Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1871-09-20
THE TAMMANT THIEVES.
A Few Little Bills for Printing and
Stationery.

From the N Y Times, Aug. 31st. Is
We publish to-day another chapter
OF New York County expenditures, to
which we invite careful attention. The
figures have been compiled from the
| documents sent by Mayor Hall to the
Board of Supervisors, and present the
rings own version of one department
of their expenditures. They comprise
a list of the warrants drawn for print
ing, stationery and advertising, during
1859 and 1870, and for printing and
stationery during the first few months
of 1871. It can not be too steadily
borne in the mind that these are solely
items of County expenditure. The
City accounts are kept as closely secret
as ever, and will certainly continue to
be SO, until The Mayor and Comptroller
are compelled to make them public.
There can be no reasonable doubt that
under the same heads of expenditure
the warrants drawn on behalf of the
numerous departments of the City
Government will be found to be very
much greater in amount, and still more
glaringly fraudulent, than the majority
ofthose now published.
With reference to the Ingersoll, Gar
vey and Keyser payments, the question
could fairly be raised. Who got the
money? What proportion Of the pro-
ceeds went to the tradesmen who sub
mitted under oath bills that were mani
testify fraudulent, and what was the
share allotted to the corrupt officials
who passed the bills as genuine In
regard to the warrants which we now
lIr1, fho Of
very much narrowed. Of the expen-
ditures, amounting to nearly two and
three-quarter millions of dollars, else
where detailed, upwards of two-thirds
went into the pockets of firms which
are simply aliases for Tweed. Between
March, 1869, and May, 1871, there
was paid to the New York Print
ing Company, the sum of
81, 635, SS9. 81 on account of "printing
and stationery The representatives
Of Tweed IN this concern are -Chas. E.
Wilbour, who offciates as President,
and Cornelius Corson, who acts as Sec
retary. From May, 1869, to May, 1871,
the Manufacturing Stationers' Com
pany received OIL account of "stat;on-
ery " the sum of $97,S81.21. Wilbour
and Corson represent their master
Tweed in this concern in the nominal
capacities Of President and Secretary
The Company is situated in one of
Tweed's buildings on Reade street. In
1869 and 1870 there was paid to the
Transcript Association; also controlled
by Tweed, the sum Of 1927, 1876 for
advertising, being more than one-half
of the entire sum distributed among so
other newspapers. The Transcript is
worthless sheet, which probably not
one hundred people of the city ever
lock at, e11d Which is certainly never
perused by anybody save it's proof
readers. The arduous labor Of editing
this contemplate pretender to tho
title of public journal is performed by
the indefatigable Charles e. Wilbour.
To these three concerns. Of whose
profits Tweed receives the lions share,
there was paid, in the course OF little
over two years, from the County De-
p0Ttnaents alone, the sum of 81, $751;
5O6.54. When the greatly superior
opportunities for fraud presented by
the more numerous departments Of the
City Administration are kept IN view:
ii may be safely assumed that when the
city accounts are dragged to light the
amounts paid to Tweed's printing
and stationery concerns will be feut,d
10 fsty greatly exceed even the
huge amount we have quoted.
It must not be forgotten that, in adj
ditlon to their emoluments as managers
of Tweed's private business, Wilbour
and Corson are in receipt of very hand
some salaries from both city and eoun-
ty branches Of our local government. 1t
is not more than eight years since Chas.
e, Wilheur was q reporter Of no remark
abls falsnt oil flls staff 81 Jho L. & Iii
b1.ne. To-day he is in a position of OPP
ulence, drives fast horses, and lives
sumptuously In this be is greatly aid
ed by the receipt of 50, 900 year from
the county bureau for services whic
are purely imaginary, and q like SUM
from the city hureau for similar con-
sideration. Cornelius Corsonkept, a few
years ago, an unDretending rim shop on
the high Bridge read: Feis t'o1F Hi htitil
BE it1lit5t0r OF the Boss i'll the matter
OF a splendid residence and "palatial"
stables. The amount OF his sinecures
in the County Department is 50, 500,
and in the City Department probably
as much. Wllbour, Corson, and five
clerks perform the duties requiring two
OF three weeks each year at the Bureau
of Elections. For this service, the
two principals, the five clerks and one
messenger figure an ti,e Uci1ilty pay
foll FOR tie sum of twenty-four thou
sand dollars, and on the City payroll
for similar sum. 1t Will thus be seen
that, expensive as are the printing and
stationery of the New York Printing
Company, its servants are no less high
priced. The few whom we have al.
ready described cost the taxpayers Of
New York not less than sixtyssix thou
sand d5llars y ar, and, had we access
to all the pay-rolls, we could readily
show that this is a mere fraction of the
amount indirectly filehed Under the
names OF Tweed'e snhofdinates.
1naddition to the three concerns Of the
omnivorous Tweed, there appear in our
lists of to-day the names of four other
stationery and printing firms, who fig
ure for the aggregate sums Of $538, 872.-
S6, in payments extending over two
years. The amounts paid to these par
ties are certainly remarkable; but III
the absence OF specified items, we can
only suggest, in the language OF Mayor
Hall, that they aIe FFlarge, and per
haps exorbltunt. For example, NJ. B.
Brown g. Co. appear to have the exclu-
sivey- privilege of supplying the
stationery for the Tax Commis-
sioners' Office. Between June 9Th,
1869, and May 31st, 1871, the immacu-
ate Nathaniel Sands and his col
leagues required payments TO be made
for stationery furnished to their de-
partment to the amount of S22, 607. 49,
It would not be very difficult to get an
| estimate of how much stationery the
clerical staff of the department could
possibly use within two years, and We
hardly think any business man vii
| doubt that it would leave very large
margin to be accounted for by the Com
missioners. It will be observed that
w. G. Rogers & Co., managed TO obtain
payment from the county III 1869 ano