The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1875-11-06
HOW REPUBLICANS HELPED
TWEED TO ROB NEW YORK.

From an editorial in the New York
Tribune, the Saturday before the late
election. we clip the following. The italics
are ours:
On the 5th. of May. 1870. the city of
New York was robbed Of Sc, 300, 900, or at
least of ninety per cent Of that amount,
BY whom was this gigantic robbery COM
mitted? By William NJ Tweed and
Richard B. Connolly, of the Board of
Special audit" which held that day it's
first and last meeting. But this was not
the only prize of that day. The fraudu-
lent bills growing out of that days action
amounted in that year TO nearly thirteen
millions Of dollars, and in 1871, three and
a half millions more The one DAYS work,
then, amounted to fifteen and three
quarters millions, of which Mr.. Tilden
has said. Fourteen, perhaps fifteen
millions, was sheer plumber" Who
made this great crime possible, 1lCetye
ont Of thirteen Republican senators UOting
IN their places at Albany under orders from
William NJ, Ttoeed, They voted with
their eyes open. The Tweed charter was
vigorously opposed by such Republicans
as Horace Greeley and such Democrats as
Samuel j. Tilden, going together to Albany
and casting their arguments before the
swine of Mr.. Tweed's committee. Mr.,
Tweeds election law was passed over one
that had been carefully examined and APP
proved by leading Republicans of this city.
THETA which created the Board of Special
Audit has been, perhaps, more fully UNI
derstood since its passage than before, but
Its enormity stands out in every line. The
charter, with its accompanying acts, was
designed to put this great city, bound hand
and foot, at the mercy of the cut-throats
of Tammany Hall.
What could have induced Republican
senators to enslave themselves to cor
rupt and vulgar ring to which they were
politically opposed? To that question
there can be but one satisfactory answer
If there is any single idea that is firmly
grounded in the honest belief of the decent
public, is that many, if not all, of these
Republican senators aoere paid LdTge sums
for their UoteS Men of high political and
social standing have not hesitated to make
this charge. Mr.. Tilden, in his speech at
Cooper Institute in 1871, said that the
Tweed ring passed these laws by taking
"a million of dollars stolen from the tax
payers, and buying in the shambles ma
''jority in the two houses of the legisla-
"ture;" and he added, when | spoke
against this charter before a committee
''of the senate, Mr.. Tweed sitting IN the
"chair, already knew that not more than
lone vote of the Democrats and not more
than one vote of the Republicans would
"be cast against it," Over his own sigma
ture Mr.. Tilden has made the deliberate
statement that while one of the corrupt
means" of passing the charter was a divi
sion of Offices, the other was the buying
of the Republican senators and assembly
men with mOaeu" There are even more
definite charges. Judge Noah Davis stated
as the information impaired to him by {
prominent lobbyist-and when lobbyists d.
break silence in such matters they usually
speak the truth-that SIC Republican sen
dtOrs receired $4,000 for the charter, S.,
600 for the election lao and section ,tou
0fthe tdr legy, and $4,000 for SimiL0r ser
uices the .t0tio,1ipg year. These detail
have been Incorporated into the traditions
of the people. There is probably not
single voter in either party who has exam
iued the subject who sincerely doubts the
truth. Responsible newspapers as well a
responsible men did not hesitate ther
to spread broadcast unqualified charges o
corruption, and the very organs which art
now defending the last of these six mel
who still remains in public life, were a
bold and uncompromising as any. Wheth
err these six men were bought at hIghe
price than the rest, or whether they wer
bought because the others would folio,
wherever they might lead, has ceased t
be matter of consequence. Eleven GU
of the twelve have left the legislature for
ever