Class _fcL3±i 
 Book 
 
 Copyright N° 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
TOM LOFTIN JOHNSON 
 
TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 MAYOR OF CLEVELAND 
 
 BY 
 
 CARL LORENZ 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 THE A. S. BARNES COMPANY 
 
 1911 
 

 <i* 
 
 $ 
 
 Copyright, 1911, By 
 THE A. S. BARNES COMPANY 
 
 ©a'A292622 
 
INTRODUCTORY 
 
 THE life of Tom L. Johnson contains the 
 elements of an ancient Greek tragedy. 
 It is intensely human, a great psychological 
 drama. Its outward activities belong to our 
 days and to the future, its inner workings 
 were those of a multiplex nature difficult to 
 comprehend, and misunderstood by most of 
 us. He was never vanquished by his ene- 
 mies, but fell a victim to himself. 
 
 Partisan hatred and partisan friendship 
 obscured not only the real man, but also his 
 aims and his work. As a politician he made 
 of his enemies a pack of wolves, of his friends 
 a herd of sheep. He himself was a good 
 hater and a good friend. His methods stag- 
 gered the class of men among which he was 
 counted, but to which he never belonged, and 
 delighted the common people, of whom he 
 was one in his democratic way. Yet, he was 
 
 iii 
 
iv INTRODUCTION 
 
 not without aloofness. He bubbled over with 
 a selfish joy of living, and of fighting for the 
 betterment of political and social conditions. 
 Standing with both feet in the present, the 
 past had little meaning for him. His pene- 
 tration into the future was marvellous. Fear 
 of men he knew not, and he was at home at 
 the house of the great as well as in the hut 
 of the humblest. His courage of his con- 
 victions was above suspicion, but not so his 
 love for veracity. Truth, half-truth and un- 
 truth were sometimes matters of expediency 
 with him, as with most politicians, and even 
 with statesmen. Yet he was very quick to 
 resent a doubt in his word, which rather 
 proves the assertion. He took a delight in 
 domination over men, and it was an hon- 
 est delight, well founded upon his superior 
 intellect and his great will power. There 
 was something of the daring speculator in 
 him and of the gambler who can lose a stake 
 with a smile. 
 
 He entered public life after having made a 
 large fortune! with the firm resolution to 
 
INTEODUCTION v 
 
 devote the rest of his days to the welfare 
 of the people. Full of new ideas, he soon 
 met with the active and passive opposition of 
 the men who were satisfied with the existing 
 order of things. His great political battles, 
 his dogged fight against the street railway 
 monopoly, his attacks upon privileged classes 
 of all kinds, his exertions in behalf of mu- 
 nicipal reforms, his utter disregard of con- 
 ventionalities, made him a most picturesque 
 figure in public affairs. 
 
 Ten years ago he announced the pro- 
 gramme of our politicians of to-day and was 
 derided as a Socialist. His keen foresight 
 perceived the possibilities of an awakening 
 of the people to a new era of sociological 
 activity. Salvation he believed must come 
 from the cities and their people. Nothing 
 could be expected from the rich. He knew 
 the "system" from personal experience and 
 attacked it. The ballot box was his weapon. 
 His brilliant mind was capable of grasping 
 any question, yet time proved that he lacked 
 the qualities of the really strong to achieve 
 
vi INTRODUCTION 
 
 great success. He lost himself in an eddy: 
 and was swallowed, his heart's work unfin- 
 ished, almost undone. Here was an example 
 of the self-made man falling short of achieve- 
 ment of the results of his opportunities. 
 
 At the height of his career he was men- 
 tioned as a presidential possibility, and there 
 is little doubt that he cherished the same 
 hopes as his friends. He was never lacking 
 in self-confidence. At that time the specu- 
 lator awakened in him. He became a politi- 
 cal plunger — and lost. The incident, after 
 all, was of minor importance, measured by 
 his life-work and the aims of his programme. 
 If the latter were dictated by political am- 
 bition, personal failure was inevitable, but 
 the result of the work remains — and cannot 
 be brushed aside. 
 
 Pathetic in the extreme was his final de- 
 feat, his family misfortunes, his sickness, and 
 his heroic fight with incurable disease. "I 
 do not like to be an ex," he said, when 
 obliged to step down and out, and the words 
 were characteristic of the whole man. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTEB 
 
 Introductory . . . 
 
 
 
 L»- l< 
 
 1. 
 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 iii 
 
 I The Time of Youth 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 II In Politics . . . 
 
 t . 
 
 
 , M i. 
 
 1 t 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 Ill In the Mayor's Chair 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 IV Mayor Johnson . .. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 V The Helpers . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 51 
 
 VI Two Radicals . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 VII The Politician . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 82 
 
 VIII The Man .... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 125 
 
 IX A Great Struggle . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 139 
 
 X A Pyrrhic Victory 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 166 
 
 XI Conclusion . . . 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 185 
 
TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 i 
 
 THE TIME OF YOUTH 
 
 rpOM LOFTIN JOHNSON, to give his 
 -*- full name, was born on July 18, 1854, 
 at Blue Spring, Kentucky. He was a de- 
 scendant of a distinguished Southern family. 
 A few years after the birth of the boy, his 
 father, Albert W. Johnson, established him- 
 self as a cotton planter in Arkansas. Dur- 
 ing the Civil War he served as a colonel in 
 the Confederate army. His wife, with her 
 three boys, Tom L., "William L., and Albert 
 L., followed his war fortunes, and when peace 
 was declared they found themselves stranded 
 at Staunton, Va. The war had devoured 
 their plantation and all their other worldly 
 
 possessions. Little Tom L., at that time 
 
 l 
 
2 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 eleven years old, became the mainstay of his 
 parents and brothers. Being befriended by 
 a railway conductor he managed to obtain 
 from him a monopoly on selling newspapers. 
 No one but Tom was allowed by the man to 
 carry papers on his train to Staunton. As 
 there was a great demand for them, the boy 
 had his own way in charging high prices, 
 and he improved upon his opportunity. In 
 a little over a month he was able to give his 
 father $88.00 in silver money. Col. John- 
 son was thereby enabled to take his family 
 to Louisville, Ky., where friends enabled him 
 to return to his plantation. Another failure 
 must be recorded, followed by still more 
 financial troubles and wanderings of the fam- 
 ily from one place to another. 
 
 Of this period of Tom L. Johnson's life 
 we have a record written by Mr. Louis F. 
 Post, an editor, who was an intimate friend 
 of his and possessed of his confidence. Mr. 
 Post wrote among other things: 
 
 "Col. Johnson was extremely poor at 
 this time. His family was deprived not only 
 
THE TIME OF YOUTH 3 
 
 of comforts, but of necessaries. They were 
 so poor that when Mrs. Johnson determined 
 to look for employment for Tom with a rela- 
 tive in Louisville, she was obliged to wait 
 for a cold day to give her an excuse for wear- 
 ing the crocheted hood of her more comfort- 
 able days. The intervening time had been 
 utilised in providing for the education of the 
 children. At Evansville, Indiana, Tom at- 
 tended school for the first time. He received 
 one full year's schooling there, and a few 
 months' more while he lived upon his Uncle 
 Jillson's farm. At Evansville he went 
 through three grades, and what with this and 
 the instruction he had received from his 
 mother, he was about ready to enter high 
 school when the family moved back to Ken- 
 tucky. But his mother continued to tutor 
 him, and in this she was assisted by his 
 father, who, like his father before him, was 
 skilful in mathematics and fond of astron- 
 omy. Tom cared nothing for literary studies. 
 He was strongly inclined to neglect them 
 altogether. But mathematics became easy to 
 
4 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 him. Like both his grandfather and his 
 father, his mind seemed to work almost in- 
 stinctively in mathematical processes. In 
 very great measure his power and his success 
 are attributable to this aptitude, which he 
 possesses in an exceptional degree.' ' 
 
 It must not be surmised that the extreme 
 poverty of the family dampened the ardor of 
 little Tom, who was a lively boy and very 
 apt to look at the bright side of things. Mr. 
 Johnson in later days took pleasure in tell- 
 ing a little incident of his childhood days: 
 He and one of his cousins played one day 
 with a Noah's ark, when someone came into 
 the room and accidentally knocked nearly all 
 the animals over. The other child began to 
 cry, but little Tom said, "Look here, some 
 of them are still standing. ' ' 
 
 " Somehow or other," Mayor Tom added 
 to this story, "I never felt like giving up a 
 \ thing if there was a shadow of a chance to 
 begin all over again. ' ' 
 
 In February, 1869, the boy began to work 
 in a rolling mill in Louisville, where he re- 
 
THE TIME OF YOUTH 5 
 
 mained for four months. At the end of this 
 time Biederman du Pont, a connection of the 
 Johnsons by marriage, offered Tom a place 
 in his street railway office in Louisville, Ky., 
 and the offer was accepted. Thus Tom L. 
 Johnson, in later years famous as a street 
 railway magnate, entered upon the career in 
 which he made a great fortune. 
 
 It was a small road, Tom was a small boy, 
 only fifteen years old, but it did not take him 
 long to learn. Toward the end of the year 
 he was secretary of the company. He be- 
 came also an inventor and constructed a 
 new fare box, which was an improvement 
 upon those in use. This invention netted 
 him about $30,000 and made it possible for 
 him to buy a street railway of his own in 
 Indianapolis. He had also a good friend in 
 Mr. Biederman du Pont, who advanced him 
 a large sum of money in addition to his own 
 resources. Tom made his father president 
 of the road, which he improved and made 
 profitable, and ran it until he came to Cleve- 
 land in 1880, with a half million dollars in 
 
G TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 his pocket, and still a greater sum of business 
 experience and street railway knowledge in 
 his head. 
 
 He had sold out his interest in the Indi- 
 anapolis venture, because his friends and as- 
 sociates had lacked the courage to replace 
 the mules then in use to move the cars by 
 electricity. Not wishing to antagonise 
 them he had looked for another field of 
 activity. 
 
 Under the light of to-day there is no doubt 
 that this move of his was not only best from 
 a financial standpoint, but it 'developed in him 
 all his great energy and intellectual faculties. 
 Cleveland became in the course of time the 
 battlefield of his life and finally his Waterloo. 
 
 From the very beginning of his career 
 in Cleveland he encountered endless strife. 
 At the time of his arrival he had to meet the 
 antagonism of the roads already estab- 
 lished. He was the man equal to the task, 
 young, vigorous, full of experience and ex- 
 pediency. His opponents, of whom the late 
 Senator Marcus A. Hanna was the most re- 
 
THE TIME OF YOUTH 7 
 
 doubtable one, had as little rest as Johnson. 
 Mr. Johnson gave his opponents no peace. 
 The chamber of the City Council and the 
 court rooms were the sites of their contests. 
 Hanna and his associates were bitterly op- 
 posed to Mr. Johnson's innovation of through 
 lines and transfers. They preferred to take 
 a second fare from a passenger who was 
 obliged to use two different lines. The new 
 man was successful in his enterprise, though 
 Hanna bought a controlling interest in the 
 company upon which Johnson directed his 
 main attack. He fought their privileges, 
 without being adverse to secure some for 
 himself. Hanna, too, was a force like John- 
 son, but slower in his movements. He made 
 a peace offer before going on the warpath, 
 but the pipe of peace was declined. Tom L. 
 Johnson had an advantage over his adver- 
 sary, as he was on the more populous East 
 Side of the river and could therefore de- 
 velop his road under better conditions than 
 Hanna, whose interests were in West Side 
 lines. Johnson also succeeded in uniting 
 
8 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 some of the other companies, forming the 
 Cleveland Electric Eailway Company, popu- 
 larly known as the "Big Consolidated.' y He 
 was now in control of some of the best lines 
 in the city. Hanna, on his side, bought the 
 cable lines, forming the Cleveland City Bail- 
 way Company, then dubbed the "Little Con- 
 solidated.' ' 
 
 The result of the long fight was advan- 
 tageous to the people, as it ended in a ma- 
 terial reduction of fares, Johnson justly 
 figuring that this would induce people to 
 make a more frequent use of the cars, and 
 increase the income of his road. The other 
 side never could comprehend these mathe- 
 matics, but was forced to yield. 
 
 Peace between the two companies was not 
 a genuine one, and as other interests claimed 
 Mr. Johnson by this time, he finally sold his 
 holdings in the Cleveland Electric Bailway 
 Company and left town. Some years later 
 Hanna united his company with the "Big 
 Consolidated," against which Johnson, later 
 
THE TIME OF YOUTH 9 
 
 on, having become Mayor of Cleveland, waged 
 a war of unheard-of bitterness. 
 
 At the time Johnson retired from his Cleve- 
 land railway he had with his brother Albert 
 acquired an interest in the Detroit street car 
 system and also in that of Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 He was soon engaged in the same kind of 
 warfare as in Cleveland, but still found time 
 to start large steel plants in Johnstown, Pa., 
 and in Lorain, Ohio, and to make useful in- 
 ventions in connection with the production of 
 steel rails. His capacity for work knew no 
 limits. In 1898, however, he withdrew more 
 or less from the street car business, and soon 
 afterward from the steel plants also. 
 Things of another nature had taken posses- 
 sion of his mind and occupied part of his 
 time. 
 
 His success as a business man was remark- 
 able. From a boy on he showed a faculty 
 for making money and was daring in his en- 
 terprises. Difficulties spurred him on to 
 stronger action. He liked to measure his 
 
10 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 strength with worthy adversaries, and de- 
 lighted in debates with his business associ- 
 ates at the directors ' table. Yet, strange as 
 it may seem, this vivacious, smiling and well- 
 liked street railroad magnate incurred the 
 distrust of many of his friends in the busi- 
 ness world. He had such a way of "putting 
 things" that his word was not considered as 
 good as his signature. This fact is signifi- 
 cant and often, later on, influenced his public 
 career. 
 
II 
 
 IN POLITICS 
 
 THAT a man of Tom L. Johnson's char- 
 acteristics should take an interest in 
 public affairs is but natural. His eyes were 
 wide open. He was dealing with public cor- 
 porations and public men. His enemies ac- 
 cused him of having bought city councils, in 
 times when such proceedings were the rule 
 and not the exception, and credited him with 
 great cleverness. It must be said that he 
 denied the truth of these accusations with em- 
 phasis, and that his later career was an 
 antithesis to such assertions. He was past 
 thirty years of age when he began to give 
 attention to political problems, and entered 
 into them with the fervency of his nature. 
 
 The story as to how he became interested 
 in the subject was told by himself. He had 
 
 been engaged in amassing a fortune, in mak- 
 
 11 
 
12 TOM L'. JOHNSON 
 
 ing money — in short, in " doing the other fel- 
 low. ' ' He had ' ' had no use for politics, ' ' and 
 had paid no attention to them. But on a day 
 about the year 1885, when he was travelling 
 between Cleveland and Indianapolis, a train 
 boy offered him a boo*k entitled " Social Prob- 
 lems." Johnson supposed the book to be a 
 work on the social evil and refused to buy it. 
 The conductor, who heard his refusal, hap- 
 pened to know the book as the second work 
 of Henry George, the first being "Progress 
 and Poverty." He told Mr. Johnson that he 
 labored under a misapprehension and that 
 the book would, no doubt, interest him. 
 Finally Johnson bought it with some reluc- 
 tance, for cash in those days was not plenti- 
 ful with him. He was often obliged to scheme 
 in order to procure a cheap railroad ticket. 
 Eeading the book, he was completely captured 
 by it and bought also "Progress and Pov- 
 erty." 
 
 The contents of these works were a reve- 
 lation to him. He felt like Joshua marching 
 into a new land, and seeing new things. 
 
IN POLITICS 13 
 
 Heretofore he had devoted himself to his 
 business only and had never been much of a 
 reader. His attorney in Cleveland at that 
 time was L. A. Eussell, an outspoken, fear- 
 less and eccentric man, but withal a thinker. 
 "With him Mr. Johnson debated over the the- 
 ories of Henry George. The lawyer recog- 
 nised the masterly arguments of Mr. George, 
 but objected to the premises. Johnson con- 
 vinced him that they were sound and con- 
 verted him to his views and to those of the 
 author of the books. 
 
 The next step Mr. Johnson undertook was 
 to make the personal acquaintance of Henry 
 George, and a warm friendship sprang up 
 between the two men. In the year 1886 
 Johnson had gone to New York, where, with 
 a small number of other gentlemen, he became 
 one of the promoters of the single tax move- 
 ment. 
 
 He was promptly swallowed up in the po- 
 litical turmoil of the Gotham of those days. 
 His friend Henry George became the leader 
 of a labor movement against Tammany Hall 
 
14 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 and Abram Hewitt. Johnson contributed to 
 the campaign fund and repeated the contri- 
 bution a year later, when Henry George be- 
 came the candidate for Secretary of State 
 of the United Labor party. In this cam- 
 paign Mr. Johnson took a more active part 
 and began to acquire a taste for politics. His 
 friend advised him to enter public life, to 
 further the single tax movement. Johnson 
 was willing and made his maiden speech in 
 Cooper Union, New York, at the beginning 
 of the year 1888. 
 
 It was thought advisable by Henry George 
 that Tom L. Johnson enter Congress as a 
 free trader of the Cobden pattern, and Tom 
 L. Johnson returned to Cleveland, and be- 
 came the Democratic candidate in a very 
 strongly Republican district, the 21st of Ohio. 
 He was defeated, but not discouraged, for 
 two years later he again entered the same 
 arena. 
 
 His Eepublican adversary was again Theo- 
 dore E. Burton, now United States Senator 
 from Ohio. Burton challenged him to a de- 
 
IN POLITICS 15 
 
 bate, to his consternation, for Johnson at that 
 time had but little experience in the art of 
 speaking, while Bnrton was recognised as a 
 master of the word. Johnson, nevertheless, 
 accepted promptly on condition that the de- 
 baters take turn in arguments of ten minutes 
 each, until the hour for closing. ( David slew 
 Goliath, who consumed his ten minutes in 
 preambles and never got to the meat of the 
 pot. 
 
 Tom Johnson was elected to Congress by a 
 majority of 3,000 votes. As a legislator he 
 developed his greatest activity, worked for 
 single tax legislation, tax reform and other 
 things, new to the minds of those days. His 
 success was small in a way, but his agitation 
 was educating public opinion. In the year 
 1892 Mr. Johnson was re-elected and suc- 
 ceeded during his second term in causing 
 Henry George's work on "Protection or Free 
 Trade" to be printed in the Congressional 
 record. In this manner over a million copies 
 of the book were distributed throughout the 
 land at public expense. He expected a 
 
16 TOM L'. JOHNSON 
 
 tariff revision, and was greatly disappointed 
 when President Cleveland deferred consid- 
 eration of the question. 
 
 On August 13, 1894, Mr. Johnson made his 
 first great speech in Congress. It was 
 against the Wilson tariff and full of aggres- 
 siveness. He attacked the amendments made 
 by the Senate and adjured the Lower House 
 not to descend to the level of the Upper 
 House. In another speech on the same floor 
 he spoke with the same directness for a flex- 
 ible currency bill of his own and against a 
 national bank bill. It was his last speech of 
 any magnitude in Congress, for in the fol- 
 lowing election the people repudiated the 
 Democrats, and Johnson was defeated by 
 Burton. 
 
 From now on until Mr. Johnson became 
 Mayor of Cleveland his energies were de- 
 voted to propagating the teachings of Henry 
 George, to his street railway fight in Detroit, 
 and his private affairs. He also took part 
 in the mayoralty campaign of New York in 
 
IN POLITICS 17 
 
 the year 1897, when his friend Henry George 
 was a conspicuous candidate for mayor. 
 
 The unexpected death of Henry George, 
 shortly before election, put an end to his po- 
 litical activity in New York. In 1899, having 
 made the acquaintance of Governor Pingree 
 of Michigan on the strength of his public 
 utilities teachings, he went to Detroit. In 
 conjunction with the Governor he began a 
 street railway campaign, with the intention 
 of bringing the street car system under pub- 
 lic ownership, to reduce the fare, or make a 
 free railway, taxing the adjacent land values 
 for the expenses. 
 
 The necessary legislation for the purchase 
 of the railroad by the City of Detroit was 
 passed, and the bill was signed by the Gov- 
 ernor. The city employed Professor Ed- 
 ward W. Bemis of Chicago, who had been 
 forced out of the faculty of the University 
 of Chicago, on account of his (more or less) 
 socialistic tendencies. The Professor was 
 employed to ascertain the value of the road. 
 
18 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 Prospects for the plan were promising, but 
 took a different turn when the Supreme Court 
 of Michigan declared the municipal owner- 
 ship law to be unconstitutional. The large 
 business interests had acted. Johnson and 
 his friend, the Governor, then resorted to the 
 expedient of securing an ordinance from the 
 city council of Detroit, by which a holding 
 company was to run the railroad for the city. 
 Governor Pingree was placed at the head 
 of the company, which was to buy the 
 system. Again the business men interfered, 
 claiming that the purchase price of $16,000,- 
 000 was exorbitant. Johnson was loudly 
 accused of trying to bleed the city. The ne- 
 gotiations were broken off, the Council fright- 
 ened, and in this state of mind, reconsidered 
 the ordinance and let it die. Once more Mr. 
 Johnson found it expedient to sell out his in- 
 terest in a street railway company. It was 
 said that he lost nothing by the transaction. 
 His fortune was estimated at from three to 
 four million dollars at that time. 
 
IN POLITICS 19 
 
 Mr. Johnson was now in the prime of life, 
 full of vigor and health, and active of brain. 
 His experience had been wide and varied, 
 yet he had not seen much of the world. A 
 hurried voyage to Europe, business trips to 
 some parts of the United States, or a swift 
 political expedition to this or that city, com- 
 pleted his travelling experience. He had not 
 the patience to study and observe foreign 
 nations and their methods and thereby to 
 broaden his knowledge and his mind. The 
 desire to be doing something himself made 
 him an inattentive observer, though he was 
 very quick in perceiving. From a daring 
 business man and occasional speculator in 
 the stock market he had developed into a 
 politician, preacher of new theories, and ad- 
 vocate of the people's rights. 
 
 He was ever ready to place his teachings 
 in practice, to help the common people, to 
 attack their enemies, and to march at the 
 head of the army. 
 
 He was a born leader ; he liked to rule and 
 
20 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 to win, as his adversaries readily believed, 
 in good faith. Such was the man when he 
 became the "best mayor of the best governed 
 city in the United States,' ' as his friend Lin- 
 coln Steffens wrote in July, 1905. 
 
Ill 
 
 IN THE MAYOR'S CHAIR 
 
 UNTIL the year 1895 the affairs of the 
 rapidly-growing City of Cleveland were 
 administered by honorable gentlemen and 
 citizens, who had much dignity, but little en- 
 ergy and push. In the office of the Mayor 
 stood a beautifully-carved walnut buffet with 
 a decanter and a box of cigars. Visitors 
 were welcome and humored by a drink, a 
 smoke or a funny story, or two. The Mayor 
 was a representative officer and understood 
 his functions. The City's business was 
 transacted at board meetings and by the 
 City Council, not to say by certain street 
 railroad officials, who were the godfathers of 
 "the boys." John and George were good 
 fellows, avoided scandal and saw to it that 
 contracts and franchises were of the proper 
 
 kind and given into the right hands. Some- 
 
 21 
 
22 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 times the bidders who were "left," " raised 
 a howl, ' ' but such is the nature of the bitten. 
 Cleveland was no worse than other cities of 
 the land and was more beautiful than most 
 of them. The citizens themselves were satis- 
 fied to let things go their way, after they had 
 done their duty on election day by voting 
 their respective party tickets. But it hap- 
 pened one day during the administration of 
 Mayor Eobert E. Blee, 1893-1895, that the 
 Street Eailway Company desired a new fran- 
 chise. Nothing was more natural for a street 
 railway company, and Mayor and Council 
 seemed willing to comply with the request. 
 
 One of the Councilmen at that time was a 
 young lawyer by the name of Eobert E. Mc- 
 Kisson. He was a Eepublican and a fighter, 
 ambitious and vigorous. " Curley-headed 
 Bob" they used to call him. This youngster 
 was possessed of the idea that opposition led 
 to success. He therefore opposed all and 
 everything, and as the administration was of 
 the opposite party he made no mistake from 
 a political standpoint. In April, 1895, he 
 
IN THE MAYOR'S CHAIR 23 
 
 was elected Mayor in spite of John H. Far- 
 ley, who managed the Blee campaign, and 
 who was an old and tried politician, and had 
 himself occupied the Mayor's chair in his 
 younger days. 
 
