Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-09-27
IlLNEkS EEUOKEUNESS
And Friday Sinnots Attempted EH-
pianaticn.

Since the New York Times. a paper fir
of uncommon ability, pluck and fair sa
ness, which bounded Tweed and his hi
rascals into Jail and exile, re
and unmasked the most hidcous den HI
OF thieves of modern times, which had al
been robbing the tax payers OF New h
York of hundreds of millions of a
money under the guise of a so-callcd Z"
democracy, made certain specific 9.
charges, backed up by official docu- q
memts. TO the effect that Samuel j. g
Tilden had rendered false return of
his income in 1868. aud had added n
perjury to the oilensc. \
Immediately his own leading G
organs like the World and indepen- G
dent journals like the Nation called
upon Governor Tilden to give the i
statement its quictus from his own 4
books and accounts. This he has .
steadfastly refused to do; but one
James p. Sinnott who was in 1868
law cerk in Tildcn's Office and who
now holds a jndgeship of the Marine I,
Court from the hands of Governor
Tilden, has finally been kicked by
Abraham S. Hewitt, chairman Demo-
cratic National Committee into at
tempting an explanation and giving a
certificate for good character to his
former master.
The so-called explanation admits
that there is $1,000 of the charge COR
rect, which Gov. Tilden omitted, but
as to the bulk of his ascertaincd re-
ceipts for that year, amounting to
over 100000, (whcreas he returned
only $7,llS), the apologist goes on to
say that all this vast amount was
earned in the previous years, and be-
fore the income tax law was passed.
BY this statement it would seem that
1868 was for Attorney Tildcn an UNI
commonly good year to collect old
fees, but very poor one in which to
earn and collect new ones.
To the charge which was made by
the Times, to-wit: that from 1868 UNI
iii the repeal of the law in 1872, Gov.
Tilden violated the spirit, if not the
letter of tho law, by refusing to make
any return of his income to the Off
GERS, except as TO one year, 1870, the
cN-clerk pleads guilty in the follow
ing language.
Mr.. Tildcn received no favor
''from Government officers and sought
''none from them. He did nothing
I" but pay all they imposed on him"
This admission makes out the case
against Tilden. He neither gave or
took fayors at the hands of q
despotic Government. The law was
odious and illegal to all good demo.
Gratis, and so far as he was concerned
the officers could not get any farther
information or returns from him
And so, for 1864, '65, 'G6, 67, '6S, go
and Il, according to the admission:
of this man Friday Sinnott, Govern
or Tildcn, with the largest and mos
lucrative law practice in the United
States, made no return of his income
but permitted the officer to estimat,
ii and then double ii rs the law pro
yided, and on this amount arrived at
to-wit: $4,000 per annum, he quietl.
and without protest paid his income
tax for the years named.
The suspicion is irresistibly force,
upon the mind that Governor Tildel
made the absurdly small return O
SI,llS for 1863, as basis for the arbi
trary assessments made in subsequen
years during which time he Above,
the officer TO guess at his income.
As we understand the somewha
fuddlcd explanation, Sinnott substan
tally admits the receipt of the $40
600 from the Tcrre lIaute road i
1863, and other collections during tina
year, aggregating in the neighbol
hood of 100000, but as bcforesaid
claiming that it was all earned i
1862 and prior years. Now, admit
ting that this plea has the requisit
thickness, why didn't his collection
keep up for the subsequent years!
In the meantime This pitiful al
tempt of an irresponsible agent t
explain away something he, in til
very nature of things don't know
much about. in place of Gov. Tide
who does know all about it, is eXcit
ing the just contempt and ridicnlc o
the journals who were really anxiou
that Gov. Tilden had decent dcfenc
and would promptly avail himself Q
it. AS sample of them the staid
conservative old New York CONNER
cial Adcertiser SAYS:
.:To this man he dictated an an
swcr. and after forty days of ponder
ing and study ii now lies before tn
people, transparent tissue of false
hood, evasion and trickery. As
pettifogger Tilden has heretofor
been a success, but the methods c
the shyster fail when he appears j
the role of reformed ring-rObbel
whose object is to reform Others
The popular light is exceedingly kee
in the Presidential year, and nothin
less than straightforward cxplana
lions will be received. But look q
Tilden's reply In 1862 he returne
his income al $7.llS. and subscquen,
ly he allowed the return to go by de
fault, leaving his income to be esti
mated by the Government at $500
year during the whole period tn
tax was levied. Now there is not
business man in the city who is AZ
quainted with Tilden but knows tha
his income was from six to twelv
times that sum during these year.
reaching sometimes to the annual in
come of quarter Of a million. Iii
home expenditures, railroad receipts
and Western mining investment
prove this incontestably. Comm
down to items, Tilden has a curiou
way of disposimg Of them. He al
lcges that three-fourths of his receipt
in 1862 were earned prior to tina
year. Granting that this might pos
sibly be true, what becomes of tn
money he actually earned in 1862
1t does not appear in the record o
subsequent years, aud it certainl
never paid any taxes. When he &C
knowledges receiving $4,000 in
single fee. it is not possible that
sharp railroad lawyer, who had hal
q dozen wrecks in tow, only earne
$7,llS, or even $4,000, in the heigh
of his renown as a wrecker. VIII
does not Tildcn clear his skirts a
once by the exact statement of his re
ceipts and expenditures Clearly h
dare notattchlpt If he were to g
down in Wall street and say that III
income was less than 100000 all TIL
time lie was paying tax by default o
$4,000, lie would be hooted ont {
the street"
While the New York Times says