Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1876-07-27
ness than that of lawyer, and has
been able to accumulate his millions.
How did he do it?

The fact is Mr.. Tilden's so-called law
office has been a mill-a railroad mill
where railroads were taken and
ground up, separating the good meal
fIom the chaff. Mr.. Tilden and his
partners always kept the meal, and the
chaff was sent back to the original own
ers. 1t required much influence and
several active partners to get nearly 3
all the railroads in the country to pass
through Mr.. Tilden's 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
a position to control tbs New York
State Legislature and the New York
City Council as the real boss of the
Democratic party, and the real power
behind Tweed's throne. He procured
railroad legislation to suit his purposes,
and gathered in his helpless victims
under laws that he had especially con.
structed to that end. 1t was in this
sort of traffic that Sam Tilden made his
millions in a few years, though a law
yer of mediocre ability and apparently
small practice.
Most of the Western railroads have
been through Mr.. Tilden's mill in one
way or another. We showed the 9TH
ar day how Mr.. Tilden figured in the
Credit Mobilier Investigation as having
advised and approved that jobbery at
every step. The fact is, he was the
father of the Credit Mobilier system of
building railroads, and applied it ex-
tensively all through the West, and to
his own great profit, long before the
Pacific Railroads were built. Onkes
Ames was but Tilden's imitatOr. Til
den's active partners in the mill pro-
jected the railroads, and got subscrip-
tions in aid thereof from States, cOun-
ties, cities, townships, and private in
dividuals, all through the West, on the
basis of developing the country They
pocketed this money, and borrowed
funds to build the road Oh first mort
gage bonds, generally taking the bonds
themselves and advancing the money
they had received from local subscrip-
tions. Then they paid themselves the
money they had advanced for building
the road at the most eXOrbitant prices.
Having taken all the money back, the
road would be nOminally out CT finds,
and unable to pay the interest on its
bonds before completion. Then it
would be put through Mr.. Samuel j.
Tilden's famous mill-a process which
wiped out the State subscriptions, the
county subscriptions, the city subscrip-
tions, the township subscriptions, the
private subscriptions, and all the Origi-
nal stock, leaving the road the proper
ty of those who held 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 tu-
telage of advice of Mr.. Samuel j. Til
den it was done legally and in proper
form-he and Tweed having tirstsar-
ranged the laws accordingly.
The counties and towns of Illinois
owe between S12 900, 600 and S15, ,OOO, 600
on account of railroad subscriptions that
were swallowed up by Mr.. Tilden's
patent process. Large amounts OF mon
ey have been taken from the people
of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Wiscon-
sin, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebras-
ka, Missouri, and other States OF the
West, Northwest, and Southwest, in
the same manner. Of all this, Mr..
Tilden has received his full share. He
was the lawyer who devised the means
whereby these frauds were worked
out, he counseled the active manipula-
tors at every stage of the operation. he
acted as the agent for winding up and
reorganizing the companies, and he
pocketed large part of the plunder.
There is scarcely railroad this side of
the Allegheny Mountains in which
there was not at least one, and many
in which there were several, 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 peO-
pie of the West who contributed the
money are particularly interested in
understanding and remembering it.