 With the advent of McKisson the old and 
 slow methods were brushed aside. The vigor 
 of youth was infused into the affairs of the 
 city. The young Mayor wanted to do things. 
 As long as he confined his energies to paving 
 streets, building sewers or planning water 
 tunnels he met with little opposition. Soon, 
 however, he antagonised the steam railroads 
 and the Street Railway Company, and also 
 Mark Hanna. 
 
 Politics had played a strange part in Mc- 
 Kisson's election. The Mayor belonged to 
 the Foraker faction and had refused the as- 
 sistance of Hanna^ who had been for some 
 time the "deus ex machina" of the Repub- 
 lican party in Cleveland. McKisson's elec- 
 tion had, therefore, been a blow to Hanna. 
 Mr. Hanna remained silent as long as the 
 young man did not interfere with his busi- 
 
24 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 ness interests. A renewal of street railway 
 franchises was asked for, and McKisson de- 
 manded a reduction in fares. The war was 
 on, but neither side gained much of an advan- 
 tage. The quarrel was carried into the Leg- 
 islature. 
 
 In the meantime another municipal elec- 
 tion approached. The old Hanna guard 
 made an effort, but the younger element won 
 the day, and McKisson was re-elected. Dur- 
 ing his second term the Mayor lost himself 
 more and more in the political turmoil, and 
 was promptly charged with levying political 
 assessments not strictly in accordance with 
 custom. 
 
 Mark Hanna, the maker of a President, 
 wished to become United States Senator, and 
 McKisson had the temerity to oppose him. 
 The history of that campaign is known. 
 Hanna won by one vote. McKisson returned 
 to Cleveland, resolved to seek a third term 
 as Mayor of Cleveland. But now Senator 
 Hanna had developed a personal grudge 
 
IN THE MAYOE'S CHAIR 25 
 
 against McKisson, and directed all his bat- 
 teries against his political enemy. 
 
 There could be but one result, the defeat 
 of the Mayor. The bitterest pang for Mc- 
 Kisson in this defeat was that John H. Far- 
 ley became his successor, the man whom he 
 had attacked in and out of season, while he 
 was a member of the City Council. Farley, 
 although a Democrat, had the assistance of 
 Mark Hanna. He was a strong man, rugged, 
 self-reliant, fearless and defying. A Demo- 
 crat of the old school, he reached into the 
 new and fleeting time. He was not in sym- 
 pathy with the ultra modern views upon city 
 governments. His slogan was economy, and 
 they accused him of trying to "save the city 
 from progress.' ' During his term the street 
 railway question came up again. He wished 
 it settled upon the same basis as of old. 
 The people cried " treason,' ' and an early 
 day form of insurgency arose like an angry 
 sea. The Mayor stood his ground, a fearless 
 fighter, resolved not to yield, and depending 
 
26 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 upon what he termed the " horse sense of the 
 community. ' ' 
 
 It was a delusion. The people were not 
 with him. They wanted a new solution to 
 an old problem. Most painful was the spec- 
 tacle that presented itself in the City Hall. 
 The politicians around the Mayor, men whose 
 career he had made, forsook him like rats 
 leaving a sinking ship. Even his directors 
 could be seen stealing into the camp of his 
 enemies. John H. Farley stood alone, read- 
 ing the handwriting on the wall. Nothing 
 more was to be done, not even the risking of a 
 second campaign. With his private secre- 
 tary, W. C. Sage, he stepped down and out. 
 A few weeks later he went to his northern 
 island in Georgian Bay, where he soon forgot 
 the vicissitudes of political strife. 
 
 His successor was Tom L. Johnson. Dur- 
 ing the winter of 1900-1901 the political 
 situation in Cleveland had taken an aspect 
 that was alluring to Mr. Johnson. Farley 
 had taken an untenable position on the street 
 railway question and was surrounded by men 
 
IN THE MAYOR'S CHAIR 27 
 
 in whom he could not fully trust, and who 
 had little personal liking for him. One of 
 these men was Charles P. Salen, City Au- 
 ditor on the strength of a political arrange- 
 ment. 
 
 Mr. Salen, though still a young man, had 
 managed Tom L. Johnson's former cam- 
 paigns and was a past grand master in that 
 game of politics which never rises to states- 
 manship. He kept his friend well posted on 
 the state of affairs in Cleveland, and at the 
 opportune moment the people were informed 
 that the Democratic patriots were making 
 great efforts to induce Mr. Johnson to come 
 to the rescue of the City. Johnson, who had 
 always maintained his right to vote in Cleve- 
 land, was persuaded to become a candidate 
 for Mayor. An unknown man of dark 
 complexion paid his campaign assessment, 
 out of admiration and friendship for Mr. 
 Johnson. Such was the statement given to 
 the newspapers. The name of this myste- 
 rious personage was never revealed, but the 
 story was told by one Joe Goldsoll, now de- 
 
28 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 ceased. It was significant of the Johnson 
 method. 
 
 With the arrival of Mr. Johnson, the cam- 
 paign became immediately highly interesting. 
 His political enemies knew their man and 
 did not underestimate his strength. They 
 heaped insult after insult upon him, decried 
 his sincerity, doubted his right to citizenship 
 in Cleveland, referred to him as a charlatan 
 and a humbug. 
 
 He answered with the declaration that he 
 had sold out his business interests, and that 
 it was his avowed intention to devote the rest 
 of his life to the welfare of the people and 
 the promotion of honesty and purity in pub- 
 lic affairs. 
 
 He kept his promise in his own way. His 
 was not the simple nature of " Golden Bule" 
 Jones of Toledo. He was a man of the 
 world, erring from selfishness, but well 
 meaning. It was not his intention to forgive 
 his enemies, but to subdue them. Whatever 
 he did, he did not because of a greai" love for 
 his fellow men, but because he was ambitious 
 
IN THE MAYOR'S CHAIR 29 
 
 to stand above the common politician of the 
 day. He aimed at great things and was sin- 
 cere in his fight for the people. Yet, his 
 animus might have been revenge, not love, 
 or a moral longing for the right. 
 
 The intensity with which he entered into 
 the street railway controversy, and his 
 tenacity of purpose in this " Seven Years 
 War," were partly born of personal hatred. 
 But all in all he was serving a noble pur- 
 pose, conceived with enthusiasm, and an- 
 nounced with a flourish of trumpets. 
 
 It was but natural that many people dis- 
 trusted his words, that they refused to see 
 in him a modern Messiah. But only the poor 
 in spirit failed to recognise his superiority. 
 Among the intelligent men he had numbers 
 of admirers, even among the rich who were 
 his opponents from selfish reasons. The 
 partisan asses need not be mentioned. 
 
 At the time Tom L. Johnson made his 
 second entry into Cleveland, the City Council 
 was wrangling over a proffered renewal of 
 the existing street railway franchises, which 
 
30 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 were to expire several years later. There 
 was danger of a new franchise being granted 
 for twenty-five years under conditions un- 
 favorable to the people. Johnson with char- 
 acteristic impetuosity worked up a sentiment 
 of opposition to the grant among the people. 
 He even circulated anti-franchise petitions 
 and paid his solicitors two cents a name. He 
 was accused of bribing the voters. His an- 
 swer to that accusation was that it is better 
 to buy up the people than to sell the people's 
 council. 
 
 The Democratic primaries took place on 
 the 19th of February, and Tom L. Johnson 
 was nominated for Mayor. On April 1st he 
 was elected by a plurality of 6,033 votes. 
 His platform was considered a radical one, 
 and he himself did not deny that he took an 
 advanced stand in political matters, espe- 
 cially in advocating the single tax. Home 
 rule, local option on taxation, municipal own- 
 ership as far as possible, a street car fare of 
 no more than three cents, equalisation of 
 
IN THE MAYOK'S CHAIR 31 
 
 taxes, and just appraisement were his other 
 demands. 
 
 Excepting for his single-tax theory there 
 was really nothing radical in his declara- 
 tion of principles, considered from the stand- 
 point of the ordinary citizen. The politi- 
 cians, of course, found much to denounce in 
 them. They even opposed a reduction of 
 car fares, arguing that poor service would 
 be the result. John and George laughed in 
 their sleeves, for they well knew that the 
 service would always be as poor as possible, 
 even at a fare of ten cents. It could not be 
 worse than it was, at the lower fare. To- 
 day, after nine years, it is just as good or as 
 bad as it ever was, and we have had both high 
 and low fares. Nobody can object to home 
 rule or just taxation, even if municipal own- 
 ership has its censors. 
 
 The main argument put forth against mu- 
 nicipal ownership was an expression of fear 
 that it might create an invincible political 
 machine. There never was a politician 
 
32 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 stronger than the people, the great destroyers 
 of politicians, political machines, kingdoms 
 and empires. Tom L. Johnson himself was 
 a living example of this. According to his 
 enemies he had the strongest political ma- 
 chine ever seen in Cleveland. Yet the peo- 
 ple got rid of him as soon as they became 
 tired of him. 
 
 Of greater importance than his demand for 
 municipal ownership was his tax reform 
 plank. With this he struck a vital spot of 
 many of the good and law-abiding citizens, 
 namely, their money bag. 
 
 Theories of socialism and anarchism were 
 heard. Yet, Tom L. Johnson demanded but 
 just taxation. In this connection the John- 
 son method furnished a rather incongruous 
 example. Johnson himself was accused of 
 not paying his just share of taxes, and took 
 the matter into court. After a litigation 
 lasting several years the case was settled by 
 compromise. He defended his private inter- 
 ests against his own preaching with as much 
 vigor as did Mark Hanna. He horrified the 
 
IN THE MAYOE'S CHAIR 33 
 
 teachers of morals by his declaration that he 
 would make money out of monopolies as long 
 as the law tolerated monopolies, though he 
 was against them. The elasticity of his con- 
 science was as remarkable as was his pur- 
 pose to stand up for the rights of the people. 
 
 The declaration that he would make money 
 from monopolies was first made by him as 
 a candidate for Congress, but he repeated it 
 in his campaign speeches on different occa- 
 sions. There is no doubt that he was sin- 
 cere in his attacks on the monopolistic prin- 
 ciple. Far seeing as he was, he could 
 perceive the danger for the future of the 
 nation, if monopolies were to obtain control 
 of the states' and the national government. 
 He abhorred revolutions, had not the least 
 use for the military power, and was a firm 
 believer in the power of the ballot. Reforms, 
 he believed, must be wrought through the 
 ballot and not through the ax. 
 
 History would not, he said, repeat itself, 
 since the world's progress in the last one 
 hundred years had created conditions en- 
 
34 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 tirely different from those existing before the 
 great modern inventions. Besides, there 
 never was any country like the United States 
 with universal suffrage as a safety valve. 
 
 He was an optimist in all things, and would 
 hardly ask the question whether or not the 
 human animal would change its nature. He 
 believed in men, because he liked to be among 
 them and needed them for his plans. Soli- 
 tude had no attraction for him. His elec- 
 tion to the office of Mayor of Cleveland was 
 highly gratifying to him. He saw great pos- 
 sibilities in his future work, for which he had 
 the necessary business and political training, 
 and an abundance of intelligence, energy and 
 good will. 
 
IV 
 MAYOR JOHNSON 
 
 ON the morning of the 4th of April, 1901, 
 Tom E. Johnson took the Mayor's of- 
 fice by storm. He actually burst into the 
 room. Mayor Farley, seated at his desk, 
 looked up and beheld his successor. A cloud 
 darkened his face as he arose. His greeting 
 was chilly, but Mr. Johnson took no notice 
 of this. He announced that he had qualified 
 for the office of Mayor, and was ready to 
 take up his duties. "But there is no hurry, 
 Mr. Farley,' ' he said. The ex-mayor did 
 not tarry long, for he hated the new man, 
 with whom he had nothing in common, even 
 in politics, though both were Democrats. 
 
 There was special reason for the haste 
 with which Mr. Johnson assumed his new 
 work. He had some days before procured 
 an injunction against Mayor Farley who was 
 
 35 
 
36 TOM E. JOHNSON 
 
 on the point of signing an ordinance turning 
 over the rights of the city to lake front land 
 to the steam railroads. The injunction ex- 
 pired at 11 o'clock a.m. Half an hour be- 
 fore that time Johnson became Mayor, and 
 the ordinance was never signed. The lake 
 front leases are still in the courts. 
 
 Mayor Johnson, happy as a lark, had a 
 well-conceived plan for the development and 
 aggrandisement of the City of Cleveland. 
 Streets were to be paved, and sewers built 
 as fast as possible. The new water-works 
 tunnel, begun under McKisson's adminis- 
 tration was to be finished; grade crossings 
 were to be abolished ; new bridges across the 
 Cuyahoga Eiver, a new City Hall, a new 
 Market House for the West Side of the city 
 were included in the plan. There were many 
 other things to be done. Mayor Johnson in- 
 sisted upon clean and well-lighted streets, 
 that the great park system be opened for use 
 of the people, public bath houses, first-class 
 fire and police protection, new hospitals and 
 better conditions for the poor and for the 
 
MAYOR JOHNSON 37' 
 
 prisoners in the city institutions. He par- 
 ticularly demanded cheaper street railway 
 fare. 
 
 In order to secure these improvements two 
 elements were required — honest and efficient 
 officials, and money. Mayor Johnson, who 
 had the appointing power under the then ex- 
 isting federal plan of city government, chose 
 for his department chiefs men of unusual 
 ability, of integrity and untiring devotion to 
 duty. The people had elected with him a 
 Council of his own choice, or nearly so. At 
 all events he had a working majority and 
 could execute his plans as far as the Council 
 was concerned. 
 
 The money question offered more diffi- 
 culties, but Johnson had the experience of a 
 business man and was, besides, a man of re- 
 sourcefulness. He was an expert in taxa- 
 tion matters, having studied them under 
 Henry George. There was plenty of money 
 in Cleveland which could be made available, 
 if he could get at the tax dodgers. 
 
 Being a thorough-going man he began at 
 
38 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 the root of the evil, the iniquitous appraise- 
 ment of all taxable property. The famous tax 
 school under Peter "Witt, of whom we shall 
 learn more later on, was established. Peter 
 and a number of clerks made large maps of 
 the city, showing all properties and their real 
 values. The result of this work was a howl 
 from the rich and a grunt of satisfaction 
 from the small property owners. Peter was 
 reckless enough to proclaim with a loud voice 
 that the great burden of taxation fell upon 
 the poor. Of course, this was nothing new, 
 but Peter had the figures in all instances. 
 Mayor Johnson was denounced for spending 
 the people's money in illegal enterprises. 
 He answered that he would pay the expenses 
 of the tax school out of his private purse. 
 Thereupon the tax school was killed by de- 
 cree of court, but the judge was kind enough 
 not to condemn the Mayor to the payment 
 of said expenses, and Mr. Johnson did not 
 reach into his own pocket. The tax school 
 had cost the people something like $30,000. 
 It was a small matter, after all, for the much 
 
MAYOK JOHNSON 39 
 
 attacked school led nine years later to new 
 and better taxation laws. It also led to a 
 fierce struggle between the Mayor on one side 
 and the County Auditors, the Legislature 
 and the great corporations on the other side. 
 
 Undaunted,\ Mr. Johnson sought to prevail 
 upon the County Auditors to assess the rail- 
 roads at the same rate as that at which other' 
 private property was being appraised. The 
 Auditors refused to listen to him or even to 
 receive his figures, which had been worked 
 out with great diligence by Professor E. W. 
 Bemis. The sessions with the Auditors were 
 stormy, and Mr. Johnson did not mince his 
 words in argument. His effort was of no 
 avail. 
 
 Apparently more successful were his 
 efforts to secure a just appraisement of the 
 property of the public service corporations. 
 In filling the vacancies in the annual City 
 Board of Equalisation he appointed four new 
 men in sympathy with his policy. The board 
 added to the duplicate nearly twenty million 
 dollars, by raising the valuation of the prop- 
 
40 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 erty of the street railroads, gas and elec- 
 tric light companies. The higher assess- 
 ment went upon the tax duplicate, but the 
 companies never paid, for they succeeded 
 in Columbus in causing the new valuation to 
 be stricken out. The city having expected 
 an increased income through this source, 
 faced a greatly reduced revenue. 
 
 Mayor Johnson saw quickly that he had to 
 carry his fight into the State and before the 
 Legislature, a Eepublican body. His en- 
 ergy, and enjoyment of strife were such that 
 he promptly undertook an energetic cam- 
 paign. Though victorious in electing a 
 Democratic delegation from Cuyahoga 
 County, he found himself confronted by an 
 immovable body of Eepublican politicians at 
 the State capitol. 
 
 He was frequently accused of neglecting 
 the affairs of the city, and devoting his time 
 to politics. The small minds could not un- 
 derstand the big aims of the man. He had 
 tumbled into a Herculean task and used gi- 
 gantic energies to accomplish it. There was 
 
MAYOR JOHNSON 41 
 
 really something heroic in his efforts to 
 overcome the obstacles which were thrown 
 in his way. As Mayor of Cleveland it was 
 incumbent npon him to seek ways and means 
 which would enable him to meet the demands 
 of a new era in municipal life. It was his 
 right and duty to go before the Legislature 
 and ask for such laws as he thought would 
 be necessary. The affairs at home were in 
 good hands. 
 
 There can be no question that Cleveland 
 to-day would be the most advanced city in 
 the land, if he had had a free hand. He 
 would have spent millions upon millions for 
 her development in all directions. The 
 money was to come from an equal taxation, 
 and the city being rich, there would have 
 been plenty of it. He had the people on his 
 side, but not the rich and the powerful. His 
 great scheme fell through in spite of his 
 mighty efforts. The courts and the Legisla- 
 ture were invoked by his enemies, and the 
 contests were bitter ones. 
 
 Johnson's endurance and power for work 
 
42 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 seemed without limitation. While he became 
 engaged in his great struggle, he still found 
 time for the details of his home work. New 
 life entered the City Hall. Things had to be 
 done quickly, for patience he had but little. 
 Yet he was no scold. His knowledge of mu- 
 nicipal matters was astonishing. There was 
 no hesitancy on his part in deciding a ques- 
 tion, be it of a financial, political or technical 
 nature. He was naturally a mathematician, 
 a builder, an engineer and a mechanic. Long 
 explanations were cut short, for he would 
 see the merits of a case in an instant, and 
 seldom made a mistake. His solutions took 
 account of the future, farsightedness being 
 one of his great gifts. 
 
 Those who accused him of negligence in 
 his municipal duties knew little of his 
 methods. 
 
 "I am responsible and want to be respon- 
 sible for my administration," he used to say, 
 "and therefore I must be informed on what 
 is going on." And he was informed. His 
 directors made no appointments without his 
 
MAYOE JOHNSON 43 
 
 sanction, nor did they introduce new meas- 
 ures without his knowledge. He had a good 
 memory and allowed nothing to escape him, 
 even to the smallest details. It was a pleas- 
 ure to watch him at his work, to hear him 
 f tell a funny story, illustrating a case on 
 hand. His smiling face and his familiar way 
 of treating with people became well known. 
 He, however, could say "no" more easily 
 than most men, but he possessed the rare fac- 
 ulty of not thereby offending the petitioner. 
 He demanded unquestionable honesty of 
 his officials and employes, and was without 
 pity for an offender. During the first few 
 months of his incumbency a newly-appointed 
 officer was convicted of some dishonest trans- 
 action. He called the man to his office, read 
 him the riot act, discharged him on the spot, 
 and almost threw him bodily out of doors. 
 The newspapers were informed of the occur- 
 rence, and the Mayor announced that swin- 
 dlers were not to be protected. During al- 
 most nine years of Mayor Johnson's adminis- 
 tration, not a half dozen cases arose in 
 
44 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 which occasion required that city employes 
 be dealt with for dishonesty. This was cer- 
 tainly a remarkable showing, and one of 
 which the City of Cleveland may well be 
 proud. No scandal could ever be attached 
 to the Johnson administration. 
 
 With the entry of Tom L. Johnson into 
 the City Hall, Gentlemen George and John 
 made their exit. One could see them for- 
 merly at every meeting of the City Council. 
 Now they became not only invisible, but also 
 almost uninfluential. Of course, at elec- 
 tion times, they would see to it that their 
 men were elected from wards where the 
 Mayor's friends were in the minority. In 
 the Council, the other men were in the minor- 
 ity, so they could do little harm and were 
 carefully watched besides. The scenes under 
 the former administration, when the people 
 hunted certain Councilmen with ladder and 
 rope for trying to sell them out to the Eailway 
 Company, needed no repetition. The eye of 
 the boss was watchful, and it was a sharp 
 eye. 
 
MAYOR JOHNSON 45 
 
 There is no denying that Johnson had ab- 
 solute control of his Council from the begin- 
 ning to the end. The working majority was 
 with him with one short exception. On that 
 occasion there were seated in the Council sev- 
 enteen Republicans and fifteen Democrats, 
 the president of the Council also being a 
 Democrat. The leading Republican members 
 were men of small calibre, and Johnson was 
 able to outwit them on many occasions. One 
 of the Republican councilmen died and it be- 
 came the duty of the Council to elect a new 
 man. Johnson succeeded in winning one of 
 the Republican councilmen over, and in the 
 place of the dead Republican a live Democrat 
 was elected. "With the vote of the president, 
 the working majority was restored, and the 
 Mayor once more enabled to follow his 
 course. 
 
 There were also a few instances when some 
 of the Democrats in the Council rebelled 
 against his dictation. He either succeeded 
 in reconciling them to his leadership or de- 
 feated them at the polls. He preferred the 
 
46 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 latter course, as he was always more or less 
 distrustful of his converts. During his first 
 three terms his orders were unquestioned, 
 but later on, when the Street Railway fight 
 had become tiresome, the Democrats would 
 try to convert him to their views expressed 
 in caucus. He was obliged to yield on cer- 
 tain occasions. He was not intolerant of op- 
 position, and found pleasure in combating 
 opinions different from his own, so long as 
 no important matters were to be decided. 
 On more than one occasion he deemed it ex- 
 pedient to take his opponents in the Council 
 severely to task, and even to accuse them of 
 dishonorable conduct. Of course, he had no 
 direct proof, but his suspicion had been 
 aroused and he took this means of uttering 
 a warning. He cared but little whether he 
 gave offence or not on these occasions. 
 
 Mayor Johnson never objected to being 
 called a boss, though he was most of the 
 time, especially in later years, careful to hide 
 his personality behind the Council, when 
 measures of weight were to be considered. 
 
MAYOR JOHNSON 47 
 
 "It all depends," be used to say, " whether 
 a boss is a good or a bad boss. A bad politi- 
 cal organisation is worse than a good po- 
 litical machine. " 
 
 His City Hall machine was working to per- 
 fection, not only in a political way but also 
 in the fulfilment of civic duties. The dif- li- 
 ferent departments were well organised and 
 demanded a full day's work of their men/~~\ 
 Of course, there were some instances of un- 
 faithfulness and laziness on the part of em- 
 ployes. However, such men would never last 
 long, and it made no difference that a given 
 culprit were an active and valuable politi- 
 cian, and with influential friends backing 
 him. In such cases Mayor Johnson sus- 
 tained his directors or went even farther than 
 they did themselves. He wanted strict hon- 
 esty and adherence to duty, nothing less 
 would do. He would not allow himself to be 
 moved by pity or political considerations. 
 It was a strong trait of his character to stand 
 by his officials when he thought them in the 
 right. As an executive, he had no superior, 
 
48 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 and the same may be said of him as an or- 
 ganiser. 
 
 / It required but a short time for him to 
 advance the City of Cleveland to one of the 
 best and most honestly governed places in 
 the country. He spent more money than any 
 of the former mayors, and under his admin- 
 istration the bonded indebtedness was stead- 
 ily increased. The small politicians made a 
 great noise about extravagance. Yet, at no 
 time were they able to prove that the money 
 was not spent well and honestly. Johnson 
 as a man of large business experience, was 
 wont to figure with dollars where they turned 
 a penny over. Some of the people failed to 
 understand him, because they were not used 
 to seeing a big man occupying the Mayor's 
 chair. It is an erroneous idea that Johnson 
 had no friends and admirers among the busi- 
 ness men of the town. Even in the Chamber 
 of Commerce his friends could be found in 
 goodly numbers. Many of them expressed 
 no opinions, but on election day they cast 
 their ballots for him. Some considered his 
 
MAYOR JOHNSON 49 
 
 election and re-elections as a calamity for 
 the City, yet they and Cleveland survived the 
 shock splendidly. 
 
