J. Mayhew Wain-
wright, John B. Rose, John F. Schlosser, William J. Grattan, Victor
M. Allen, Edgar Truman Brackett, William A. Gardner, Seth G.
Heacock, James A. Emerson, George H. Cobb, Frederick M. Daven-
port, Jotham P. Allds, Hendrick S. Holden, Harvey D. Hinman,
Charles J. Hewitt, Benn Conger, John Raines, Frank C. Piatt, George
H. Witter, George L. Meade, Charles J. White, James P. MacKenzie,
Henry Wayland Hill, Samuel J. Ramsperger and George Alien Davis;
Lafayette B. Gleason, Clerk of the Senate; Charles R. Hotaling, Ser-
geant-at-Arms of the Senate; Ernest A. Fay, Assistant Clerk; Carlton
J. Barnes, Stenographer, and Bernard Quinn, Messenger; George Curtis
Treadwell, Military Secretary, represented the Governor.

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3ln iEfmoriam

The Assembly was represented by:

Edwin A. Merritt, Jr., Jesse S. Phillips, Myron Smith, Edward
D. Jackson, Edward P. Costelio, Henry S. Goodspeed, William
J. Gillen, Michael A. O'Neil, George W. Brown, Charles J. Weber,
Thomas J. Surpless, Thomas J. Geoghegan, John J. McKeown, George
A. Voss, Charles F. Murphy, William W. Colne, George A. Green,
John H. Donnelly, James E. Fay, John J. Schutta, Robert H. Clarke,
John R. Farrar, Warren I. Lee, Felix J. Sanner, Harrison C. Glore,
Albert Lachman, Samuel A. Gluck, Isaac Sargent, J. Henry Walters,
Charles Smith, Thomas J. Lanahan, Bradford R. Lansing, George H.
Whitney, Daniel D. Frisbie, John M. Lupton, George L. Thompson,
James S. Parker, John R. Yale, Holland S. Duell, Frank L. Young,
Thomas H. Todd, William Klein, Conrad Garbe, William A. DeGroot,
Thomas B. Caughlan, Alfred E. Smith, James Oliver, Aaron J. Levy,
John T. Eagleton, Adolph Stern, Peter P. McElligott, Moritz Grau-
bard, John C. Hackett, Harold Spielberg, Owen W. Bohan, James A.
Foley, James J. Hoey, John J. Herrick, William M. Bennett, Martin G.
McCue, Frederick R. Toombs, Mark Goldberg, Andrew F. Murray,
Patrick J. McGrath, Robert S. Conklin, George W. Baumann, James A
Francis, Thomas A. Brennan, Artemas Ward, Jr., Irving J. Joseph,
Beverley R. Robinson, Jacob Levy, Lindon Bates, Jr., Louis A. Cuvillier,
Samuel Marks, Jesse Silbermann, Philip J. Schmidt, Charles Stein, John
V. Sheridan.

Ray B. Smith, Clerk of the Assembly; William V. Ross, Assistant
Clerk; Bernard J. Haggerty, Sergeant-at- Arms ; Daniel W. Wilkes,
Deputy Clerk, and Edward A. Ebbetts, Deputy Clerk; former Lieuten-
ant-Governors William F. Sheehan, Timothy L. Woodruff and M. Linn
Bruce were with the Legislative delegation, as were many members of
the preceding Senates who had served with Senator McCarren.

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patrtrk ^Pttry Mt(Envrm
The honorary pall bearers were:

George B. McClellan, Herman A. Metz, Patrick F. McGowan,
James J. Martin, Hugh J. Grant, John H. McCooey, Thomas F. Grady,
John Raines, Almet F. Jenks, Luke D. Stapleton, James D. Bell, Thomas
M. Mulry, Anthony N. Brady, Joseph Huber, Bernard F. Gallagher,
John W. Weber, Owen J. Murphy, George H. Lindsay, Samuel S.
Whitehouse, Henry F. Haggerty, James H. Tuiiy, William H. Reynolds
and Patrick H. Quinn.

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Iffunrral (©ration

Sigljt Slrotrf nb iMnnaignar EDmarii W. iitOIarta. E2i. S.

" Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord."

" My Dear Brethren — This common little sen-
tence is found in Apoc. I4:xiii. Its letters should
be wrought in gold and studded with diamonds
because it is radiant with God's glorious promise
that He will pardon us and will give us Heaven
if we truly repent, even though the last hour ot
life is striking. It sends a thrill of hope through
everyone of us and it illuminates the darkness of
death. The central figure in this great assemblage
is the silent form that lies there. You have gath-
ered from all sections of the State and outside of
it, from every grade of official, political and
social life, from every creed and condition, to
shower this casket with the flowers of admiration,
respect, fellowship, gratitude, friendship. It is an
imposing spectacle. The highest and humblest,
the learned emd the simple, the weak and the
powerful, uniting to form his funeral wreath. It
is a magnificent tribute. It crowns a remarkable
career. He was a typical American. He was

35

2ln IHrmnnam

cradled in poverty; by native ability, splendid
courage, tireless energy and wonderful industry he
fought his way upward to prominence in city,
State and country, and now he passes off the
scene royally robed in the honors bestowed by
the thousands here and the other thousands
elsewhere.

