The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1871-10-26


them by good use of official opportuni-
ty. That is an epitome of the full story.
If the man has ever promoted any pub
lie interest, if he has ever done any
thing except from purely selfish mo-
tives, if he has ever illustated even one
acter-if he has ever been other than a
low minded, coarse grained, official cor
morant and speculatOr, then all contem-
poraneous history has done him injus-
tice.
He is ofiIrish descent and was born
in the eastern part of New York city.
In bOyhood he worked for while as an
apprentice at the trade of chair-making.
but work in the legitimate sense has
never been to his taste or liking. He
mixed with fellows of the baser sort who
congregate in corner groggeries and
! used to "run with the masheen ~ spent
his days in loafing and learning black.
! guarJism, and his nights at random or
sleeping on the floor of the engine house;
eventually joined the toughest fire com.
pany in the city, aud punctualIy per-
| formed his duty as bruiser and shOul-
der hitter; and finally became foreman
of big Six,n otherwise known as "Old
Tiger,n from which the American Club
took its badge Efficient service ut ward
primaries and among the buiIies of his
section Of the city soon attracted the no.
tice Of the Democratic politicians of the
time, aud it was not long before they
| allowed him to receive small office
from which vantage ground he went
| into the old Board of Supervisors, thence
to the State Senate, and ultimately to
the position he now hoids-Commission-
er Of the Department Of Public Works.
Fifteen or sixteen years ago he was in
| the chair business, in which he failed,
| and from which he retired much in
| debt. He is unquesti"naply man of
great executive ability, with little edu-
cation, and retaining much OF the speech
and manner of his early associations. In
March of last year the World sketched
his portrait, in part as follows:
"Mr Tweed was worth less than moth
ing when he took to the trade of poll
tics. Now he has great possessions, es-
timated all the way from s. 600, 600 to
twice as much. We are sorry not to be
able to give his own estimate, but un-
| luckily, he returns 30 income. But at
least he is rich enough to own a gorge
Gus house in town aud sumptuous seat
in the country, q stud Of horses, and
set of palatia stables. His native mod
esty shrinks from blazouing abroad the
exact extent Of his present wealth, or
the exact means by which it was ac-
quired. His sensitive soul revolts even
at the partial publicity of the income
! list. We axe tossed upon the bCundIess
ocean of conjecture. But we do know
from his own reiuc ant lips that this
public servant, who entered the public
service a bankrupt, has become, by AN
| entire abandonment of himself to the
| public good, one of the largest tax
payers in New YORK. Hisintluence is
co extensive with his cash. The docile
Legislature sit. at his feet, as saul at
the feet of GanaIiel. and waits, in rev
erent inactivity, for his signal before
proceeding /" action. He thrives on
percentages Of rilfeiing, grows rich on
the distributed dividends of ra,caiity. |
His eXtOrtIOns are as bOundlcSS in their |
sum rs III their ingenuity. Streets un-
opened profit him--streets opened put
money in his purse. Paving an avenue
with poultice enriches him takin off
the poulticc increases his wealth. His |
rapacity, like the trunk of an elephant,
with equal skill twists a fortune out Of !
the Broadway widening, and picks up |
dishonest rcuuies in the Bowery"
RICHARD H. CONNOLLY.
The least Influential. member of the !
Ring quartette is the man known for
the last twenty or twenty five years as
Slipper Dic}s. Probably an exact use |
of words would require US to say that he !
does not now belong TO the Ring, for !
when the public and his associates drove |
him into the ishtest place he had ever
seen, he slipped out by withdrawing |
from his office, and appointing Andrew |
Fl. Green TO its management. That |
gentlemau j. cordially go operating with |
the Citizen Committee to uncover the !
rascalitics Of the Ring, and Mr.. Connol- |
assistance in his power. He processes
entire innocence OF amy wrong doing,
and great readiness to !!avt his official
conduct Investigated, But no man ever
yet got the popular cognomei long ago
given hi:., without warrant Of some
kind in common judgment, and he must
lie under ban with his associates till his
integrity is established.
He was born of respectable parents in
the county Of Cork, Ireland, and mostly
received his education from his father,
who was a village schooImaster lie
came to this country at al Older broth.
er's instigation while Yet a young man,
and soon worked into the good graces of
his fellow countrymen, and became a
local political leader among them. The
democratic chiefs Of that date thought it
worth while to take him up for prefer
ment, and after ali exciting contest he
was chosen County Clerk, which posi-
ton he held for some time. He showed
good deal of facility in making and
breaking political promises, and perhaps
this fact gave him his unpleasantly sug-
gestive nickname. His action while in
the County Clerks Office was not salts.
factory to the party managers he fell
out of their good will, and dropped from
public station into forced retirement At
a subsequent period, when the Demo.