 The Republican party nominated the best 
 of their men against him, but they went down 
 in defeat, even as strong a politician as Theo- 
 dore E. Burton. The Johnson victories 
 would have been impossible without the votes 
 of the business men. They recognised his 
 capability and saw that he gave the city an 
 honest and progressive administration, such 
 as it had never had before. He antagonised 
 them in many ways, and was forgiven. His 
 re-election in November, 1905, by a plurality 
 of 12,169 votes was a great tribute to his 
 popularity. The people of Cleveland re- 
 warded his successful efforts in building up 
 their city. Many streets had been paved 
 since 1901, and many sewers built. The 
 streets were clean and well lighted, the parks 
 made accessible to the common people; the 
 former "Keep off the Grass" signs had dis- 
 appeared, and upon the very lawns picnics 
 could be held. To the last Mayor Johnson 
 
50 TOM E. JOHNSON 
 
 and his administration marched abreast with 
 the times, assimilating and putting into prac- 
 tice the most advanced theories on the gov- 
 erning of a modern city. 
 
 Those who were in a position to watch the 
 daily life of the City Hall became impressed 
 with its intensity of purpose, its manifold 
 activities and its earnestness to master every 
 new arising task. It was not to be wondered 
 that Cleveland began to make a name for 
 itself in this large land of ours. 
 
THE HELPEES 
 
 NOT little of the praise and credit belong 
 to the men who labored with Mayor 
 Johnson in the advance of Cleveland. Wont 
 to follow his own dictation, he selected as 
 his assistants the men whom he thought ca- 
 pable, disregarding party lines in many in- 
 stances, and also disregarding the dissatis- 
 faction of the patriots. It almost caused a 
 rebellion when he appointed E. W. Bemis 
 superintendent of the Water Works with in- 
 structions to manage them regardless of pol- 
 itics. Bemis obeyed, and soon was the most 
 ridiculed and most hated man in the City 
 Hall. He was innocent of business experi- 
 ence, made errors like an absent-minded pro- 
 fessor, but had a great understanding of 
 figures, and did very well, after all. When 
 the downfall of the Johnson administration 
 
 51 
 
52 TOM E. JOHNSON 
 
 caine, he received a splendid offer from the 
 City of New York, and left Cleveland with 
 "a smile for those who hate," to speak with 
 Lord Byron. 
 
 The Department of Public Works was dur- 
 ing the first term of Mayor Johnson under 
 the management of Chas. P. Salen, who 
 proved capable. Mr. Salen, having been 
 elected to a county office, was succeeded by 
 W. J. Springborn, formerly a Eepublican 
 member of the City Council. The choice 
 proved to be excellent. Springborn was a 
 young man, who had to work his way up in 
 this world and was without much schooling. 
 He, however, possessed something better than 
 a mere book education. He was endowed 
 with common sense, great industry, a fine 
 memory and quick comprehension. There 
 was nothing of the fanciful about him. He 
 was more in favor of clean streets, good 
 sewers and a good garbage plant than of 
 beautiful buildings or parks. From early 
 morning till late in the evening he worked in 
 the interest of the city, looking after every- 
 
THE HELPERS 53 
 
 thing, being everywhere. He was a per- 
 fectly honest man and constantly striving to 
 save money for the city. He knew the value 
 of a penny. Thoroughly in accordance with 
 Mayor Johnson and his views on municipal 
 ownership, he built up a practical street- 
 cleaning plant, a garbage plant, and an elec- 
 tric lighting plant, all of which proved of 
 great value. It was his greatest pride to be 
 able to demonstrate the possibilities of mu- 
 nicipally owned institutions. The people 
 recognised his merits and applauded him vig- 
 orously whenever he told them in his simple 
 way what his department was doing for them. 
 The Public Parks department under Di- 
 rector Daniel E. Leslie followed the popu- 
 larising policy, inaugurated by Chas. P. 
 Salen, with great success. The large and 
 beautiful park system (luckily started by a 
 far-sighted commission that was violently 
 criticised by the near-sighted) became within 
 a short time a recreation ground for all the 
 people. Much was done in establishing base- 
 ball grounds, children's play grounds, in 
 
54 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 erecting shelter houses and bath houses, and 
 in providing free concerts, children's days 
 in summer, and skating carnivals in winter. 
 Little attention was given, however, to the 
 zoological garden, a neglect much to be re- 
 gretted. Neither the Mayor nor his Director 
 were so philosophical as to become interested 
 in animal life. 
 
 Mayor Johnson placed "his preacher," 
 Eev. Dr. Harris E. Cooley, in charge of the 
 Department of Charities and Corrections. 
 Some of the wiseacres sneered at this selec- 
 tion, but within a short time, Mr. Cooley 
 proved to be more than a preacher. He was 
 a broad-minded man of action and one of not 
 words alone, a great big bundle of human- 
 ity, a true friend of the suffering and the 
 downtrodden. His kindness was without 
 bourn, his faith in the good of men unshak- 
 able. Being an assiduous student of soci- 
 ology, he knew the ailments of society and 
 understood the lugubrious influences at work. 
 He was not afraid to put the blame where it 
 belonged. As far as it was in his power he 
 
THE HELPEES 55 
 
 tried to alleviate the pains of soul and body. 
 No one was too lowly for him to consider, 
 none unworthy of being redeemed. He 
 brought his head and his heart into his la- 
 bor of love. 
 
 The outcome of his activity while in the 
 employ of the city was the abolition of the 
 old poor house system. In its place he es- 
 tablished a Farm Colony, comprising almost 
 two thousand acres of land. Here the poor 
 were taken care of in a home-like fashion. 
 Man and wife were not separated but had a 
 comfortable room in a pleasant cottage. The 
 prisoners at the Workhouse were sent to 
 the Farm, not in chains, but like free men. 
 The guards had neither gun nor pistol, and 
 it must be said that but few of the prisoners 
 sought to escape. They were well fed and 
 worked in the open, where healthy surround- 
 ings exercised beneficial influences upon 
 the men. 
 
 A Boys' Farm was started, and here, too, 
 the character of a public institution was 
 avoided as much as possible. The boys lived 
 
56 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 in cottages under the supervision of kind 
 people, were schooled and received instruc- 
 tions in the practical working of garden and 
 farm. 
 
 The Outdoor Relief Department sought em- 
 ployment for the strong, and extended its aid 
 in various new directions. Yet it was always 
 the aim of Director Cooley to bring lasting 
 benefits. He even tried to cure the drunk- 
 ards and was not without success. Fresh 
 air, sunshine and healthy employment did 
 much to help the poor wretches. Words of 
 encouragement, a friendly interest, were Di- 
 rector Cooley 's medicines. He paroled 
 prisoners to give them back to their families 
 whenever they needed them, and it was not 
 very often that he had reason to regret his 
 kindness and his belief in human goodness. 
 He founded a Brotherhood Home, where dis- 
 charged prisoners without funds could re- 
 main until they secured employment. Mayor 
 Johnson, who attended the meetings of the 
 Board of Pardons at the beginning of his 
 term of office, was wont to put a five-dollar 
 
THE HELPERS 57 
 
 bill into the hands of this and that discharged 
 prisoner to give him a fresh start. This 
 brought happiness to the convert and also 
 to the Mayor in his enthusiasm for better 
 conditions for all men. 
 
 Director Cooley gave splendid service, and, 
 by and by, his fame spread over the land, 
 and people came from far away, even from 
 across the ocean, to see and to learn of his 
 work. To know him was to like him. He 
 was a good speaker, and his voice would 
 quiver when he told about his wards and their 
 needs and sorrows. And there was not a 
 Councilman who would not vote for the ap- 
 propriation for which Director Cooley had 
 asked. Few men of his kind have lived. 
 Hats off to them. With a bleeding heart he 
 took leave from his friends and brethren, the 
 poor, lowly and downtrodden, when he was 
 forced to say "Good-bye." 
 
 Another man who assisted successfully in 
 the great work of developing and modern- 
 ising the City of Cleveland was Dr. Martin 
 Friedrich, appointed health officer by Mayor 
 
58 TOM E. JOHNSON 
 
 Johnson, after a former appointee had been 
 summarily discharged, as above mentioned. 
 Dr. Friedrich, a German by birth, began an 
 unceasing war against all unsanitary condi- 
 tions and became known as a fearless small- 
 pox fighter. His two predecessors had not 
 been able to stamp out the epidemic raging 
 in their time. The new officer required but 
 a few months to free the city from the dire 
 disease. Since that time all contagious dis- 
 eases have been carefully watched, physi- 
 cians have been sent to the schools to exam- 
 ine all children at regular intervals, the 
 water supply has been continually inspected, 
 the building of sewers urged, and there was 
 much disinfecting done in public buildings 
 and private houses. The general health of 
 the city was enhanced, and in the year 1909 
 Cleveland showed the lowest death rate of 
 any of the larger cities in the country. Dr. 
 Friedrich was no politician and is not affili- 
 ated with any party. He put his whole soul 
 into his work as it should be, and is a man 
 of fine intellect. 
 
THE HELPERS 59 
 
 In the course of time the administration 
 of the City of Cleveland was spoken of in the 
 press of other cities. The magazines con- 
 tained lengthy articles about the Mayor and 
 his methods, and Mr. Johnson was declared 
 the best Mayor of the best governed city of 
 the United States. 
 
 The citizens of Cleveland, not the hostile 
 politicians, appreciated the efforts of their 
 city administration. They knew that intelli- 
 gent, clever, and honest men tried to do their 
 best. Not always did they understand the 
 aims of Mayor Johnson, who frequently 
 marched ahead of his time. The conserva- 
 tive element found fault with his methods 
 and accused him of burdening the city with 
 debts. He was accused of spending too much 
 money on the poor and that the Workhouse 
 did not pay, as in former years. It was not 
 his intention to make that institution a source 
 of revenue, nor to be saving in matters of 
 charity. On the other hand, he suppressed 
 unsparingly low dives, and the social evil as 
 much as possible. His Chief of Police, Fred- 
 
60 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 erick Kohler, made a name for himself, being 
 recognised as one of the most energetic and 
 successful police officers in the country. 
 Mayor Johnson was of a liberal turn of mind, 
 and well aware that narrow views on the 
 Sunday question would not do in a city like 
 Cleveland, with its conglomeration of nation- 
 alities, he did not enforce the antiquated blue 
 laws. For this he was frequently and se- 
 verely criticised, but he laughed at his 
 critics. 
 
 It was ever his aim to lighten the burden 
 of the poor. He abolished almost entirely the 
 license fee system. Hucksters and pedlars 
 were no longer required to pay their hard- 
 earned pennies into the city treasury. He 
 demanded from his Council fair wages for 
 the city employes, but was averse to in- 
 creases for the high-salaried officials, making 
 exceptions in very few cases. 
 
 Dealing with great questions he almost in- 
 variably antagonised the "interests." He 
 demanded full protection of the city, never 
 retreating one step from his demands. Thus 
 
THE HELPERS 61 
 
 the building of a new Union Depot was de- 
 layed until this day ; the street railway ques- 
 tion caused a war forever famous, and 
 regrettable, in a way, at least. The Cleve- 
 land Electric Illuminating Company fought 
 his demands and had soon a competitor in 
 the East Ohio Gas Company, a Rockefeller 
 concern furnishing natural gas. This com- 
 pany was given a franchise with a stipulation 
 that the City Council should have the right 
 to fix the price of gas every ten years. The 
 Mayor 's enemies entitled it a perpetual fran- 
 chise. He declared it a franchise renewable 
 every ten years. Opinions differ on this 
 point, but Mayor Johnson was accused by 
 some of his bitterest foes of having received 
 a million dollars for saddling this grant upon 
 the city. Of course where Mr. Rockefeller 
 is concerned, a million is like a drop of water 
 in a bucket. They might, therefore, as well 
 have said ten millions, and their accusation 
 would have been just as plausible. As to his 
 integrity in municipal affairs, Mr. Johnson 
 needs no defender. He had passed the stage 
 
62 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 of deals and made his conditions known from 
 the beginning. 
 
 If the politician was predominant in Mayor 
 Johnson, his instincts of the former business 
 man were still noticeable. He could never 
 be induced to make war on the smoke nui- 
 sance, though recognising its great detriment 
 to the people and their homes. "Where 
 there is smoke, there is business," he used to 
 say and dismiss the subject. He was al- 
 ways willing to grant the railroads permis- 
 sion to lay tracks across the streets or to 
 make betterments. In the building of a belt 
 line to further traffic he sided with the rail- 
 roads, though deputation after deputation of 
 citizens whose properties were of need in- 
 jured, pleaded with him for protection. He 
 had a way of subjugating the smaller for the 
 bigger thing. 
 
 The building of a new City Hall and a 
 high-level bridge across the Cuyahoga Eiver 
 were frustrated by the voters, who refused 
 to sanction the necessary bond issues. Some 
 of the most dangerous grade crossings were 
 
THE HELPERS 63 
 
 abolished, however. A great plan, redeem- 
 ing the lake front for park and business pur- 
 poses for a distance of over six miles was 
 conceived by Mr. Johnson towards the un- 
 expected end of his public career. 
 
 In the course of time the actualities of the 
 daily life and strife pushed his theories on 
 sociology into the background. He had not 
 given them up nor changed his views upon 
 any of them. Single tax and free trade no 
 longer belonged to his daily curriculum, how- 
 ever. They went down with his defeat in 
 state politics, and were of no use in his great 
 street railway fight, which in the last few 
 years absorbed nearly all of his time. Yet 
 it cannot be said that he neglected many of 
 his other duties as Mayor. He had depart- 
 ment heads in whose knowledge and integrity 
 he could fully trust. The City Hall machine, 
 not politically speaking, worked to perfec- 
 tion. Besides, Mayor Johnson could expe- 
 dite business, in a truly wonderful way. He 
 worked as much in a day as half a 
 dozen ordinary men. His working day ex- 
 
64 TOM L\ JOHNSON 
 
 tended over sixteen and more hours, Sunday 
 not excepted, when occasion demanded it. 
 His power of concentration was great and is 
 one of the secrets of his success in life. No 
 matter how many different questions were 
 brought to his attention, each one was given 
 due consideration, followed by quick deci- 
 sion. 
 
 His theory on municipal ownership was as 
 much exploited as circumstances and the 
 state laws would allow. Contracts for 
 street cleaning and street lighting were can- 
 celled or left unrenewed when they expired. 
 The private company which collected gar- 
 bage was bought out and two electric lighting 
 plants became the city's property by annex- 
 ation. Mayor Johnson was very solicitous 
 that these plants should make a good show- 
 ing, and Director Springborn succeeded in 
 rendering them effective. 
 
 Enemies of the administration tried in vain 
 to convert the citizens to a contrary view. 
 The building of an art museum was delayed 
 because Mr. Johnson insisted on a stipula- 
 
THE HELPERS 65 
 
 tion fixing the days of free admittance, after 
 the trustees of the museum had demanded 
 the cession of park land for a site from the 
 city. It was his constant aim in those mat- 
 ters to watch and extend the rights of the 
 public. 
 
 While Mayor Johnson did not succeed in 
 all his great plans, he gave the City of Cleve- 
 land a clean and honest administration. He 
 awoke the people to their interests and edu- 
 cated them in municipal matters so well that 
 they overthrew him, when they believed that 
 his usefulness had come to an end. To-day 
 the people of Cleveland are perhaps better 
 versed in public affairs than the citizens of 
 any other city of the United States. He was 
 a great teacher, and his greatest legacy is, 
 after all, the public spirit which is awakened 
 in his fellow citizens. It was beyond human 
 power, even for this extraordinary man, to 
 overcome the resistance of a united class of 
 influential and powerful men, who saw in 
 Mayor Johnson an enemy, and who had the 
 law machinery and the powers of the State 
 
66 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 on their side. Only a man of his intelligence 
 and forcefulness, could accomplish anything 
 under those circumstances. The City of 
 Cleveland owes to Mayor Johnson a monu- 
 ment, as much as the Chamber of Commerce 
 owed one to Mark Hanna. 
 
VI 
 TWO RADICALS 
 
 A MAYOR like Tom L. Johnson needed 
 a city solicitor after his own heart. 
 It did not take him long to find one in Mr. 
 Newton D. Baker, a young lawyer from West 
 Virginia, who had come to Cleveland in 1899 
 at the age of about 28. Mr. Baker was small 
 of stature, smooth-faced, had dreamy eyes, 
 carefully-combed hair, was neat in appear- 
 ance, and had the aspect of a poet and a 
 scholar. His body slightly bent forward, he 
 moved along with a peculiar gait, seemed 
 always absorbed, and never having much 
 time for anybody. Yet, he was a thorough 
 gentleman, polite and even considerate. 
 There was something soothing in the tone of 
 his voice, which made itself heard in the 
 purest and most select English you could 
 possibly listen to. Everybody praised him 
 
 67 
 
68 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 for the fine use of his mother tongue, and it 
 was indeed a treat to listen to the music of 
 his words. Even the coarse and the illiter- 
 ate were charmed by his language. By and 
 by the flatterers came around and told him 
 of his great gift, as if he were not aware 
 that he possessed it. Yet, he was in danger 
 of being spoiled a little by this hymnus song 
 from all sides. 
 
 He was unsurpassed in telling a story, or 
 in addressing the City Council on some spe- 
 cial subject which had aroused his interest. 
 But he reached the height of his oratory 
 when eulogising his friend and master, the 
 Mayor. In his great political speeches (and 
 he made many very fine ones) he lacked the 
 inner strength to carry himself up to a real 
 climax. 
 
 His flow of language was as clear and 
 smooth as that of a silvery brook running 
 through a meadow full of rare and rich flow- 
 ers. He was possessed of a quaint humor 
 that ran into a slight sarcasm when the oc- 
 casion presented itself. It must be consid- 
 
TWO EADICALS 69 
 
 ered a great pity that this master-artist of 
 English chose the profession of a lawyer. 
 His written legal opinions were mostly hor- 
 rid examples of how one may obscure a 
 meaning by a sea of words. It must also be 
 said in his justification, that he never consid- 
 ered himself a great lawyer, and was always 
 willing to recognise the talent on the oppo- 
 site side of the trial table from where he, 
 however, carried off many a brilliant victory. 
 That he was drawn into politics is per- 
 haps more lamentable than his becoming a 
 lawyer. His preceptor, it is true, was no 
 common politician, but there are mean tricks 
 in the game that must be played. There can 
 be no doubt, that Mr. Baker felt an aversion 
 for his position after his initiation, but there 
 was no way out of it under the circumstances. 
 In the course of time he proved an apt dis- 
 ciple, yet a true politician he could never be, 
 and did not wish to be. His tendencies were 
 rather of an aristocratic nature ; he was more 
 of an observer and listener, than a talker. 
 The society of the cultured suited his tastes 
 
70 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 better than intercourse with the ordinary 
 man. 
 
 A true estimate of the character of Mr. 
 Baker is a difficult task. Like Hamlet, he 
 was not as easily played as a flute. He felt 
 no desire for an expansion of his feelings, 
 and could not be called communicative. He 
 was careful even to hide the vanity his great 
 gifts might have excused. He tried to sup- 
 press the impatience which sometimes showed 
 itself against his will. As a philosopher he 
 was thus constantly disciplining himself, 
 avoiding exposure of weak spots. Always 
 measured and gauged, he was master of him- 
 self, and therefore master of his surround- 
 ings. Endowed with a good memory, quick 
 perception and a great thirst for knowledge, 
 he was indefatigable in acquiring learning. 
 A despiser of newspapers, he read many 
 books of ancient lore and modern wisdom. 
 Few men possess the vocabulary of which Mr. 
 Baker could boast, few his ability to make 
 use of the knowledge gained by reading. 
 
 It always seemed a contradiction that this 
 
TWO RADICALS 71 
 
 lawyer and scholar should espouse the cause 
 of the people and take interest in modern 
 sociology and political affairs. As a student 
 of human nature, of course, he might discuss 
 those things in an academic way, but that 
 he should throw himself, body and soul, into 
 the midst of the daily turmoil of our present 
 struggles, does appear incongruous. The 
 solution of the riddle must be looked for in 
 the influence which Mayor Johnson gained 
 over him. Mr. Johnson loved to surround 
 himself with clever and bright young men, 
 and Mr. Baker was the leader of them. He 
 gained Mr. Johnson's confidence as no other 
 man before him, and, no doubt, no one de- 
 served this confidence more than he. His ad- 
 miration for Mayor Johnson came danger- 
 ously near to adulation. 
 
 On one occasion, after a splendid speech 
 of the Mayor to his City Council, Mr. Baker 
 was heard to say, " There must be a special 
 heaven for men like Mayor Johnson." 
 
 The feeling honored him, but on the other 
 hand it gave evidence of blind enthusiasm. 
 
72 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 Maybe enthusiasm is always blind. His loy- 
 alty to Mr. Johnson was admirable to the 
 last, and it cannot be said that Mr. Baker was 
 of an ungrateful nature. It is a question, 
 however, whether he would, standing alone 
 have followed the same course as he has in 
 the last eight years. His inclinations speak 
 against it. 
 
 The friendship of Mayor Johnson for his 
 young city solicitor was remarkable. He, at 
 times, needed a man to whom he could confide 
 his troubles and vicissitudes, though it is 
 not likely that he revealed, even to him, his 
 innermost desires and plans. Those, no man 
 knows. It was not an easy matter to be a 
 friend and co-worker of Mayor Johnson. 
 He demanded much of a man's time, energy 
 and ability. The day had often twenty-four 
 hours for both of them. Mr. Baker was a 
 great worker, but his work was always of an 
 exacting nature, and in the course of time 
 his features showed the strain under which 
 he worked. There came a time when the 
 freshness of youth vanished from the hereto- 
 
TWO BADICALS 73 
 
 fore young-looking face. Still the work kept 
 on, and so did Mr. Baker. 
 
 Mayor Johnson was no great observer of 
 law, and very apt to stretch a point or two. 
 It was the duty of the City Solicitor to show 
 him his error. Much of reasoning was to 
 be done by him, and he was not always suc- 
 cessful. Like all strong men, the Mayor 
 wished his way, and as a consequence many 
 fruitless lawsuits must be fought out. The 
 Street Eailway lawsuits were a task to put 
 to the test the best of lawyers, and Mr. Baker 
 had the strongest legal lights against him. 
 For six long years he fought them almost 
 single-handed with the various ups and 
 downs common to warfare, but finally he 
 came out the victor in a glorious struggle 
 with an inglorious end. 
 
 From the court room to the political tent 
 was but one step in those days. Solicitor 
 Baker was fully in accord with Mayor John- 
 son's doctrines. He preached single tax, 
 home rule, free trade, tax reform, direct vote, 
 and death to the special interests. Very se- 
 
74 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 rious lie was, and with his splendid oratory it 
 was easy for him to sway his audiences at 
 pleasure. But it must not be surmised that 
 he was a cold-blooded orator. He warmed 
 up to his subject, and at times was even a lit- 
 tle nervous, like all good speakers. One al- 
 most forgot, listening to him, that he was 
 preaching the new Gospel of the Times, that 
 he considered himself a radical. His diction 
 was too beautiful for a revolutionist, his man- 
 ner too gentle. Yet, there he stood, advocat- 
 ing the destruction of the old political struc- 
 tures and preaching the redemption of the 
 people. They needed the sermon, no doubt. 
 Of course, as a lawyer of good standing, he 
 kept within the law, never criticising a court 
 decision, even if it came from the Supreme 
 Court of the United States. He would, 
 however, collar a justice of the peace, having 
 no use for that kind of renderer of judicial 
 wisdom. 
 
 The solicitor claimed no ambitions beyond 
 the fulfilment of his daily duties, but he was 
 
TWO RADICALS 75 
 
 human like the rest of us, and had gotten 
 into politics. 
 
 A man who gave a certain distinction, or, 
 if you will, notoriety, to the Johnson admin- 
 istration, was City Clerk Peter Witt. He 
 was of the common people, stood by them, 
 and fought their battles with the "big stick,' ' 
 though he hated Roosevelt. Peter, as they 
 called him, had a common school education, 
 learned the trade of an iron moulder, and 
 became a union man, anarchist, socialist, tax 
 reformer, City Clerk, lecturer on municipal 
 affairs, and a political speaker. His assets 
 were a good intellect, splendid memory, fear- 
 lessness, honesty of purpose and an almost 
 uncontrollable tongue. His onslaught was 
 simply terrible, and spared no one, not even 
 Tom L. Johnson. 
 
