The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1873-11-28
The Conviction Of Tweed.
From the New York Times
e l.

The tendency OF most people Is 10 oe"
spair Of a contest after it has been car
ried on with apparent failure for some
few months or years. Yet it is general
ly to be seen, if men would only keep
their eyes open, that the right cause Is
pretty sure to win in the long run
Those who defend it may be abused or
misrepresented, but that is a matter of
little consequence. The cause for which
any man fights is greater than the man.
Few struggles looked more discouraging
or hopeless than that which we began
against Tweed and his associates in 1870
We do not take any credit to ourselves
that it has triumphed, for the people
caused it to triumph-the only difficulty
was to induce them to come out and pro-
tect their rights. At that time we were
allowed to have the field entirely to our
selves, for a forlorn hope is generally
not overwhelmed with volunteers. All
sorts of persons have claimed the hon
ors of the victory since, from eminent
lawyers to pictorial lecturers, and there
is no harm in that. Yet, even after the
Tweed gang was deposed, we were taun-
ed with our failure to bring them to
Justice. If anything went wrong in
what was sneeringly called the reform
movement, we were made responsible
for it; if any thing went right, we were
politely invited to take "back seat. y
When in 1872, we were told that Tweed
was as rich and powerful as ever, we
ventured to remind our readers May 6,
1922 that "the path.'to success is often
reached over many failures" and we
kept to our prediction that Tweed d Co.
would vet meet with their deserts. And
this very year February l, 1879 we
had occasion to say: "The Tribune, Her
aid, World, and all the rest of them,
could not save Tweed and his gang from
overthrow at the polls, nor will they
now be able to save from the just penal
ty of their crimes. We shall see these
men in the State Prison yet, al surely as
these lines are published" Of course
our contemporaries laughed, but we now
see the beginning of the end. 1t is a
very long road that has no turning.
Nothing could have been more necessa-
ry and nothing could be more opportune
than the conviction of Tweed. In the
first place, it proves that trial by jury
has not became ridiculous farce in this
city. We have seen SO many strange trials
that public confidence in the jury sys
tenn has been considerably shaken. VIZ
now see that when we get a fair jury
and an honest Judge it works wei
enough. In the next place, Tweed'i
conviction proves that cheating, swim
ding and lying are not the qualities
which lead to permanent success in thi
life, and that is lesson elementary as i
may seem by no means unnecessary II
the present age. We see public men an'
newspapers every day deliberatel!
preaching and acting upon the theor.
that the public is only thing to b
robbed and Observation-Disclosures honest.
in politics does not pay, and the dut.
of every official is to feather his Owl
nest. Well, Tweed featherered his nest
and the poorest man in New York cit
, would not desire to change his lodginl
for it. We all remember the palace a
Norwalk, and the fine house on FIT
: avenue, with its flower garden and four
O tains, and the walnut-wood stables clos
;, by. Every man connected with the Rim
: was an object of envy to the believers
, the theory that the Devil looks CAREFUL
= after his own. The Tweedite was COY
cred with diamonds; his carriage role
v through the streets; he could put an
q man in prison on an order from Barnar
! or Cardozo; there seemed no limit to h
# wealth and power. Yet in two yea
% the banditti were all dispersed; and
Ie was not till the other day that they pa
,s TALLY revived again, under the leade
,e ship of John Morrisey, and throug
4 the melancholy apathy of the hone
,e people of the city which we strove
a earnestly to break down between 1s'
,r and 1872.
Tweed has still command of gre
deal of money, and he can employ "ab
counsel" :" who will make motions in a
rest of judgment, and for new trials, al
who may perhaps succeed in keepil
him out of felon's Jail for some lit
ne time vet to come. But his doom is ct
an tain. He is now branded before t
20, world as a convicted thief-and he W
al end his days as a convict. May that
n the fate of every man who initiates
nd examplel And when we give expr
'e- sion to that wish, we have in our G
ed the men who stood by him and aid
m him in the commission of his frauds
SITS What share they took of the stolen mt
nd ey we do not know,-we may ne'
IN know. But they are as guilty as if tn
he shared the plunder; for they connived
m the robbery, and defended it after it
'ht committed. A man not much less gr
OF ty, in point of principle, was Hal
all Genet, and he was recently elected
eet the Assembly by the people of
ant Twenty-frst District-to the eter
lss, shame and disgrace of that district
md Then there was Peter:.B. Sweeney-is
'|'- to be allowed to escape? And was
mt Mayor Hall guilty of no offense in 81
the ing all the fraudulent warrants.
yer Justice has gained greet victory;
rb- it has much work to do. To praii
are Judge for doing his duty ought to
deemed an almost impertinent act;
it can not be so regarded in our city
We may, therefore, be pardoned for
-. minding the public thatever since Ju
.. Davis has been ON the Bench, he
:" done his duty without fear or favor
ward any individual or class, and
E - he has already redeemed the Bencf
90 this city from the scandal which so
- rested upon it. The jury which
victed Tweed also deserves to be gl