Mack Out

In 1879, an ambitious young drummer was trying to sell a new register to a hotel in Wheeling, W. Va. Leaning against the desk, he watched groups of politicians moving about the lobby, observed that the man they clustered about was William H. Johnson, editor of the Wheeling Register. A few months later Norman Edward Mack, just 21, a traveling salesman no longer, borrowed $2,500, established a Sunday Times in Buffalo, N. Y. and set out to become a political power himself. Four years later he borrowed some more money and made the Times a daily, so that he would not have to wait six days to answer hostile editorials printed in other Buffalo papers on Monday. By 1888 the Times's vigorous support of Buffalo's Presidential Candidate Grover Cleveland attracted the attention of Erie County politicians to young, aggressive Editor Mack. In 1900 he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention. There he fought so well for the renomination of William Jennings Bryan that

Nominee Bryan had him made New York's member of the Democratic National Committee. Bryan lived to see Editor Mack battling no less vigorously for his bitter foe, Alfred Emanuel Smith. In 1908 Democrat Mack was made chairman of the national committee.

Last week Committeeman Mack, 73, announced that he would soon retire. Long had his square, bushy-browed face, his well-groomed figure, his cane been familiar at Democratic councils. His newspaper had thrived, been sold in 1929 to Scripps-Howard for a reported $6,000,000. He wanted to retire to his home on Buffalo's fashionable Delaware Avenue. He announced his support of Oliver Cabana Jr. as his successor in the Democratic leadership of Erie County. He ex plained :

"My every desire has been gratified for political honors, and in 1928 I would have retired from the political field if that great leader of men, the Hon. Alfred E. Smith, had not requested that I again would accept the position of national committeeman from the State of New York. ... I will not accept under any circumstances the membership of the national committee again and I will continue to do, as a private citizen, my very best to bring success to the party."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.