The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-01-03

National shame
The year which has just closed is alto
gether the most disgraceful in American an
nails, if disgrace is to be measured by the
exposure rather than by the preparation OF
stupendous breaches of trust. Ii the year
1877 has any competitor for tbs bad pre-
eminence it is the year 1871, when the mon
strous robberies of the Tweed Ring Nere
dragged forth into publicity and the ras-
calities of the Infamous Credit Mobilier
were fastened by proofs upon their authors
and accomplices But in those instances
the villany was not SO widely diffused.
There was one great focus Of corruption IN
this city, another great focus Of cor
ruption at Washington, but the faint
and the rottenness had not spread
into every walk Of business and
every kind of private and semi-pubilc
| transaction. But at present the whole at
mosphere seems reeking with foulness.
Every description of fraud and embezzle-
ment is repeated in every part OF the coun-
try until their accumulated magnitude
seems like Pelion piled upon Ossa in the
ancient fiction. 1t is difficult to say
whether frauds have attained ranker
growth here in New York, or in Phiiadei-
phia, or in Boston, or in Chicago. or In San
Francisco, or in some Of the smaller towns
In proportion to population and opportu-
mites there would seem to be little DIFF
ference There is no conceivable variety
of swindling which has not been practised,
Ia Of oil 10 IA wi
spread violations of sacred trusts by insti-
tutions and men charged with the
care of property belonging to the
unprotected and the helpless There
are degrees in the turpitude of theft, and
none is 30 base as that which takes bread
phan, as SO many false guardians and rot
ten savings banks and life insurance COM
panies have done.
A good deal of space in our columns is
filled to-day with the official report OF
Special Examiner Best to the Bank Super
intendent at Albany stating the result of
his examination of the National Trust Com
pany. This report is most remarkable
and astonishing revelation Of duplicity and
fraud perpetrated with deliberate persist
ency and on large scale. The methods Of
President Mangam, of the National Trust
Company, are not precisely the methods Of
DR.. Lambert, who was sentenced yester-
day to FIVE years in the State Prison,
but though more adroit and ingenious
they are not whit less immoral.
Lambert, who is getting hiss deserts,
is indeed a coarse and vulgar thief in COM
parison, for he had to deal with simple
people who were more easily gulled. LAM
bert's aim was merely to entrap credulous
men to get their lives insured in bogus
company which he had pulled into notice
by the brazen arts of a charlatan. His only
difficulty was in keeping peace with the
Insurance Department, and this he accom-
plished by the straight and easy method Of
downright perjury. A tough-swearing man
with conscience of leather is always equal
to that feat But Mr.. Mangam had to deal
with men of n different stamp from the
dupes from whom Lambert could extract
premiums by flattering them to believe that
they were born to longevity and Offering to
rate them ten or fifteen years below
their real age. Mr.. Mangam was sur
rounded by experienced men of business.
A large portion of the trustees of the Ma
tional Trust Company were men of wealth,
standing and integrity. 1t was niece ssary
to gain their confidence before he could
take any fraudulent steps. In point of
fact they did trust him so fully that they
surrendered the whole management of the
institution into his hands, and with the
aid OF small knot Of accomplices he de-
ceived the trustees, the public and the
Bank Department. One of his methods of
maintaining the credit Of the institution
was to keep sharp watch of sales of its
stock, and if it sunk below a certain high
rate to make purchases through his tools
with the funds of tho institution. BY this
means he kept up fictitious appearance Of
high credit by which he deluded the pub
lie and his co-trustees. But it would not
do to hold this stock as the property Of
the institution, because the trick would
soon have been suspected and exposed.
Mangam accordingly, in conjunction with
his accomplices, made q record of false
loans, and pretended that this stock. which
he had purchased with the funds of the in
stitution, was held as collateral for those
fictitious loans. With the business dressed
up in this shape he succeeded for while
in concealing this part of his irregularities.
There were others Of u more grossly Grim
inal nature. He accumulated from time
to time large amounts Of deprecated or
utterly worthless stocks, reported them at
fictitious values and classed them among
collaterals held for equally fictitious loans.
of railroad bonds which were abso-
lutte forgcries, known by him to be such,