A rare 1880's stereo-optic view of the Delaware Co. Courthouse in Media.
Note: From 1850 to c.1890 there were two Republican Parties in Delaware Co. The "old" of Chester City and the new Republicans from Media. In 1850 the county seat moved from Chester to Media and that's when the division began. It all came to a head in Media in March of 1890. A long but great read. Jack Robinson's book, " Midshipmen to Congress" tells all and was a great seller locally.
Hon. John B.
Robinson’s book, “From Midshipman to Congress,” has revived a flood of
reminiscences political, in both State and county, among the old politicians
still living, who then took an active interest in political affairs. It was, of course, impossible, within the
compass of one small volume, to relate more than a very few of the innumerable
instances, humorous and otherwise, that might be detailed in the history of
Delaware County politics. One of the
most interesting, perhaps, is the story of the famous Spring Convention of the
Delaware County Republicans, held at Media in March, 1890, and which seems to
have escaped Mr. Robinson’s memory.
A
proper understanding of the dispute which produced the riotous scenes at this
convention, necessitates a brief resume of the two great political campaigns of
1888 and 1889, which immediately precede it.
The
year 1883 saw the high-water mark of the old Cooper regime. Cooper and his adherents, flushed with their
repeated successes, were parading the political rialto, with chips upon, their
shoulders, inviting all hands to the conflict.
The most popular of Cooper’s lieutenants was the late Captain Jesse M.
Baker, who had just finished two terms in the District Attorney ship and was
looking for fresh pickings political.
The ablest, brainiest and most astute politician of the then
organization was unquestionably Captain Isaac Johnson, then Baker’s law partner
and now President Judge. The legislative
bird was to be plucked that year and the powers decided to send Baker after it,
to do the plucking. He was not, however,
to get it without a struggle. John B.
Robinson had recently moved to Media from Pittsburgh. He also had political ambitions and these
seemed to center upon the legislative halls at Harrisburg. Jack was then serving his first term in the
House, and naturally wanted to be returned.
He was a fluent speaker, with a pleasing personality; a keen journalist,
and, in those days of the county lyceums, he had been a faithful and regular
attendant upon their sessions and in this way, had made many friends and
secured many admirers in the county. Jack
immediately challenged the organization to battle, but being without the
necessary sinews of war the result was inevitable. He went down to defeat. Political campaigning in those days was far
different to what it is now. Campaigning
by automobile was unknown. Candidates usually
procured a good horse and buggy, or falling in the possession of the necessary
wherewithal to secure such motive power walked.
Jack was poor and his credit being none too good, he most frequently
walked.
GIVEN
A FAT POST – Following the national campaign of 1888, as a reward for his
services as State Chairman and to remove him from Quay’s path in State politics. Cooper was given the fat post of Collector of
Customs at Philadelphia and Baker’s victory over Robinson, therefore, made him
the logical heir-apparent to the Senatorial throne. But the clouds that portended the coming
political storm were fast gathering and all the sign of the times pointed
toward a sound thrashing for the then so-called “Ring.”
Up
to and including 1888, possibly the strongest fortress in the possession of the
ring had been the Borough of Upland.
Under the leadership of Andy Dalton and Josh Smith, it could always be
depended upon for a favorable delegation at the annual county conventions. Baker had carried the borough’s three
precincts over Robinson in 1888 by substantial majorities and evidently thought
he could do it again. He could, if the
lines had been held intact, but it’s the old story, the old Scotch adage: “The best laid plans of mice and men gag aft
aglee” again demonstrated its applicability.
Baker, whose alliance with Congressman Smedley Darlington gave him the
post office patronage, had promised the Upland post office to Lewis J. Smith,
Josh’s elder brother and late Adjutant of Wilde Post of this city. In the meantime, John Greaves became an
applicant for the place and received the activity support of Samuel A.
Crozer. Baker thus found himself
figuratively between the devil and the deep sea. All his sympathies and desires were
unquestionably with Smith and his friends to whom he owned much, and ordinary
political wisdom should have dictated that open loyalty to the crowd that never
failed him was the only wise course to pursue.
