The daily Argus., 1874-12-05

rhe Right Man in the Right Place
The friends and attorneys Of William N
Tweed are now developing the plans which
thew have been maturing for year to ex
trieate him from prison at the expiration
Of his first twelve months Of punishment.
Despairing Of any prospect Of executive
clemency, now that his most efilclent ad-
yersary and prosecutor is elected Governor
of New York, they are seeking to eyads
the law by means of law, to get their client
out Of Jail by the same way he went In.
It is not within our province to discuss a
point of law now pending before the
courts We have little fear that the sem
teuce of Tweed will be shown to have been
rendered in haste or ignorance. He is a
very rich man: he has plenty of stolen
money to hire lawyers with. 1t is only
natural that he should exhaust every
means in the arsenal Of jurisprudence to
save the remnant of his life from the pun
ishment which has been righteously y as
signed him. We do not think there is any
reason for apprehension that the skill
which could not prevent his conviction can
now nullify bis sentence.
law now raised, We do not feel called upon
to keep silent in regard to the moral merits
of the attempt now making to restore this
great malefactor to the society he has pilla-
ged and sought to debauch. If his i'll:
gained wealth had been taken from him and
restored to the public treasury, there would
be little tendency anywhere to vindictivt
feeling against an old and ruined man.
But the case is far different. He is con
tumacous and unrepentant offender. lie
has made no pretense of restitution. He
defies public sentiment in this respect as
stolidly to- day as in the time Of his inso-
lent success, when he boasted in publish
ed card that he was one of the largest tax
PAYERS of New York Of course his great
estate has dwindled somewhat since then
Some of it has gone in one direction, some
in another. His struggles with justice
have absorbed a good deal. But large
amount of it remains with him and his
family, and not one cent, except the fine OF
$3.50 he paid the other day, has gone into
the public chest, which he plundered so
long and effectually. There is no case tor
sympathy here. 1t is not given to many
men in q century to be able to do so much
evil as Mr. Tweed did during the years
when he governed this city by the corrupt
and vulgar combination Of which he was
chief The money he stole was but part
of his criminality the worst was his sys
tematic debouchery OF the political circles
around him the effrontery of vice which
he made the fashion of the hour about th'
City Hall, so that an honest partisan wa
made ashamed of his honesty, as chast'
courtier of the Regency would have beel
ashamed of his innocence. The consequen
ces of this infamous regime are not ye
over, among the lower stratum Of politi
clans in this city, 1t will take years to dis
contagion which he brought into them
But this he cannot remedy. The corrul
ton he set on footi beyond his reach, Th
case is not the same in regard to the MOI
ey he stole. He can ask for no sympath
as long as that wealth remains in his hanc
or in the hands of his family He ha
made no attempt to conceal it. After hi
sentence he was allowed all the time h
required to settle his affairs, and the sit
guar spectacle was presented of the grea
est thief of the age, on his way to Jail lc
stealing, stopping for week or two unde
the courteous guard Of the sheriff, to al
range for the disposition of the propert
he had stolen. We are a good nature
people, and the public were SO glad to SC
him sentenced that no objection was mad
to this extraordinary l,nity. After he ha
retired to his enforced leisure on the Islam
there was no disposition to object to hi
being treated with humanity. But ther
will be a revival of public interest in tn
matter Of his crimes, if he is now to b
turned loose with all his spoils. His res
dence in jail does not prevent him fro,
engaging in extensive real estate oper
tions, in property to which he has no mo-
just title than any pickpocket in Baxt,
street He cannot ere hi~ e'aAe -a"I nav
ii. If he desires public sympathy let hin
give up the proceeds of his thefts. If h
prefers to keep his booty, let him enjoy j
in the company of other convicts ~ J
Tribune.
The value of a republican form of gov
ernment has been demonstrated by the
way we have punished officers who betray
ed their trust, and of this impartial Justice
William M. Tweed is the chief example
Yet to- day the press of the country is 81.
lent; it is satisfied; it does not wish tc
pursue Mr.. Tweed to his prison, and has a
regret for the sorrows of his family. But
there is something far higher than the sym
pathy of the public for an old man who
has exchanged the diamonds of Tammany
Tor the striped uniform of convict. The
reputation of the American people is con.
cerned in this matter. Connolly, Fields
Genet and others bowed their heads to the
dignity Of the law and public opinion by
flying from their united wrath. These
men honored American justice by evading
it, But Tweed has remained to defy il.
Even yet, probably, the credit of his coun-
try is not Indifferent to him but it is i'm.
possible for US not to see that his present
course endaDgers our honor. With all the
pity that exists for Tweed it is certain that
the people feel that his liberation now, on
any technical point of law, would be, in
the opinion of the civilized world, evidence
That there is no crime that the American
nation Is not willing to condone. The ex-
ample OF the overthrow of Tammany is
hothlng II lammany at last can. by the
AID OF the law, triumph over the broad
imperishabie principles of justice. w,
admit that his friends may plausibly say
that he was the Scapegnat of the ring anC
We regret that he should be PERSONAL,
made to suffer not only for his own deeds,
but Tor, the crimes of others But the
principle is higher than the man. If
Tweed is to be set at liberty let it be the
act OF mercy, for it cannot be that of ius-
tlce. The public can pardon this Door old
man, but in justice to itself it cannot for.
mally yindlcate him by the act of the law
N. Y. Herald l""
Legislation.