, 1870-12-18
:peeded -RMg.pm-paf-aaaama.,,

than Is absolutely and pcsenpuIy oontzolIed
q ness hnEe. and fs1 too g1eat for ths pub
Ec csAtcty ea!nes u democracy or IN any otht,
time paced fwo nan II i1ssooneIbIs oe IIs's an'
ihcF1tS and both theso men belonged to ,
low .nd Or AIDED nosal and soc;h tyfe. Such
~ tlevstlon has been rarely seen il nsdctu
history. Even the moet dramatic Of raoae1p
deal with siai1ar violeat alternating
With ii Il, ee,1,r,s.aes sa.n'ts Il iseEa. paRa:
tjen, never havo reschaj cucs5tion
bolaer OF moEe melodtsnatic than this, nor
hare they ever rensasea to corceiye plot 70
was now to 10 developed.
One Of the earliest acts Of the new rulere
Tss FRI ciscly such as DalzAc OF Dumas might
lave projected md dila ed upon They eatab-
!lshsd ihsu. elyes in palace The old OFF ,os
q 'hs Eric Halfway we're in the lowet part OF
situation, no doubt, Convenient for hu .inese,
tut by no means agreeable "a 4 residence !,
11d TIC new propsistors naturally .ished to
reside en- their property. Mr.. FIX and Mr..
e1nlo sss97selnS'y bought huge building Of
sitrated about two 1uills from the business
quarter, md containing Largo thea1a or
opera heuse. They also purchased ssSeri
smaller houees adj dining 1t. This opara house
eott about f140, 900, and large part Of Tie
eS.se4rs sSHsns ~ ore lsass e. to pas
ton, to serve IL Offices: This suite o. apart.
nc1te Eaa then furnished by theusa,yes "A
REPRESENTING the corporation, 1t an expeuee
Of GENE EGo, ooo, and in stSlo which, though
called vulgar, III certainly not more vulgar
and which would te magnificent IN almost ny
palace in Europe The adjoining bouses
wsre connected with the main building and
1c one OF these NJ. Fi.k had his pzivAto apazt-
an'F boa T1th III ,1vaie psss.ge e LIZ opera
the theatre, of Which he bsc.mo
uanager-sn'thief: To these royal At
| !apgenen's i,o brought tastos which h,va
been commonly charged as the worst results
o. foIat iiceraa- The atmosphere Of the Elm
mSr11 rretndiees; aal a. ths opera itslf sup
Piled Mr. Fiska mind with amusement, 40 tho
| opera tronpe supplied him With permanent
| tsrem. Whatever Nr. Fisk did was done On
IN e1traordinsrF Eca'e.
| Ihe,e arrangements, however, regarded ools
the pleaAnIes 0f the American Alaittin, In
Tue conduet or their fntsreFts tho new Direct
cFa showed cap1aty for large generations.
and s'gor in tho execution Of their schemes,
spch 40 Larmed tho entire communitc. at Tho
ann1a! election in 1SG8, wien Gould, Fix. and
| Ltnc, haVirg borrowed or bought proxies for
thegIeater ra1tof the stock, eau ed ,h .m.elycs
70 Ia elected for the ensuing year. the soect-
thle portion Of the pnoAo throughout tho
country was aatonished and shocked to learn
thla the new Board OF Directors contained two
names Peculia1ls notorious aud obnoxious to
hoEeSt mcn-the n&mes Of William H. Tgeed
| and lettr B. Sweeney. To English earB theea
commonplace. not to say vulgar. titles, do not
.eem singulasly alarming; but to every honest
American they convey ! peculiar seuse Of
teI.er ana diegust. ;Ihs State Of Mari York
| ttolled by the city Of NeE York The city
politics aro so entirely In the h,nds Of the
Democratic party as to preclude eyen the CT
/ tstence Of strong minority. Tho party
organization centres IN political cluh, held
tosoihes hy ia patronsEe .nd the money 1t
controls through system Of jobbery une-
9uAlled elsewhere in tho world. And the
Iamnany Club, thus ewsyinB the power OF
email nation Of several million Bouls. is itaslf
ruled by William H. Tweed and Peter B.
system Of theft md traud, and 10: Amdrican
eyes tho incarnation Of political immortality.
Tho effect Of this alliance .vAs fslt In the
ensuing winter in tha paasage Of bill through
the State Iegtslature and Its signature By
the Governor, abolishing tho former system
o. animal elections Of the sntirs Board Of
En- 5a,ea pre0tSss s7,s., and It..,; ;:.sezg the
msIner, that only portion should be
chargtd each yekr- The principle Of the
bill was correct. It's practical effect, however,
| was to enable Gould and Fisk to maks thsu1-
selves airectors for i've years. 10 eoite Of any
| attempt on the part Of the etockholders to re-
! move them. Tbs fofnality Of arnull re-elec-
| tion vas spared them; and, 20 far as tbs
etockhpEdeTH- were concerned, there WAS no
great Injustice in tbs act The Erie Road w1s
IN ths peculiaF position Of being without M
tho English stockholders ooutd be called such.