Cooper, however, to whom Baker owed much for earlier opportunities, was
under deep obligations to Mr. Crozer and was, therefore, ardently for Mr.
Crozer’s man, Greaves. Baker failed his
friends at the crucial moment and Greaves was given the job. The result was inevitable.
Smith
was a very popular candidate and the machinery was in control of Dalton and
Smith’s brother, Josh and they, smarting under the deception practiced upon
them declared open war on Baker and openly announced their intention to square
the account at the first opportunity. It
came, even sooner than they anticipated.
While they were “Nursing their wrath to keep it warm,” the local
political world was electrified by the news that a rich relative in Pittsburgh
had died and left Jack Robinson’s mother $750,000. There broke then a storm the like of which
the county had never seen in all its political history. This was in the early winter of 1888 and
1889, and the gang, secure in the prestige of its last great victory and
scorning the mutterings of the coming storm, confidently trotted out Baker’s
candidacy for the Senate.
A
MEMORABLE BATTLE – In Robinson’s behalf there was much to be overcome. His disastrous defeat in 1888 was in incubus
upon his ambitions and his ability to induce his mother to loosen her hold upon
the recently acquired plethoric purse strings, was doubted by many. These details, however, were satisfactorily
arranged and the fight started. Cooper,
Johnson, and Baker, Clayton and McClure, had the advantage of fighting behind
entrenchments. They controlled the
entire political machinery of the county, while their foes attacked in solid
formation in the open. But this, too was
an element of weakness to the gang. All
the bitter animosities of years; all the disappointments; false promises, etc.,
were played upon industriously by the Robinsons crowd. Their mistakes of the various year were
rectified; the ammunition was distributed where it would do the most good, and
when the sun finally set upon that eventful Election Day, it found Baker and
his ticket hopelessly distanced at the polls.
Most important, possibly of all, the count showed a clean sweep in favor
of the Robinsonian candidates for places on the County Committee, the then
powerful machinery of the organization.
The
fight in Upland had probably been the bitterest of any section. Dalton who was a yarn twister, and Smith who
was a four-loom weaver in the Crozer mills had been assiduously for years
building up a Baker machine. They now
cast their lot with Robinson. Their task
was a hard one. The labor of years had
to be undone; explanations made; new alignments perfected and fresh trenches
dug. Night and day these two worthies
labored with the result that Robinson and his line-up carried every precinct in
the borough by handsome majorities.
Smith was returned to the County Committee, and upon the re-organization
of that body was elected Chairman and placed at the head of the Robinson
forces. Then began an internal strife
that lasted for several years. The
Cooper forces sulked in their tents until Election Day and then came out and
cut Fighting Jack’s vote to the tune of 1500 votes.
Under
the old system, two conventions were held annually. The delegates elected to the Fall Convention,
held over and met each spring, at Media, to name delegates to the State
Convention. It had been the almost
uniform practice for the Chairman of the County Committee to call the Spring
Convention to order and then surrender the gavel to the man who had been
chairman of the preceding Fall Convention.
A strict observance of this rule, or custom would, therefore, have conferred
this honor upon V. Gilpin Robinson, who had presided over the destinies of the
Fall Convention. Gil had been a loyal
adherent of his brother-in-law, Baker; and Cooper, being extremely anxious to
control the delegation to the State Convention, the fight was carried into that
field and a bitter struggle was precipitated for the State Delegates. In this fight, it was a foregone conclusion
that Jack would win. He had elected two-thirds
of the delegates to the preceding convention, and it was only to be expected
that now, with his hand upon the throttle, the district henchmen would desert
the old standard like rats deserting a scuttled schooner. In this situation it was determined to carry
the war into Africa, break down all the old barriers and customs and give the
cooper people a determined to repudiate Gil’s claims to the Chairmanship of the
Convention and Elect Chairman Smith to the place. They undoubtedly had the necessary votes to
do it and the inclination and the nerve were not lacking. Cooper’s political prestige and position
really depended upon the outcome of this convention. If he lost control of the State delegation,
he could no longer hope to retain his place with the State leaders as the man
to deliver the Quay and Cameron the Delaware County secret council that the
election of Smith as Chairman of the Convention must be prevented at all
hazards, even to the use of strong arm methods.
