Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1878-04-18
VIM. Nj. Tweed.

If the maxim enjoining that nothing
but good be spoken of the dead were
observed with regard to Tweed there
would be little comment written or
uttered concerning him. He was faith
ful to his friends, but that is charac
teristic common to all successful poll
ticians. He was generous with the
money he stole, and be was affection
ate in his own domestic circle. When
so much is said the catalogue of his
virtues is exhausted. The reverse of
the medal shows him as the choicest
product of the ranke5t growth of the
American school of immoral politics
Tweed was but few days more than
5S years old when he died, but in a
not prolonged career he had risen from
ubscurity to the colossal public robber
of his time; he had amassed millions,
had been the master Of the metropolis
of the New World, had dominated its
government, and at last died in Jail.
Undoubtedly he was a man OF great
force of character, towering in an ille-
gitimate ambition, keenwitted, sche-
ming and utterly unscrupulous. The
man seems to have been gifted with
no moral sense. He entered upon po-
litical life in 1850 as a New York Al
derman, and three years later he was
in Congress From that time onward
he almost continuously held public,
office. His aspirations were not to
hold high official places, but to manage
politics, to. control men and to collect
wealth. In 1868 he was Deputy Street
Commissioner in New York city, and
from that year may be said to date the
Infamous Tammany Ring, of which he
was the chief spirit. He gathered
around him the men who shared with
him his rise and fall, and the era of
systematic plunder OF the public treas
ury commenced. 1t was the carnival
of the tax eaters. They began with
extending streets, and then laid their
Illicit grasp on all the public works.
and improvements under the munich
pality. Swollen contracts were award.
ed to accompIices at enormous rates,
jobbery reigned supreme in every de-
partment, the favoriteS of the Ring
were installed in supernumerary Off
ces, with inflated salaries and, perqni-
sites, and taxation grew and grew.
The c-owning scheme of robbery
planned by the buccaneers was the
building of q new court house to cost
ostensibly $3.50, 900. In 1871 eight
millions were pretended to have been
spent upon it, and it was still incom-
plete. The greater portion of the
money had been converted into the
pockets of Tweed and his confeder
ates. They revelled in luxury and
vulgar extravaganza, and Tweed s.
wealth was computed at $50, ,000, 900.
The collapse of the Ring was as
dramatic as its rise and reign. The
arrogance of the rulers had made dan
gerous enemies, and the people were
groaning under the burdens imposed
upon them. Little by little Tamma'
nv had gathered into its hands all the'I
reins of government. Mayor Hall,
Tweed, Connolly and Sweeney were
the autocrats of New York. They
purchased whatever legislation was
needed to concentrate power in them.
They formed the Board of Audit and
obtained entire mastery of the finances.
Schemes of plunder were organized on
a grand scale. Contractors fer work
on the new court house were directed |
to make out claims against the county
for all manner of imaginary services.
These fraudulent bills amounted tol
many millions, and they were audited
and ordered to be paid. Six millions
Of dollars were stolen in six months,
and 81 ,000, 900 was traced to Tweed'sl
private pocket OF the stealings the
Ring received 90 per cent; Tweed's
share was usually 25 per cent. But
Nemesis was approaching in the shape
OF party hacks whom Tammany had
rejected and degraded. A clerk in the,
Auditor Office copied by stealth the
fraudulent accounts and turned them
over to the enemies of Tweed. The
fatal documents and figures were placed
in the hands OF the New York Times
and published. They told the whole
shocking story of rapacity and spolia'
ton. The depredators fought hard to
ward off the inevitable. AT first def,
ant and insolent, they feared no over.
throw from their height of ill,gotten
power. Tweed was even elected by a
rum shop constituency to the New
York Senate while these disclosures
stared him in the face. But q mighty
revolution had been inauguraLeG. and
the Ring was doomed. The revelations
were made in the so INNER of 1871 and
in the succeeding November the rob-
bers were condemned by the vast pop'i
llar majority against them. The game
was up for them. Connolly, Sweeney