The Portland daily press., 1877-09-18
Our New York Letter.
Twecd's sRevelation-The Wicked Twelve
The Revival of Business-The Shoot
ing at Creedmoor-The Training School
for Nurses.
NEW YORK. septe mber 18th. 1877

New YORK, September 10Th, 1877
Tweed is ''squealing' now with damaging
effect to the reputation of number of his
Senatorial colleagues. Not that there is any
thing new in his ghastly narrative, but he en-
phasizes it with specifications and particulars.
His word of course is good for nothing, nor his
oath either. In fact he has sworn for and
against the accused parties at different times
as suited his interest or caprice. But then the
unpleasant truth stands in the way that the
men inculpated did the thing for which he
says he paid them large bribes. The difficulty
in their case is that the record is against them
What conceivable motive could they have had
especially the sol disant Republican members
for voting for a charter which made Tweed
and his confederates supreme masters of the
corporation of New York city? They were
known at the time to be prodigal and knavish;
their peculations had reached then to pro-
digious aggreg ate; they were pursuing ca
reer OF robbery Heretofore unparalleled in the
annals of crime; they were fresh from that
stupendous fraud upon the ballot box that
wrested the state from the Republicans only
seventeen months before what possible de-
fense, excuse, palliation could there be for
turning over to them the unchecked control of
municipality so vast in population and prop
erty? There are circumstances in corrobora-
tion of the horrible charge which it is hard to
explain away. When Dame Quickly voached
for the honesty of the young man whom Doctor
Caius pulled by the ear out OF his closet there
was no resisting the logic of the Doctors re-
sponsive exclamation:
swat shall de honest man do in my closet?
Dere is no honest man dat shall come in my
Closet
The votes were given the charter was passed
suddenly, mysteriously, without there being
given time for opposition or debate, and that is
oaths that Tweed ever uttered in the witness
box or elsewhere in the whole course of his
life. 1t is little singular, however, that this
examination begins at so late q place on an
extended catalogue of villainies. 1t is that
unaccountable phase of the matter that throws
SO much doubt upon the sincerity of the pro-
ceeding. Between the alleged corruption of
poor Voorhies and the wholesale purchase Of
the ruling spirits of the State Legislature, there
is an extended hiatus that will have to be filled
up before this miserable history is anywhere
near complete. There are all the supervisors
who held Office from 1861 to 1870 to pass under
review. These remarkable functionaries con-
stituted the closest corporation that has ex-
listed since the Council of Ten. There were
twelve of them. They held their places for six
years. Two were chosen every second year,
nominally by the people, but actually by the
nominating caucus, the law providing that nc |
elector should vote for but one, and that 1e |
second on the poll should have the other seat. |
The body created under this absnrd ~9ntrigance
possessed the larpes, power ever conferred upon
a deliberative sssembly. The exchequer OF the
comfy was At their mercy. The earlier mem
bars of pWere many of them reputable gentle
men. sut the position offered such temptation
to rogues, both by reason of the opportunities it
prssented for wholesale spoliation and the Gel
tsfnty of success, no matter how unpopular the
candidate might be- that it soon degenerated
into campact banditti Exactly how many
rascsls there were in each Board after the
Court House job got under way Tweed can dis
close if he will. There were always seven, be-
cause the appropriations could not have passed
with less. There came very near being reve-
lation of the whole conspiracy in the early
stages of it, through the folly of the gang in
depriving one of their number of his share
He brought his associates to terms by threats
Of exposure. He could not betray them, 1t is
true, without confession of his own intamy,
but they evidently did not think it prudent to
goad him quite to desperation, and so they
settled with him by paying him ten thousand
dollars. He retired from the Board shortly
after and dropped out of public sight and
memory, but believe he is still living and the
story could probably be wrung out of him If
the Aldermen were determined to have it.
After that little experience, the confederates
obeyed the rule of "honor among thieves" by
keeping faith with each other. But precisely
who they were, and in what proportions they
shared, has never been divulged to the genera
ear. The scheme of division subsequently de-
vised by the Board of Audit, was worked out
mathematically. The thefts of the supervisors
extended over so much time, and were so null
tifarious that they were beyond the bounds of
arthmetical calculation. Here is chapter in
the great book of municipal malfeasance which
Tweed can make some small atonement to an
OuJIdScu pcOp0 NY WLtuibS Oue AhO OppSAsU-
nifty of doing so will be presented to him, be-
fore he gets through, and the freedom with
which he will then unburden himself of his
guilty secrets, will prove the best test of the
earnestness of his purpose to make an unre'
served confession of his past offenses.
Turning to more agreeable subject, 1 men,
ton with good deal of satisfaction, that from
shop-keeping point of view, New York is in
more thriving condition than it has been al
any previous time for four years, if not for ten
There is an enormously large amount of bust
ness being done in some branches, and an active
traffic in all. The dry goods jobbers are as
busy as they can be, shipping goods to all points
West and South The railways are doing 9
greatly increased passenger and freight busi'
ness. The signs of reviving enterprise appea
on every hand, and a few months will make an
astonishing change for the better In the sltua.
ton and prospects Of the mercantile commu'
| nifty. The promise of the cotton crop is moi
quite so brilliant in Texas and one or two Other
| sections as it seemed while ago, but the yield
will be good one on the whole. At any rate
| the Southerners are buying all kinds of staple
merchandise to an extent altogether in excess
| Of their former requirements, at least since the
| rebellion. AS might be supposed, the whole
| West this side of the Pacific coast, is buying
| literally on the strength of the immense har
vests that are being gathered there. The golt
premium has settled down to three and al
eighth per cent. and now if the people Of the
country will stop chattering nonsense about
debasing the circulating medium with irredeem
able paper, or bogus tokens fashioned out oi
adulterated silver, we shall meet with no CHECK
in the national progress towards solvencY and
prosperity. Nature seems to have stepped for.
ward most opportunely and effectually to con
tradict and deride the sophistries of the vision
aries who still perversely clamor for retro
grade movement in finance, hope thei