National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1876-07-20
How Tilden Got Rich.


The fact is Mr.. Tilden's so-called law Office
has been a mill-a railroad mill-where rail-
roads were taken and ground up, separating
the good meal from the chaff. Mr.. Tlden
and his partners always kept the good meal,
and the chat was sent back to the original
owners. 1t required much influence and seve-
raj active partners to get nearly all the rail-
roads in the country to pass through Mr.. Til
denis mill, so that the profits were divided
among several persons. How large they were
in the aggregate may best be estimated from
the fact that Mr.. Tilden's personal share was
several millions. Probably he got the lions
share, since he was in position TO control the
New York State Legislature and the New York
City Council as the real "boss" of the Demo-
cratic party, and the real power behind
Tweed's throne. He procured railroad legis-
lation to suit his purposes, and gathered in his
helpless victims under laws that he had espe-
cially constructed to that end. 1t was in this
sort of traffic that Sam Tilden made his mil
lions in a very few years, though lawyer of
mediocre ability and apparently small prac-
tice.
Most of the Western railroads have been
through Mr.. Tilden's mill in one way or an
other. We showed the other day how Mr..
Tilden figured in the credit mobilier investiga-
ton as having advised and approved that job
berry at every step. The fact is, he was the
father of the credit mobilier system of build
ing railroads, and applied it extensively all
through the West, and to his own great profit,
long before the Pacific railroads were built.
Cakes Ames was but Tilden's imitator. Til
denis active partners In the mill projected the
railroads, and got subscriptions in aid thereof
from States, counties, cities, townships and
private individuals, all through the West, on
the basis of developing the country"
They pocketed this money, and borrowed
funds to build the road on first-mortgage
bonds, generally taking the bonds themselves
and advancing the money they had re-
ceived from local subscriptions. Then they
paid themselves the money they had adj
vanced for building the road at the most
money back, the road would be nominally out
of funds, and unable to pay the interest on
its bonds before completion. Then it would
be put through Mr.. Samuel j. Tildens famous
mill-a process which wiped out the State sub
scriptions, the county subscriptions, the city
subscriptions, the township subscriptions, the
private subscriptions and all the original stock,
leaving the road the property of those who
hed the first-mortgage bonds, who would
thereupon proceed to reorganize the company.
This was the process. The result was that
the New York railroad ring built railroads on
the money advanced by other people, but
owned the roads themselves after they were
completed. Under the tutelage and advice of
Mr.. Samuel J. Tilden it was all done illegally"
and in proper form-he and Tweed having
first ARA nged the laws accordingly.
The counties and towns of Illinois owe be-
tween 100000 and 5000, 900 on account
of railroad subscriptions that were swallowed
up by Mr.. Tilden's patent process. Large
amounts of money have been taken from the
people of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin,
Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri
and other States of the West, Northwest and
Southwest, in the same manner. Of all this
Mr.. Tilien has received his full share. He
was the lawyer who devised the means whereby
these frauds were worked out, he colnselei
tie active manipulators at every stage of the
operation, he acted as the agent for winding
up and recognizing the companies, and he
pocketed large part of the plumber. There
is scarcely railroad this side of the ALE
gheny mountains III which there was not at
least one, and many in which there were sew
eral, credit mobilier schemes manipulated by
Sam Tilden for the profit of himself and those
associated with him. This is how he made his
millions, and the people Of the West who con-
tFibuted the money are particularly interested
in understanding and remembering it.