The Portland daily press., 1876-07-01
SAMUEL ]. TILDEN.
His Early observation-disclosures Known
as Young Democratic Politician
Has "A Reverse of Political Fortune and
Goes 10 His Law Books-Turns up ns m
Railroad Lnwyer-Cascs in which He
Has Been Engaged.
From the New York Times. l

| representative oi Democratc principles and
virtues in the campaign for the Presidency, is a
native of Columbia County, in this state He
was born in New Lebanon in 1914. His family
is of the English origin, natives of the county
| of Kent, from which place the Tidens emil
| grated to Scituate, in the Colony of Massachus-
| etts Bay 1854. Gov. Tilden's grandfather,
John Tilden, settled in Columbia county in
| 1870. This has been his family residence ever
since. His father was farmer and merchant,
and man of much influence in local politics.
From him Samuel Tilden inherited taste and
fondness for political affairs, in which, at the
early age OF Is, he made his first appearance as
| tie author of letter or pamphlet on the DO
litical issues OF the day. In the year 1882, when
Samuel Tilden was to enter college, Gen. Jack
son was the nominee for the Presidency Van
Buren, for Vice-PresIdent aud Marcy for Gov
ernor OF New York. Against this ticket Goa
lition of National Republicans and Auti-Ma-
sons-a feeting party made from members of
the main partes-was opposed; and the success
of the Democracy depended on defeating this
coalition by drawing from it the Democrats
who had joined the AutiMasons. Samuel Til
den drew up paper on the issues, which was
shown by his father to Van Buren, aud was
subsequently published in the Albany Argus
as an address to the elect )rs of Columbia coun-
ty. The opposition journals attributed it to
Van Buren. In this year Samuel TiideIN en-.
tered Yale, but ill-health soon compelled him
to leave. In 1884 he entered the University of
New York and completed his academic eduea-
ton there After leaving college he entered
| the law office of the late John w. Edmonds in
oit uub ba al Inf4
into business on his own account. Mr. Til
den's professional career has always been
mingling of law and politics; and SO, when the
| financial convulsion which followed the acces-
sion of Mr.. Van Buren to the Presidency in
1887 occurred we find SamueliTilden taking an
active part on the side of the President and
the financial policy he had recommended.
In 1874 Tilden, in conjunction with another,
founded the Daily News, campaign news
paper intended to further the election of Polk
to the Presidency and Silas Wright to the Gov
ernorship of New York. In 1915 he was.
elected to the Assembly, and while serving as
member was elected to the Constitutional
Convention which gave US the presant state
constitution. The defeat of Mr.. Wright in the
following year, and general unfavorableturn
for the political faction with which Mr.. Tilden
| was associated, caused that gentleman to with
draw FROM the political field and devote himself
exclusively to the duties of his profession. Up
| to this time he had been known, so far as he
| was known at all, more as a politician than
| lawyer, and his legal practice had not been re-
munerative.
The first case that brought him into promin-
| ence as lawyer, was that of Giles against
| Flagg. In November, 1850, Azarriah @. Flagg
was the Democratic candidate for City Con-
troller. His opponents put up Giles, who ran
on the Know-Nothing or Native American
| ticket. The returns gave Flagg 20,313 votes,
against 2O,134 for Giles. The certificate of
election was given to Flagg and his defeated
| opponent contested the office by quo warranto,
| ALI the evidence appeared to be in favor of the
| relator, who alleged that votes had been fraud
| ulenuy transferred from himself to Flagg, and
it was thought that he had made out an i'm
| pregnable case. Mr.. Tilden who was counsel
tor Flagg, demolished the whole structure In
| his opening address, and won the case. The
| mastery way il which he constructed his theo-
Il ry OF defeuSe from slender basis of testimony,
/ requiring the keenest analytical powers, gave
| the successful lawyer an imemdiate and W ide-
i spread reputation. Two years after this, he
| appeared as counsel for the heirs of Dr. Burdell
| against Mrs. Cunningham, in the celebrated
| case of her application for letters of admins
traton and a widows third, on the ground of
private marriage with Burdell shortly before
| his death. The case was tried before Surrogate
| Bradford. All the affirmative testimony was
on the side of the applicant, and cloud Of
| witnesses were produced who gave evidence in
| favor of the alleged marriage On the side of
| the defense there was affirmative tesss.1soa
| whatever; but Mr.. Tilden broke down the case
| for the alleged widow by skillful and laborious
| cross-examination, which developed a series of
| facts and circumstances utterly inconsistent
| with the theory that this presumed marriage
| had taken place. The Surrogate refused the
| application for letters of administration. The
| case made profound impression on the public
| for it removed all doubt about the actual par.
tcipation Of Mrs. Cunningham in the murder
| of Bsrdell.
| From this period down to the time when Mr.
