American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-04-26

=
ION the stunted trees which stand sparsely
upon the banks of the Rio Grande, thu
Pecos or the Concho.-y. ". st6ete, IN
Kansas Kagositse.
The secret OF Tom Murphy's Power
Some people, who hear or read of the
way Tom Murphy bosses the political
business of New York, are doubtless AT q
loss to understand the secret of his power
"a power more formidable even than that
which was welded by Boss Tweed, Here
is coarse. red-faced, snUbnosed, dull
eyed, thick-set man OF fifty, ignorant rs d
boor, stolid in his ways, low in his morals
without intellectual parts or even elegant
manners. He holds no office, and never
held any except that of Collector. when
he resigned after short experience of IT.
Yet he controls the Republican party III
the leading State of the Union. His word
is law to a wholem of politicians He
nuts himself at the head of ring" 10
pIunder the richest city in America. He
goes to Albany and does what he pleases
with the Legislature. He mods and bill
masses: winks and bill doesn't pass He
saws whom he wishes for Speaker, and the
party rally round his man, and all the
Federal machinery in the State is seen at
the mans back. He takes to the Legisla-
ture "A new charter for the city which will
enable him to carry out his schemes He
carries it through the Assembly, even
against the protest of the powerful Com
mittee of Seventy" which managed the
great political-municipa resolution of last
year. 1t stuck for a time in the State Sen
ate while he was absent in Washington,
but when it was announced Il few days ago
that he had again turned up in the State
house, and that members were crowding
around him, the result was easily foretold.
Even such an admirable gentleman, &C
complished scholar, earnest, political re
former, and ardent friend of Grant as
George William Curtis, is powerless in
Murphy,s presence. Murphy thinks that
Curtis takes on airs, which is something
that Murphy won't stand and so as Curtis
is the manager of the great scheme of Civ
il-Service reform, Murphy knocks it in the
head. And thus Tom Murphy bosses
everybody and everything, and pulls the
strings which make the r.I.ppets dance.
Now, in the names of all the gods at once,
upon what meat does Murphy feed, that
he has grown so CREATE
The secret of this curious state of things
lies in the fact that Grant has given Muir
ply immediate control of the vast Federal
patronage of the State of New York.
Even Senator ConkIing, who is a great
stickler for things, has, Tor reasons, trans
ferred nearly all his privileges in this mat
ter to Murphy. Murphy was a sho,.dy
contractor for the Army Of the Potomac
during the war; and at that time, by some
means ar other, acquired an extraordinary
influence over Grant, and became a great
favorite with him. When Grant became
Presidents he offered Murphy anything he
WISHED; and Murphy took the latest of
flee that exists under the Government, the
Collectorship of the port of New York.
The Collector there generally runs the
political machine, and manages the party's
interests; and he is helped in this work by
the fact that he has at his disposal some
thing like a thousand profitable and pleas
ant places which are eagerly sought for by
the working politicians OF the city and
State. Murphy held the place for less
than TIVE years, but during that time he
had proved himself particularly servicea-
BILE man to Grant and his Administration
in great variety of ways. When Muir
ply was forced TO resign, owing to the
scandals of his official career, he held III
his hand all the wires which he had
pulled in the service of Grant; and as he
and Grant had grown thicker than ever,
Grant gave him the run of the Federal
patronage of the State. AS Collector he
had merely had the Custom House, but
this was a small thing compared
with what he had now got hold of,
which included the Surveyors office,
the Internal Revenue offices, the
Postoffice, the sub-Treasurers office, and
numerous other departments of public
service. Murphy, in fact, had the running
all his friends and tools in proportion to
their value. Whoever wanted anything
had to ask him for it. Whoever wished
to do anything had to talk to him about it.
In this country party interests are largely
managed by the office-holders. They
work up things in their wards by districts,
and as they have particular reasons for
working harder than anybody else, and
their experience and position enable them
to manage a tritle better than most other
people, they easily get the leadership.
gers, who can make and unmake office
holders in a State like New York, is sure
to become the controlling power in poll
tics 1t was Tom Murphy's luck to be-
come Boss" in this way through the par
ticular favor of Grant. Murphy knows
what he is about in the eXeuise of his
powers. He can, at the same time, serve
Grant, help Conkling, and take care of
himself. He can smile on one side of his
face or ON both sides at once. He got his
principal admirer appointed his successor
in the Custom House; and later he has
had at his disposal wind-fall of big
the Surveyorship, Post
and Marshalship of New
York-ail of which fell to men who
knew Murphy" 1t is easy, under the
for Murphy to put himself
at the head of IA municipal ring" 1t is
easy for him to appear as great political
header, whose words are the voice of the
party 1t is easy for him to work upon
the Legislature. There are two or three
ways of working on it. In the
first place. there are said to be good
many members who can be influenced by
the patronage which Murphy has at his
In the second place, there are
many who can be influenced by the de
mands of the party which Murphy repre-
sents, and by the party pressure which
Murphy can bring to bear. In the third
place, there are many who are influenced
by the necessity of securing the party sup
port, to-wit: Murphy's support, in their
district in the next election, and who
know that Murphy can hurt them through
his tools in Office, and who consequently
dislike to offend Murphy, and thus injure
the party" 1t is complicated business
this; but the attentive reader will see how
ing point, hangs on the fact that Murphy
the Federal patronage.
Murphy has been using this patronage
to put himself at the head of the new
ring of plunderers. He is not
with Federal patronage. There
is ten times as much TO be made out of
patronage, as Tweed, Murphy's
old friend, has shown. Grant has been
told of Murphy's scheme, and has got
of the way Murphy is working
things. The Committee Of Seventy have
81 Al.