CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH

The Contemporary Manhattan Club-Meeting of Old and New-Present Governors of the Club and their Records-The President and Ex-Presidents-Prominent Members-Some Groups within the Club-Thirty-year and Older Members of the Club-Notable Employees.

The

N organization is as old as its oldest member and as young as its youngest. But the two meet on the common ground of the present tense. The one reflects the other. new keeps fresh the memory of the old, carries on the ideals of the old, builds upon them, extends their scope, revises them; and in the new the old lives, the pioneers of the earlier day find, not their graves, but their immortality.

The problem of attacking the "Who's Whos" of the present Manhattan Club is of so grave a nature, freighted as it is with pitfalls and other dangers free from childlike attributes, that one is moved to summon to his aid the tender mercies of an anecdote dealing with Mr. George Moore, the most famous of contemporary Irish novelists. Upon the completion and announcement of his latest trio of books, the now notorious "Hail and Farewell," dealing mainly with events and people in and about Dublin, such is the reverence in

which these good folk hold their great Irishman, so often has his naïvely truthful pen slashed this and that gentleman or gentlewoman in the past, that curiosity, dread, anxiety, and every other fearsome emotion quickly set fire to the Irish capital, and a saying, since made current, followed in its wake: "Half the people in Dublin were afraid they were in the book; the other half, that they had been left out." In compiling this history I am moved toward giving the bon mot a reverse twist: "I am doubtless paying attention to only half the contemporary lights of the Manhattan Club at the same time that I am unwittingly overlooking the other half-so I am equally in dread of both." However, I shall face the music with a brave heart, conscious of impartiality.

It is most creditable that so many and such diversified natures pursue their various paths so peacefully under the same roof, seldom, if ever, coming into collision. It proves that discipline, although unseen, has its firm grip on one and all, and that the amenities and courtesies of life hold a large share in maintaining pleasant and sociable intercourse among so many individuals. However, it is amusing to watch the usual variations from the general key. Some are jolly under any and all conditions; others, morose in spite of alluring surroundings; some are diffident and seem scarcely able to ask for what they want; others cry out their wants in stentorian tones; some are studious and frequent the library daily; others—and their name is legion-virtually never, or rarely, come within its portals; some are methodical and seldom fail to write out a check in their check-book when money is wanted; others take up a blank check from the office counter, draw it out or have it drawn out, and then trust to luck or memory to enter it in their own accountbook. The world is thus made more varied by each individual who comes and goes. On a smaller scale, but in more concentrated form, the general rule applies to the Manhattan Club.

The governors of the Club are: Harry S. Black, Philip J. Britt, Lewis J. Conlan, Charles W. Dayton, Victor J. Dowling, Ashbel P. Fitch, Phoenix Ingraham, Frederic Kernochan, John Lynn, William F. McCombs, James A. O'Gorman, Herbert C. Smyth, Albert Tilt, H. K. S. Williams, William Schramm, and Herbert D. Lounsbury.

John Lynn has been a life member since 1892. He is especially noted for a fine munificence, it being claimed by some that he is the most generous human alive. William F. McCombs, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, needs no trumpeter to herald him. He managed the campaign which resulted in the election of President Wilson, and in 1913 was tendered the ambassadorship to France, an honor he declined. Judge Lewis J. Conlan is the first to come and the last to leave the club-house. He has consequently been charged with being the ex-officio caretaker. The Judge has been a member for twenty years.

Phoenix Ingraham deserves very high credit for his exemplary work as chairman of the House Committee. A more efficient body of men in like capacity does not exist anywhere. Mr. Ingraham is a life member. Reference to Mr. Ingraham's father, Judge George L. Ingraham, is imperative. Judge Ingraham has been a member of the Club since 1883, and head of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court since 1896.

Louis Bertschmann, who died recently, was an invaluable asset to the Club. He, more than any one man, was responsible for the greatest influx of new members.

Senator James A. O'Gorman, member since 1900, ex-justice of the Supreme Court, and senator from New York since 1911, is one of the Club's most vital figures. Governmental duties never prevent him from giving the Manhattan the best service at his disposal.

President Philip J. Britt, elected to his present office in April, 1914, is, needless to say, worthy of the honor con

ferred upon him. Much of the success of the recent anniversary dinner is due to him, and, in general, the spirit of progressiveness which permeates the activities of the Club. Among the ex-presidents there are three living: Morgan J. O'Brien, Alton B. Parker, and Victor J. Dowling.

Judge O'Brien, a member since 1887, and president from 1908 to 1910, wholly merits the popularity he enjoys. He is one of the most genial of mortals, and at the same time a gentleman who, in spite of a certain reserve, commands the respect and service of individuals in every walk of life. He has always been tireless in his activities and self-imposed duties in behalf of the Club, and stands foremost among the influential and beneficent factors in Manhattan evolution. Eminent as a jurist, he is everybody's friend.

Alton B. Parker, member since 1894 and president from 1910 to 1911, has been judge at various times of the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division and chief justice of the Court of Appeals, from which post he resigned to accept the Democratic nomination for the Presidency in 1904. He has contributed no little toward making the Manhattan Club what it is to-day.

Victor J. Dowling, deservedly one of the most popular of Manhattanites, president of the Club from 1911 to 1914, was instrumental in the purchase of the present building on Twenty-sixth Street. He is at the present time President of the Modern Historic Records Association.

Distinguished credit is due the Manhattan Club for the signal honor of having on its roster three such exceptional diplomats, patriots, and clubmen as James W. Gerard, ambassador to Germany, who has so tactfully handled the delicate questions that have been brought up periodically between Washington and the Wilhelmstrasse; Frederic C. Penfield, ambassador to Austria-Hungary; and Francis Burton Harrison, governor-general of the Philippines.

More than a word of praise should be laid to the account

of the body of men who did such yeoman service toward making the anniversary banquet and celebration the phenomenal success and famous event time has recorded it. The motive power which lay at the heart of their endeavors and which made those endeavors reach such envied success was unselfishness and a courageous willingness to serve. I refer to the gentlemen who composed the Anniversary Committee. Their names follow: Morgan J. O'Brien, chairman; Victor J. Dowling, George F. Harriman, William R. Hearst, George L. Ingraham, Alexander Konta, Martin W. Littleton, Manton Marble, William F. McCombs, James A. O'Gorman, Alton B. Parker, William F. Sheehan, John B. Stanchfield, and Thomas F. Vietor.

Patrick Francis Murphy, generally considered the best after-dinner speaker in this country, was one of the men who delivered addresses at the recent banquet.

Among the prominent members of the Club are the New York State Democratic chairman, William Church Osborn; D-Cady Herrick, ex-district attorney of the State, justice of the Supreme Court and the Appellate Division, and one-time Democratic candidate for governor; and that able, learned, and accomplished international jurist, John R. Dos Passos.

From the newspaper world there are four giants: Frank I. Cobb, editor-in-chief of the New York "World"; Caleb Van Hamm, managing editor of all the Hearst interests; Edward G. Riggs, one of the vital sparks of the old Dana régime on the New York "Sun"; and Louis Seibold, of the "World," who enjoys the confidence of practically all prominent public men.

John Quinn, lawyer and art collector, is a unique figure in the Club. He was instrumental in the success of the now famous "Irish Players." A daily visitor is Frederick B. Tilghman, descendant from an old and honorable line, and prominent on the Stock Exchange. Ex-Lieutenant-Governor William F. Sheehan is always in demand, such is his