Taggart

Thomas Taggart of Indiana died last week. Death carried off a strong man.

In 1856 he was born in County Monaghan, Ireland; brought to this country at the age of 5. At 17 his feats of strength began. He walked 100 miles from his home town, Garrett, Ind., to get a job behind the lunch counter in the Indianapolis railroad station. In ten years he had a small hotel. At 30 he got a $50,000 a year county job, against incredible odds, and held it for eight years. For six years he was Mayor of Indianapolis. Marion County had gone Democratic the year Taggart was born. He brought it into the Democratic column again when he was 32, although Benjamin Harrison, the Republican candidate for President, lived in Indianapolis. With one hand Taggart built up a large hotel enterprise, acquired French Lick Springs. With the other hand he ran politics. He managed the campaign of Alton Brooks Parker for President in 1904. In 1912 he started the swing to Wilson in the Baltimore convention and got Indiana's Thomas R. Marshall named for Vice President. In 1916 a governor whom he elected, Samuel Ralston, appointed him to the Senate. He was, however, defeated for election by James E. Watson (see page 11). Nonetheless he later elected Ralston to the Senate and in 1924 he was on the point of naming Ralston for the Presidency --after the McAdoo-Smith fight--when Ralston refused to run. Thereafter, illness weakened, and last week stilled the strong arm.