Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1871-09-01
More Tammany.


"Boss" TWEED and his gang of thieves
affect TO believe the Tammany expose a
mere political dodge. The charges, we
are told, were brought by partisan enemies
only, and will soon be ignored by the peo-
pie, If the Sachoms lay this hattering
unction to their souls, they greatly mis-
Judge public sentiment. AS matter of
fact, too, the charges are not preferred by
Republicans only. What the New York
Times 80 grandly begun has been followed
up by others in position to know about
Tammany doings, and the unearthing
process is still going on. TIE nine or ten
millions stolen by Ingersoll d Co. was
only one among several similar operations.
One exposure leads to another, aud the
whole truth may yet be made public.
Not long ago the President of the
Twelfth and Ninteenth Wards Citizens's
Association invited Mayor Hall to attend
one of the Associations meetings; but the
Mayor, instead, published a card, filled
with empty vaporlngs. To this we now
have a reply. II Is from the pen of a
prominent Democratic politician, Super
visor John Foley. Mr.. Foley being of
the same party as the Tan.many leaders,
his arraignment is specially significant.
Mr.. Foley addresses himself directly to
Mayor Hall. The latter asserted that if
any rascality had been done, it was
chargeable to the old Board of Supervisors.
Mr.. Foley shows that, on the contrary, the
main responsibility rests on neither the
old nor the new Board, but an dd interim
Auditing Board, composed of Messrs. Hail,
Tweed and Connolly-those three aud no
more. The items directly traceable to them
| figure up SO 312, ,541 81. The loOseness with
H. hxrN 1If
Board, may be inferred from the admitted
fact that the whole batch of claims was
audited at one sitting. The list is long,
and all the auditors did, ut most, was to
see If the items had been correctly sum
married. No investigation was made into
the nature of the accounts, or whether the
claims were valid or bogus. The main
duty of an Auditing Board was entirely
neglected.
Ii the General Government had been
conducted upon the same plan as long as
the New York Government has been, the
| nation would have been on the brink of
bankruptcy by this time. Fraudulent
| claims and exorbitant charges are contin-
ually made against government, and in
discriminate payment is mOnstrous. If a
| private business were conducted on this
plan, how long would even an Astor or a
! Vanderbilt stand the drainP But, it is
urged in extenuation, the six millions and
more thus paid out must have been, in the
main, for legitimate expenses. In reply
| to this we are told that the claims in ques-
ton were incurred during the years 1868
and 1869, although not audited until 1870,
and that all the expenses legally incurred
during that period were paid at the time.
This is point of the greatest importance
in this controversy. In the statutes OF
| 1868 and 1869 for New York city and
county, are fully set forth the appropria-
tions made by the Legislature for carrying
ON the government and providing for the
work to be performed for the county for
those years respectively, and in each stat
ute provision is enacted as follows:
THE said several sums shall be applied to the
objects and purposes for wnich the same are mere
by appropriated, except as herein otherwise pro.
vided and neither the Board of Supervisors of said
county, nor any officer, agent, or member thereof
or head OF department, shall incur any liability, OF
make any contract or contracts, or permit, or vote
tor, or authorize, audit or allow, direc ly or in
OF s sRy or s i9s
OF hio expendt9res and Of the lisbilides under
| for said purpose, or for any other pu pose or OBJ
ject than that herein specified"
Supervisor Foley then clinches the nail
by adding:
ncial had any right, power or authority 70 enter
intU any contract or incur any liability for work
or furnishings or which the county could be made
legally responsible. This the statutes specially
declare. You knew that; so also did tho Comp.
troller aud Tweed, when you entered upon 20 j
duties as members of the interim Board. And
with thi knowledge, how did you discharge the
trust reposed in your Claims to the amount Of
millions Of dollars were presented for work stated
TO be done and furnishings supplied to the county
during the years 1868 and 1853. Not only were
the work aud the furnishings thus claimed uevel
performed or supplied on the order Of any
~ In he NsaI
lor l The county but many Of the claims were
fraudulent on their face, some Of then
being, made out in the names of par
device Notwithstanding all this, however, yor
| allowed the claims-you passed them all-yoU
paid them-and having done so, now turn round
place 1t up n board composed haf OF Republi
cans and half Of Democrats. This will not do. Il
must be admitted-and /, lifelong Democrat, dc
admit it-thst not even nominal Republican haC
| anything TO do with the passing and paying OF the
s6S12, ,5ilsT of fraudulent claims paid IN 1870; ans
when you publish the accounts you have pr missed
| / undertake to show thai, under the operation o.
the accumulated debt bonds both you and the
Comptroller are equally responsible for all similar
claims paid in 1862"
This is as explicit as words could make
it. Neither of the trio accused has ven
tured upon reply.
The testimony against the ring is now
complete. Every link in the chain of evi
dence has been supplied, so far as concerns
the six millions three hundred thousand
By the time the people have to choose
once more between Democratic and Re
publican rule for the nation, the extent o.
the Tammany frauds will, doub less, have
been ascertained, and the exact truth have
been established beyond cavil. The ring
will find that they have enriched them
eelves only to make doubly sure the con
demnation Of their party Chicago Jour
| NJ