In America the stock wAs Almost c1clo&ve!y
held for speculation. not for Investment; and
in the morals OF Wall street, speculation
1aeaus, or had almost come to mt an. dize-
gard OF intrirsio valne+ In this csse society
knew its risk.
This step. however, wss only beginning,
The TAmrnauY ring, an 1t Ia called, exercised
a power far beyond politics. Under the exist-
Ing Constitution OF the Sts:e. the Judges OF
tho State Courts ars elected BY the people.
York, and zach Of the thlEty-three is clothed
state.' OF these Judees Taurnany Uall elect
ed esyeral, and tho Ene Railway o7utspllc1
othe1s in country distticts- Each Of thsss
JUDGES might forbid proceedings before any
"a. ~ si Other 1nsgss or stay proceeding. so
The property Of the public we're in the power
Of the new combination; and two of tho City
Judges, Barnard and Cardozo, had already ~
uuired peculiarly infamous reputation "a 60
called "t1avesto The ring which laft no ques-
etuA - ~ LUG uepkuB 10 NA1GQ 1A44 rfQstltu-
ton OF Justice would descend.
The alliance between TAmmany aud Erie
was thus equivalent to investing Mr. Gould
and Mt. Fiek With the highest attributes Of
soyercigntJs but In order to arail themselves
to tho utmost Of their judicial powsr, they also
required the ab!est egaiAsststanco: This deg
rsdation Of the bench bad been rapidly followed
= tbe degradation Of ths bar. rfcmicent au3
leaEned lawyers were a1Eeady accustomed to
avail themselves OF social CT busiues. relatious
with hJudges to forward private purposes Ono
whose partner might be elevated to tho bsnch
brought oeiore this special Judge; and lltigants
we're taught BY c1penetcs that retainer Ia
such cases wss profltahty bestowed. Others
found'a = sinnffaF advantage resrlting from
known Bocial relations wifi the Court. This
9ebfsemens Of tonc was not eonausd to the
lower ranks Of advocates; and It v1s p.ob1-
bly, this steady decentralization Of tic bar
which made it pos .ible for tic Erie ring to
obtain the services Of Mr.. David Dudley Field
as lie legal adviser. Mr. Field, gentleman
OF European reputation, in regard to whieh he
IL understood to be pocallssl! eolici.ons, vas
York Code, delegate OF the American Socia1
Science association to the European Iator-
national Corg.eas; and asse1ted By his
partner. Nj. SheArnaa. In evidence hefore
committee Of tho New FORK Legislature, to bo
man hInself, ! gettlem.n Of English pa
rentage. had earned public gratitude by ar-
raiSo!rgssrd deplo1ing With Unsurpassed cou1-
aGe and point tho condition OF the New FORK
judiciary, In IN admirable essay whIc1, will be
found in tho North .lnse5.ican Rerieto Tor july,
1867. The value OF Mr.. Field'a services to
Mcsera Fisk and Gould was NOT 10 bo rneasur-
cd even by tho euornous fees theis geaerosity
aid him. His power over certain Judges be-
came 20 absolute ~ to impress tho popular
fmsgiraiion AID the gossip Of Wall atreet in
sists that hs has tilkan halter round tho ues,;
o. Jungo tt1Trxr:. and L hsnpta one rom.
49,. ). e1oEo. 1t is cclt lin thathc who htd,
year before, threatened Barntrd On lis own
teleh With impeachment. new appe.rod in the
CHARACTER Of Rarnart's mater, and iesuea, =
matter Of course, tho tdicts Of his cors.
One other combination was mAde By The
Eric managers TO extend their power, and this
time It Nxs credit thtt was threAtened. They
bought }oint-stcck hank in Now York CITY.
With capital Of caD0 600. The assistance
thns gained VAS purchased At vary moderate
pl'ee. eiuce Il WAS By no maaus represented
oy tic capital. Tho great cl1quea and s.-called
"operatotA" Ct Wall street aud Droad street
carry On theit transactions by + bJatem OF
credits and CLEARING houses with reIy limited
use Of meney: !la banks certif5 ,hsir checks,
SomtIally, and By Aw, the eaals oaly
certify to the extent at bona fis de-
poaits, but, in reality, tho custom, OF Iiisre-
GaIding the ttrict letter Of the Law is not
unknown. ard In regard 10 the bank
In question, the Comptroller Of the Carrancy,
y .hce1 Of the National Treasury, testifes
tHAt On An exanai1xton Of its adsita in Ap.iI,
lsGa, ouk Of fifteen cleck8 deposited ia its
hanas as security for Qualifications raade b. it,
se1ected ut hazard for Inquiry, and rsprtseus-
ing nominal va!ue Of Iso0, 200, three only
were good. The rest Represented aceomnoda-
tion extended to brokers and specu1atoza vith-
cut security. A IN actual fact it Ii in eyi-
eeneo that this same bank, on Thurslay, Sen
te1nber =. 1869, car,idelchecks to The auonnt
Ct nearly Il sou ooo for Mr.. Gould Alone,
What sound security Mr.. Gou1J depo6tsd