, 1876-07-09
ssCANkL-REFORM.' -
What the Fraud Has Cost the State
Of New York.
Another Electioneering Report
Threatened by Crafty
Sammy.
History of Tilden's Swindle of the
New York Taxpayers.

Nc" O[A I*1ApatC1Ss
Ono Hundred Thousand Dollars Expended, and aef
.0ne Cont Recefarcd.
Correspondence !Tcr York Tines.
ALBANY, July At seems that we have not
had the last of hfr. Tilden's Canal Commits
sion reports. 1t might be supposed that the
trick had grown stale enough to have been
abandoned, but Mr. Tildcn appears still to llavc
faith III 1t, The last of these campaign docu-
mcnts came out for the ST. Louis Convention; :;
the object the forthcoming specimen OF Canal
reform litcrnture Is to serve, Is not SO clear.
What its purport will be, Is only rumoresl at
prcscnt but what It assuretliy will not be, may
be very certainly stated It will not be an I'M
partial summing up OF what HI. fildcn has ac-
co1t,pltshcd In the way Of canai~rcform.
When he started his great policy with .
flourish Of tr,1m1rts In Marcll, l61j,-lttccn
months ugo,-there were some cuol heads In
1lfs own party who wei.e not carried away by
the furor which his famous canal message ex~
eitcll, Knowing the man from long associa-
tion, familiar With his plans, and diylning bis
aims anl tntents, they refused to believe that
one whose whole life Ind been record Of
uNsCRUpu1ous sELPIsuNEss AND CUNNING
could suddenly, In his old age, develop into IN
uDscltsh patriot and an ardent lover Of honest
aud pure Government To men of this stamp,
the Governor, hopeless OF dceetTing them as to
himself, pictured the grand effects which he ex
pcctcd to produce by his policy In dividing the
Republican party Of Che State. Some ot these
men have bec1, made to learn since to what
uses thn Governor could put his "1.cform
policy" for crushing his rivals or opponents in
his own party. In this business at least, he has
been cmincntly successful; and, SO fur rs Gov
Tillen's personal and political Interests are
concerned, the State canals have been OF more
hencllt to him than they were to MI the CON
one would object to this. perhaps, except the
parties directly Interested, but, when Mr.. I'll
len asks the country to reward him with the
Presidency Of tho United States Tor reforming
the canal system OF New York, 1t becomes ncccs-
sury Il, see II the work done Is
WORTH TIE PRICE DEMANDED FOR IT.
Be it remembered. first, that fifteen months
have elapsed since Gov mlden sent to The Leg
ts'ature hts canal-mcssage; that since then new
legal remedies have been enacted TT his sugges-
costly Investigating Commission las been cre-
atct, which really ended Its work by tue cleo
ttun Of It's principal members to 9tate Offices;
that some thirteen or fourteen "rcports'' have
been issued by this body; that there have been
three special messages sent In about cana]-re-
form, and Iarge amount OF money appropn-
atcd to carry on the business, while the amount
of talk or a11ow" which has been made about
it Is practically un1imfted: In return for all
this, we have, ns tire actual and positive work
done TIT the prosecution OF fraudulent canal
contractors, one criminal suit agnnst George D.
Lord, of Rochester, and two civil suits against
the contracting firm Of Dcntson, Belden 8 Guile,
of Syracuse. These are the simple facts.
THREE SUITS Is TIE sUM TOTAL
Of the work of cnas-re'or7n after all this time;
and one Of Those was the revtrEl Of an old suit
commenced by Attorney General Barlow, renew
Cd l,y Gov. Tflder, and about u week or SO ago
dismissed hy the Court on motion Of the de-
fco0ants TO that effect.
Hc was tried for legislative bribery In connection
with the stHaud awdra.'' On THE first trial the
fury failed to assrcc. On the second, when the
caso WIS taken from Atty. .-Geu. Fairchild and
put Into more competent hands, tho Jury rem
dcrcd II verdict of guilty. Sentence was post
poncd, aud the prisoners COUNSEL bitter po-
lftfcal md personal enemy Of Gov Tilden-wcut
to St. Louis, not, c1;1ious1y enough, to oppose
the nomination Of that gentleman, but to shout
lnstilr for It. The questions now asked afc,
sfr. Laning to support hfs worst enemy ut the
Convcntfons and will George D.l,ord ever re-
ctiyc his scnte,,cef Shrtwd men, who know all
the circumstances OF the case, ctnfcss that, to
the first and second of these questions, they
cannot give an answer; IN the last, they venture
the opinion that Lord, who belongs to power
full family, and wtclds an almost absolute 1nhu-
e1lcc in Monroe County, wiil bc kept
DANGLING ON THE EDGE or SUSPENSE
until the next elections are safely over and he
to the tender 1ncrcics Of the law. There
is the barc possibilitYof his escape; butt would
be more consonxnt with Hov. Tildcn's Character
to hold out III implied promise Of clemency
until the critical time hns passed, and then
leave the man to Ills inte It may not he ior-
County was swung clear over from Gov. Tildcn,
and went against hts ticket by M enormous ma
jority. It Is not Ills Intention to have this hap
pc,i aga3n If he can help It. This Is the present
three " canal-reforn " suits which has been sue
cyssful.
The two other suits brought are, as already
stated, civil suits; md one has been dismissed
from Court 1,y Judge West',rook, his decision
hvinE rendered about two weeks ago. It was,
In f;ct, almost hopeless, from the start, but
there was
MATERIAL. Fon a SENSATION MT;
and for this and other reasons to he spoken OF
it WIS put forward over the second
cess. The sp,t WIS not brought BY Gov. Tilden,
who only renewed It, but by AttoEncy-tscnera1
Harlow during his term Of Office some years ago
1t Grew out Of the notorious Stanwtx-Ha}l
01 c0nLfac[$ III ioOo, anu tnc At-
fe1l1ants were Utntsou, Bcldcn 4 Gale, Of
Syracuse, contractors. Gen. Barlow prepared
the case, brought 1t to trial, carried it through
various stages on demurrer to. the Court Of
Appeals, and there, on law-points rafscd the
decision was adverse to the State. After this,
the suit was practically abandoned IS untcnablc,
this lcl,tg thc opinion OF Judge Daniel Pratt,
who succeeded Barlow. When the canul-rcform
Gov. Titdcn exhulncd the papers
from their place Of rcpose In the Attorney
Generals office. and again came into Court with
them, only to have the case o1,ce for all DIS
missed. So cuds the second Of the thsrc canal
suits.
The third suit Is against Denison l. Beldcn,
and is iutletsl the
ONLY ACTUAL PROSECUTION OF CONTRACTORS
begun under the new laws passed at Gov. TIL
dents instance. It is thus a test case Of the
canaI-rcforn policy, and WIS broug ht by Attor-
ncy- General FairchiId. The decision Of Judge
Westbrook In tho first case, however, is con- |
ssdcrcd to have almost decided the second,
since the principles involved are nearly the
saEac.. Il little before the St. Louis Copve11-
ton, the Governor uat1c several efforts to pro-
cuTr tic indictment of the defendants crif-
|nal charges ia connection with the case, but, |
after failing fit the Counties of eyrncusc Utica,
and Albany, he gave NJ the attempt. The suit
is brought for the recovery Of moneys alleged ]
to have been f1audu1ently obtained on DenEon !
s. 1}ctdcn's contract; aud the case will be tried
tlliB month before struck jury, unless 1t Is |
7gatn postponed at the request OF the prosecu- t
tion.