The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1873-11-22


ment under the Tammany ring, and
the means by which that ring was
able to gain and hold such power, and
to carry on for years such course Of
colossal plumber, may be inferred from
the amount paid to newspapers under
the name Of advertising. From an
article in Harper's Weekly we con-
dense the following payments to va
rious papers during periods running
mostly from FIVE years before the
downfall Of the ring up to that event:
The Transcript, owned by ring Off
Gals, drew in 1871, S1O9, 461 65; in
five years, Ss3, 49S Co. 1t had
claim for 1886, 100 20 more, making
1853, 658 q.
The Daily News received in FIVE
years $4S9, $50 81. 1t had claim for
more, which was lost by the downfall
of the ring.
The World received in five years
s147 ,239 II; claimed, Sd ,4O1 60, which
was cut down to $2S,014 %.
The Star received in four years
$241 All II; had claim for SCI .756 20,
Of which SO, 233 60 was allowed.
The Herald received s1O1 $50 SO;
claim Of $44,S75 so was reduced to
SIS, 47O so. Its adjunct, the Telegram,
got $63,8O0 %; claimed $27, 217 II
more; was allowed s13S47 so.
The Commercial Advertiser drew
$12O,775 GO; claimed $50, 179 05 more,
but was allowed but $13,S25 Is.
Sunday Mercury weekly in four
years got sl12, 1886 SO; claim SAG, 331 AZ,
of which but $l3, 1854 was allowed.
Harpers' Weekly says:
The advertisements furnished to the
various newspapers were often simply
Jobs designed to afford large gratuities
to those who actually rendered no SER
vice, and who failed to produce the
evidence of having published them, or
even the evidence, by the production
Of the files. that their papers were
published at all for the periods for
which they claimed payment
The rates charged for publishing the
proceedings of the Common Council
were sometimes 300 per cent. higher
than those paid by ordinary business
advertisers. One journal published
the voluminous message Of an ex-
Mayor, with the accompanying docu-
ments; and while its readers supposed
they were being furnished with the
public papers as part Of the news Of
the day. they were actually reading it
at an expense of one dollar line
while the rates for ordinary advertise
| ments in the same paper we're but
forty cents line. This difference be-
tween forty cents and one dollar per
| line, amounting to 81, 900, was disal-
Lowed.
The number of newspapers in the
city of New York which were the re,
cipients of this class of official pa
trOnage was eighty nine, of which
number twenty-seyen have since stop
ped. All these, with possibly three
exceptions, were solely dependent up
on this kind of advertising for sup
port.
The total reductions made were
$79l ,635 IL on claims amounting to
81, 1926 81, Of which 1919. 6S4 % are
not finally disposed of. These were
not, however, the only advantages gain
ed in the interest Of economy. The
cost of the public advertising, which
had been 81 ,093, 1863 81 in. 1871, was
reduced to $l45, $50 40 in 1872. Its
cost during the present year can not
exceed $25 700; or, in other words, in
this branch Of the public service more
than million dollars has been annu-
ally saved.
The Graphic gives the following to
supply the omissions in Harpers'
Weekly:
It ought, however, to be added that
the Times received SO, 4S4 Y as its
share Of the corporation advertising,
and only began its denunciation of the
ring when an additional bill of some
1900 was disputed by the ring. The
Tribune also received $54 S47 "a; the
Evening Post, 500, 169 SO, and the
Mail, as, $50 IS.
The public will see by this that the
New York press was subsidized by the
Tammany ring. There was no organ
of public opinion to protect the COM
munity from the thieves. Harper
says the official advertising was done,
under the new system, for $500 in
1872. Is it any wonder that there is a
general newspaper assault on Con-
troller Green?