Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 157, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 July 1910 — MAYOR OF PORTO VELHO. [ARTICLE]

MAYOR OF PORTO VELHO.

Unique Distinction Conferred Upon American In Heart of Bramtl. To be made the mayor of a foreign community while still retaining American cifcienship and to “get away with the goods” is something that does not fall to the lot of the average American. In Thomaston, L. 1., however, the „ New York Telegram says, “there is to-’day a live, up-to-dato American, enjoying his first visit home in 25 months, who is the mayor of a place some 10,000 miles away, in the very heart of South America. On the Booth liner Clement there arrived Thomas F." Murphy and four of hi 3 associates, Loftin E. White, “Joe” Gugenheim, W. Gerald Cooper and Fred Schmidt. The quintet have been in Brazil more than two years laying out a railroad route from Madeira Morrow among the headwaters of the Amazon, which is to stretch across the continent when it is completed. Times were a bit dull at Pprto Velho, so named for no reason in particular, for there was- no habitation there until the five Americans arrived on the spot io lay out their railroad. To while away some of their spare, time the Americans decided to hold an election. The native porters and laborers were given pieces of pasteboard and told to place them in the big box at the entrance of the white man’s camp when Gugenheim gave the signal. In the improvised ballot box the natives dropped their bits of pasteboard, each of which read as follows: “I vote for Thomas F. Murphy for Mayor of Porto Velho.” There was no question as to the unanimous vote and after Murphy’s election to office the five Americans proceeded to divide the rest of the municipal offices between the other four. According to the law of Brazil, however, the natives haying voted regularly and willingly, really elected Murphy to the office of mayor of hitherto unknown Porto Velho, and when the five Americans left there a month ago some Brail lan settlers were very much wrought up over the proposition of possibly never seeing their mayor again and over not being able to elect another man as their head because of the present lneumbent of the mayor’s office.