" This spectacle is imposing; this tribute is
magnificent, but the scene is full of awe. This
stalwart man whom men could not conquer, is
conquered at last. His struggles were many, his
victories were great, but when he grappled with
death like everyone else, he was calmly and
quickly defeated. There lies the utter ruin that
death has made. The soul that vitalized his
aggressive life has fled; the life of his keen
intellect has gone out; his well-known face,
sharply cut as a cameo, shall not be seen again;
his voice, so often heard in wise counsel and
masterful debate, shall be heard no more, his
good heart is still and cold; his generous hand is
nerveless; he shall walk no more among the
activities of men. Hearken to the still, small
voice that comes from his casket, * to-day for me
— to-morrow for you.'

" Our public men are too often censured and
are too severely criticised. I know of no country
in which this is so mercilessly done as here in

36

our own. The work that these men do in legis-
lating for and in managing the immense interests
of city and State calls for skilled handling and
expert leadership. It is not reasonable to expect
that the gigantic transactions in public affairs will
be conducted with the nicety of care and economy
that is often found in private business.

" These men live their lives in the strong light
of public observation and often criticism points to
faults in them that pass unnoticed in other men,
and it sometimes happens that their critics more
than duplicate in their own lives the sins they
think they see in the lives they criticise. Public
men are not all angels of light, nor are they all
angels of darkness. Just like the rest of us, they
are a mixture of light and shadow, and like our-
selves they need and are entitled to justice and
charity.

" Much of this life that is ended now was
lived in the public view. It has not escaped the
rasping voice of cruel censure. I do not stand
here to apologize for or to palliate anything
wrong that may have crept into this career, nor
would I stand sponsor here for the life of any
man or woman in this large gathering, or in this
larger city. Clouds, large ones and dark ones,
may have floated across his sky. I do not know,
but this I do know, that if there were clouds,

37

3ln iKemartam

behind them was shining all the time strong faith
in God and a big-hearted love for his fellow
man. His life was simple to severity. His hab-
its were abstemious, his speech was cautious and
clean. He was worthy of any man's steel and
his opponents say that he never took an unfair
advantage, that he never stooped to conquer; he
was brave and chivalrous, too.

"It is better, however, with the sombreness of
death surrounding us to forget the fields of politi-
cal strife and to remember his gentler, less
obtrusive characteristics.

" They who know him best never tire of tell-
ing of his constant, open-handed charity. He
had red blood in his veins. It is safe to say that
never was an appeal made to him in behalf of
suffering humanity that was not generously
answered. Many a family in this section of the
city he saved from eviction because he quietly
paid the amount that was due. Many a cold
hearthstone hereabouts he warmed by his good-
ness. Many a shivering household he fed and
clothed. He loved the poor and the afflicted, and
his left hand never knew what his right hand
did for them.

" Strongly characteristic of the man was his
exceptional love for his mother. It was known
by his associates in the Senate, and by his politi-

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patrtrk ^mY^ MrCflarrrn

cal friends here, as well as by his neighbors.
A weaker man would have tried to conceal it.
He was with her every day except when his
many duties prevented. She always knew where
to find him in case of danger. He would forego
any pleasure, would break any engagement, would
travel any distance to reach her whenever illness
threatened. He threw around her every thought-
ful care in order to keep still burning the flicker-
ing flame of almost four score years and ten.
During his last illness she was ever in his mind.
When he knew the end was approaching he no
doubt would have given a world for one more
look into that dear old face, but he unselfishly
said he would give all he ever owned to keep
from her the fact of his death.

" No doubt the first word he learned to say
was * mother.' It was the last word on his dying
lips. He repeated it twice as life ebbed away.
This strong, manly, graceful love throws a soft,
mellow light upon the character of the man.
Any man who is in love with his mother is at
heart a good man. We see their many threads
of silver and this bright thread of gold woven
into the strong life fabric of this fallen chieftain.

" We have said that if clouds dimmed his life,
back of them showed strong faith in God. This
was doubtless due to his mother's prayers. Like

39

3n fEputoriam

Monica praying for Augustine, she always prayed
for him because he was the pulse of her heart.
When the pastor of this church broke to her the
news of his death she was stunned and speech-
less, but when he added that the Senator had
died a good death, fortified by the sacraments
and prayers of the church, her aged face lit up
and, raising her tearful eyes, she said, * Thank
God, my prayers have been heard.'

" The end crowns the work. Over the death-
bed of the Senator I see my text suspended,
' Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.'
He clearly saw the approach of death, calmly
and bravely prepared for it. He lamented the
shortcomings of his life and bent his gifted head
in sorrow and submission to his Maker. If the
text read, ' Blessed are the dead who live blame-
less lives,' how many of us would enter the King-
dom of Heaven? I hear again, dropping from
the lips of the gentle Saviour, the parable of the
prodigal son, I see the tears run down the aged
father's face as he rests his gray hairs on the
manly shoulder of his son and twines his arms
around him in a fervent welcome home.

"Again, I am standing on Calvary. I hear the
rumblings of the earthquake; the lightning has
begun to flash in the Heavens, in the gathering
darkness I hear a plaintive voice coming from the

40

Patrurk ^2nr^ Mt(Slwcnn

cross to the right of the Saviour, saying, ' Lord,
remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy
kingdom.' The dying Saviour lifts His weary
head and slowly turning His bloodshot eyes
toward the petitioner answers, * This day thou
shalt be with me in paradise.' What a consola-
tion for you and for me. "

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