Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1877-11-22
Our New York Letter.


rie's Troubles-Local Politics
Morrissey and Tammany-
10 the Editor of the Obsegrer:~ :
New YoRk. November 2, 1877.
James Brown, of Brown
Brothers & Co., London and
New York, who died in this
city the other day, left a fortune
ranging well up III the millions.
An interesting episode in con-
nection with the business of
his house occurred during the
panic of 1887, when, being in
need of cash to a. large extent,
they went to the Bank of Eng
land, and such was The conf
dence placed in them, obtained
a loan of SIS, 100000 gold, ALI
Of which they repaid within six
months. Brown Brothers have
held in England a position sec
ond to that Of no other Ameri-
cans, if we except George Pea
body & Co. The present head
of the latter, house, Mr.. y. S.
Morgan, is now in this city, and
was on Thursday evening last
the recipient of a banquet at
Delmonico's gastronomic pal
ace, the mere accounts of which
are painfully appetizing. This
banquet was rendered by prom
inent bankers and citizens Of
New York, Boston, PhiIadel-
phia, Baltimore, and Washing
ton, and was attended by two
hundred guests.
Application has been made
for an order Of sale of the Erie
Railroad under foreclosure by
the first mortgage bondholders,
who want $30,G00,000, and the
sale is said to be likely to take
place. What a fall is there!
Foreclosing on a trunk line of
such dimensions! The road op-
crates $4,000 cars and almost
500 locomotives, but as it owes
over a hundred and forty. mil
lions Of dollars it will probably
have to 90. OF this enormous
sum eighty-six millions are due
stockholders, who, if the sale
takes place, will lose every cent,
as the property of the road will
not bring enough to pay its fif-
ty-four millions of bonds.
election day" was an unu-
sually quiet one here in New
York. Although an off year in
politics generally there was a
great deal Of feeling and inter
est excited by the contest for
the State Senate between John
Morrissey and Augustus Sehell
ormore accurately speaking, be-
tween Morrissey on one handand
Tammany Hall and Boss Kel-
ly on the other. 1t was strange
sort of a combat in which party
lines figured very little; and
the overthrow of the "Boss"
faction was unexpected and
complete. John MorriSsey is
the most utter anomaly existing
in present American politics.
He presents the spectacle of
man with considerable powers
of mind, distracted by the con-
stant struggle of good and evil
tendencies, both OF which he un-
doubtedly possesses. His birth,
education and early career as a
prize-fghter, gambler and Grim
inal in many other directions
were enough to have ruiEed
rinety-nine men out of Il hun-
dred. Indeed they have come ex-
tremeIy near doing that for him;
for he is still a gambler and
pool-scller, setting aside the
laws of the State in which he
wields an influence, with a cool
ness and persistence which shows
how far his moral principles
have been bIuntcd; and yet
there is in him sort Of sturdy
manliness and a scorn Of mean
ness which compcls certain re-
spect in spite Of his misdeeds.
Here he went into the canvass
with the record of a convict, IL
brawler-a and a con-
against a man of en-
tire personal respectability, as
well as a veteran politician,
backed by the most powerful
machinery of New York poll
tics; was sick throughout the
and in his bed on cleo
ton day, and yet routed his
formidable adversaries, being
elected by handsome majori-
". And this result, straDgest
1f all, was accomplished by the
'gilt-edged7 vote Of his dis
.rict, best citizens casting their
suffrages for him rather than for
his wealthy and respectable RI
IL