The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1876-08-12
ABUSE OF TILDEN.


among the people, yet so little among the
heads of the government. The race OF Amer
l,can statesmen" he concludes, "has dwin
died remarkably in the last fifty years" And
J. Stuart Mill, the great English philosopher
and political economist, made the same OBJ
servation. 1.-THE first minds of the country
he saws, "are as effectually shut out from the
higher offices as if they were under formal
disqualification,
The reason of it is that politics have be-
come such dirty pool" and the man who
consents to become candidate for high
office, no matter what his purity of character
and life and pre-emInent fitness, must submit
to such a course Of Misrepresentation and be-
foulment, that few really pure and able men
Ia class who always have abundant more con-
genial and profitable employment care to
undergo the disgusting ordeal Of public
candidacy.
1t is so with Gov. Tilden. With exception
of term or two in the legislature of his ma
tive state, he had, until u few years ago, sedu'
lousy Stunned office. His vast and lucra-
tive practice as an attorney was both more
profitable and more congenlal to his taste
1t was not until about 1867, when, as he him
self says, he saw the fearful decay of public
morals incident to the civil war and fuctua
ton of money values, that he was induced to
accept The lead of the Democratic organiza-
ton as the chairman of the New York Demo-
cratic State Committee. 81 did So" he says,
I"wlth extreme reluctance, and only after hav.
ing In vain tried to place it in hands In which
I could have confidence. | had heard ana
believed that the influence of the Republican
party organization had been habitually SOLD
in lobbles-sometime in the guise OF coun.
sci fees, and sometimes without any atfecta.
ton of decency. desired to save from de-
graduation the great party whose principles
and traditions were mine by inheritance and
conviction; and to make II an instrument OF
reaction in the community which alone could
save free government. Holding YEARLY the
end Of a rope, because feared where 1t might
90 If dropped it, l kept the state organiza-
ton in absolute independence. | never took
favor OF any sort from these men, or from
any man | distrusted. had not much pow
er in the legislature on questions which In
terested private cupidity but in state con-
vention, where the best men in society and
business would go, because 1t was but day
or two, those with whom | acted generally
had the majority"
Having an Office IN New York city, but
really living In Columbia county, Tilden had
little active connection with the local politics
of New York city; bat the democratic major
tiles in the city were satisfactory, and Tweed,
Connolly, &c, were trusted leaders in whose
honesty both sides seemed to have confidence
1t was In those days that the republican legis
lature at Albany concocted that vlllainous
scheme, known as the Board OF Supervisors"
by which the government OF the city OF New
York was effectually taken out of the hands
of its people and turned over to a ring, com
posed of three democrats and three republi.
cans. but all of whom being dependent for
official existence on the republican legisla-
ture at Albany, were in truth and fact sheer
republican ring. Tweed, Sweeny and Fields
were made the head men of this ring, and at
the time of their appointment the New York
Times SAID ",he appointments are far above
the average in point OF personal fitness and
will be satisfactory" Tilden, Heavymyer,
VIM. NJ. Evarts, Horace Greeley, and many
other of the best and purest men IN the city
opposed the scheme and foresaw the corrup-
ton it must engender, but the republican
press generally and notably the New York
Times, hailed II as great reform" This
was In 1867 In 1869 the government of the
city under this ring became SO manlfcstly
corrupt that Tilden, Evarts, &c., began to
make open attacks on the ring, the Times
still being its tool and ally. In the fall OF
1867, however, the Times suddenly shifted It's
course and attacked the ring, publishing a
long list of expenditures, amounting to about
$l1 OO0,O most of which it declared to be
fraudulent 1t was Immediately after this
that Tilden and O'Connor, by their investiga-
ton of the Broadway Bank, verified and
made intelligent the charges of the Tunes, and
put the frauds of the ring in such shape as
to make them tangible evidence and the basis
of prosecution. The New York Times had
then the manliness 10 bear this record to the
faithfulness of Mr.. Tilden's work:
Ifanything can arouse the New York pub
lie TO that pitch of indignation which alone
becomes them In the present crisis, II is the
accounts which we publish today. Here we
have, thanks 10 the Ldbors # Mr. SAMUEL J.
TnDES, full and conclusive evidence that
William NJ. Tweed differs only from con-
mon thief in having stolen tens of thousands
instead of tens of dollars. We refer
TO the affidavit OF Mr.. Tilden for detailed
account of how the disposal Of the money
was traced.
The prosecution Of the thieves after these
disclosures, and how il was driven by Tlden
ard O'Connor, are matter OF history and
need not be repeated to intelligen, men