New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-04-09
THE SYRACUSE RING AND THEIR
NEiGHBORS.
CONTRACTORS WHO. BESIDE HELPING THEMSELVES,
HIVE DONE MUCH FOR CHURCH, SoC!R%, TIM
PIGANCE. EDUCATION, AID TOWN.


HIVE DONE MUCH FOR CHURCH, SoC!RA, TIM
PIHANCE. EDUCATION, AID TOWN.
rrRON A STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF TIE TRBUSEl
SYRACUSE y. Y, April 5.-Ihe Inland TamnIny
las roofs; 1ammaly III NeN-IOrk had nOnc. The
whole of the Tweed Ring might have followed its
cilci.ain to his prison and good society WoAlh
Ccarccly have missed familiar face. Here whole
sale transportation of Canal thieves to the pcniten-
tiary or TO Europe will close the handsomest houses
in a handsome town. will sadly diminish the ranks
of good society," and weaken more than one church
whose pillars are based on contracts. The Canal
Ring houses here are the most snowy, though by 40
means the most tasteful, in town; temperance
societies and divisions OF Sons OF Temper
anee are baptized with Canal Ring names;
exquisite flowers from Canal Ring green
houses decorate the pulpits Of Canal Ring
churches. Canal Ring society is good society.
hi, is not then, horde Of bIigands, such as cap
turod the public Offices in NewYork and ate Off the
silver and drank the wines of the people they were
robbine until they were chased out by the police
these are people who have grown rich with the
town. whose progress has been identified with its
prosperity they are friends and neighbors not H.
trudcr5 and paryenuS They are so strongly rooted
here that to tear them mp is almost to tear mp Syra-
cuse. For the fair fame OF the city. however, it
should he said that while society. which is always
cowardly, accepts the Canal Ring, the citizens. as
voters Iepudate them. Syracusans declare with
much warmth and pride that no Bslden or Denis0n
or Van Duscn could receive snch whitewashing at
the polls as is given to the Lords Ill Rochester,
where the Lords are known not only as eechcs upon
the State Treasury but az local swndlers and
opprrssors. Men do not like to dccaim against
their neighb rs, but they can vote without doing
violence to their native American tmdty. and thus
- hot lilo Canal
in their principal city in stronger. swifter
current than the rppes on the surface might lndl-
cate The meeting in approval Of the Governors
message the other evening seems to have been
hardly so success full it has been represented, but
this deficiency was due to nothing but tbs squeam-
,shness of the average citizen about placing himself
in opposition TO his neghbors. reluctance which
needs not influence his vote. Tho Canal Ring were
So noisy, too, in their demonstrations against the
meeting, that many were doubtless frightened
away The truth is that Syracuse is too small a
city 10 have Ring without being swallowed by 1t.
Society is not sufficiently large or influential TO
assert its rights and exclude these people from its
doors. and wealth has found its worshpers here rs
well a, in cities of larger growth
The Canal Ring are entitled to some charitable
consideration at least for they have been good cti-
zons. They have done much for this city, and have
done it, like everything else, with view 10
strengthening and widening tbeir influence. For
this purpose they have been charitable; their
gifts have been profuse and prominent. For
they are many OF them, WHAT the un-
thinking multitude pardons as good hearted
men" One of the most notorious of these contrac-
TORS who can neither read nor write himself has
built handsome school house for the children of
the men who work in his salt-yard. where there
u miles of watts in which the sun is making salt
But the Canal Ring has not been generous TO its
tools: engineers have had to sell them
selves very cheap But where a man could be won
over however by the exercise of little charitable
aid. or where friendly lift would add ono man to
the number OF those who felt themselves to be under
obligations to the Canal Ring, the opportunity was
not allowed to slip. 1t must not be supposed, how
ever, that the Ring was small fraternity of angels
who suffered periodical fall from grace whenever
the time came to let contracts. There many
stories told of their hard aud imperious dealings
a relentless and inhexiblc severity that is sadly
weakened now.
In this way the Ring went from strength to
greater strength. and slowly made itself more and
more necessary the city and section. They did not
grow AS an incubus like Tammany; they became bone
Of their bone and flesh of their flesh. SO that while
the removal of Tammany was only IA single upheava
and il was gone, Syracuse must undergo amputa-
ton. In this long course of years. the Ring have
made themselves stronger in every way than Sy ra-
cusans prone to acknowledge. Their influence
to-day, broken they are, Is such that the news
papers here handle the subject with pious care with
the exception of The Journal paralysis that has
seized too many papers of the State, and will not be
cured until public opinion becomes too powerful a
remedy to withstand And the Ring have such
network of connections, personal commercial. re-
igous and political, that their hold upon life is by
no means relax d.
sudden change came over their pride Of place
not long ago. The TRIBUNE of March 90, which
contained Gov. Tilden's message and its expose
Of the frauds. fairly blew this Ring to pieces aud
killed tho present contract system 30 dead that it
will probably be heard Of again in this State
Prominent citizens here say that if the investiga-