 At one time he began to study law, but 
 being no juggler of words, he found it impos- 
 sible to continue, and stopped then and there. 
 Peter had to say what he thought of a thing 
 
76 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 or a man in plain language, and had no 
 patience with studied effort to hide an opin- 
 ion. If he believed a man to be a rascal, 
 he told him so, using that expression. He 
 would call a man a thief, if he felt justified 
 in doing so, even if that man was a judge. 
 The representatives of corporations always 
 fared ill with him. As a young man he had 
 felt the pangs of cold and hunger, the hope- 
 lessness of the shop worker, and later on the 
 misery of mankind in general. Being op- 
 timistic by nature, he was not crushed by 
 wretched experiences, but aroused to oppo- 
 sition and fight. 
 
 He saw the gulf between the rich and the 
 poor, and began to study the cause. The 
 selfishness of the human biped dawned upon 
 him, but he saw it first only in those of the 
 possessing class. He found that the laws 
 were made by that class and for it. A young 
 man yet, he could not discover the great 
 principles of nature underlying the struggle 
 of life, and therefore attacked most violently 
 the foe as he saw him. From the rostrum 
 
TWO KADICALS 77 
 
 he addressed the people in his fearless way. 
 He was an uncouth, but forceful and sarcas- 
 tic speaker, quick at repartee and not with- 
 out some beautiful sentiments. 
 
 After a while he wrote a book flagellating 
 the tax dodgers, and thereby arousing the dis- 
 gust of many people. He had no reverence 
 for church or preacher, and was therefore 
 held in abhorrence by the best of our citizens. 
 On his side there were the downbeaten, the 
 outcast, and the crowd of godless sinners 
 who despised the laws and institutions of the 
 land, and honored no man on account of his 
 office or his station in life. 
 
 "He goes too far," the peace-loving lis- 
 tener to his speeches would say. "Give it 
 to them," cried the man in rags. The prom- 
 inent citizen would walk away, perhaps with 
 a smile, perhaps with a pious wish in con- 
 nection with a rope and a lamp post. Peter 
 would go him one better. He did not keep 
 his wish to himself, but expressed it often 
 and in a loud voice. Yet it would be a griev- 
 ous thing to mention here the many good 
 
78 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 law-abiding men who inwardly rejoiced at 
 Peter Witt's strong expostulations and con- 
 fessed approval to their wicked pleasure in 
 listening to them. 
 
 Witt had many open and many silent 
 friends. Those who knew him well, wished 
 him well, for he was a man of good qualities 
 of heart and character, social, bubbling over 
 with the joy of living, and a good spender if 
 he had anything to spend. He was honest 
 and brotherly, but merciless towards cant 
 and hypocrisy. Nothing and nobody could 
 stop him from mentioning names when his 
 ire was aroused. As he was very well in- 
 formed about men and things he could strike 
 hard and did it. It happened sometimes that 
 he would wrong the best of men on the 
 strength of some doubtful information. He, 
 then, would repent with a curse at his mis- 
 take. 
 
 This was the man that Tom E. Johnson be- 
 friended, though his name had been men- 
 tioned in Witt's book about the tax dodgers. 
 
TWO RADICALS 79 
 
 He made him head of his tax school, and the 
 schoolmaster proved a success. Mr. Witt, 
 in the course of a few years had learned some 
 new things, and met the people he used to 
 attack face to face in an official way. Some 
 of them took a fancy to him, but it happened 
 more than once that he would ruthlessly de- 
 stroy their good opinion of him, if he thought 
 that they were trying to take advantage of 
 the city or the people. One might have 
 taken him for one of the Incorruptibles of 
 the French E evolution. Had he lived then 
 in France, he would have forged his way to 
 the front, and, no doubt, cut off heads and 
 lost his own. 
 
 After the famous tax school was closed 
 under a decree of court, Witt became City 
 Clerk, to "draw an income for doing no th- 
 ing/ ' as he used to say. Nevertheless he 
 attended to his duties and between times went 
 on short lecture tours, spoke in political 
 meetings, showing tax pictures and "getting 
 even" with his foes. He was a disciple of 
 
80 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 Izaak Walton, and would often disappear for 
 a few days or a week daring the fishing sea- 
 son to woo the finny tribe. 
 
 His relations with the different councilmen 
 were very friendly, and he gained the good 
 will of everyone, though he would some- 
 times lecture them severely if certain of 
 their official actions did not please him. 
 Neither was Mayor Johnson spared the dis- 
 pleasure of Mr. Witt, if that gentleman did 
 not agree with him. Mr. Johnson knew his 
 man, and took no offence. 
 
 In the course of time and through the in- 
 fluence of his surroundings, Peter Witt lost 
 some of his ferocity, acquired a little more 
 tact, and became more of a polished speaker. 
 He was really an orator, in his way, natural, 
 forceful and sometimes picturesque. It was 
 useless for him to prepare a speech, for he 
 could not adhere to a preconceived idea, but 
 spoke as he felt, when addressing an audi- 
 ence. Then he "let go," as he has said. 
 
 In him one certainly found the man who 
 at all times, and under all circumstances, had 
 
TWO RADICALS 81 
 
 the courage to express his opinion, and ex- 
 press it with vigor. In this respect he was 
 a curiosity in an age when men are masters 
 of the art of dissembling. 
 
 Had Mayor Johnson been possessed of the 
 philosophical mind of a Socrates he would 
 have sought the friendship of Peter Witt 
 as a healthful discipline against pride and 
 conceit. But as it was, he saw in him a use- 
 ful addition to his official household. He was 
 not mistaken, for Peter had a following 
 among the workingmen, who liked him as 
 much as he was detested by the men who had 
 no love for Johnson. 
 
VII 
 THE POLITICIAN 
 
 SOON after Mayor Johnson had taken of- 
 fice it became apparent that a new po- 
 litical era was to begin for Cleveland. He 
 had succeeded in uniting around his banner 
 the democracy of Cuyahoga County, with 
 the exception of a small coterie of old-time 
 Democrats. These men promptly declared 
 him a fraud and a humbug, but their voices 
 found only an echo in the ranks of the Ee- 
 publican politicians. The people were with 
 Johnson, who had returned to Cleveland with 
 new doctrines. Being, however, an astute 
 politician, he was no doctrinaire, and did not 
 always follow his own preachings. 
 
 His experience in Washington and New 
 York had shown him the difficulty of win- 
 ning a great mass of people to new ideas. 
 He therefore used as the slogan of his may- 
 
 82 
 
THE POLITICIAN 83 
 
 oralty campaign: " Three cent fare on the 
 street cars." It was a seductive war cry 
 and led to victory. Home rule, municipal 
 ownership, tax reform and single tax were 
 all parts of his creed, but less emphasized. 
 That he was a free trader everybody knew, 
 and many called him a socialist, which he 
 was not and could not have been. 
 
 Tom L. Johnson, the politician, was never 
 well understood. His alert nature drove him 
 instantly toward new things. His practical 
 bent of mind prevented him from entertain- 
 ing extreme views, and from drawing the last 
 conclusions. Being a selfish, rich man, he 
 would not quite emancipate himself from his 
 riches, even in thought. He declared re- 
 peatedly that he was no philanthropist and 
 he knew how to hold on to his belongings. 
 But, having given up money-making to sat- 
 isfy his political ambition, he saw with keen 
 insight the great wrongs of our political and 
 industrial systems. Feeling in himself the 
 strength of a Hercules, the cleaning out of 
 the Augean stables became a great tempta- 
 
84 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 tion. He might do an immense service to 
 his country, as mayor, governor, and finally 
 as president. There is no doubt that he 
 cherished such a thought, and — honi soit qui 
 mal y pense. 
 
 As a former monopolist he was not op- 
 posed to large enterprises and saw their ne- 
 cessity under the prevailing conditions. He 
 himself wished to be one of the conquerors 
 of the earth. Yet, he could foresee the dan- 
 gers lurking behind too much rapaciousness, 
 and he felt for mankind in general. He 
 wished to avert the day when a hungry and 
 infuriated populace would not only plunder 
 plutocracy, but also strangle it. They called 
 him an anarchist and a socialist. He was 
 rather the former than the latter. His an- 
 archism consisted in enough disrespect for 
 the law to demand its alteration for the good 
 of the masses. It was rendering a service to 
 his enemies, according to his views, to warn 
 them in time of impending danger, by point- 
 ing the way to safety. Of course, it meant 
 sacrifices to them, which they were not willing 
 
THE POLITICIAN 85 
 
 to make. He on his side was ready to force 
 them to yield through the courts, the State 
 Legislature or Congress, or through pressure 
 of public opinion. 
 
 He was not a socialist because he did not 
 believe that nature made all men equal or 
 that natural differences could be overcome by 
 human precept. Neither did he believe man 
 equal to the task of formulating a ready- 
 made economic system. 
 
 Political economy was with him a matter 
 of development, and his whole political activ- 
 ity was based upon this view. The great en- 
 terprises of the " interests' ' could therefore 
 be regulated, but their right of existence was 
 not questioned. He favored labor unions 
 as long as they did not interfere with the suc- 
 cess of legitimate business. 
 
 When Johnson became Mayor of Cleve- 
 land the movement to purify the adminis- 
 tration of American cities was becoming a U 
 fashion, and he was about the first to give 
 it a practical demonstration. Cleveland had 
 at that time another distinguished citizen, 
 
86 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 Mark A. Hanna, the friend and " maker' ' of 
 President McKinley, and the most powerful 
 member of the United States Senate. The 
 political and personal interests of the two 
 men were as antagonistic as their natures. 
 They had fought each other in street rail- 
 way wars that were to be renewed, and in 
 addition stood upon different political plat- 
 forms. The citizens of Cleveland began to 
 see interesting times. 
 
 Senator Hanna had not been in politics as 
 long as Mayor Johnson, but his experience 
 was on a larger scale. He was the better 
 business man of the two, and also a more 
 forceful character. Behind him stood the 
 most powerful interests. He was not a poli- 
 tician in the accepted meaning of the word, 
 but a business man in politics. Of Johnson 
 it might be said that he was also a politician 
 in business. Hanna, in his sometimes brutal 
 frankness, remarked on one occasion that if 
 he could not combine business and politics 
 he would give up politics. Johnson gave up 
 business to go into politics. 
 
THE POLITICIAN 87 
 
 The senator's enemies saw in this declara- 
 tion a frank confession that he meant to make 
 money out of politics. Of course, they could 
 not accuse him of stealing in a legal sense, 
 but rather declared that he manipulated leg- 
 islation in his and his friends' favor. 
 
 There is no doubt that he was perfectly 
 sincere in his political convictions. It was 
 his opinion that the prosperity of the busi- 
 ness world meant also the well being of the 
 workingmen. In this sense he worked and 
 toiled for his country and his fellow citizens. 
 He was of a generous disposition and wished 
 to advance everybody's welfare. But he 
 found little time to study the wretchedness 
 in the huts, and had a rather dangerous con- 
 ception of the power of money. He was ac- 
 cused of supporting the old adage that every 
 man has his price. 
 
 The business men saw in him their cham- 
 pion, the labor unions an enemy to their 
 cause. He answered them with the "full 
 dinner pail" and won them over. 
 
 His friendship and devotion for McKinley 
 
88 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 was one of the strangest traits of his char- 
 acter. He had put him up as an idol and be- 
 came its most pious worshipper. There was 
 a certain grandeur in this adoration. During 
 the campaign following the untimely death 
 of McKinley, he would speak of him with an 
 earnestness and a depth of feeling that turned 
 a political audience under a flapping tent 
 canvas into a congregation of believers. 
 Mark Hanna was not a fluent speaker but 
 he spoke with great force. When aroused 
 he was as a volcano in eruption. His words 
 exploded like thunderbolts and were convinc- 
 ing, in spite of poor argument. 
 
 Contrast with this the easy-flowing con- 
 versational speeches of Tom L. Johnson, in- 
 terspersed with humorous stories and keen 
 remarks upon things and men. He amused 
 while teaching his lesson, and spoke rather 
 to the intelligence than the hearts of men. 
 His speeches reminded one of the picture of 
 a beautiful butterfly, descending here and 
 there for a moment upon a chaliced flower to 
 sip its honey. He would never delve deeply 
 
THE POLITICIAN 89 
 
 into a subject in his speeches, but seemed only 
 to skim the surface of things. His thunder 
 was of the nature of the sharp crack of a 
 whip. 
 
 The battle between the two men was like 
 the fight between Siegfried and the dragon. 
 Subtlety, ruse and perseverance on one 
 side; strength, ferocity and hatred on the 
 other. The skirmishing had begun during 
 the mayoralty campaign, but the fighting line 
 soon extended beyond the city and county 
 lines into the territory of the State. Mayor 
 Johnson was the first to use a tent for his 
 political meetings. He was derided and rid- 
 iculed as a circus clown but the time came 
 when even the stately Mark Hanna found the 
 use of a tent expedient. Yea, he was not 
 adverse to having a band of music or a 
 negro quartette upon the same platform with 
 him. 
 
 Tom L'. Johnson abhorred these things and 
 would have none of them. Neither would he 
 contribute during campaign times one cent 
 toward charitable undertakings of any kind, 
 
90 TOM I! JOHNSON 
 
 declaring that it was not his intention to buy 
 votes in that or any other way. 
 
 "I have no use for boodlers," he was wont 
 to say, "and any man who thinks he can get 
 money out of me might just as well stay 
 away. ' ' 
 
 His enemies called him stingy, and would 
 not believe that he made his rules in the in- 
 terest of the purity of elections, but treated 
 his action as a personal convenience and as 
 a safeguard against spending his private 
 funds. They pointed to the liberality of 
 Mark Hanna, who would generously give to 
 hospitals and churches while a campaign was 
 in progress. Of course, his enemies called 
 this bribery and vote-buying. Johnson spent 
 large amounts of money during his cam- 
 paigns for printed matter and for his tents, 
 of which there were soon two in use. He 
 never forced any city employe under his di- 
 rection to contribute toward the campaign 
 fund, but the money nevertheless was forth- 
 coming. The executive committee of his 
 party would see to those details, without 
 
THE POLITICIAN 91 
 
 troubling its head, the Mayor. On the other 
 side, Senator Hanna was famous as a getter 
 of money for political purposes. 
 
 Both men entertained an intense desire to 
 win in the game of politics. Johnson had 
 drawn first blood, and was quick in following 
 up his advantage. The citizens of Cleveland 
 generally favored his claim and on Novem- 
 ber 5, 1901, he also won the county election. 
 Mark Hanna was furious and had recourse 
 to a desperate measure. The Eepublican 
 State Attorney General Sheets was prevailed 
 upon to bring an ouster suit against the city 
 of Cleveland a month after the election. The 
 city's affairs were at that time administered 
 under the so-called "federal plan," which 
 held the Mayor responsible for all municipal 
 acts and gave him the power to appoint his 
 board of directors. The plan had worked to 
 the general satisfaction of the citizens of 
 Cleveland and had been devised ten years 
 before by some of the best of legal lights. 
 All at once it seemed to have become illegal 
 and impractical. The Supreme Court of 
 
92 TOM L\ JOHNSON 
 
 Ohio was of that opinion and said so. The 
 result was that all city governments in the 
 State were destroyed, all improvements 
 stopped. In Cleveland the hand of the law 
 rested heavily upon the City Council and the 
 administration. Another suit was brought 
 to oust the Council, and an injunction granted 
 to prevent passage of any franchise ordi- 
 nances. Street railway franchises were the 
 particular subject of attack. 
 
 The indignation of all classes of citizens 
 knew no bounds, and Mark Hanna was 
 roundly denounced. Nobody believed, of 
 course, that the obscure citizen who had lent 
 his name to the ouster suit, was acting of his 
 own volition. The people comprehended 
 fully the significance of combining business 
 with politics. It is possible that Senator 
 Hanna understood much better than the peo- 
 ple the danger of having a Tom L. Johnson 
 in his way. He thought to annihilate his en- 
 emy with one great stroke and set courts and 
 Legislature in motion. The move was clever 
 enough, but it miscarried, after all. 
 
THE POLITICIAN 93 
 
 The cities of the State having no longer 
 any legal standing were unable to forward 
 even urgent business. It became necessary 
 to call a special session of the Legislature, 
 which convened on the 25th of August, 1902. 
 
 The so-called Nash code had already been 
 prepared by friends of Senator Hanna 
 and Boss Cox of Cincinnati. It sheared 
 the mayors of their powers and placed the 
 administration of the cities in the hands of 
 boards, their members to be elected by the 
 people. The governor of the State was given 
 power to remove the mayor of any town if 
 that official could be convicted of malfea- 
 sance in office. The deliberations of the 
 Legislature were of short duration. On one 
 of the early days Senator Hanna appeared 
 before that august body and spoke in favor 
 of a perpetual franchise clause. 
 
 Mayor Johnson, at home, fairly "boiled 
 over" with wrath when he heard of this de- 
 mand. He, too, went to Columbus, where he 
 informed the lawmakers that perpetual fran- 
 chises for present monopolies meant indus- 
 
94 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 trial servitude for unborn generations. He 
 also told them that the people could always 
 be trusted to protect their own interests and 
 to do justice to those with whom they deal. 
 He demanded that all franchises to public 
 service corporations be submitted to a vote 
 of the people for ratification. This demand 
 was a plank of his platform. 
 
 The Legislature, of course, paid no heed to 
 his speeches, which made quite an impression 
 at home, and passed the code as originally 
 planned. Yet Senator Hanna was not able 
 to secure enactment of his perpetual fran- 
 chise proposition. That demand was too 
 much even for a legislature. It was an un- 
 reasonable demand in the light of our present- 
 day teachings on municipal subjects. It had 
 been asked in the spirit of the fortune hunter 
 and not in that of a wise statesman. It was 
 one of those propositions which illustrate the 
 forgetfulness of our leading business men of 
 the general welfare of their fellow citizens. 
 It was one of the things that make a Johnson 
 necessary, or a La Follette, or an Altgeld, 
 
THE POLITICIAN 95 
 
 or even a Eoosevelt. Senator Hanna em- 
 bodied the feeling and thinking of his class 
 of men, who conjure up revolutions by their 
 insatiable thirst for power and riches. An 
 Olympian spectator can well understand 
 their dominion of worldly affairs, for they 
 are the men of brains, energy and enterprise. 
 He, too, sees their limitations, their human 
 short-comings, and their blindness to a higher 
 life. The exploitation of the treasures of 
 the earth and of the discoveries of science 
 would still be carried forth on the largest 
 scale possible if it were done for the benefit 
 of all instead of the few. The doctrine of 
 "The survival of the fittest' ' represents a 
 hard truth, but the ethical side of mankind 
 is also a reality and will perhaps prevail at 
 the end. At least let us hope so. Et pur 
 se muove. 
 
 Johnson, shorn of his power as Mayor un- 
 der the decision of the court, busied himself 
 with politics more than ever. He did not 
 fear to criticise the Supreme Court of the 
 State, nor the Legislature, scandalising 
 
'96 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 thereby the law-abiding citizens. While the 
 General Assembly was in session to pass the 
 new municipal code, he entered state poli- 
 tics and succeeded in nominating Bev. Her- 
 bert S. Bigelow of Cincinnati as the demo- 
 cratic candidate for secretary of state. 
 Bigelow was an old friend of his, a splendid 
 speaker and a man of advanced ideas. He 
 attacked Senator Hanna. It was he who 
 coined the phrase, "Mark Hanna preaches 
 the Golden Eule and practises the Eule of 
 Gold." Both Johnson and Bigelow went 
 out into the state, speaking in many coun- 
 ties. They travelled in an automobile be- 
 longing to the Mayor, a powerful machine 
 which became known as the "Bed Devil" 
 and aroused much curiosity. A report of 
 this method of campaigning even reached 
 Europe, where the newspapers published a 
 highly ludicrous legend. Heralds and trum- 
 peters preceded the procession to announce 
 the coming of the prophet. The villagers 
 and farmers gathered everywhere in great 
 numbers to see the "Bed Devil" and its pas- 
 
THE POLITICIAN 97 
 
 sengers. They listened to their speeches, 
 which told them of the iniquity of the tax 
 laws and how the people bore the burdens of 
 the corporations. Then they heard of home 
 rule and how every community should make 
 its own laws; that the citizens should not 
 give away franchises of any kind without re- 
 taining full control over them. They also 
 learned that Senator Hanna was a boss who 
 sought to "run things" to his own personal 
 satisfaction. 
 
 The Eeubens listened with mouths and 
 ears open, then shook their heads in astonish- 
 ment and went back to their ploughs. A few 
 days later Senator Hanna and his friends 
 arrived, speaking from the rear-end plat- 
 form of a special train. The Senator told 
 the same audiences with all his earnestness, 
 that they had listened to a hot-air artist, a 
 humbugger, and a socialist. He told them 
 that a wise man "leaves well enough alone' ' 
 and refrains from speculative politics and 
 new fads. And lo, they applauded him, and 
 believed in him, and when the 4th of Novem- 
 
98 TOM E. JOHNSON 
 
 ber had come and gone Herbert Bigelow and 
 his friend Tom L. Johnson found themselves 
 buried under an avalanche of state ballots. 
 In Cleveland and Cuyahoga County the 
 Mayor, however, had once more beaten Mark 
 Hanna. 
 
 Next in order were preparations for the 
 great home battle to be fought in April, 1903. 
 The Eepublican politicians, filled with the joy 
 of their victory in the fall, had Johnson 
 buried in anticipation before his time. The 
 judgment of the average politician is always 
 poor, because he never sees but one side (his 
 side) of a question. Senator Hanna was less 
 confident and left nothing undone in the for- 
 mation of a strong phalanx against his en- 
 emy. Under the leadership of the Senator 
 the Republican party was stronger than ever 
 and had the means to accomplish great 
 things. The debts of the county committees 
 were promptly paid, the "interests" were 
 liberal and the workers not without means. 
 
 On the other side Mayor Johnson worked 
 his street railway bugaboo for all it was 
 
THE POLITICIAN 99 
 
 worth. "One more victory/ ' lie said, "and 
 the people will ride on the cars for three 
 cents." He told them of his tax fight and 
 how the public service corporations had made 
 secret settlements to avoid the payment of 
 larger sums. He told them what so far had 
 been done under his administration, what was 
 being done, and what would be done in the 
 near future. Of course, the people knew all 
 this and recognised it and went wild over 
 him at his tent meetings. 
 
 These tent meetings were different from 
 the customary political gatherings with their 
 brass bands or negro quartettes. Tom John- 
 son believed more in arguments than in en- 
 tertainments. Besides, he himself was enter- 
 taining enough. His speeches were never 
 long, but bright, easily understood, to the 
 point and in a popular vein. He caused 
 the public to take part in his meetings by 
 inviting them to ask questions which he 
 would answer with much alertness, humor 
 or wit. Here he was at his best. 
 
 Of course, most questions put were of little 
 
100 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 or no value and frequently stupid or fool- 
 ish. Some poor ignoramus, sometimes un- 
 der the influence of liquor, would ask a 
 question not pertinent to the subject matter 
 under debate. 
 
 1 ' Throw him out, ' 9 a voice would be heard 
 from a corner. 
 
 "Let him ask his question,' ' Mr. Johnson 
 would say, and then proceed to answer with 
 a witty remark that caused convulsions of 
 laughter among the easily satisfied. 
 
 "Give it to him, Tom," some enthusiast 
 would cry out amid this general hilarity, and 
 Tom would "give it" to him. 
 
 It must be stated that his answers were 
 usually fair, though he did not entirely re- 
 frain from trickery. He understood in a 
 masterly manner how to handle a large and 
 unruly crowd of men. His remarks often 
 became as sharp and cutting as a whip and 
 were quite authoritative. It was always his 
 desire to speak in the camp of the enemy, 
 but he never found an adversary among the 
 
THE POLITICIAN 101 
 
 other side courageous enough to invite him 
 to the platform. 
 
 Once in a while he would appear in a Re- 
 publican meeting during a campaign to hear 
 what the speakers had to say. His presence 
 created uneasiness among the politicians, 
 who on one or two occasions lost their heads 
 and demanded his retirement. Of course he 
 did not remain where he was not wanted, but 
 told afterward with much pleasure of his 
 little adventure in a chilly atmosphere. 
 
