New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-10-12
TWO W4 US.

1WO WAfO
| The ~ Y. Times has way of it's own. with
| which we care not to interfere so long as IL
refrains from positive untruth. When 1t
markedly asserts that THE TRIBUNE is an ally
Of the Tammany Ring. we are moved only to
silent contempt. But when, Withholding our
| perverted language from its readers, it asserts
| that we have pronounced "a verdict of ac-
"quittaln of Mayor Hall, it impes us to ex-
pose the calumny by simply repeating cerba-
| tim the statement it thus falsifies-as follows
a. That Oakley . has public money and converted il
to hi, own use not yet prove the Of Mr. John
Foley Democrat late Supervisory bears hard against bin As
however Mr. Policy assert that be has perSons
knowledge the members tbs Board Of Audit Of
.adueny obtained from the bogus claims must
present. regard the charge that Mayor Hall has stolen millions
from the City converted them to bis Not Proven
has cupaby sided others TO enrich themselves ct the
public cost clearly established and virtually confessed He
holds responsible and honorable trust which gives him
reckless disbursements Of the C funds His Official
requisite disbursement ALL or be cannot
against every little Leak and scrunlss uscious aborer
or bill for services rendered But when bills Of $4,000
SO orer raned him 10 quick succession
p,eng plumbing furnishing and carpentcrng single enoe
unit, they suciency TO build and furnish
doubt that his plain duty to call
halt 10 make nqui send trusty subordinate to investigate and
report giving the requisite approval 1t seems 70 me plain that
millions the City treasury which must have
been still there Hall bal done bis simple Official duty That be
attempt this his letter and other manetoe une
quvocay Without Therefore going into the question OF bis
object clear that Mayor Hall has SO wouy
drou betrayed his trust tia. he ought at 0noe to resu or b
elected from once"
That is what The Times calls "a verdict of
"dcquittal" Would it have ventured 80 to
characterize it had our statement been placed
before its readersf
Once for all We do not know that Oakley
Hall has personally pocketed any part of the
vast sums he has aided Others to fitch
from the City treasury. He may have
done sO he may not: we shall probably
know when all attainable facts shall have
been judicially developed. We choose, for
the present, to judge him in the light
of facts which either he has admitted
or the testimony of others has placed beyond
question: and these are sufficient, not to acquit
but to condemn him as q fragrant betrayer Of
a high public trust. The Millions added to our
City Debt under the pretense of paying for
Materials, or for Plastering Plumbing, Fur
nishing, &C., the new Courthouse and the
Armories, could not have been obtained with
ont his official approval of the bills Those
bills were themselves prima facie proof of gigan-
tic larceny-no one could have really supposed
that they were fair and honest. Now, whether
out of the proceeds, as it is pausibly insisted
that he did, is not essential to his cOndemna-
ton. His culpability would of course be ag-
gravated by proof that he thus depleted the
treasury for his own personal profit; but his
case is black enough without. We say again
that he is condemned by his own showing,
and should at once resign or be ousted.
Mr. Sweeny's case is very different lie has
never been Mayor, nor Controller, nor Super
visor, nor member of the last BOARD Of
audit" whereby the treasury suffered so Sc
verely. Until within the last few weeks, he
has held no position which gave him a con-
troll over the aggregate of our City's disburse-
ments and we hear no objection to his con-
duct az o member of the Board of Control
created last Spring. Before answering The
Stars inquiries we sought the counsel of one
prominent in the Committee Of Seventy, ask
ing him if any facts had been elected by that
Committee, or any section of it, which impli
Gated Mr.. Sweeny in peculation. He unhesi-
tatingly answered that there were none.
Still, Mr.. Sweeny may be a thief If he
shall ever be proved so, we shall not hesitate
80 to characterize him. Until then, we hest
tate. And, since we wish to carry our read
erS with us Wnen we move, We SHALL enueaVOr
so to act meantime that the public will accord
weight to our judgment
The facts that cannot plausbly be denied
are of the gravest. Millions have been abb
stracted from our City's treasury by forgery
and fraud. They could not have been so taken
without the aid or cOnnivance of some of our
highest functionaries. They who were hon
ored and trusted and lavishly paid to guard
the public from robbery have shamefully be-
trayed their trust No other embezzlement of
equal magnitude was ever known. 1t is vitality
important that the criminals should be con-
victed and their plumber, 80 far as possible,
recovered. To this end, it seems to US imper-
alive that wild, blind, indiscriminate inculpa-
tons should be avoided, and that Democrats
should realize that we are intent, not on dam
aging their party, but on bringing crime homo
to the guilty and furnishing those who have
deserved it. For instant effect, The Tmess
method may seem preferable to ours but we
appeal to time.
Mr.. Sweeny is our lifelong political antag
onist We differ widely on almost every ques-
ton, and are not likely ever to agree. We
never voted. and probably never shall vote,
the sawe ticket We have from time to time