The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1878-05-29
TAMMANY RING.
Brief History OF the Ring that
stole $50, 900, 900 from New York.
New York World.l

The robberies committed by the
Tweed Ring and all its outlying min
isters are estimated by the Tammany
Alderman, in that report in which they
petitioned the Attorney General for
Tweed's release, at $50, O00,00 A
brief statement is herewith given of
the manner in which this robbery was
done. The "Ring"-as its name de
notes a combination of men of both
parties-began in the Board of Super
visors. The body was created in 1857
by an act providing that twelve Su-
pervisors should be chosen, but that
nobody should vote for more than six.
This insured "half and half" board
six Republicans and six Democrats.
Then began first the divisions of the
commoner spoils of politics, fat city
offices and fat contracts. In return
for Republican support at Albany,
country Republicans were gwen places
and jobs in city, and for thirteen years
with Republican Legislatures every
year bul one, that harmony continued.
In 1867 Dick Connolly became Comp.
troller; in the same year Tweed was
sent to the State Senate to survey the
ground, and in 1869, when Mr.. Hall
became Mayor, the Ring came into
full power. The chief outward symp-
toms of its Influence were the orders
of Barnard. Tweed's Judge, enjoining
and mandamusing everything that
Fisk and Gould in Erie or in the Pa
cifc Railway litigations wished enjnin-
ed or mandamused, and the patent
frauds on the ballot engineered by
Tammany. Next year cn.der the char
ter of 1870, passed, as Tweed testified,
by wholesale bribery, and the Special
Audit bill attached to it giving the
Board of Audit untrammeled authori-
ty over all claims, the Ring reached
the top of its power. So far rs can be
estimated, several millions were under
Tweed's old Board of Supervisors,
which passed almost as body, claims
and bills irregular and fraudulent on
their face. But under the Adjusted
Claims act of 1868, which gave the
Comptroller supreme and irresponsible
power to pay all claims in litigations,
undreamed of claims were "litigated"
and paid, being first increased by 65
per cent. of their fictitious amount.
This was clear stealing The claims
were a steal-35 per cent. The in
crease of them-65 per cent.-was
divided between Tweed, Connolly,
Sweeney, Woodward and Hall
Tweed, according to his own confess
ion, taking rs per cent. "because he
had so many expenses His expens-
es were legislators and their friends,
and all the swarm of place hunters,
lobbyists and ballot box suffers. The
Ring contractors Carney, Ingersoll.
Keyster aud twenty others were as
sessed also to make up the price which
the lobbyist A. d. Barber disbursed
at Albany and Tweed disbursed in the
city. Eleven Observation-Disclosures.
Woodin, Minter, Bowen, Wood, Cauld-
well, Creamer, Norton, Graham,
Brand and Harpending-were, accord
ing to Tweed, bribed with money or
otherwise to PASS the Tax-Levy bill of
1870, which contained the fatal special
audit cause, drawn, Tweed thought, by
Mayor Hall, bestowing the power to
determine on all claims upon Tweed,
Connolly and Hall-Or in other words,
upon the Commissioner of Public
Works, the Comptroller and the May
or. On almost every claim and bill
thenceforward presented TO the city
IS per cent. went into the pockets of
the Ring. If a contractor would not
add that amount to the face of his bill
he whistled for his money. If he did
add it he was apt to add something for
The new Courthouse was
one of the many sources of plumber.
Bills for carpeting by the one-hundred
miles, mountains of plastering, pyra-
mids of stone work and forests of chairs
were paid wherever they we're made
large enough. For money Erie bought
what legislation and what law it liked.
and other railroads and corporations
were not behind. Gould, built him
self palace at Greenwich, wore
diamond like planet in his shirt front
and when, at last, some slow pub
lie suspicion arose that possibly
while $50, 000, 900 had been stolen all
was not right, insolently asked, "What
are you going to do about it.
The gallant fight of the Young
Democracy against the Tweed charter
Of 1870 has not been wholly defeat. l.
stimulated suspicion and inquiry, and
first the Ring was betrayed by one Of
its allies. The city was frightened
and then indignant, but struck harm-