 "Poor politics to allow Tom Johnson to 
 talk at our meetings/' the Republican com- 
 mittee-men would say. Yet he invited their 
 speakers constantly to his tents. The invita- 
 tions were accepted very rarely. He always 
 saw to it that his guests were protected 
 against insult but proceeded to down them in 
 argument to the best of his ability. His joy 
 was great when he could down an adver- 
 sary. 
 
 After Johnson came Newton D. Baker, who 
 was the better speaker of the two. He made 
 
102 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 a speech while Mr. Johnson gave what was 
 really more of a talk in his easy, natural 
 way. Mr. Baker would speak of Mr. John- 
 son as his chief, as a man whom the people 
 ought to follow because he was leading them 
 to great achievements, who had made Cleve- 
 land the City on the Hill and who was the 
 great leader and tribune. But Mr. Baker 
 would also treat the questions of the day 
 with precision and clearness, and was de- 
 servedly much applauded. The hit of the 
 evening was generally made by Peter Witt, 
 who received a noisy welcome from the audi- 
 ence. Peter's specialty was the taxation 
 question, and the people liked to hear him, 
 because he told them who was who when it 
 came to dodging the payment of taxes. He 
 would spare no name. Peter, too, invited 
 questions, but woe to the brute who might 
 step upon his toes. His sarcasm was like 
 acid, his repartee quick and killing like a 
 stroke of lightning. The unfortunate victim 
 found no sympathy among the audience but 
 was hooted and laughed at. 
 
THE POLITICIAN 103 
 
 The good people and the cautious politi- 
 cians shook their heads at the fierce 
 onslaught of Peter Witt. Even Mayor John- 
 son would reprimand him, but one could per- 
 ceive that he was not in earnest in so doing. 
 
 The Johnson meetings were always inter- 
 esting and brought many Republicans to the 
 tents. There is no question that Mayor 
 Johnson put new life into the political cam- 
 paigns. He forced his adversaries finally 
 to adopt his methods. Mark Hanna himself 
 would answer questions, though he never 
 liked the new kind of warfare. Johnson's 
 influence over an audience was remarkable. 
 There was a strong personal magnetism ever 
 going out from him toward the people. In 
 his light and easy manner he would speak 
 to them about municipal matters, state or 
 national questions. He brought them some- 
 thing new, something that was of interest to 
 them, and after a half-dozen campaigns, the 
 citizens of Cleveland were different people, 
 politically speaking. Thanks to him, they 
 were among the first ones in the country to 
 
104 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 see the dangers of great monopolies, of plu- 
 tocracy whose rule has ruined wherever it 
 has held forth. 
 
 He gave a practical demonstration of his 
 preachings by attacking the street railway 
 companies and had also planned to overcome 
 the electric lighting company of Cleveland 
 at the time he was himself overcome. Nev- 
 ertheless, he was never able to persuade a 
 number of the people of his sincerity. He was 
 constantly accused of serving the people not 
 from the heart, but because of political am- 
 bition. Events toward the close of his pub- 
 lic career seemed to confirm this belief. He 
 was not always consistent in holding holy 
 the principles he advocated. His political 
 life demonstrated that opportunity played a 
 great factor in his doings, especially after 
 the first four years of his successes. There 
 was nothing in this to those who had a chance 
 to study the man Johnson. The people at 
 large saw in him their champion as they saw 
 in Mark Hanna the representative of the 
 rich. In April, 1903, they had not forgotten 
 
THE POLITICIAN 105 
 
 what happened to them the year before and 
 when the municipal election was over, Tom 
 Johnson saw himself re-elected with a plural- 
 ity of 5,985, and with him were chosen the men 
 who had worked under him before the 
 Legislature had deprived the mayors of the 
 cities of Ohio of the right of making their 
 own appointments. Thus Mr. Johnson's 
 victory was complete, in spite of the oppo- 
 sition of the mighty Hanna. About those 
 times the friends of Johnson used to say 
 that the Senator could not be elected a con- 
 stable in his home city. 
 
 The Democrats were jubilant and cele- 
 brated their victory with great enthusiasm. 
 Mayor Johnson, with face radiant, smiling 
 and happy, conceived still greater things. 
 He now thought the time had come to expand. 
 The prestige of his great victory secured 
 him the much coveted leadership in state 
 politics, in spite of a strong opposition from 
 many politicians in his own party. They 
 feared him, and he despised them openly. 
 It cannot be said that Tom L. Johnson was 
 
106 TOM L'. JOHNSON 
 
 very diplomatic. On the contrary, lie was 
 outspoken in his likes and dislikes. He 
 would go into a county in any part of the 
 State and fight a member of the Legislature 
 who was up for re-election and who had 
 voted in favor of measures obnoxious to the 
 Mayor of Cleveland. 
 
 It was soon rumored that Mr. Johnson 
 was striving for the gubernatorial nomina- 
 tion. His friend, Charles P. Salen, who was 
 in a way a better politician and organiser 
 than the Mayor, was during the spring and 
 summer of 1903 frequently out of town. He 
 undertook diplomatic missions among the 
 Democratic state leaders, who hated John- 
 son. The astute Mr. Salen won them over, 
 for he, too, had a winning smile for men of 
 his kind. By and by the rumors became 
 more persistent. The true friends of John- 
 son took alarm at them and hastened to ques- 
 tion him. 
 
 "To be Mayor of Cleveland is good enough 
 for me," he answered. "I have no desire to 
 be Governor of Ohio." 
 
THE POLITICIAN 107 
 
 Such were his words to the best of his 
 friends a few days before the meeting of the 
 Democratic state convention of that year. 
 Notwithstanding his denials, they warned 
 him against an undertaking that looked like 
 nothing more than a "gamble" lost in ad- 
 vance. Senator Hanna was seeking re- 
 election from the next Legislature and would, 
 no doubt, make the supreme effort of his life 
 to beat his arch-enemy. Johnson had never 
 shown any strength outside his own county 
 and city, yet, here he was, ready to contest 
 a state election under such circumstances. 
 It was not an easy matter for him even to 
 secure the nomination from his own party. 
 Without Salen he could not have done it. He 
 knew all this, must have known it, for he was 
 an able student of political currents. But, 
 as said before, there was something of the 
 gambler and plunger in his nature. He 
 would take a risk as long as it did not cost 
 his head. He would still be Mayor if de- 
 feated as a candidate for Governor. After 
 all, who knows? There was his luck, which 
 
108 TOM E. JOHNSON 
 
 might carry him into the state capitol. 
 Such things had happened hefore. 
 
 For his own justification, and as a reason 
 for his candidacy he made up a programme. 
 He declared that there could not be good 
 municipal administration so long as it was 
 controlled by the State and corrupted by 
 corporations. Also did he find it necessary 
 to become Governor in order to carry out this 
 programme. He received the nomination 
 from his party, and forthwith began a most 
 vigorous campaign. The people of Ohio 
 now had their turn in surprises. His great 
 circus tent was erected in many counties 
 where Johnson was not personally known. 
 Good speakers travelled with the candidate, 
 not excepting Peter Witt, who made many a 
 flying trip through the State. John H. 
 Clarke, a very intelligent and highly re- 
 spected citizen, and chief counsel of the 
 Nickel Plate Eailway, was Johnson's candi- 
 date for United States senator and therefore 
 running directly against Mark Hanna. Mr. 
 Clarke, who was a fine and forcible speaker, 
 
THE POLITICIAN 109 
 
 won many admirers. Though a corporation 
 lawyer, he was a man of independent views 
 and thoroughly democratic, though not al- 
 ways in the Johnson sense. He differed on 
 some big questions with the candidate for 
 Governor and said so at their meetings. But 
 Johnson was broad-minded and rather liked 
 opposition as long as it was not directed 
 against his own plans. 
 
 The Democratic State ticket of that mem- 
 orable year contained the names of fearless 
 and progressive men. The legislative ticket 
 of Cuyahoga County represented well the 
 Johnsonites. On the other side of the battle 
 field stood Senator Hanna with a guard, old 
 and tried in Ohio politics, and well equipped 
 for the great strife. The onslaught of the 
 Democrats was fierce. Their main fire was 
 directed against the Senator and Boss Cox 
 of Cincinnati. The former was accused of 
 favoring government by injunction, of per- 
 petual franchises for public service corpora- 
 tions, of unjust taxation, and of threatening 
 to take away the jobs of workingmen who did 
 
110 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 not vote for him. Johnson, the Democratic 
 speakers declared, was leading the fight for 
 the people and their rights. A great stir 
 was made but the Johnson candidacy created 
 no enthusiasm among the people. The 
 Mayor in his impetuosity had tried to create 
 a psychological moment and missed his 
 guess. Two years later would have been the 
 right time for Tom L. Johnson. 
 
 Senator Hanna went into the campaign 
 with much confidence but yet with some trepi- 
 dation. He knew his adversary to be a man 
 of many resources and of great energy. 
 Wherever the Mayor's "Bed Devil" went, 
 the Senator followed to undo the damage 
 wrought by the enemy. He depicted John- 
 son, just as on former occasions, as a charla- 
 tan, an anarchist, and a bad man on general 
 principles, bent on creating unrest and dis- 
 satisfaction, a demagogue who wanted to 
 empty the dinner pail of the workmen, filled 
 by the Eepublican party. He evoked the 
 ghost of McKinley in a tremulous voice and 
 thereby greatly impressed his audiences. 
 
THE POLITICIAN 111 
 
 The result of the campaign was a most in- 
 glorious defeat. Never before had a Demo- 
 cratic candidate for governor been beaten 
 with such a majority of votes against him. 
 Johnson came home, and two days after the 
 election his laugh was as gay as ever. He 
 was still Mayor of Cleveland. Yet it was the 
 last time that he played a role in state poli- 
 tics. The Democratic leaders and corrup- 
 tionists dropped him as if he were a hot iron 
 that had been forced into their hands. They 
 had certainly voted against him. Well-in- 
 formed politicians were emphatic in their 
 declaration that Johnson had been given the 
 nomination in order to exterminate him from 
 state politics. The scheme, if such existed, 
 had worked well. But as before, Cuyahoga 
 County stood by Mr. Johnson, gave him a 
 majority and elected his delegation to the 
 legislature. It was of no avail. The Ee- 
 publican majority ignored the little group 
 from Cleveland, and would not listen to the 
 best of propositions. Senator Hanna caused 
 the spring elections to be abolished in the 
 
112 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 hope that he might beat Johnson in a fall 
 election, when the people would vote on a 
 state ticket. 
 
 Destiny spared him a bitter deception. 
 Mark Hanna had greatly exerted himself 
 during the campaign. He was a vigorous 
 man, but much older than Johnson and hardly 
 in condition to follow the latter in his travels 
 over the State. In December he showed 
 signs of a collapse and his physicians urged 
 him to recuperate in the South. He refused, 
 as the legislature was to be arrayed in line 
 for his re-election to the United States sen- 
 ate. Thus he continued working and at the 
 beginning of 1904 he was re-elected. Con- 
 gress being in session, Senator Hanna re- 
 turned to Washington to take up his duties 
 there, having hardly taken any rest. At the 
 capitol his work was arduous. He was still 
 a leading spirit though the advent of Eoose- 
 velt had relegated him to his seat in the 
 senate chamber in place of his former sphere 
 of activity in the President's private rooms. 
 "The Interests" urged him to run for the 
 
THE POLITICIAN 113 
 
 presidency and many politicians there were 
 who prophesied his nomination and election. 
 Suddenly the news came from Washington 
 that Mark Hanna had fallen sick with typhoid 
 fever. Grave fears were entertained from 
 the first, for his weakened condition was 
 known. He died in March, begging of his 
 physicians, who tortured him with efforts to- 
 ward resurrection, to permit him to depart 
 in peace. The old Eoman sentiment, Be 
 mortuis nil nisi bonum, being out of date 
 in our days, Senator Hanna 's death was re- 
 joiced over by his diabolical enemies, who 
 forgot that they too were mortal and of 
 much less consequence. Whatever might be 
 said against Mark Hanna as a politician, he 
 was a man of strength, a Bismarck, in a cer- 
 tain sense, who with a strong hand and sure 
 of his purpose, went straight toward his goal. 
 It could be argued that a Bismarck had no 
 place in a republic, but the iron chancellor 
 of the German Empire was not less hated 
 and admired than Mark Hanna. The sen- 
 ator had no patience with the new movements 
 
114 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 of our times; he was old-fashioned in his 
 political views, a practical man of affairs, 
 using the means at hand to gain his point, 
 which was adverse to socialistic preachings 
 of any kind. 
 
 Tom L. Johnson regretted the untimely de- 
 mise of his enemy, the only one he found 
 truly worthy of his steel. He had beaten 
 him a half dozen times at home, and was de- 
 feated by him a few times in the state. Thus 
 honors were about evenly divided. The 
 death of Hanna, however, caused a disinte- 
 gration of the Eepublican party in Cuyahoga 
 County. It split into factions after Charles 
 Dick, Hanna 's hireling, was selected to be 
 the successor of the dead giant. A pigmy 
 was put in his place, and, of course, had no 
 influence or power over restless and ambi- 
 tious politicians. 
 
 Mayor Johnson had smooth sailing from 
 that time on, as far as politics were con- 
 cerned. In the fall of 1905 he was re-elected 
 Mayor by a plurality of 12,169, carrying with 
 him the entire city ticket, a few councilmen 
 
THE POLITICIAN 115 
 
 excepted. As a Democratic governor was 
 elected at the same time, Mr. Johnson was 
 hopeful of becoming once more influential 
 in state politics. But the governor died be- 
 fore he could accomplish much and was suc- 
 ceeded by a Eepublican lieutenant gov- 
 ernor. Johnson inaugurated an organization 
 of the mayors of the State to establish home 
 rule measures. A bill was drawn up, and 
 things looked bright for a time. However, 
 his hopes were not realized. The organiza- 
 tion did not last, and the bill fell to pieces. 
 But it was through his original efforts that 
 another bill was passed in time by the legis- 
 lature, the bill that made a rate of two cents 
 per mile a reality on the railroads within the 
 State of Ohio. It was also through his ini- 
 tiative that a law reforming the taxation sys- 
 tem was enacted and another law prescribing 
 the referendum in connection with street rail- 
 way franchises. Considering that all his 
 recommendations were opposed by a hostile 
 legislature on political principles and per- 
 sonal spite his achievements are the more 
 
116 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 remarkable. His enemies at home and 
 throughout the State were so strongly bi- 
 assed against him that they would not think 
 of considering his propositions on their mer- 
 its. 
 
 Mr. Johnson, however, saw clearly the 
 trend of the times, and was convinced that 
 nothing could prevent the ultimate success of 
 his ideas. He was not deceived. By and 
 by they would appear in the camp of the 
 enemy, find supporters, and be finally en- 
 acted into laws. Of course, nobody in con- 
 nection with his bills thought of the name 
 Johnson, but they were his ideas just the 
 same. In Cleveland his public activities had 
 created a new standard for municipal affairs ; 
 in Ohio they spread the seed of an awakened 
 political conscience. We already perceive 
 the sprouts raising their little heads here and 
 there, and nobody needs to give up hope for 
 a better future. All over the country good 
 men are at work to save the Republic from 
 destruction ; men who are not destroyers but 
 up-builders, not demagogs but level-headed 
 
THE POLITICIAN 117 
 
 citizens; men who have the welfare of the 
 human race at heart, who want to see happi- 
 ness instead of desolation, and who clearly 
 feel that we have wandered too far away 
 from the principles of our great Constitu- 
 tion. "Back to the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence, ' ' must be our slogan, if we are to 
 be saved. 
 
 The law which abolished spring elections 
 carried also a proviso that municipal elec- 
 tions alternate with the county and state 
 elections. Many politicians deplored the 
 suppressing of the spring elections, but the 
 people were glad to get a breathing spell. 
 Mayor Johnson, who now spent nearly all of 
 his time in carrying on his war against the 
 street railway company, sought another re- 
 election in the fall of 1907, and won with a 
 greatly reduced plurality. It was his last 
 victory at the polls. 
 
 A year before the county had gone Bepub- 
 lican, and a year after, in 1908, history re- 
 peated itself. In 1909 Johnson himself was 
 defeated after being beaten in several street 
 
118 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 railway battles during the year. The busi- 
 ness world had become tired of the continuous 
 strife, and aroused itself to a great effort, 
 which succeeded. In reality it was not the 
 Mayor who was discharged by the public, 
 but Tom L. Johnson, the street railway man. 
 
 The storm clouds could have been seen 
 gathering for a year before a feeling spread 
 that Mr. Johnson had lost himself in a cul-de 
 sac, and that there was no more help for him. 
 He did not even try to turn back when he was 
 loudly accused of neglecting the general af- 
 fairs of the city. He knew that many parts 
 of the municipal machine were running by; 
 themselves under the care of his directors, 
 and that he gave them all the personal atten- 
 tion necessary. His great working capacity 
 was still with him. But outside appearances 
 were against him, and he was too self-reliant 
 to heed them. 
 
 His friend Salen had had several quarrels 
 with him and was accused of trying to over- 
 throw the Johnson regime. On several oc- 
 casions Salen essayed the capture of the city 
 
THE POLITICIAN 119 
 
 council, but with poor success. He allied 
 himself on different occasions with the anti- 
 Johnson forces in the State and threatened 
 to run for Mayor against his old master. 
 Tom L. Johnson, who was usually quite out- 
 spoken in his likes and dislikes, never said 
 an unkind word against Salen. He openly 
 acknowledged the right of the latter to be- 
 come a candidate, most likely because he knew 
 from his thorough understanding of the man 
 that Salen would side-track at the last min- 
 ute, and also because he did enjoy that right. 
 As an acute politician Mr. Salen never an- 
 nounced his candidacy but permitted others 
 to spread the rumor, which he would not 
 directly contradict. Occasionally, Johnson 
 and Salen would become reconciled, when a 
 campaign was coming on and help each other. 
 It was somewhat of a comedy the two were 
 playing. Salen liked to display a certain in- 
 dependence as becoming a political boss and 
 Johnson had no objection. The thing was 
 harmless, but Mr. Salen had bitter enemies 
 among the friends of Johnson, the foremost 
 
120 TOM E. JOHNSON 
 
 of whom was the irascible Peter Witt. These 
 men berated Salen as a traitor, and accused 
 him freely of having contributed to the down- 
 fall of Johnson. 
 
 Both the Mayor and Mr. Salen were in 
 need of each other during the election times 
 and did not deceive themselves on this point. 
 It is not unlikely that Salen at one time 
 counted on Johnson's support for the mayor- 
 alty nomination, and was therefore willing to 
 see him elevated to the governor's chair. He 
 was undoubtedly dismayed at the Mayor's 
 great failure as a candidate for governor 
 and went his own way to a certain extent. It 
 was generally known that Salen 's one ambi- 
 tion was to become Mayor of Cleveland. 
 
 As a statesman Mayor Johnson entertained 
 high ideals and advocated the cause of the 
 common people. As a politician in working 
 clothes he played the game of politics in the 
 ordinary fashion. He valued his men in ac- 
 cordance with their utility and their devotion 
 to him. He would mercilessly crush actual 
 opposition in his camp and would befriend 
 
THE POLITICIAN 121 
 
 men whose reputations were unsavory. He 
 would even employ them in minor positions. 
 On the other hand, only the best were good 
 enough for places of importance. His tend- 
 encies were of a liberal nature, and he would 
 not judge too severely the morals of men as 
 long as they were honest and steady in the 
 fulfilment of their duties. 
 
 Diplomacy was not a part of his character, 
 but he was cunning, resourceful and quick in 
 action. He would become exceedingly ag- 
 gressive and would not, in such moments, 
 listen to the best of his friends. It was one 
 of his shortcomings not to seek advice from 
 old and tried friends, who had opinions of 
 their own. He preferred to work out his po- 
 litical schemes without assistance from those 
 sources. Impatient by nature, he would, once 
 in a while, make a grievous political faux-pas 
 which could not be retracted. As an example 
 of this kind may be mentioned his extremely 
 violent and personal attack on Governor 
 Harmon in the Democratic state convention 
 of 1908. The great majority of delegates 
 
122 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 were against him but, undaunted by this fact, 
 he undertook to denounce the candidate of 
 the convention in one breath as a reactionary 
 and as an agent of the brewery interests. 
 Harmon was nominated and elected and Mr. 
 Johnson found himself afterwards in a posi- 
 tion where he was obliged to ask favors of 
 the governor. 
 
 No, Johnson was not a Marcus Antonius. 
 His friends ever claimed that he was not in 
 politics for personal ambition, but for the 
 cause of the people. Yet neither his actions 
 nor his character warranted such an assump- 
 tion. It is more likely that he espoused the 
 cause of the people because it would serve 
 him as a ladder to climb into high office. Be- 
 ing of a domineering spirit he naturally 
 could not ally himself with men of his own 
 class, but was rather prompted to rise in arms 
 against them. Ambitious, he wanted to 
 lead; curious, he espoused new things; with- 
 out imagination, he entered politics. His 
 declaration of love for the people had a false 
 ring ; yet, he would serve them, and fight for 
 
THE POLITICIAN 123 
 
 them with all his strength and power. Nei- 
 ther was it ambition alone that prompted him 
 to enter the public arena. The vastness of 
 the arena had its allurement. Here he could 
 display his overflowing strength, his natural 
 inclination for combat. Here he would be 
 seen and heard; here he could do great 
 things, useful to his fellowmen. The im- 
 mensity of the practical tasks he planned for 
 himself drove him into the camp of the peo- 
 ple, made him believe that he took a real 
 interest in them. It was an unconscious self- 
 deception. Whenever he lost sight of his 
 ideals there was nothing of a Jones of To- 
 ledo in him. But those ideals do him great 
 credit, and directed even his indiscretions 
 towards the betterment of the general condi- 
 tions of mankind. 
 
 Those who could only judge him from a 
 distance and through the newspapers were 
 easily led to believe in the cry that he was 
 insincere. He was honest in his great strug- 
 gle for the people's rights and welfare, but 
 his motive was not an inherent love for his 
 
124 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 fellow-beings. It was a love for the mastery 
 of great things, combined with an ambition 
 to shine and to be a leader of men. That he 
 did not succeed was due entirely to his own 
 failings, for he had the intellect, the force of 
 character, the energy, the power of en- 
 durance and the tenacity to overcome every 
 obstacle that men could put in his way. 
 Later on, his achievement as a politician will 
 be seen more clearly and also more appreci- 
 ated. He has done more than one man's 
 work in his day and due credit should be 
 given him. 
 
vin 
 
 THE MAN 
 
 TN personal appearance Tom E. Johnson 
 -■- was a stout, portly gentleman of medium 
 height. His features were of a fine cut 
 and in his youth he must have been a pretty 
 boy. There was something of the expres- 
 sion of a bird in his countenance, let us say 
 that of a magpie. The eye was bright, 
 lively and intelligent, and always on the qui 
 vive. His motions, too, were quick and alert, 
 like that of a bird. The nose, and the mouth 
 with its thin lips were well shaped. The chin 
 was strong, but nicely rounded. His was a 
 fair complexion in his days of health. His 
 personality was as strong as his back was 
 broad, and needed room, even to the crowd- 
 ing of others. 
 
 He was jovial and genial, with a smiling 
 countenance, but could look terribly stern 
 
 125 
 
126 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 and imperious. His manners were perhaps 
 a little brusque, but to come in personal con- 
 tact with him meant to like him. One could 
 not get away from his magnetism, from his 
 merry laughter, his pleasant familiarity. He 
 made friends wherever he went, enemies 
 only of those whose interests he crossed. 
 They were not few, however. A man of his 
 character is bound to be greatly hated and 
 greatly loved. His simple and democratic 
 demeanor won him the friendship of the 
 people, the silent contempt of the vulgar 
 rich. Nobody could be more pleasant and 
 more overt than Johnson. His excellent 
 health, his optimism, his natural care- 
 lessness of forms, made him an ideal 
 companion in an idle hour. He was a good 
 story-teller, with an infectious laugh. He 
 was on occasion full of mirth and merriment, 
 and liked to see young faces about him. 
 
 The companionship of men seemed to be 
 more attractive to him than that of ladies, 
 although he was not adverse to their pres- 
 ence and was quite free and easy in their so- 
 
THE MAN 127 
 
 ciety. Like most of our business men he had 
 but a poor taste for art and literature 
 and no real desire for the theatre. His taste 
 was for work in his youth and early man- 
 hood, and for politics in his later days. Nei- 
 ther did travel appeal to him, though he 
 crossed the Atlantic several times. The 
 beauty of nature never aroused his enthusi- 
 asm, and a sea of human beings had more 
 attraction for him than an ocean of water. 
 
