The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1877-12-29
THE LATEST TAMMANY "SKIPPER."

WI. o"cu murphy Is tHe lHulVluudl. ne
was an accomplished rascal, eminently re-
spectacle in his associations, the guide phi
losopher and friend of that sanity reformer,
Mr.. John Kelley, and the veriest paragon
of Tammany cheftain. Indeed SO cor
daily respected was he by his pious asso-
ciates for his transcendent virtues, that
she would cut off his right hand before he
"would dishonesty take one cent of an
"other." And yet this good man, this
pink of political perfection, around whose
head there shone the halo of a thousand
virtues, has actually stolen fifty thousand
dollars and run away, just as though he
was not respectable and not virtuous, but
like any other common rogue. No wonder,
then, that the moral sense of the Tam
many communicates has been shocked by
the petty crime of their associate. Tweed
stole five millions and finally evaded the
penitentiary. The magnitude of his crime
dazzled and bewildered us. There was
touch of genius in his rascaliy. Com
pared to him, Owen Murphy is petty pill
feIer. How contemptuously the "Boss "
would look down upon him. Garvey would
snub him as common thief, and even
Ingersoll cut him dead. Indeed one fact is
strikingly apparent in Murphy's case-if
he would preserve the respectabhtty of his
name, he must return to New York at once
and steal a larger amount. Fifty thou
sand dollars is too small a sum to comprO-
mise on. The man that would surrender
on that paltry amount is not worthy of the
day and generation of Tammany thieves.
Murphy's apologists, of course, refuse to
believe him a despicabe thief, and express
a variety of opinions as to the motive of
his disappearance. His most intimate &C
quaintances admit that he was sport
ing man" in every sense of that term.
That he knew all the points Of a horse, had
learned a thing or two about cards, and
was at home in fast society generally. All
drawn from his Tammany associations.
The fact of his being protege of John
Kelley's, and his easy, off-hand manners
had gained Murphy a reputation for tone
among "the boys" "Who'd thought, !"
said one of these classical but burly Bour-
bons, "that Owny had skipped the town."
Aud yet when the facts are considered,
Murphy was i'll just the municipal cheese
that Tammany skipper revels in. He
was an Excise Commissioner of the city
of New York, two others completing the
Board. This Bureau of Excise is only re-
quired by law to pay over to the City Cham
berlain, within thirty days, the amounts
received by it, on application by liquor
dealers, pending the issuing of licenses.
bat 1cas not under bond for the faithful dis
charge of duties as such. AS Treasurer,
he was an entirely independent member of
it. He kept his own books and disposed
of the city funds as he pleased his asso
ciate Commissioners having no official
know ledge either of the books or of his
manner of making entries in them. Some
idea of the business methods of the munich
PAL aulnOIlIlCS ol new L pTk, ali UOuN
ing the highest idea of Tilden and reform,
may be had when the fact is considered
that the total amount deposited by Muir
ply, on account of license fees with the
City Chamberlain, was nearly one half mil
lion of dollars. And yet the Commission
ers, although entrusted with the handling
of so much money, were not bonded officers
and against whose peculations the city was
not Unidentified. After all then, the Gotham
ties may congratulate themselves on Muir
phys forbearance III absconding with only
fifty thousand dollars, or but ten per cent
Of the amount he had actually paid. Herein,
probably, lies the true secret of Tammany' $
disgust at his conduct. Had Murphy en-
beZZed the whole amount entrusted to
HIM, he would have achieved reputation
worthier the name of Tammauy. As it is,
he ranks as second class among respectable
thieves. However, as has been truly re-
marked, only respectable men run away
with other peoples money nowadays
Common rogues really stand no chance at
all. Amateur thieves, who can b0rro,r
thousands of dollars without giving SO
much as scrap of paper as security, are
running the business.