IT is a far cry from the comparatively passive duties of a farmer's boy to those of the Chief of Police in Omaha, Nebraska. If you don't believe it, ask John J. Donahue, and he will tell you how he reached the pinnacle of police glory in the Gate City, and will detail the many trials and tribulations occurring before and since that event.

     Chief Donahue was born on September 15, 1857, on a farm near Iowa City, Iowa. The farm was owned and operated by his father, who had come to this dangerous section of the country when Indians were the chiefest commodity and the times ripe for the installation of several large undertaking establishments. Young Donahue tilled the soil and cared for the cows until he reached the age of twenty, when he bade farewell to his parents and went to Creston, Ia., where he went to work in the Burlington machine shops. He labored in this place until 1884, when the call of the brass buttons overcame him, and he was appointed patrolman on the somewhat limited force of the little Iowa town.

     Donahue was called upon almost immediately to show his mettle, for in 1888 the big Burlington strike occurred, when the switchmen and engineers tied up the road almost completely. Creston was a division point and therefore very important to the railroad service, and it was not long before the police of the town found themselves required to quell several rows which might have proven serious. His fearless and intelligent work made him assistant marshal of Creston, and in that capacity he captured, almost red handed, the only murderer the strike produced thereabouts. He was then made marshal and served in that capacity until 1891, when he came to Omaha.

     On July 20, 1891, Donahue became a patrolman on the local force and started out walking a beat with the rest of them. He didn't stay there long, however, his evident talents for detective work securing him that position, which he held for six years. During that time Detective Donahue made many sensational arrests and participated with honor in many big cases, such as that of Sam Payne, the convicted murderer of Maud Ruble; George Morgan, the murderer of little Ida Gaskill, and others.

     It was no surprise to all concerned when, on November 2, 1898, Donahue was appointed Captain of police, under Chief Martin White. He became White's right hand man and was consulted on all important business. When White died, Donahue was made Chief in his stead, which met with the hearty approval of the most prominent men of the city, he having acted as Chief during White's sickness. The date of Donahue's appointment as Chief was November 13, 1899.

     During his administration, under circumstances which were at times adverse, to say the least, Omaha has been so excellently policed by an inadequate force that it now has one of the "cleanest" records of any city of its size in the United States. The workings of the department have, under him, became practically an open book and there has been no blot on its record.

     In emergencies Chief Donahue shows his almost inestimable worth. The cool, considerate and still firm manner in which he has handled the several local strikes during his administration has brought to him the highest regard, not only of the business men, but of the workingmen themselves. The teamsters' strike, the South Omaha Packing house strike, the telegraphers' strike and the street car strikes were all policed under Donahue's direct supervision and all incipient trouble was quelled before it had a good start. On these occasions, the Chief often made the police station his headquarters and failed to seek his bed for two or three days.

     In the late unpleasantness following the signing of the eight o'clock bill, in which he was called upon to do things directly opposed to the wishes of a large majority of Omaha citizens, Chief Donahue conducted the saloon crusades with firmness and dignity, and his enemies were unable to find a flaw in his conduct.

     Chief Donahue now lives in his new home at Thirty-fifth and Farnam streets. On November 15, 1909, he there held a banquet in celebration of the conclusion of his tenth year as Chief of Police, the longest term in that office in the history of the Department. The Chief has a family of three children.