This was done and the scenes and incidents of that March afternoon in
the old Court room at Media beggar’s description.
GATHERING
OF THE CLANS – About noon on that day, the rival clans began to gather at the
County Seat. The rival headquarters were
on opposite sides of the State Street, leading to the Court House. Each delegate upon his arrival was immediately
buttonholed and given the proper tip to regulate his course of action. As a matter of fact, Smith’s candidacy was
not determined upon until less than an hour before the assembling of the
convention. The conference that
determined the course of the Robinsonites was attended by Jack himself; H. C.
Snowden, Sr., Bill Mathues, Jim Barker, Andy Dalton, Jos. H. Huddell, Thos. B.
Taylor, John A. Wallace, w. L. Schaffer, former mayor, Samuel E. Turner and
Josiah Smith. A close count of noses
revealed a handsome working majority among the delegates for Fighting
Jack. The convention had been called for
1:30 o’clock and, promptly on the hour.
County Chairman Smith mounted the judge’s dais, seized the gavel and
called the meeting to order. The roll
call was quickly completed and the chair called the meeting to order. The roll call was quickly completed and the
chair called for nominations for permanent chairman of the convention. This was the signal for trouble. Up to that moment, Cooper and his friends had
really doubted the plan of the enemy to eliminate them from any part in the
convention. Both Gil and Josh Smith were
quickly placed in nomination and as Chairman Smith’s Stentorian voice called
for the yeas and nays, Robinson mounted the platform and took his place by the
side of his opponent, whom Cooper had facetiously styled, “The tall Sycamore of
Chester Creek.” Gil’s advent on the
stand was the signal for a wild outburst of mingled cheers, curses, cat calls
and ribald blasphemy, and before any one realized what was up, pandemonium had
broken loose, and all order was thrown to the winds. Effort after effort was made to restore
order, but to no purpose. In those
turbulent days, every faction had its strong arm squad upon which it depended
to enforce its shady decrees. Cooper’s
squad had the decided advantage. They
were not lacking in vast stores of munitions of war, and under the able
tutelage of “Jobey” Wheaton, Big John Riley and a gang of big muscled iron
workers from South Chester, then known locally as “Hogtown” they proceeded to
the task of preventing a peaceful organization of the convention. Cooper and his friends knew that if ever a
vote was taken they were hopelessly beaten, and the long hours of the afternoon
passed away in hopeless efforts of the Robinsonites to secure a vote and of
their opponents to prevent it. Personal
encounters upon the floor were frequent and a number of times it looked as if
the affair would terminate in a bloody riot.
The two rival candidates stood side by side on the platform. Black eyes and bleeding noses were visible in
every part of the room and the climax in the disorder seemed to be reached when
“Jobey” Wheaton, head of Cooper’s strong arm squad, was flung headlong down the
winding stairs leading to the old court room.
In the meantime, the judge’s dais was crowded with excited and
frightened men, trying to escape from the wild tumult on the floor. At the height of the melee, Gil Robinson,
white faced and anxious, looked up into the face of Josh Smith – his tall and
cool competitor, and asked: “Well, how
do you like it?” “Fine!” said Smith;
“Worth coming 40 miles to see.
Donnybrook isn’t in it!”
THE
HUMOROUS SIDE – In spite of its tragic possibilities, the scene was not without
its humorous incidents. The late Thad
Shinkel, bald-headed and aggressive, and inoculated with the virus of copious
draughts of “Dutch Courage,” occupied a post within the enclosure reserved for
the Bar, to the left of the chairman.
Over to the right, Squire Bill Wallace of South Chester, a cripple and
veteran of many political battles in a field then dominated by such political
field marshals as “Sneezer” Williams, Jim McNulty, Hubert J. Riley, and their
ilk who, in their day, ruled the roost, baldheaded and defiant, and waving aloft
his heavy knobbed crane, vociferously demanded a vote and “justice” for his
side. In the midst of the melee, and
while he was excitedly endeavoring to obtain the attention of the chair, someone
threw a large soft quid of tobacco at Wallace.