 On the other hand, he was fond of mathe- 
 matics and of solving problems that dealt 
 with actualities. His mind turned to inven- 
 tions, and in the basement of his mansion he 
 spent many an hour in the construction of a 
 suspended railroad that was to attain a 
 speed of two hundred miles or more an hour. 
 The invention was never finished. At one 
 time he bought a few acres of land and spent 
 a large sum of money establishing a trout 
 pond. In about three years he sold farm 
 and fish, having become tired of it all, yet 
 the farm, with its gully and pond, was a most 
 picturesque piece of property. But he had 
 
128 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 only thought of the fish and the fresh vegeta- 
 bles of the farm and not of its beauty. 
 
 Mr. Johnson was a spare drinker, but a 
 good eater. He liked a full table, but could 
 content himself with the simplest of food. 
 On an election night he would indulge in a 
 bottle of beer and half a dozen bags of salted 
 popcorn, over which simple repast he was 
 quite happy. He was fond of entertaining 
 a few friends at a time at his spacious man- 
 sion, but rarely were the doors opened for 
 great social functions. In fact, society was 
 against him, as he was against it. His po- 
 litical activities had estranged him from the 
 four hundred, who could not pardon a man 
 of his means for associating with the plebis- 
 cite. Although a member in good standing 
 of the aristocratic Union Club, he made fun 
 of it, criticised it, and " roasted' ' it. He al- 
 luded to one of the highly-esteemed members 
 of the Chamber of Commerce as "Mr. Pink 
 Whiskers.' ' His friend Peter Witt spoke of 
 the "Onion" club and Mr. Johnson did not 
 call him to order. Of course, respectable 
 
THE MAN 129 
 
 citizens could forgive Peter but to Mr. John- 
 son forgiveness was never offered. Thus 
 Johnson was obliged to content himself with 
 the society of his political associates, with 
 whom he seemed as happy and lively as ever. 
 
 In the large reception room of his house 
 he would frequently gather about him the 
 young men of his inner administration circle 
 to talk with them about civic problems over 
 a cigar. There was no drinking nor were 
 refreshments served. Mr. Johnson would 
 recline on a comfortable leather lounge and 
 around him sat in easy chairs or ottomans 
 his associates. The humblest of them would 
 feel quite at home. Here also were welcome 
 visitors from other places. William Jen- 
 nings Bryan, Henry George, Jr., and others 
 found at Mr. Johnson's home a hospitable 
 roof. 
 
 Mr. Johnson entertained a high opinion of 
 Mr. Bryan, though he did not agree with him 
 in all things. He took him for a bright, 
 versatile and able man, and fought his last 
 battles in Ohio. Bryan himself was more of 
 
130 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 a diplomat than a friend toward Mr. John- 
 son, to whom he caused some bitter disap- 
 pointments. In this respect the Mayor was 
 dealt with as he had been in the habit of 
 dealing with others in political matters. He 
 buried his resentment but did not forget it; 
 in fact, he never forgot a humiliation and 
 was the very man to retaliate at the oppor- 
 tune moment. 
 
 Mr. Johnson's fortune was a large one, 
 insuring him an income sufficient to enable 
 him to live in opulence, and to keep up an 
 expensive establishment. While satisfying 
 his every wish, he was not regarded as a 
 liberal man with money. Of course, he pro- 
 vided for his family according to his means 
 and aided "on the quiet" some poor rela- 
 tions. He was very much attached to his 
 brother Albert, with whom he had been asso- 
 ciated in business, and whose untimely death 
 caused him real sorrow. He was an indul- 
 gent father and a good husband. His daugh- 
 ter, Elizabeth, generally known as Bessie, 
 was the pride of his life, and when she con- 
 
THE MAN 131 
 
 tracted an imprudent marriage, he stood by 
 her in the hour of need. She had many traits 
 of character in common with her father, was 
 bright and lively, full of activity and ambi- 
 tion. She was on the stage for a time and 
 wrote novels and dramas, which showed some 
 literary talent. She was an attractive and 
 prepossessing young lady. Unfortunately, 
 she became the victim of a well-educated and 
 smooth Italian fortune-hunter. It required 
 but a few weeks for her to learn her error. 
 
 " Bessie, right or wrong," said her father; 
 "I am with her." His home and his arms 
 were wide open for his child, who returned 
 to the family home before the honeymoon 
 was over. A few months afterward a di- 
 vorce freed her from an undesirable husband. 
 
 This quick and decisive action was much 
 applauded by the friends of the Johnson fam- 
 ily and was quite in accordance with the ways 
 of Mayor Johnson. He was not a man to 
 be trifled with and could hardly be said to be 
 considerate toward people who were indiffer- 
 ent to him. Yet, as a father he was almost 
 
132 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 more than indulgent. His son Loftin, who 
 was considered an intelligent young man, be- 
 longed to the jeunesse doree, without being 
 restricted by paternal authority, a rather 
 uncommon fact, considering the great de- 
 mands made by Mr. Johnson upon the work- 
 ing capacities of the people under his 
 authority. Mrs. Johnson, a good and digni- 
 fied lady, was much attached to her husband, 
 whom she used frequently to accompany to 
 his political meetings, ever watching and 
 worrying over his welfare. In his days of 
 triumph she sought to soften his impetuosity. 
 In the times of sickness and trials she was 
 at his side with a soothing and nursing hand. 
 Yet such was the vitality and energy of 
 Tom L. Johnson, that he disregarded during 
 his fatal sickness the advice of his phy- 
 sicians and the pleadings of his family and 
 went to England to attend a meeting of 
 "single taxers" to whom he made a speech. 
 After his return to Cleveland he appeared 
 at a number of political gatherings, though 
 appearing weak and exhausted. He simply 
 
THE MAN 133 
 
 refused to be a sick man and fled from doctor 
 and all across the ocean into a foreign land, 
 where those he met knew nothing of his dis- 
 ease and could not sympathize with him. 
 He had ever been an impatient man, impa- 
 tient with himself as well as with others. 
 However, he was not unkind and was ready 
 to make amends for any hasty action. It 
 was rather his firmness of character than an 
 unfeeling heart that made him appear un- 
 commonly stern at times. 
 
 His tenacity of purpose was more than 
 wonderful. It was impossible for him to 
 yield in matters of importance upon which 
 his heart had been set. He was a born 
 fighter, indefatigable, courageous, always at 
 the front. His power of concentration was 
 marvellous and enabled him to accomplish 
 more than an ordinary man. This form of 
 concentration made it possible for him to dis- 
 miss every care and worry and to enjoy life 
 in the midst of strife and battle. He was a 
 splendid sleeper, insisting upon a sufficient 
 number of hours of rest. "Bright as a dol- 
 
134 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 lar" after awaking, he seemed to smile upon 
 the whole world with the pleasure of content- 
 ment. But he was not a man of solitude; he 
 needed people around him, and an occupa- 
 tion for his mind. Late in years he engaged 
 a French tutor with whom he studied the 
 French language while seated at the break- 
 fast table with his family. He learned 
 enough to read Dumas the elder with pleas- 
 ure and to speak a little of the language. At 
 the least he could make himself understood 
 in French in a case of necessity. His daugh- 
 ter learned to speak French fluently, an ac- 
 complishment which enabled her at one time 
 to take part in a drama played by the Club 
 Francais of Cleveland. Mr. Johnson was a 
 proud father that night. 
 
 He was much liked by the people in his em- 
 ploy, though exacting in his demands. With 
 a number of servants in his house he was 
 most popular. He was naturally their mas- 
 ter, and did not find it necessary to exert any 
 authority. He would laugh with them like 
 a comrade and help them along in time of 
 
THE MAN 135 
 
 trouble. His French tutor received through 
 him a city position which could almost be 
 called a sinecure. The wretch showed his 
 gratitude by becoming a defaulter and dis- 
 appearing. His name was Louis Devineaux. 
 
 There was animation and life wherever 
 Mr. Johnson appeared. Like Joe Emmett, 
 he seemed always accompanied by a ray of 
 sunshine. Yet his personal magnetism was 
 not of the kind to draw out the best in man. 
 He did not invite confidence, as he could not 
 take a real interest in his fellow beings. His 
 intimate friends were few, his admirers 
 many, the sycophants around him noticeable. 
 
 Easy-going in some respects, he would tol- 
 erate in his political kitchen a few men of 
 shady reputation and unsavory renown. 
 Of course, he had nothing to fear from them 
 and was not averse to make use of them 
 should occasion demand it. One remarkable 
 circumstance was the wide knowledge Mr. 
 Johnson possessed about the leading citizens 
 of Cleveland. He knew of their foibles but 
 never referred to them even in times of po- 
 
136 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 litical warfare. He took no undue advan- 
 tage in such cases. 
 
 He was not insensible to flattery. This 
 man of the people had his vanities like all of 
 us. Yet it was astonishing that his sharp 
 and discerning intellect should often fail him 
 in the judgment of men. It would not be 
 fair to claim that he, though seeing, would 
 not see, but it is true that he allowed himself 
 to be cajoled into the belief of infallibility 
 and that this state of mind grew worse with 
 every succeeding victory. Peter Witt alone 
 had the courage to admonish him, but he was 
 treated more or less as a court jester, and 
 preached to deaf ears. Men who have no 
 time to take a look at themselves are apt to 
 forget their weaknesses and faults. 
 
 Mr. Johnson, like many business men, con- 
 tributed to a church and caused his name to 
 be registered by one. It is doubtful whether 
 he could be called a Christian, though he 
 never said anything to give offence even to 
 a pious minister of the gospel. He could not 
 bring himself to believe in the germ theory 
 
THE MAN 137 
 
 in spite of all that learned physicians might 
 say to him on the subject. But he was full 
 of sympathy with the good work done by his 
 friend, Eev. Harris R. Cooley. He believed 
 in the uplifting of mankind and in relieving 
 the suffering of the poor. A man of large 
 means, he conducted the city institutions on 
 a larger scale than they ever had been be- 
 fore. It was not his intention to be saving 
 in the administration of the Outdoor Relief 
 Department, and he said so openly. 
 
 Taken all in all, Tom L. Johnson was an 
 "uncommon" man, highly gifted in intellect, 
 happy through a sunny disposition, endowed 
 with great strength of character and a won- 
 derful capacity for work. He was possessed 
 of indisputable personal magnetism and an 
 honest desire to be useful to mankind. His 
 mind was of a practical turn, not very en- 
 thusiastic, but persevering to the end. 
 Though quick-tempered, he was not abusive, 
 but neither was he forgiving when insulted. 
 One might have spoken of him as being even 
 vindictive. He had to suffer many a fierce 
 
138 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 attack, but beat them off with never-failing 
 courage. 
 
 He lacked the finer qualities of the well- 
 educated man, the higher morals of the phi- 
 losopher, and the inherent reverence for ab- 
 solute truth. He was essentially the product 
 of American life with its struggles, its dis- 
 regard for conventionalities, its love for 
 achievement and its recklessness in gaining 
 an end. But after all he had been favored 
 by nature like a prodigious child. He made 
 many enemies in his life, but still more 
 friends. He must be judged by this stand- 
 ard by those who could not understand him. 
 
IX 
 
 A GREAT STRUGGLE 
 
 WHEN, in the spring of 1901, Tom L. 
 Johnson became Mayor of Cleveland, 
 he had promised the people a fare of three 
 cents on the street car lines. When he was 
 retired from office in the fall of 1909, undone, 
 and a sick man, the people had their three- 
 cent fare or something near to it. Between 
 the two dates lies a period of almost super- 
 human struggle, of much rejoicing, much 
 heartache, of broken hopes and silent despair. 
 
 This fight of one man against a powerful 
 corporation, and its not less powerful sym- 
 pathizers, appears pathetic in the extreme 
 as one looks back upon it. It brought out 
 the full strength of Johnson and then swal- 
 lowed him up like a maelstrom, as he had 
 gone one step too far. 
 
 Mr. Johnson, who had been a street rail- 
 
 139 
 
140 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 road man all his life, was better equipped 
 than any other to take up the cudgel of the 
 people. He knew that a low car fare meant 
 much to the poor, and that the average rich 
 man was too indifferent or too heartless to 
 comprehend this. He knew that the street 
 railway companies existed, not for the sake 
 of the people, but were in the business for 
 revenue only. He knew that high fare never 
 meant improvement of the service, but 
 greater profits and an extension of the sys- 
 tem to make still more money. He knew that 
 the cars would be overcrowded at certain 
 times whether the fare was three, five or ten 
 cents. 
 
 Being a good mathematician he saw in 
 cheaper fare an increase in business and 
 hence a growth of gain. Being a good poli- 
 tician he made car fare his main campaign 
 issue. It was easier for him to convince 
 the common people than the conservative 
 business men, who are not always far- 
 sighted. 
 
 The railway companies, of course, could 
 
A GREAT STRUGGLE 14r ■ 
 
 not see the thing at all, or if they really did 
 see it, had also a vision of their watered 
 stock. Any curtailing of their income meant 
 less money and, therefore, the Johnson 
 proposition must be fought tooth and nail. 
 The shepherd dog and the wolves were soon 
 at each other. 
 
 Mr. Johnson wanted in the first place a 
 municipal street railway for Cleveland, but 
 the laws of Ohio made this impossible. He 
 thought of a holding company, such as he 
 had already proposed in Detroit, though 
 without success. In the meantime, however, 
 he had to figure upon the street railway situ- 
 ation in Cleveland as he found it in the 
 spring of 1901. The City Council had, since 
 1898, tried to secure a reduction of street 
 railway fares whenever a franchise was 
 about to expire, but had always met with 
 stubborn opposition from the companies. 
 When they were willing to concede a small 
 reduction in the fare, they imposed other 
 conditions to make up for the loss. They 
 fought reduction in the courts and rested 
 
142 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 their case upon the ordinance of 1885, which, 
 by way of a " sleeper' ' clause, had taken the 
 right to regulate fares from the council. 
 
 It was an open secret in those days that 
 George and John, above mentioned, were 
 manipulating the council as they pleased. 
 They knew neither Eepublicans nor Demo- 
 crats, but helped their friends along and 
 smote their foes. Yet the council as a whole 
 had stood bravely by its convictions. It 
 had, no doubt, gotten a whiff: of the new times 
 that were coming in municipal matters. 
 The street railway interests wanted new 
 franchises at their own terms for the next 
 twenty-five years. The people sided with 
 their council, and not even the power and in- 
 fluence of Mark Hanna could change the 
 course of events. 
 
 The advent of Tom L. Johnson with his 
 three-cent fare proposition gave a new im- 
 petus to the street railway war. This time 
 the companies had to deal with a man who 
 was an expert in the business and a man 
 whom they could not deter from his purpose. 
 
A GEEAT STRUGGLE 143 
 
 Besides, there existed an old animosity be- 
 tween Johnson and the officials of the one 
 company which controlled the majority of 
 East Side lines and was known as the "Big 
 Consolidated' ' company, and a political and 
 business enmity between him and Senator 
 Hanna, then president of the other company, 
 which controlled all the West Side lines and 
 was known as the "Little Consolidated" 
 company. The first battles of the war were 
 three cornered, bnt later on the two com- 
 panies consolidated, Mark Hanna retiring. 
 The president of the new company was Mr. 
 Horace Andrews, generally recognized as an 
 honorable gentleman. He was adverse to 
 any underhand work, but not less firm than 
 Mr. Johnson himself. A man of good ap- 
 pearance and splendid physique, he with- 
 stood the strain of the long fight finally better 
 than the Mayor of Cleveland. 
 
 Openly declaring that it was his duty to 
 protect the interests of his road, Mr. An- 
 drews was as stubborn as a mule in defend- 
 ing them. 
 
144 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 "I have been trained to make money," he 
 once said, "and I learned the business." 
 
 These characteristics explain in a measure 
 the bitterness of the fight. On the other 
 hand, the company popularly known as the 
 "Concon" was combating for its very ex- 
 istence. It declared a fare of three cents as 
 utterly ruinous, while Mayor Johnson main- 
 tained the opposite view. 
 
 The first great gun in the home war was 
 fired on December 9, 1901, when councilman 
 Frederic C. Howe, a Eepublican, but a friend 
 of the Mayor, introduced an ordinance for 
 the establishment of a new street railway 
 system. Competition was the wedge to be 
 tried. Another friend of Mr. Johnson two 
 months afterwards made a bid which was ac- 
 cepted. The bidder, John B. Hoefgen, re- 
 ceived a franchise and prepared to build the 
 new lines. The "Concon" went into court 
 and secured a permanent injunction in June, 
 1902, against construction of the Hoefgen 
 lines. The Mayor and his council answered 
 by introducing a set of new ordinances, care- 
 
A GREAT STRUGGLE 145 
 
 fully worded to avoid conflict with the State 
 laws. Mark Hanna called the Supreme Court 
 to his aid, and the Board of Control was 
 ousted. Being no longer in existence it 
 could not grant permission for the use of tjie 
 streets to a new company. The council, 
 however, passed the ordinances in spite of 
 the difficulties confronting it. A month later 
 the Supreme Court interfered once more and 
 forbade the council either to grant or to con- 
 sider any franchises. It went even further 
 and declared the charter of the city as null 
 and void. The charters of the other cities 
 in the State went down with that of Cleve- 
 land, all on account of a street railway com- 
 pany. 
 
 The fallacy of our legislative and legal 
 systems could certainly be shown no clearer, 
 nor that of the power of a private corpora- 
 tion. This demonstrated a state of affairs 
 which was enough to make a dog howl. 
 Even the citizens of Cleveland did howl at 
 that time. The Legislature, of course, had to 
 grant a new charter, and Mayor Johnson, 
 
146 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 having been re-elected in the spring of 1903, 
 renewed his warfare. A month after elec- 
 tion another set of street railway ordinances 
 was introduced, and another bidder was 
 found. In the fall of the same year the 
 Forest City Eailway Company was founded 
 and made its first bid for a new set of ordi- 
 nances covering different lines. The Cleve- 
 land Electric Company spent $20,000 for a 
 straw bid, but only lost its money, accom- 
 plishing nothing tangible. 
 
 In the meantime the first named bidder, 
 with the Mayor and the whole city adminis- 
 tration back of him, built two miles of track 
 for the first three-cent line. The Cleveland 
 Electric went once more into court, but this 
 time with little success. The council ex- 
 tended the original grant, and its line was to 
 be built through a great part of the West 
 Side of the city. The aim was to reach the 
 Public Square as quickly as possible. 
 
 The street railway companies were still 
 trying to win over some of the councilmen to 
 their cause and were not unsuccessful. In 
 
A GREAT STRUGGLE 147 
 
 Republican wards the people themselves 
 were against the lower fare, mostly because 
 the demand for it was made by a Democratic 
 administration. Yet the selfsame citizens 
 almost broke their necks running for the 
 overcrowded three-cent cars after their ap- 
 pearance in the streets of Cleveland. At 
 the same time the five-cent cars were passing 
 their houses almost empty. Thus does true 
 patriotism show itself. 
 
 Senator Hanna, who worked for the wel- 
 fare of the people according to his gospel, 
 went before the Legislature asking for a per- 
 petual franchise. Tom L. Johnson demanded 
 that all franchises be submitted to a vote of 
 the people. His principle was a good one, 
 but later on he was like Peter when the cock 
 crew. Verily, few people act as they preach, 
 especially when they are politicians and want 
 to make the world happy. But it was always 
 a pleasure to read the pamphlets making their 
 appearance during the street railway war or 
 a political campaign in Mayor Johnson's 
 time. When Mark Hanna saw that he could 
 
148 TOM E. JOHNSON 
 
 not down his enemy, he tried to oust him. 
 He had the spring election abolished, as men- 
 tioned above. He died, but the war went on. 
 Johnson fell in the fray, but the war went 
 on, and is still going on. 
 
 For seven years it was a war between the 
 lawyers of the companies, the old and the new 
 ones, with interludes, some of them highly 
 amusing. The lawyers grew fat, and the 
 "Concon" stockholders thin. The citizens 
 would wake up in the morning and find street 
 railway tracks in front of their houses, or 
 to find themselves entangled in a "consent" 
 muddle. Some of the good people had taken 
 "Concon" money to keep a three-cent line 
 from their streets, and wanted afterwards 
 the money of the Forest City Railway Com- 
 pany, which wished to put a three-cent line 
 there. Mayor Tom, too, bought the consents 
 of the people for his railroad. "Better buy 
 the people themselves, than their representa- 
 tives, ' ' he used to say. It was his road even 
 if he had no pecuniary interest in it, as he 
 stoutly maintained, in spite of an adverse 
 
A GREAT STRUGGLE 149 
 
 court decision on this point. His City Solici- 
 tor had the time of his life, fighting his street 
 railway battles with an old and tried enemy, 
 he being a young lawyer of rather limited ex- 
 perience. But he was a brave knight, and 
 a winner, even if some of his thrusts went 
 far off the mark. In the course of time he 
 learned to aim more correctly and to hit the 
 foe squarely between the eyes. 
 
 It rained injunctions for a time. Every 
 foot of ground that the Forest City Railway 
 Company tried to cover was contested in the 
 courts. On the last day of 1903 the City 
 Council granted an extension to the three- 
 cent company which gave it the right to 
 cross the old Superior viaduct to the Pub- 
 lic Square. At about the same time the 
 Council passed an ordinance which gave it 
 the right to regulate the fare on all street 
 railroads. The "Concon" applied for an in- 
 junction to the United States Circuit Court 
 and got it the same day. Between injunc- 
 tion time the Forest City Railway Company 
 was proceeding with the construction of its 
 
150 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 line, frequently under the personal super- 
 vision of the Mayor. Equipment was pro- 
 cured, Mr. Johnson furnishing the necessary 
 bond, a circumstance which afterwards 
 caused much trouble and led to the above- 
 mentioned decision on the charge of a per- 
 sonal pecuniary interest. It required the 
 power of the court to convince him of his 
 error, though he did not deny the fact in the 
 case. 
 
 Mr. Johnson's resourcefulness was shown 
 to no better advantage than in this street rail- 
 way fight. On every occasion he tried to 
 outwit his enemies. In the depth of the 
 night tracks would be laid, even on top of 
 the pavement if lack of time allowed of no 
 better construction. The people celebrated 
 when the first three-cent car ran across the 
 Superior Viaduct one Saturday evening. 
 On a following morning they opened eyes 
 and mouths in astonishment, and then burst 
 out into a merry laugh. There was a rail- 
 road track lying in Superior Avenue and at 
 equal distances stood barrels filled with sand. 
 
A GREAT STRUGGLE 151 
 
 In these barrels stuck the posts for the trol- 
 ley line. It was certainly a unique war ex- 
 pedient, but some sober-minded property 
 owners could not see its merits and secured 
 an injunction. The mushroom railroad was 
 removed. 
 
 Nevertheless, the time came when Mayor 
 Johnson and his City Solicitor surmounted 
 every obstacle. Injunctions were dissolved, 
 new streets secured for the three-cent lines, 
 which began to spread through the main parts 
 of the city. In the winter of 1905 things were 
 looking rather dismal and Mayor Johnson, 
 through his Council, made overtures to the 
 "Concon" for a settlement of the vexed 
 street railway question. The company did 
 not even display the courtesy of answering 
 the CounciPs letter. 
 
 To remove some of the difficulties, the 
 Mayor organized the Municipal Traction 
 Company which took over all the rights and 
 the property of the Forest City Railway 
 Company to build and operate the three-cent 
 lines under a lease. In July, 1906, the City 
 
152 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 Council was officially informed that the new 
 company was doing' business and that its 
 books were open for inspection at any time. 
 Mr. Johnson now appealed to the citizens of 
 Cleveland for pecuniary assistance. So far 
 only a few men of means had been asked to 
 assist the new railroad. Next the citizens 
 in general were invited, because it was to be 
 their road, the road of the poor man, the 
 widow and the orphan. 
 
 In order to facilitate matters a bank was 
 established by the Mayor. The people re- 
 sponded to the call, several thousands strong. 
 They bought shares, having been guaran- 
 teed six per cent dividends. From that time 
 on the Municipal Traction Company became 
 a rival which even the proud "Concon" be- 
 gan to fear. The patronage of the three-cent 
 lines cut big holes in the "Concon" pocket. 
 At first some people were ashamed to ride 
 on a three-cent car, and even poor, deluded 
 working girls shunned them as if their use 
 would ruin their social standing. But these 
 little human weaknesses could not and did 
 
A GREAT STRUGGLE 153 
 
 not last long. Soon the cry for more cars 
 arose, while those of the five-cent lines, run- 
 ning parallel with the other roads, remained 
 more or less empty. The low-fare idea had 
 conquered the pride of poor and rich. 
 
