The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-02-10
New York Letter.

At the time when the Tweed gang had SUI
preme control of the municipality they selected
as one of their lieutenants a bold dashing devil
may-care sort of fellow ycleped Michael Nor
ton. He was cross between the cavalier
and brigand, gay, reckless and uuprincipied'
but not hypocritical. He never pretended to
the possession of the least atom of virtue or
honesty, aud on convivial occasions endcavor-
ed to make himself agreeable by relating his
experiences IN acquiring pecuniary profit by or
fetal dereliction. Without education, and accus-
toned all his life to association with muhicipai
thieves who pursued their criminal career, WIN
,,noloo,oa success he had grown into belief
H.. ,hot lin, of stealing was thing rather to
,.--,o.;oa IN than ashamed Of L his official
,,os,ions as Alderman, Stale Senator and
Court House Commissioner. he never sought to
dispuise the fact that he was, to quote the cur
rent slang of the Ring era, con the make" If
he conducted his negotiations through agents,
instead of through principals it was more in de-
ference to established precedent than because
he had any scruples about selling himself or be-
ing bought direct. The idea of being called to
account some day for his misdeeds pever seems
to have entered his head. In the summer OF
1871. he went to Europe. On the voyage out
and back, and during his sojourn in the British
and French capitals he staggered about in
gorgeous apparel and and fashy jewelry rather
parading than concealing the fact that he was
New York Democratic politician. In England,
the infamy of the Ring had by that time be-
come topic of general discussion, the conser-
natives pointing to it as striking illustration
r. Al do Of fraa cnffraoa and the liberals
abashed, at having so notable an example of
= the imperfections of the system hurled back
upon them from the metropolis of that great
Republic which they had been wont to hold up
as the exampler of a sef-governing nation.
OF course at that juncture the presence of any
one of these worthless in foreign land was
reproach to the country whence he came, and
the occasion OF humiliation to such OF his coun-
trymen as might Have the misfortune to en-
counter him in his travels. When the Ameri-
cans in London met to commemorate the 4th
of July, Norton and another creature of the
Ring who happened to be there at the time,
asked permission to participate in the festivi-
ties but the request was peremptorly denied.
However, Norton and his travelling compan-
ion carried themselves with an effrontery which
luuICdtru tudb tLcy WCiC Culiicfy uCNOi0 VI ap
prehenson of the catastrophe which was that
very moment impending over their chiefs Nor
tons fellow traveller nine days after the In
dependence day dinner, rudely interrupted
conversation among Americans in a London
coffee room, in the course of which, Tweed,
Connolly, Hall and Sweeney were mentioned
by name in terms more truthful than cOmpli-
mentary, by interfering a vehement endorse
ment and laudaticn of those wcrthies and fol-
lowing it up with coarse philippe against
the party who had impugned their honesty.
Three weeks later the Tweed dynasty fell in
to irretrievab:e disgrace and ruin, and these
two champions of it in its prosperous days have
in turn deserted and betrayed it. One of them,
having covered his tracks and managed to keep
his spoils, has purchased seat in Congress
where he sits as the colleague of Fernando
Wood, under the ample legal protection Of the
same statute of limitation which protects his
associate.
But poor Mike Norton is now reaping the I'M
pleasant consequences of that ingenious frank
ness with which he was accustomed to narrate
to admiring or wondering auditors, the modes
whereby he and his confederates cortrived to
transfer money from the City Treasury to their
own pockets. Unanimously nominated by the
Grand Jury of the county for a seat in the
States Prison, with every prospect of being
elected with equal uuanimity, he shrinks from
entering the lists, and absolutely conceals him
self from observation, to avoid the Importantly
of his friends the Sheriff and District Attorney
But he emerges from his retirement in so far
as is necessary to issue an address to his con-
stituents wherein he explains the istory of
claim made AGAINST the CITY by the Tenth Ma
tional Bank, and does all which a man with his
limited pretensions to credibility can.do to show
that that institution was acting as an accom-
complete with Ingersoll in endeavoring to ex-
tort from the public Golfers large sum of mon
ey paid to the latter while he was director of |
the Bank and before he made his involuntary
hegira to Sing Sing.
1t is by these occasional and fragmentary
scraps of history that the public are kept in
mind of and gather some grains of information
about the tortuous proceedings of that anoma-
lous monstrosity of crime, which under the
name of the Ring, pursued for eleven years a
career of barefaced and sweeping robbery. And
yet very little is known of that memorable de-
cade. The narrative remains to be written.
Tweed has been urged to "bring forth fruits
meet for repentance" by furnishing the re-
quisite materials for this instructive volume
But he still cherishes the hope of judicial in
reference and will not unseal his lips while that
last chance of release remains to him. Hall
could do it better than any other man, but hav
ing been acquitted by a forbearinS jury he will
not court further publicity by reviewing sub
jeet which must be inexpressibly painful to him.
The details of the great conspiracy have been
tolerably well ascertained but the names of the
participants have pretty generally escaped ex
posure. There are some men in New York.
rolling in wealth, revealing in luxury and main
tanning certain degree of social consideration,
who have been guilty of innumerable depreda-
tions of a criminal character. Tweed's earlier
stealings were effected while he was a Supervi-
sor. In that body of twelve men he had never
less than six, and at some times ten accompl-
ces. All these were sharers in the unholy plum
der Then again he had occasion every year
to get his Tax levy passed by the Legislature
and signed by the Governor.
On one of these occasions while Fenton
occup led the executive chair, a levy
more outrageous than any that ever preceded
~ PoosCu uOpu uouScS. livery respectable man
in the city, without regard to party afinities
besought the Governor, by petition or personal
entreaty, to veto the abominable measure He
held it under advisement long after the Legis-
lature had adjourned. Finally he signed it,
and that signature did more to intensity the
general distrust of Fenton's integrity, than any
preceding act of his life .lating from, the day
he reached his majority. A great many people,
not Unfortunately censorious, seriously believed
that the approval was obtained for considera-
ton, being unable to conceive of any unselfish !
motive which could have prompted it. The
conclusion may be an uncharitable one, but
this we do know, that at the next election
Tweed counted in Governor of his own. 80 /
that there should be no more trouble or ex- /
pense in procuring a gubernatorial signature
to Supervisors Tax levy, and this wasn't ac-
complished without some management The Re-
publicans had the votes, the Democrats the in !
spectors and canvassers. But the necessary
periuries and foIgeries having been perpetrated,
Hoffman got the certificate, although John A.
Grsc 60;