He was dogged in his determination and cool in a crisis. He was no compromiser, but fought to a finish. His lifes achievements were embraced in the brief span of 44 years, his death occurring on February 22, 1921. The genesis of this book was in a visit of the editor to William F. Mc Combs, nearly three years ago. At that time, Mr. Mc Combs, prostrated by illness, recited many incidents which appear in this volume. The editor was so impressed that he begged the privilege of writing them. Mr. Mc Combs answered, Not now. The story would be misunderstood. Let sget together after I recover and map it out .A few weeks later, it was agreed that we should collect all available material and prepare it in book form. Death intervened before the task cotdd be completed. Mr. Mc Combs wrote about one himdred thousand words, terminating at a point in the Democratic Convention when Champ Clark needed only a few votes to. become the Presidential nominee. There was, in addition, much detached material. Because of Mr. Mc Combs illness and death, he was unable to finish the work he had undertaken. The editor has been compelled to supply many details with which he became familiar through an intimate friendship of nearly seventeen years. An effort has been made throughout this book to utilize all the material that Mr. Mc Combs had prepared, and to distinguish this from the material supplied by the editor.(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don"t occur in the book.)About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.Forgotten Books" Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the aged text.