 Once in a while one of the many "Concon" 
 lawsuits would be tried and decided in favor 
 of Johnson. The people, however, no longer 
 paid attention to them. Their minds were 
 turned to the more practical result of cheap 
 fare. It began to look as if Mayor Johnson 
 would swallow slowly but surely the "Con- 
 con," Horace, and John, and their big law- 
 yers. The three-cent slogan had proven 
 very useful during campaign times and had 
 to serve on a few more occasions. 
 
 In 1901 Mr. Johnson had assured the peo- 
 ple that low fare was coming, in 1903 he 
 repeated his assurance, in 1905 he was still 
 at it, and in 1907 the people got a glimpse 
 of the Promised Land. The impatient among 
 the citizens had been sneering, not compre- 
 hending in their ignorance the immense fight 
 that was raging around them almost day and 
 
154 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 night. Mayor Johnson's friends were living 
 in astonishment and wonderment during 
 those times. It must be repeated that the 
 "Concon" people were terrible foes, trained 
 in financial and legal battles, strong and 
 healthy like Johnson himself, and rich in 
 money. The Mayor and his little David gave 
 and took when the Goliaths made their on- 
 slaughts, a dozen against two and with the 
 city's political machinery back of the latter. 
 Mayor Johnson used sometimes to accuse the 
 courts of partiality, but after all, their deci- 
 sions went against him only when he himself 
 had taken an illegal standpoint. Of course, 
 as long as the judges have the power of un- 
 doing laws, there will always be trouble. 
 Judges ought to be the executors of the laws, 
 not their interpreters. Mayor Johnson was 
 more than once in danger of contempt, for he 
 would rebel against a law which was not a 
 law. 
 
 Wise, but at the same time cynical men 
 assure us that laws were not made for the 
 guidance of the people, but for the amuse- 
 
A GREAT STRUGGLE 155 
 
 ment of the lawyers and for their benefit. 
 They also say that nobody could tell what a 
 law meant by looking at it, and that a judge 
 not long ago rendered a decision, declaring 
 that the payment of taxes was a voluntary 
 act on the part of the taxpayers. No wonder 
 that Tom L. Johnson and some others felt 
 sometimes like anarchists. 
 
 The Mayor, however, had no time to squab- 
 ble with learned jurists and philosophers in 
 the year 1907. He was now engaged in per- 
 fecting his Municipal Traction Company and 
 in extending his three-cent lines in various 
 directions. He felt by this time that he had 
 won his battle and that the day would come 
 when the "Concon" could no longer with- 
 stand the competition with her franchises 
 running out, one after another. If his strug- 
 gles had been desperate the situation of the 
 "Concon" was becoming so. The company 
 had spent great sums of money in this war- 
 fare. Its debts became pressing, the pay- 
 ment of dividends had been suspended for 
 some years, bonds would be due in a short 
 
156 TOM E. JOHNSON 
 
 time, and in the face of all this the income 
 of the road was daily diminishing. 
 
 Some of the directors of the company, who 
 saw their large holdings dwindle to nothing, 
 demanded a settlement. Mr. Horace An- 
 drews, who had declined an offer of 85 cents 
 on the dollar for the stock of the company, re- 
 fused to accept less. He wanted 105 in those 
 days of declining values. Mayor Johnson, 
 who began to develop a dangerous eagerness 
 to get the railway into his possession, and 
 who had made the above-named offer, laughed 
 at him. Yet he was willing to pay a fair 
 price, to enter into negotiations, but without 
 a truce. The war of extermination was to 
 go on. Pitiless, heartless, and even cruel, 
 this war between a community and a corpora- 
 tion was to be carried on to the end. The 
 people had spoken at the different elections. 
 They trusted in their champion and hated 
 the "Concon" like a rattlesnake. It had 
 never shown any willingness to be a people 's 
 road. It had always been the cold, stern ex- 
 ponent of the heartless money power, that 
 
A GREAT STRUGGLE 157 
 
 had been attacked all over the land for the 
 last ten years by a new set of men, whose 
 voices were beginning to be heard. 
 
 The business interests clamored for 
 peace, the workingmen wanted war and cheap 
 car fare. Peter Witt and some members of 
 the Council advocated an uncompromising at- 
 titude toward the company. They would 
 have liked to see it bleed to death for the wel- 
 fare of the people. 
 
 "Give it its own medicine/ ' Peter used to 
 say. ' ' The snake will not be dead unless you 
 crush its head. As long as there is life in 
 it, it will coil itself around your legs and you 
 won't even be able to walk. Kill the damned 
 beast.' ' 
 
 Indeed, hatred of the "Concon" was great 
 among the people. There were moments 
 when Mr. Andrews felt the sting keenly, but 
 he was not a man to yield. Concessions must 
 be wrung from him, and came painfully, like 
 drops from a man sweating blood. Mayor 
 Johnson's hatred was perhaps not less deep 
 than that of his friend Peter, but he never 
 
158 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 possessed the latter 's energetic radicalism. 
 He had not the single purpose of mind that 
 agitated Peter. Mr. Johnson had to bear the 
 responsibility of a public official; he was 
 anxious for an adjustment, and was already 
 looking toward the establishment of a great 
 municipal lighting plant, which meant an- 
 other fight with a wily corporation. Fur- 
 thermore, it was political wisdom to remove 
 the street railway question before another 
 election. The people had so far rallied 
 around his banner, but signs of fatigue were 
 becoming visible. 
 
 Thus, from both sides sprang a willingness 
 to arbitrate the vexed question. Mr. An- 
 drews hoped for a franchise under a reduced 
 fare, and even made trials under different 
 rates, which were, however, not satisfactory 
 to the people. They said that these trials 
 were nothing more than malapert manoeu- 
 vres to deceive them. Mr. Andrews himself 
 was deceived, for nothing was further from 
 the mind of Mayor Johnson than to grant 
 him an old-fashioned franchise. A settle- 
 
A GBEAT STKUGGLE 159 
 
 merit was to bring municipal ownership under 
 the guise of a holding company, with Mr. 
 Johnson as the leading spirit. Had he not 
 preached it since his return to Cleveland in 
 1901? He was not the man to present to his 
 enemy the fruit of a victory gained after 
 long and almost superhuman warfare. He 
 was an honest believer in municipal owner- 
 ship, and had proven its success through the 
 garbage disposal plant of the city. Neither 
 the man of prejudice nor the one who sees 
 from the beginning nothing but difficulties 
 and unsurmountable obstacles is the con- 
 queror of the world. Cheerful and optimis- 
 tic minds are the believers in new ideas and 
 new things. 
 
 The beginning of the negotiations between 
 the city and the "Concon" marked a new 
 epoch in the street railway war. It was to- 
 ward the close of the year 1908 that a number 
 of conferences and tentative meetings took 
 place between the Mayor, Mr. Andrews and 
 their assistants. The difference of opinion, 
 however, was too great to be eliminated by 
 
160 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 talks behind closed doors, or even in informal 
 public meetings. It became evident that a 
 third party was needed to stand between 
 the Mayor and Mr. Andrews, as these two 
 men hated each other so thoroughly that 
 their native politeness was constantly in dan- 
 ger of disintegration. A man was found in 
 the person of F. H. GofT, lawyer and finan- 
 cier, and withal a clever and pleasant gentle- 
 man. He was ostentatiously the representa- 
 tive of the people, but stood closer to the 
 railway interests than to the low fare ad- 
 vocates. It was said at the time that he 
 represented in reality the brokers in New 
 York, who began to fear for their Cleveland 
 street railway bonds. It was also hinted at 
 that the same power forced the unremitting 
 Mr. Andrews to yield to negotiations. 
 
 The sessions, held almost daily, lasted for 
 three months. An immense amount of detail 
 was gone into to fix the value of the street 
 railway property. Mr. Johnson displayed a 
 marvellous knowledge of the business, and 
 the people felt that the company would not 
 
A GREAT STRUGGLE 161 
 
 be able to pull the wool over his eyes. There 
 were innumerable clashes between the con- 
 testing parties. The people of Cleveland be- 
 gan to learn something about the watered 
 stock of a street railway corporation, about 
 their method of appraisement, and the valu- 
 ation of expiring franchises. Contractors ' 
 risks and profits were claimed as values by 
 the railway officials. The banks and the 
 lawyers came in for an appraisal, and a 
 goodly sum was demanded for them as an 
 asset. The Lord and Mr. Andrews knew that 
 they had a large amount of the railroad's 
 money in their pockets for which the road 
 wanted to be reimbursed. Mr. Goff, who 
 himself declared that he knew nothing of the 
 street railway business, was an apt scholar. 
 In a few weeks he knew enough to side with 
 the railroad against most of the contentions 
 of the Mayor. 
 
 Of course he was a business man who 
 thoroughly understood the demands of the 
 large money institutions and their conserva- 
 tism. It was in the interest of the bond and 
 
162 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 stock holders to get as much as possible for 
 the road, low fare or high fare. The higher 
 the fare, he declared, the easier it would be 
 to float the bonds in the money market. 
 Against this argument not even Mayor John- 
 son dared to protest. But, after all, Mr. 
 Gotf tried to be fair. He scolded Mr. An- 
 drews more than once when that gentleman 
 stuck too closely to his great business prin- 
 ciple of getting as much as possible and even 
 more. 
 
 Whenever there was a lull in quoting fig- 
 ures, Mr. Goif would make a little polite 
 speech to the people who happened to be pres- 
 ent in the council chamber where the meetings 
 were held. He assured them that he had 
 full confidence in the honest purposes of the 
 Mayor and of Mr. Andrews, and that he 
 himself tried to be fair with everybody. He 
 even shook hands with Peter Witt, the enfant 
 terrible of the sessions. Peter, too, would 
 offer a little speech once in a while, just to 
 tell the railway officials to their faces that 
 they were robbers, cut-throats, and scoun- 
 
A GEE AT STRUGGLE 163 
 
 drels of the purest water. Mr. Johnson, as 
 chairman of the meetings, would call Peter 
 to order, and Peter became silent after he 
 had relieved his oppressed heart. 
 
 A sad but yet entertaining part of the 
 proceedings was the cross-examination of the 
 experts called by both sides. These poor 
 men of special knowledge could never agree 
 on anything. They were living examples of 
 the ignorance of mankind, of the unreliability 
 of scientific research and of the diversity of 
 opinion on any given subject. The only thing 
 the people could learn from them was not to 
 believe them. But in spite of all, the rail- 
 way company arrived at a valuation of thirty 
 million dollars. Even the fair Mr. GofT 
 found this to be a moderate figure. On the 
 other hand, Mr. Johnson and his side could 
 not get their figures higher up than about 
 eighteen millions, and Peter claimed that the 
 Mayor had overshot his estimate by at least 
 six million dollars. 
 
 The result was truly disappointing, after 
 all the figuring and talking that had been done 
 
164 TOM E. JOHNSON 
 
 for three months. Mr. Goff lost his temper, 
 and thundered. He was too polite to curse, 
 even if he had felt like it, although cursing 
 would have been justified. The negotiations 
 came to a standstill for some days, yet they 
 had lasted too long to be broken off alto- 
 gether. It was finally resolved to adjust the 
 existing differences, and a number of com- 
 mittees were appointed to do the equalizing. 
 Thus the valuation was put at twenty-three 
 million dollars, and Mr. Andrews, who had 
 the year before refused to accept $85 a share, 
 had to accept $55. Now, nothing more re- 
 mained but to draw up the necessary legal 
 documents to make a binding contract be- 
 tween the "Concon" and the Municipal 
 Traction Company, that was to run all the 
 railway lines in the city in the name of her 
 citizens. 
 
 It was a glorious victory for Mr. Johnson, 
 at least on the surface. Peter Witt had his 
 misgivings and went into mourning. Some 
 of the councilmen shared his sadness, among 
 them a Dr. F. W. Walz. The latter told the 
 
A GREAT STRUGGLE 165 
 
 Mayor in some stormy interviews that he 
 had paid too much for the "Concon" prop- 
 erty and could not make a success of the 
 enterprise at a three-cent rate of fare. Mr. 
 Johnson was willing to risk anything in order 
 to get possession of the road. There it was, 
 within his reach. He would overcome the 
 difficulties when it was time to meet them, as 
 he had done before on former occasions. He 
 was ready to trust his luck. The railway 
 officials had been forced to yield through cir- 
 cumstances. There was a dark look in their 
 eyes, and a deep plot in their hearts. The 
 newspapers demanded in the name of the 
 people a settlement at the terms arrived at. 
 The whole city was in a happy turmoil over 
 the end of the Seven Years' War. 
 
A PYRRHIC VICTORY 
 
 A REMARKABLE event took place on 
 the evening of April 27, 1908, in the 
 Chamber of Commerce building. It was the 
 public exchange of the documents which gave 
 the whole street railway system of Cleveland 
 into the hands of Mayor Tom L. Johnson, 
 and secured for the "Concon" a mortgage on 
 the property. 
 
 On the platform of the assembly hall sat 
 the generals of the street railway war, before 
 them an audience of interested citizens. 
 Speeches were made and applauded, speeches 
 of peace and good will unto mankind. 
 Mayor Johnson, radiant with happiness, 
 strong and well-looking, saw the fulfilment 
 of his ambition, a straight, three-cent fare. 
 Mr. Horace Andrews hoped for success, New- 
 ton D. Baker offered a sigh of relief and a 
 
 166 
 
A PYRRHIC VICTORY 167 
 
 eulogy for his master. Peter Witt, a modern 
 Cassandra, was also prepared to have his 
 say. This was a speech that was never 
 made, for Mr. Johnson suppressed his friend 
 for once with success. Peter had a few 
 wretched minutes in the midst of general 
 happiness. 
 
 The "Concon" as lessor took the name of 
 The Cleveland Railway Company and under 
 this name all the stock was to be issued. It 
 also received the stock of the Forest City 
 Railway Company, which was in time to dis- 
 appear from the earth. The Municipal Trac- 
 tion Company was to run the road and, in 
 case of failure, to return it to the lessor. A 
 so-called " gentlemen's agreement" was en- 
 tered into by which, in event of calamity, the 
 property of the Forest City Railway Com- 
 pany was to be restored to the company. 
 This agreement was regarded as a side issue, 
 though Mayor Johnson considered it of much 
 weight. The lawyers doubted its legal force. 
 
 Mayor Johnson, after all, was confident of 
 success and impatient of any criticism. He 
 
168 TOM L\ JOHNSON 
 
 had indeed accomplished a marvel. Without 
 the expense of a single dollar he had acquired 
 possession of a great street railway system. 
 His business genius, his official position, and 
 the people had been his assets. Yes, the 
 people enabled him to win his great vic- 
 tory, and to the people should the road be- 
 long. It was to be run in their interest, run 
 better than ever before, and at a three-cent 
 fare. To celebrate this great event the next 
 day, April 28, was declared Municipal Day, 
 during which everyone would be allowed the 
 free use of the street railway, and it should 
 be thus on the 28th of April in all the years 
 to come. 
 
 After the ceremonies at the hall of the 
 Chamber of Commerce, the Mayor and his 
 entourage, later on known as the Kitchen 
 Cabinet, went away to celebrate, which was 
 human. Envious people claimed that a hila- 
 rious time was had that night, but even if so, 
 the Katzenjammer too belonged to the victors. 
 
 The next day was the day of the people, 
 especially of the children, who took joy rides 
 
A PYRRHIC VICTORY 169 
 
 as long as they were allowed. Again, the 
 next day business began — earnest, pitiless 
 business. Mayor Johnson organized his 
 company by rewarding his young friends and 
 assistants with offices. As they were nearly 
 all lawyers they were not possessed of street 
 railway knowledge. The president, A. B. du 
 Pont, and Mr. Johnson as treasurer, were the 
 only experts in the business. The Mayor 
 in those days almost deserted the City Hall. 
 He spent many hours in the offices of the old 
 "Concon," where Horace Andrews and his 
 friend John Stanley had planned their war- 
 fare against the Mayor. In fact, he ate and 
 even slept there, so busy a man was he. 
 Time was too precious to be lost, and the 
 work too plentiful to be neglected in any form 
 or manner. It was there that the Kitchen 
 Cabinet became accustomed to coming to- 
 gether "to work their jaws" in the double 
 sense of the phrase. 
 
 Within two weeks troubles of a serious 
 nature began, and it has always been claimed 
 that John Stanley was at the bottom of it. 
 
170 TOM U JOHNSON 
 
 Two unions of street railway men were in 
 existence at the time Tom Johnson under- 
 took the management of the road. The 
 "Concon" men demanded the observation of 
 their contract with their old company, re- 
 fusing to recognize the employes of the 
 "three-cent lines. ,, Mr. Johnson, on his 
 part, refused to make a one-sided settlement. 
 The leader of the "Concon" men ignored his 
 brethren of the other road. The debates 
 were bitter, and the result a disagreement, 
 and a strike. One fine morning in the beau- 
 tiful month of May, the people on the lines 
 on which a 5-cent fare had been charged were 
 asked to walk. The strike proved very un- 
 popular and was speedily suppressed by Mr. 
 Johnson, who developed the genius of a gen- 
 eral in handling the situation. He enjoyed 
 the advantage of being, not only manager of 
 the street railway system but also Mayor of 
 Cleveland. 
 
 The fine Italian hand of the Bens ex ma- 
 china came now into play. A few weeks be- 
 fore the events just related the Legislature 
 
A PYRRHIC VICTORY 171 
 
 of Ohio had passed a referendum law in con- 
 nection with street railway franchises. The 
 Mayor had advocated the law, which bore the 
 name of Senator Schmidt, one of his best 
 friends. John Stanley and his "Concon" 
 men took advantage of the new law. Peti- 
 tions were circulated, and soon bore the 
 necessary number of signatures for a refer- 
 endum election to approve or reject the 
 railway settlement. 
 
 Now, the incredible happened. Mayor 
 Johnson, for almost twenty years an ardent 
 preacher of the initiative and referendum, 
 fought the petitions instead of welcoming 
 them and ordering through his Council a 
 popular and speedy election. The citizens 
 of Cleveland were painfully surprised, the 
 enemies of the Mayor jubilant. The friends 
 of the latter tried to excuse him on the ground 
 that his adversaries were "playing a mean 
 trick' ' upon him, but he, himself, resorted to 
 all kinds of expedients to invalidate the pe- 
 titions and prevent a referendum. Why that 
 fear of an election? The people were with 
 
172 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 him, they had trusted him for many years, 
 and were ready to trust him in this case. 
 The old Johnson nature that liked a straight 
 course and went a crooked way loomed up. 
 He lost his fight, and the referendum election 
 was set for October 22, 1908. He also lost 
 the confidence of many of the people. 
 
 In another month or so some of his best 
 friends had become his opponents. His pop- 
 ularity was in jeopardy. Once in possession 
 of the railway property, he began to see that 
 under the losses caused by the strike, and 
 under the curtailed income due to business 
 depression, he could not make both ends 
 meet. A plan to reduce expenses was in- 
 augurated. The beginning was made by dis- 
 continuing car lines long in existence and 
 along which streets and business had devel- 
 oped. A great cry went up from the injured 
 people. Delegation after delegation visited 
 the City Hall to demand relief from the 
 Mayor against Tom L. Johnson, the street 
 railway manager. 
 
 Once more the Mayor failed to do his duty 
 
A PYERHIC VICTORY 173 
 
 by the people, and to keep his promises of 
 the old campaigns, that under a three-cent 
 fare the service wonld be still better. The 
 clamoring delegations found a haughty man, 
 defiant and impatient. Railway operating 
 expenses must be reduced. The people would 
 have been willing to pay the higher rate of 
 fare until their road was in better financial 
 condition. They knew that the strike had 
 been costly and that times were bad. The 
 self -announced "man of the people" would 
 not take them into his confidence. He was 
 not willing to lay before them the true state 
 of affairs. Instead he continued reducing 
 the service on the lines until half the city was 
 in an uproar. 
 
 "It is but natural/' he explained, "that we 
 have some people against us, for we are now 
 running the road. The majority is with us ; 
 they are satisfied." 
 
 It was also natural that his old enemies 
 should take advantage of the situation and 
 of his mistakes. During the summer months 
 the interests bestirred themselves and formed 
 
174 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 a strong combination for an energetic cam- 
 paign against the railway franchise. It was 
 not always a fair fight. It was not even a 
 fight in which the end justified the means, for 
 the leaders declared that defeat of the fran- 
 chise meant a three-cent fare, in which that 
 body had never believed. But it was a fight 
 in which much money and much venom were 
 spent. 
 
 The Mayor had his tents out and was 
 speaking nightly, together with Newton D. 
 Baker, his Directors and Peter Witt. His 
 was from the beginning a double contest, for 
 a county election was to be held in Novem- 
 ber. The former enthusiasm of the people 
 was no longer visible at these tent meetings, 
 though there were throngs of men and women 
 present. The tents of the enemy were also 
 filled and men who had never before spoken 
 in public mounted the rostrum to voice their 
 sentiments. 
 
 Under these conditions the referendum 
 election day arrived; 75,893 citizens voted 
 and the Goff-Johnson pact was undone by 
 
A PYRRHIC VICTORY 175 
 
 605 votes. The rejoicing of the victors knew 
 no bounds. True, the margin in their favor 
 was small, but it accomplished the purpose 
 sought. 
 
 Mayor Johnson was crushed at the time. 
 He had held the prize of his long endeavors 
 in his hand and lost it. For some months 
 he had been declining in health, his wife was 
 ill in another city, his daughter had passed 
 through a sad experience, and the outlook 
 for the next election was gloomy. By an 
 almost superhuman effort he managed to ap- 
 pear in public as the old Tom L. Who 
 knows what this sick and defeated man suf- 
 fered in the silence of his home, which was 
 no home at that time? But time, business 
 and fight went on and demanded their man. 
 The enemies, encouraged by their success, 
 kept up their organisation to execute their 
 coup de grace. Their victim arose like a 
 wounded lion, full of fight. 
 
 Matters in the City Hall went their placid 
 way, but not those in the office of the Munici- 
 pal Traction Company. The Central Trust 
 
176 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 Company of New York, holder of the " Con- 
 con' ' bonds, asked for the appointment of a 
 receiver, and on November 12, Judge Tay- 
 ler of the United States Circuit Court ap- 
 pointed two men to conduct the affairs of the 
 company, which had been declared bankrupt 
 by the complaining bondholders. An exam- 
 ination of the books revealed a sad state of 
 affairs. There were big and little debts and 
 deficits in the different funds; yea, not even 
 the dinner bills of the Kitchen Cabinet had 
 been paid. The powerful Mayor of Cleve- 
 land, the conqueror of the "Concon Mon- 
 ster' ' found himself in a position where he 
 had to explain a restaurant debt left stand- 
 ing. Still worse, it was discovered that he 
 and Mr. du Pont had formed a private com- 
 pany for the manufacture of fare boxes and 
 for it had used $35,000 of the street railway 
 company's money. The receivers, who were 
 close to the old "Concon" officials, did not 
 even honor the firm with an order, and the 
 fare boxes were thrown into the scrap heap. 
 Yet, Mr. Johnson had spent many a day in 
 
A PYRRHIC VICTORY 177 
 
 inventing and supervising their construction, 
 and meant that they should prove of much 
 value to the Municipal Traction Company. 
 His enemies accused him of having committed 
 an unlawful act. They reproached him also 
 with having given his son a position at the 
 expense of the public. 
 
 Traction affairs progressed from bad to 
 worse. The Mayor was obliged to close his 
 bank, which was founded as an auxiliary to 
 his street railway. The depositors received 
 their money, every cent of it, but the stock- 
 holders suffered a severe loss. They were 
 almost without exception his friends and ad- 
 mirers. This was too much for Mr. Johnson. 
 Therefore appeared, one day, in a Cleveland 
 paper, a front page article in which the 
 Mayor announced that he had suffered great 
 losses in his private business, which he had 
 neglected in serving the public. Conse- 
 quently he would be constrained to sell his 
 home in Euclid Avenue, to do away with his 
 automobiles and his servants, and to lead the 
 simple life, as he had become a poor man. 
 