It struck the doughty Squire high up on his cheek bone, and the juice
trickled down his cheek and dropped from his chin to his shirt front. The rage of the Squire at this unlooked-for
assault knew no bounds. He looked across
the room in the direction from whence the quid had come. The most prominent figure within his range of
vision was Shinkel, who happened to be looking his way. Voicing a tirade of billingsgate and waving
his cane at Shinkel, and cursing like a Caribbean buccaneer, the Squire
threatened all sorts of dire things upon the constable. Shinkel, oblivious of the real reason for the
Squire’s abuse, and not in the least averse to a scrap, returned the Squire’s
compliments with interest. The two
baldheaded gladiators were quieted with difficulty and the Donnybrook fair went
on.
It
was almost five o’clock in the afternoon when Smith, who had been urging upon
Fighting Jack, the supreme importance of reaping the real fruits of their
victory by the election of their State delegates, at last obtained Robinson’s
consent to his withdrawal from the contest for chairman. This was done and Gil
was elected chairman.
COOPER
REIGN OVER – The wisdom of smith’s judgment was almost instantly apparent for a
vote being then taken, Fighting Jack’s delegation was elected by a vote of 2 to
11 and Cooper’s reign as the leader of Delaware County politics was over.
The
aftermath of this historical scrap permeated the contests of the next few
years. Recognition of Robinson’s
leadership was grudgingly given, and the bitterness of defeat was not assuaged
by Robinson’s triumphs in the several hot campaigns which followed.
AW
call of the roll of that convention would be interesting in itself. Many of the active participants have long
since answered the great summons, and many have dropped from the active
ranks. Many of the principal actors in
this scene are fast passing away.
Capt.
Albert Magnin of Darby, upon his crutches:
“Handsome Bob” Newhart of Lansdowne; Gilbert A. Hazlett of Sharon Hill;
the suave, adroit and diplomatic Billy McClure of this city; bluff and big
hearted Bill Mathues of Media; Capt. Jesse M. Baker and the kindly Capt. Joseph
B. Huddell will be seen as more. Many
others, too, have long since folded their tents and stolen silently away to the
Great Beyond. Not a great many of those
taking part in that memorable struggle remain in the fighting ranks. Bill Schaffer is still a force to be reckoned
with. Capt. Johnson, as President Judge,
has risen higher and higher until he occupies a foremost place in the minds and
hearts of the people. H. C. Snowden,
until a few months since, ably seconded the efforts of the county treasurer to
conserve the public’s financial interests and munched his fodder at the public
crib; Jim Barker still pulls his wax ends and still holds the premier place as
the only man who can make a red hot political speech with a mouthful of shoe
pegs; Andy Dalton still struts the boards as one of the cocks of the walk, and
Josh Smith, with an enviable record as district attorney and a host of loyal
friends, still sticks to his law hooks and keeps his weather eye toward a
possible vacancy in the judiciary.
Crowned with deserved honors and badged with the scars of many
historical conflicts, these men can look back now over those strenuous days,
and in the pleasure of reminiscent fancy, live over again the strife and
turmoil of other days.
“Fighting
Jack” is an old man now, whose eyesight age has cruelly dimmed, but who is
bravely marching toward the shadows, crowned with a wealth of well-deserved
honors. After all, what doth it profit
us?
Press
Release
10/23/18
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Kim McDaniel
600 Swarthmore Ave.
Folsom, Pa 19033
610 237-8100
Keith Lockhart at Schoolhouse Center
On
November 7, at 1:15 p.m., Schoolhouse Center at 600 Swarthmore Ave. in Folsom
is inviting the community to hear Ridley’s own Keith Lockhart. Keith is a local historian who is doing a
pictorial presentation on “Ridley Township - Then and Now’. Reservations are essential!
For
registration and information please call 610 237-8100.
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