Tilden again appeared before the public in
| connection with the Ring suits, he was almost
| forgotten except by the railroad corporations of
| the country. Mr.. Tilden's career as railroad
| lawyer" began in the year 1853 and it con-
tnued until 1872, when he dropped the busi-
| ness and began to work for political honors
| In this period of fourteen years as counsel
| Trustee, Director, Referee, arbitrator, COM
| mitteeman, or in some other like capacity in
| connection with various railroad corporations
| all over the country though principally in the
| West Mr.. Tilden amassed a colossal fortune.
| The means by which he did this will, il is safe
| to assume, be very thoroughly inquired into
between now and next November, for unless
| he has been more grossly malgned than any
| other man who ever occupied conspicuous
| position in this country, Mr.. Tildens career as
| railroad man is record of intrigue, unscrupu-
lousness, and the preversion of great abilities
/ to selfish and unworthy ends. As necessity
to the completeness of this sketch of his life il
will be well to mention the first great corpora
| ton case which he undertook, because his sue
| cess in this established his reputation as a
| railroad lawyer. 1t is generally known as thel
| Cumberland Coal case and was heard in the
| State of Maryland in the year 1858. 1t was a
| suit by the company against its Directors. aud
was an application to set aside a purchase
made by the Directors on their own account of
| property confded to them for sale by the COM
pany. MIR. Tilden, in that case, applied for the
first time to the Directors of corporations the 4
familiar doctrine that a Trustee cannot be a.
| purchaser of property confided to him for sale
| and he successfully illustrated and settled the
| equitable principle on which such sales to
Directors are set aside, and also the conditions
| to give them validity Another great case in
which he was employed was the suit of the
Delaware and Hudson Canal Company against
| the Pennsylvania Coal Company. The former
| corporation had contract with the Pennsyl-
vania Coal Company by which, among other
things, it was agreed in case of the enlarge
| ment of their canal the Coal Company should
| pay for the use of their canal extra toll equal
to such portion of one-half the reduction in the
expense of transportation as might result from
such enlargement In due time the Canal
Company put in their claim for extra toll The
amount claimed was twenty cents ton on an
annual transportation OF five or six hundred
| thousand tons year for some ten years, be-
sides royalty of the same amount for an
| indefinite future. The Coal Company denied
that the cost of transportation had been
reduced, or that they had derived any advau-
| tage whatever from the enlargement. After
| tedious and futile negotiations suit was insti-
tuted by the Canal Company. and Mr..
| Tilden was retained for the defense. The
| case was tried before Judge Hogeboom, of the
| Supreme Court, sitting as Referee. Seventy
| odd days were consumed in the hearing, and
the testimony offered by the plaintiff fills sew
eral large printed volumes. Mr.. Tilden estab-
| lished the fact against the Canal Company and
won the case. The calculations involved ia
this defence were immense. and the funda-
mental economic principles of canal navigation
were in fact settled by them. Mr.. Tilden's
connections with Western railroads do not re-
fleet such honor upon him, and he is now one
of the defendants in a suit instituted by the ag-
grieved parties in one of these cases. The'l
worst of these is the wel-known case of the con ,
solidation of the Galena and Chicago Railroad
with the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad.
The former road was, up to 1864, one of the best
managed, best-equipped, and bestpaying roads
in the West. The stock was largely held by
persons living along the line, and was favor
ite investment for trust funds involving the es-
tates Of widows and orphans. The Chicago and
Northwestern road was bankrupt concern,
with "watered'' and worthless stock. Mr.. Til
den was Trustee of the road In 1868 he set