National Republican., 1876-08-25
GoYaruor Tildeu,s Wealth.

From the Pr0Nidence JOURNAL
Governor Tilden is one of the 'solid men"
of the city of New York. His wealth is vari-
ousIy estimated at from five to twelve millions.
AS he has always been lawyer, with no in
come from commerce, trade or manufactures,
it is matter OF curiosity to know how he ac-
cumulated this colossal fortune, especially as
he began life poor and has never been blessed
with legacies. Neither has he been distin-
guished for extraordinary legal abilities. He
has never appeared conspicuously in any great
case, nor has his counsel been sought by rich
men. The greatest lawyer. of New York,
Charles O'Conor, who has had for fifty years
the largest legitimate practice in the United
States, is poor man compared with Tilden.
That the latter has acquired his enormous
wealth by the legitimate income from his pro-
fession is impossible. 1t has never been
accomplished by any lawyer in America or
Europe.
But Mr.. Tilden early discovered rich mine
for his working in our great and growing rail-
road system, and chose as his speciality the
vocation of railroad lawyer. From these cor
porations he drew large fees, which he in
vested in railroad stocks, chiefly in New York
and Pennsylvania, whose Legislatures he was
able to reach and influence when favorable
railroad legislation was needed. He was an
excellent lobbyist, and corporations paid him
enormously for managing their "jobs." And
at last he invented the patent process of railroad
building through the bonding OF towns, cities
and counties through which they passed and by
procuring subsidies from Legislatures and
Congress. He had q hand In the Credit Mo-
bilier enterprise, and openly approved It. He
was the silent mover of the machine by which
railroads were ground out and ground up.
The way the thing was done is curious read
ing. Tilden's active partners would project
the railroads, procuring subscriptions there
for from States, counties, towns, cities and
private individuals, all eager to have the line
built for the purpose of developing the coun-
try. This money they put in their pockets,
then issued first mortgage bonds on which
they borrowed money to build the road, gen.
orally taking the bonds and paying for them
with the money received from local subscrip-
tons. Then they built the road, charg-
ing most exorbitant prices, and paid to
themselves the money they had advanced
upon the bonds. Thus the money
would all be back in their own pockets, and
the mortgage bonds besides. Thus the road
would be out of funds to pay inter-
est upon its bonds when foreclosure would
gobble up the whole concern, wiping out all
the local subscriptions and the original stoc K,
and the holders Of the first mortgage bonds
would become the lawful owners of the road.
A new company would next be organized, and
the road irrevocably transferred from those
who paid for it to those who robbed them.
By this patent process railroads were built all
over the West, and States, counties and towns
are yet heavily in debt upon subscriptions
made in good faith and for which they have
not dollar or a scrap of valuable paper to
show as an equivalent. In the State of Illi-
nois alone the debts still unpaid for railroads
b1ilt in this way amount to between twelve
and fifteen millions of dollars.
Mr.. Tilden could not, of course, operate
alone in this business; he had aiders and
abetters who shared in the ''swag;" but being
the inventor and prime mover, he Jared hand
somely, and is to-day the richest lawyer in
America. But he secured his wealth by q
system Of fraud which must cause a large
portion of the Western people to groan for
years under their burdens of taxation and
debt. These men understand Mr.. Tilden's
honesty and are not deceived by his reform
pretensions. And If we of the East desire to
know in what utter execration the name of
Samuel J. Tilden is held among the honest
yeoman of the West we will be able to learn
all about it in November.