The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1873-11-25
Our New York Letter.

The Fate of Tweed-A Brief Review Of
the Life of a Great em crntic Loader
His Prosperity, Reno VIZ. Wickedness and
Punishment-Judge Davis the Terror of
NEW YORK, Nov. 3d. 1873
Justice seems at last to have assumed sway
in New York. The trial, conviction and con-
demnation of Tweed constitute chapter in
our municipal history more thrilling and mo-
nentous than any preceding one in our annals.
The career of this man has been one of long
continued, open, shameless, audacious, defiant
rime For the ten years prior to the memora-
de exposures of July 20, 1871, he had been
oerpetrating felonies day by day. If every per-
jury or every larceny of which he has been
guilty were to be visited with a weeks impris-
)nment the remnant of his life would not serve
to expiate his multiplied offenses of either
grade. @
Tweed's claim to be classed among great
criminals is based wholly on the frequency and
mpudence of his violations of law, not upon
heir originality or ingenuity He has always
been vulgar thief. There is none of the dash
n daring about him which gave sort of ro-
mantle colorng 10 the pen pictures of the Dick
Curpns aud Jack Sheppards of earlier days.
lis processes were simple. AS soon as he was
ABDUCTED into Office, he forswore himself, or
,anized banditti. and entered upon general
rusade of plumber. There are few commune
les in which such creature could have lived a
Jingle year. For his stealings were practised
With an effrontery that dsdained disguise 10
his official conduct he did not affect respect for
he forms of law. He trampled on statutes
Ind recognized but one power, and that was
money.
The history of this notorious convict is.in-
,tructive. He began life as chairmaker.
alng in which his father had acquired mod
,st competepcy and to which his alder hrothnr
md himself succeeded, with the advantages of
he experience and business connections which
lad been acquired by their sire. But the youth
ul "Bill'' early developed taste for engine
houses and ward politics, degenerated gradu-
lily into an alderman, became Democratic
-andidate for sheriff and was badly beaten,
vas elected to Congress for single term, and
inally got a Tammany nomination for Super
risor, which under the absurd scheme on which
he board of supervisors was chosen was equiv
lent to an election, as that board consisted of
.welve members, and the voters conld only bal
OF for six, so that the defeated candidates were
,qually sure of their seats with the successful
mes
In this body, composed of equal numbers of
zach political faith, holding their places for six
fears and deriving their tenure from mere
'artizan convention, subject neither to the scru-
my of popular vote nor the chances Of a
doubtful canvass, there were the terrible
emptations Of opportunity and impunity to
'uter upon an organized system of robbery.
conspiracy was formed which soon became
rystallized into the gang which has since been
Known to infamy as the Ring The dangerous
responsibility of serving as chief of this knot
If thieves was accorded to Tweed. Whatever
reluctance he may have confessed in the secret
c,unsels of this knavish conclave to assuming
the hazard and shame of such leadership
pllage-and it does appear incredible that
my man could undertake without hesitation
md fear pursuit in which nothing but mere
money could be gained in any event, and which
involved the loss Of honor, manhood, self
respect ana the good opinion of decent people,
With the possible consequence Of falling, as this
poor wretch has fallen, within the forfeit of the
aw-it is certain that he speedily acquired the
lexterity ard facility of operation that were
necessary to bring wealth to himself and his
guilty accomplices. The Court House and the
Printing Company were two gigantic sources
If revenue to the Ring By the contracts
lnder which the former was put on the
course of completion (for after thirteen years it
still remains unfnished) not less than ten mill
IONS of dollars were stolen. am not able to
compute the amount of the peculations accom-
plished through the medium of the Printing
Company but they were DO doubt large. The
Ring organized an establishment for doing all
the County printing As a Company they
made out the bills, as Supervisors they audited
them and decreed their payment. I know of
one instance in which they received $135,OOO
for job which first class printer estimated
upon, and offered to do for $4,000. In other
words they charged nine dollars for every dol
lars worth of work they did. This seems to
have been the rate of profit in which all their
business was transacted Tweed as chief of the
robbers, claimed and was accorded the lions
share OF the spoil, but each and every one of
the scoundrels who constituted the cabal of cor
rlpton laid perjury to his soul, every time he
cast an affirmative vote on an appropriation for
the Court House or for printing. If ever the
damning story of that decade of iniquty is re-
Corded, other men besides Tweed will have to
sit in the pillory of public scorn, men whose
names entirely familiar to well-informed
citizens who have kept themselves acquainted
with the events of that awful period of munich
pal degradation, and have helped as much as
! ey could to bring it to an end
Of course people who would tolerate such
louses must CT necessity have been very stold
md ignorant. Every stone that was laid in that
County Court House was laid in contempt or
evasion of definite and specific statute. And
then the appropriations made annually by the
legislature were so many distinct notifications
a despoiled community, that they were be-
ing robbed of eight ninths of all the money set
apart for the construction of the architectural
inonstrosity on the north side of the Park.
There is no doubt that the imbecle Indifference
with which the citizens of New York suffered
lis of their leases of Office which they consum-
mated through the ballot boxes, or the torpid
apathy which characterized their submission to
10Y and every species of fraud in elect ons, en-
'''uehed the Ring to commit fresh outrages of
s'''. more heinous character With his in
eS communications of stolen money. Tweed
was waxing strong in political nowar III
Democratic party accepted him as its s,nuo..,.
lictator. He dominated nominating convo,,
tions placed md displaced candidates contro,Iaa
legislatures, issued mandates TO Governors
and directed the iudoments of tho Roncb Je .