178 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 His sycophants shed tears, and spoke of 
 buying him a new automobile. His friends 
 were amazed and in turn indignant, puzzled 
 and sad. There was no dignity in a misfor- 
 tune heralded through a newspaper. 
 
 Tom L. Johnson had become hysterical. He 
 was physically a sick man and destiny spared 
 him not with reprisals. He had lost his self- 
 control and in his weakness revealed his 
 innermost characteristics. The same weak- 
 ness exposed later on a great tenderness for 
 his family, a tenderness that was most hon- 
 orable and becoming. To the initiated the 
 failure of his bank was not a surprise, for 
 they knew that the other banking institutions 
 of Cleveland had harassed it from the be- 
 ginning and would not lend it any assistance 
 in time of need. 
 
 Under the receivership the railway com- 
 pany charged a five- and three-cent fare ac- 
 cording to the nature of the several franchises 
 under which they operated. Judge Tayler 
 looked at the situation from the standpoint 
 of its wants and announced it his duty to 
 
A PYEEHIC VICTOEY 179 
 
 protect the interests of the investors. He 
 listened neither to the demands of Horace 
 Andrews nor to those of Mayor Johnson. 
 Both wanted the receivership removed, and 
 to that end new negotiations were begun, 
 which lasted till the middle of March, 1909. 
 By direction of Judge Tayler himself, the 
 Mayor, Mr. Andrews, City Solicitor Baker, 
 and the eminent jurist, John G. White, be- 
 came members of a new street railway com- 
 mission. Their deliberations were without 
 result. During that time, however, the so- 
 called Tayler plan was outlined, the main 
 features of which were to limit the dividends 
 to six per cent, to give the city the right to 
 own the Street Eailway at a certain time 
 after the Legislature had made municipal 
 ownership a possibility, and to give good 
 service at the lowest possible rate of fare or 
 a sliding scale. In the course of the nego- 
 tiations Mr. Andrews had been obstinate as 
 always and Mayor Johnson had taken new 
 courage. He tried anew to become master 
 of the situation. To that end he induced the 
 
180 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 City Council to pass the Schmidt franchises, 
 which were to cover a number of expiring 
 grants and to secure a new three-cent road. 
 In the meantime, City Solicitor Baker pre- 
 pared a new ordinance in accordance with 
 the Tayler plan, and again public meetings 
 were held, covering two months. Once more 
 Mr. Johnson asked for a holding company, 
 but Mr. Andrews absolutely refused to en- 
 tertain any such proposition. At this time 
 Prof. Bemis appraised the value of the 
 street railway property at $5,750,000, instead 
 of twelve million dollars as before. There 
 was to be no water on the stock value 
 and no payment for expiring franchises. 
 Horace Andrews withdrew from the delib- 
 erations and Mayor Johnson granted Mr. 
 Herman Schmidt his first franchise in June, 
 followed by a dozen extension grants. Mr. 
 Andrews answered by declaring that his 
 company was willing to accept any ordinance 
 which Judge Tayler might present. 
 
 The people, who could not understand 
 
A PYEEHIC VICTOEY 181 
 
 Mayor Johnson's tenacity of purpose, and 
 who had become tired of the street railway 
 warfare, thought that he did not know when 
 he was defeated. The newspapers de- 
 manded a Tayler ordinance, and the Chamber 
 of Commerce became aroused. A referen- 
 dum election on the Schmidt franchise was 
 demanded and was set for August 3, 1909. 
 The Chamber created a committee of one 
 hundred citizens to direct a campaign against 
 the Mayor and his ordinances. The Hun- 
 dred did their work thoroughly, with means 
 in abundance. Great tent meetings were 
 held on hot summer evenings; debates took 
 place, and leaflets and pamphlets were dis- 
 tributed. The truth was not always regarded 
 as essential in some of the statements of the 
 Hundred, and Mayor Johnson dealt in rosy 
 figures of the future, in which art he certainly 
 was a past master. But there was no hope 
 of success for him. The noise in the tent- 
 meetings was made by his immediate follow- 
 ers. The people at large came to listen, not 
 
182 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 to applaud. On August 3, the Schmidt ordi- 
 nances were defeated by a plurality of 3,773 
 votes. 
 
 With the people against him the Mayor 
 had lost his last chance to regain the much 
 coveted street railways of Cleveland. He, 
 too, was now ready to accept a Tayler ordi- 
 nance. He was obliged to regain lost ground, 
 for he was up for re-election. His Council 
 opened peace negotiations, but now the old 
 "Concon" spirit showed itself again. The 
 ghost was playing politics, for it did not want 
 the franchise question settled before the elec- 
 tion. It knew that Judge Tayler was favor- 
 able to three-cent fare, and feared that Mr. 
 Johnson would profit by a Tayler ordinance. 
 Thus it delayed the new meetings until it was 
 too late to bring them to a close before the 
 fall election. On the 18th of October Judge 
 Tayler began work upon his ordinance and 
 two weeks later Mayor Johnson was de- 
 feated. Two days afterwards he appeared 
 again in the United States Circuit Court 
 room to oppose his old enemy, the "Concon." 
 
A PYRRHIC VICTORY 183 
 
 His strength was gone, while on the other 
 side of the table sat Horace Andrews in the 
 glory of vigorous manhood. "Weeks of tor- 
 ture could not down the great will power of 
 Mr. Johnson, though more than once he could 
 he seen in a state of drowsiness. Yet, he 
 would shake off the miserable feeling and 
 reason and plead with the judge with almost 
 his old-time keenness. When the work of 
 framing a new ordinance was finally finished, 
 around Christmas time, neither he nor Mr. 
 Andrews was satisfied with it, a fact which 
 proved that the ordinance was a fair piece of 
 legislation under the circumstances. It pro- 
 vided a three-cent fare with one cent for 
 a transfer and a sliding scale to four cents, 
 or six tickets for a quarter as a maximum. 
 It secured six per cent dividends and the right 
 of the city to buy the road after a new valu- 
 ation plus ten per cent. The stock must be 
 sold at par. Judge Tayler valued the prop- 
 erty at twenty-one million dollars, which Mr. 
 Johnson declared too high and Mr. Andrews 
 asserted was too low. It was a repetition 
 
184 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 of the old contentions. Mr. Johnson made it 
 known publicly that he would not be bound 
 to vote for the ordinance at the referendum 
 election, which was set for February, 1910. 
 The presumption is that he did not vote for 
 it, but the people sanctioned the labor of 
 Judge Tayler by a large majority. They had 
 a high opinion of the jurist, which was well 
 founded. 
 
 Mr. Johnson at last found time to look after 
 his seriously impaired health, and left for 
 New York to place himself under the care of 
 a specialist. 
 
XI 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 THE life of Tom L. Johnson was a series 
 of battles, lasting from childhood to the 
 day of his death. He fought the grim har- 
 vester as he had fought poverty, political 
 enemies and captains of industry. His great 
 will power knew no surrender, his sunny na- 
 ture never forsook him. At no time during 
 his long sickness, which had been diagnosed 
 as a cirrhosis of the liver, did he not hope for 
 ultimate recovery. While too weak to move 
 during a sinking spell, he thought of jokes to 
 repeat to his friends as soon as he should be 
 strong enough to speak and laugh again. 
 City Solicitor Baker, who had alone survived 
 the defeat in November, 1909, had become his 
 closest friend and confidant. To him he in- 
 trusted his worldly affairs. With him he 
 spoke about the news of the day. There are 
 
 185 
 
186 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 few men who can feel the pulsation of life as 
 Mr. Johnson did ; few who would cling to life 
 as he clung to it. He believed in its realities. 
 He believed in the work of the world and was 
 not prone to leave it. 
 
 To-day not even his enemies fail to do him 
 justice, which speaks well for human nature. 
 Above all men he must be judged by his 
 deeds, for he was a man of action. He was 
 also a product of our modern business life, 
 which is not always honest. The struggle in 
 his youth had been severe, but kind nature 
 gave him the joy of living, that he might not 
 feel too deeply the bitterness of a lost child- 
 hood. Too early had he become aware of 
 the duplicity of men in business enterprises. 
 His quick intellect furnished him with the 
 weapons with which to beat them at their 
 own game. His master-mind dominated over 
 them, his great power of endurance outdid 
 them, his iron will lamed their resistance. 
 Yet none of his great enterprises was wholly 
 successful. He made a few millions and 
 stopped to enter into political life. Here his 
 
CONCLUSION 187 
 
 success was still less marked. He was qual- 
 ified to become a famous president for his 
 country, but ended as a defeated mayor. He 
 had conquered a great street railway monop- 
 oly, held the fruit of his victory in his hand, 
 and dropped it. His personal magnetism 
 won him the friendship of his fellow citizens, 
 yet they turned against him at the end. 
 There was no single obstacle that he did not 
 and could not overcome, yet he died as a 
 private citizen in an apartment house suite. 
 The case is astonishing. He was neither 
 a child of fortune nor one of misfortune. 
 Whatever his success it was attained by hard 
 work and close application. It was the im- 
 patience to do things that in his younger 
 years led him to different enterprises. He 
 did not then concentrate his efforts, and was 
 sometimes carried away by a spirit of ad- 
 venture. His was too great an intellect to 
 not see the emptiness of money making ; and 
 to his inquisitive mind it was but natural 
 that the great economic questions should 
 prove attractive. A world of mental specu- 
 
188 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 lations opened before him. The young man 
 had never had any time to study, but he was 
 always susceptible to new things. Thus, 
 from a business man he became a politician. 
 He entered the arena with a high purpose, 
 and as a man who wanted practical results, 
 for he never was a dreamer. Solitude he 
 abhorred and always liked having people 
 around him. In politics he was ahead of 
 his time, and having espoused the cause of 
 the people, he antagonized the money inter- 
 ests. But, here too, his course was too swift, 
 too radical for a slow but steady progress. 
 Not being a diplomat, he offended where he 
 should have conciliated antagonistic views. 
 This was not his way of doing things. A 
 man of great courage, he had neither the 
 patience nor the inclination to parley with a 
 foe. Instead he would send him forthwith 
 a declaration of war. He was not to be 
 measured by a pigmy standard. 
 
 There can be no question that his ultimate 
 defeat was the result of his inherent qual- 
 ities. That which his enemies could never 
 
CONCLUSION 189 
 
 have achieved, he brought about himself, and 
 it was a rather pitiful spectacle to see the 
 struggle of this strong man, already par- 
 tially wasted by disease, to regain his lost 
 ground. Almost sick unto death, he strove 
 to keep his party together, and announced 
 that he would again come forth as a candi- 
 date for the office of Mayor of Cleveland. 
 He had the sympathy of the citizens, for 
 they admired his pluck. They began to per- 
 ceive that there was greatness in this much 
 maligned man and that his faults could be 
 forgiven. After all he had meant well with 
 the people and had been fighting their bat- 
 tles in his own way. It was but natural that 
 he should fail in this and, even more natural, 
 that he should fall short of his greater aims, 
 for, no matter how little we demand of des- 
 tiny it always gives us less. 
 
 Yet, no human life is without some results. 
 Tom L. Johnson left a legacy to his fellow- 
 men and to his country. As a boy he was a 
 dutiful son, cheerfully carrying the burden 
 of the misfortune which had befallen his 
 
190 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 parents. He was ever ready to help and 
 assist them and never failed to visit often 
 his old mother in later years, though he was 
 obliged to travel hundreds of miles to do so. 
 He brought life and sunshine to his friends 
 and even to his enemies, for he could forget 
 business and politics in a social hour. His 
 hatred like his love was strong, but he hated 
 very few men. His naturally democratic 
 ways won him many admirers, and made him 
 an exception among his class. One could 
 feel at home with him and enjoy his bright 
 and lively conversation. He was never dull 
 and seemed to have seven lives. Men and 
 their doings were his chief topics. Having 
 come in contact with most of the luminaries 
 of his time, his word pictures of them were 
 interesting and valuable. 
 
 His personality entered strongly into 
 every walk of his life. As a business man 
 he constantly strove for improvements and 
 for new things. The inventor was always 
 in the foreground, even offering an incentive 
 to his partners. There is no doubt that he 
 
CONCLUSION 191 
 
 exercised a great influence over his surround- 
 ings. He revolutionized the street railway 
 business in Cleveland and set an example 
 which will be followed by other cities. The 
 struggle against the street railway monop- 
 olies is already on in some of them. The 
 great value of his lesson may easily be over- 
 looked or forgotten, but it means immense 
 savings for the poorer people, and is of no 
 less importance than the values which are 
 to be redeemed by a tariff revision, or by 
 the breaking up of obnoxious trusts. The 
 well-to-do are too apt to forget that not 
 everybody is able to contribute a brick 
 towards the erection of the palaces of the 
 rich without feeling its weight. Palaces are 
 not in harmony with their surroundings in 
 a land of hovels ; even the Church has begun 
 to see the iniquity and is preaching human- 
 ity. 
 
 Mr. Johnson preached the same sermon in 
 the halls of Congress and as Mayor of Cleve- 
 land. He did more. He tried to turn his 
 sermons into deeds whenever the powers of 
 
192 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 antagonism could be conquered. A man's 
 good intentions and his efforts for their 
 realization will be rewarded in Heaven, if 
 not here below. Mr. Johnson's propagation 
 of municipal ownership sprung not from the 
 wish to strengthen his political machine but 
 from a conviction that it would be helpful 
 to the people. He has done much in this 
 respect and saw further than the average 
 politician who hangs to the apron strings of 
 his party. 
 
 The lesson of his city administration had 
 been both forceful and useful. The citizens 
 of Cleveland have become accustomed to hon- 
 esty in their officials and would have no pa- 
 tience with grafters. His great activity in 
 the advancement of the city during the last 
 nine years had the result that his successor 
 emulated his example. To stand still be- 
 came simply impossible. The education of 
 the people in municipal, state, and even na- 
 tional affairs during Mr. Johnson's tenure of 
 office was wonderful. His constant strife, 
 his campaigns, and his new ideas found an 
 
CONCLUSION 193 
 
 interested public even in socialistic circles. 
 His tent meetings were schools in national 
 economics and municipal self-government. 
 People without the inclination to read even 
 the newspapers went to these meetings to 
 learn their lesson. 
 
 He had been elected Mayor of Cleveland 
 at a time when the city began to emerge from 
 her childhood, and it was lucky for her that 
 she had his strong and sure guidance. He 
 was not a man to waver for any length of 
 time, and knew always what he wanted. The 
 citizens of Cleveland soon became impressed 
 with this fact and often wondered how 
 Mayor Johnson would decide this or that 
 vexed question, and decide he did without 
 hesitation. 
 
 It is pertinent to ask how much more the 
 city would have gained from his administra- 
 tion if there had been no street railway con- 
 troversy. It is regrettable that the "Con- 
 con" octopus is still alive, while Mayor 
 Johnson is no longer. Many think that it 
 killed him, not only politically but physically. 
 
194 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 It killed him politically just as the temper- 
 ance question killed Bryan of Nebraska and 
 Folk of Missouri. The statesmen who are 
 committed to one idea have always been 
 doomed to extinction. 
 
 Tom L. Johnson's administration of the 
 affairs of the City of Cleveland exercised its 
 influence over many other cities in the coun- 
 try. Their emissaries came to Cleveland to 
 study the Johnson methods, which were fre- 
 quently quite original, and nearly always in 
 advance of those in use in other places. The 
 fame of the Cooley Farm reached across the 
 Atlantic. Mr. Johnson preached home rule 
 and proved its wisdom on several occasions. 
 Thus, this much hated and much admired 
 man was one of the first to preach the new 
 gospel of The City. 
 
 As a politician Mr. Johnson was a Demo- 
 crat who could not be kept within strict party 
 lines. He always demanded the right to fol- 
 low his own judgment in matters concerning 
 questions of the day. At no time would he 
 hesitate to flay a Democrat whom he thought 
 
 
CONCLUSION 195 
 
 a traitor to the cause of the people. His 
 political methods were described as sensa- 
 tional but they never failed to arouse atten- 
 tion, and were therefore apt to awaken the 
 public conscience. Most of the " Johnson- 
 isms ' ' and Johnson fads of ten years ago are 
 to-day advocated by Eepublicans and Demo- 
 crats alike. They have become recognized 
 planks in the party platforms. Who would 
 deny that we are advancing? 
 
 Looking back upon his activities as a pub- 
 lic man it becomes apparent that, when every- 
 thing is said, they were in the interest of the 
 people. Like all of us, he committed errors 
 of judgment, but they were very rare. His 
 methods died with him, his acts and his 
 teachings will live on as a wholesome leaven 
 in the fomentation of our public advance- 
 ment. He thoroughly believed in this ad- 
 vancement and fought for it with his great 
 intellect and his wonderful energy. 
 
 Not always did he draw the last conse- 
 quences of his opinions. He would even 
 relegate them to the rear when political 
 
196 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 sagacity or business expediency; demanded 
 it. To control himself was not an easy 
 thing for this self-willed man, when short- 
 sighted pigmies differed from him. Yet, he 
 was not ultra-radical, only a few years ahead 
 of his time, which is also our time. 
 
 The wisdom of the world was in him. 
 Early in life he understood that the material 
 things are of paramount importance, that a 
 full stomach makes a contented mind, and 
 gives peace to the nations of the earth. He 
 had accumulated his share of the general 
 wealth and was willing to give "the other 
 fellow" a chance. It was at this point that 
 his business friends began to doubt his sin- 
 cerity. They could not comprehend him and 
 henceforth considered him their enemy. 
 
 Those who watched him closely during the 
 last ten years of his life, during which his 
 greatest public work was done, learned to 
 know that there was nothing wrong with his 
 intentions. If he preached one thing and 
 did another the cause must be sought in his 
 inclination to mental and moral sophistry. 
 
CONCLUSION 197 
 
 As stated, he had always favored the refer- 
 endum and caused one of his legislative 
 friends to present a bill making referendum 
 elections a possibility. The bill was passed, 
 yet Mr. Johnson was first to repudiate it and 
 to fight the first referendum. The reason 
 was not that he feared the outcome very 
 much, not that he did no longer believe in 
 the measure, but because the petitions for 
 this election had been circulated by his oppo- 
 nents. He sought to nip their attack in the 
 bud instead of allowing events to take their 
 course. This was poor and unsound reason- 
 ing for a man of his calibre. The un- 
 worthiness of his action he tried to excuse 
 on the ground of meanness of his enemies. 
 This dangerous attitude of mind was ever 
 present in him and prevented his rise to 
 higher spheres and to real greatness. He 
 could never be a hero, nor reach the high 
 aims which filled his heart with the enthusi- 
 asm of becoming a benefactor to suffering 
 mankind. Thus he carried the tragedy of 
 his life in his bosom. In spite of lamentable 
 
198 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 hindrances, lie accomplished more than many 
 a luckier man in public life. The grievous 
 in him was hidden by an abundance of good 
 qualities, but it was there nevertheless. 
 
 On the other hand he was strong enough 
 to jeopardize his political success for his 
 ideals. It was refreshing to see this man 
 announcing his theories, so to say, with a 
 fanfare, well knowing that this procedure 
 would result in his having a whole pack of 
 hounds at his heels. He was superhuman in 
 courage, intellect and far-sightedness, a giant 
 in endurance, working-power and strength of 
 will. He was not a Messiah but a Prophet, 
 who announced the coming of a new and bet- 
 ter time in the life of mankind. He saw 
 the light of the future long before the gen- 
 eral public dreamed of it. He made a glori- 
 ous fight for the welfare of his fellowmen, 
 dying upon the field of battle while victory 
 was hovering in the air. 
 
 No one who came into personal contact with 
 Tom L. Johnson was able to withstand his 
 personal magnetism. It is this fact which 
 
CONCLUSION 199 
 
 makes a true judgment of him a task of great 
 difficulty. Only in the course of time would 
 the real man appear to an unbiassed mind. 
 Even then the complexity of his nature of- 
 fered many snares to the student of his char- 
 acter. 
 
 Taken all in all, he was one of the most 
 remarkable men in the country, gifted and 
 cursed, greatly admired, and greatly misun- 
 derstood. He accomplished much and failed 
 in much. But he has not labored in vain. 
 To-day his fellow citizens are beginning to 
 comprehend him and within a short time they 
 will feel his loss. 
 
 During the last year of his life he battled 
 no longer with the world, but fought death. 
 He longed to live, and summoned his great 
 \vill-power and his good humor to hold in 
 check the dire and wasting disease which was 
 eating away his vitality. For a long time he 
 had suffered in silence, neither his family 
 nor his most intimate friends being aware of 
 his affliction. It was only when his cheeks 
 began to fade and his flesh to disappear that 
 
200 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 he acknowledged the impairment of his 
 health. He struggled long and hard, banish- 
 ing the thought of defeat as he had done so 
 often in his political warfare, and in his 
 fights against the money interests. Until the 
 last he requested that the newspapers be read 
 to him, even the often cruel articles about 
 his condition. He received his friends as 
 often as his physicians would allow, and City 
 Solicitor Baker was always admitted to the 
 sick chamber. With his assistance Mr. John- 
 son closed up his worldly affairs when he 
 finally saw the handwriting on the wall. 
 
 It was during that last year that he again 
 took up the teachings of his friend Henry 
 George, with great fervency. The wish to 
 do a great thing for his fellowmen was still 
 burning in his breast. He undertook the 
 before-mentioned trip to England to take 
 part in a meeting of single-taxers, and said 
 after his return that he was glad to have 
 been present, even if the exertion had short- 
 ened his life. His great power of concentra- 
 tion was brought into play. He occupied 
 
 
CONCLUSION 201 
 
 himself with his pet theories, believing in 
 their ultimate realization, and banished all 
 thoughts of sickness. 
 
 In times of great pain Mr. Johnson was a 
 reader. When incapacitated himself one or 
 another of his friends read to him for hours. 
 He liked to hear well-written, simple love 
 stories with a happy ending, and took a lively 
 interest in the destinies of the people in the 
 book. On one occasion he asked a friend 
 who was reading to him Eobert Louis Steven- 
 son's "Treasure Island/ ' to suspend for a 
 time, declaring the story to be too strong for 
 his weakened condition. 
 
 The impetuosity of his active days had, of 
 course, left him, and he had become very 
 gentle, kind and considerate, and quite pa- 
 tient. Greatly, indeed, did he enjoy the pres- 
 ence of his little granddaughter, Margaret 
 Evelyn Mariani. The society of his wife was 
 not less welcome. 
 
 About the middle of March, 1911, he at- 
 tended as a guest a lawyers' banquet, enjoy- 
 ing himself hugely. He always had had a 
 
202 TOM L. JOHNSON 
 
 liking for the fraternity and wished to study 
 law after his last defeat, only being prevented 
 therefrom by his sickness. Two days after 
 this festivity he suffered from a sinking spell, 
 from which he rallied partially. It was ap- 
 parent, however, that the end was not far off. 
 For several days he was unable to leave his 
 bed. He revived, however, and insisted upon 
 receiving his friends. 
 
 On the seventh of April his life was de- 
 spaired of, and he himself had now given up 
 all hope. At last this indomitable man had 
 become tired and ready to sleep. His last 
 days were not without pain. 
 
 "I want to die game, and meet death with 
 a smile," he was reported to have said. And 
 death came to him Monday evening, the tenth 
 of April, after he had fallen into a state of 
 coma during the morning hours. 
 
 The mourning of the citizens of Cleveland 
 was deep and sincere. Everybody felt that 
 death had claimed the best Mayor the city 
 ever had, that a man uncommonly gifted had 
 passed away. He had to some extent been 
 
 
CONCLUSION 203 
 
 a character of national reputation and had 
 personally known every public man of re- 
 nown. His demise was noticed by Congress, 
 where a resolution of regret was passed. 
 The Legislature of Ohio also adopted a simi- 
 lar resolution. 
 
 On Wednesday afternoon following his 
 death, the remains of Tom L. Johnson were 
 taken to the Union depot to be transferred 
 to Brooklyn, N. Y. The cortege consisted 
 of the hearse and six carriages. There was 
 no public demonstration, according to the 
 wishes of the deceased citizen. Heavy rain 
 clouds overhung the sky, but the streets 
 through which the funeral passed were lined 
 with thousands of people who in silence 
 watched the passing of their dead champion. 
 
 The interment took place Thursday morn- 
 ing in the Johnson burial grounds in the 
 beautiful Greenwood cemetery. There, Tom 
 L. Johnson rests next to his parents, and 
 near the tomb of his friend Henry George. 
 

JUt 21 1911 
 
One copy del. to Cat. Div. 
 
 1UI 21 19M