Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1880-12-07
IL JOHN KELLY AN HONEST
MAN?

We take it that there are few Demo-
Gratis in the United States outside OF
Tammany who believe in his political
honesty. And now the New York Her.
aid is engaged in the laudable task OF
proving that he is a rogue on general
principles. That great journal is max
ing some strong points against the integ-
r;ty Of the "Boss " from the record.
The subjoined article is a specimen OF the
work being done by the Herald:
John Kelly makes sedulous claims to
honesty" The newspaper organs
which he controls prefix the title hon.
est TO his name necessarily. In the full
some eulogies which he exacts from SER
vile politicians in Tammany Hall, the ad-
iective "honest " is the choicest epithet.
There is a studious purpose on Mr.. kel-
ly's part in requiring this particular style
of adulation from his parasites. for there
is a public impression of dishonesty =
in his official career which needs to be re-
moved if that is possible. 1t was pro-
duced by allegations Of peculation which
were preferred against him by the late
Mayor Havemeyer and have never been
retracted or refuted. 81 think" said
Mayor Havemeyer, directly addressing
himself to Mr.. Kelly, Il think that you
were worse than Tweed, except that he
was a larger operator. The public knew
that Tweed was a bold, reckless man,
making nc ~pretentions of purity. You,
on the contrary, were always avowing
your honesty and wrapped yourself in
the mantle of piety. Men who go about
with the prefix honest to their names
are often rogues."
The particulars in which Mayor Have
meyer impeached Mr.. Kelly's preten-
tions to honesty related to the enormous
fees collected by him from the public
treasury while he was Sheriff of this
county, which laid the present founda-
tion of his present %pecuniary fortune.
Mr.. Havemeyer charged that they
were fraudulent and illegal to the extent
Of nearly a hundred thousand dollrrs. 1t
is these fees in respect to which a cores
pondent of the Herald has proposed that
Mr.. Kelly shall afford his fellow citizens
a judicial opportunity to test his "hon-
esty" by waving the defence of the
statute of limitations in a suit to be
brought to recover them in behalf of the
people, and Mr.. Kelly has treated the
proposition with contumely.
For an understanding of Mr.. Kelly's
bills and receipts as to which he thus in.
sists upon protecting himself by the stat
ute of limitations it has become appro.
pirate, therefore, TO refer back to Mayor
Havemeyer's exposition Of their char
acter, so that the public may completely
comprehend the situation and the indi.
vidual. An Albany letter which we
print this morning contains some extracts
from the official document, which will be
perused this time by a wider circle Of
readers than it had originally, for during
the six intervening years Mr.. Kelly has
developed himself into an object Of ma.
tional attention. In the year 1874, when
Mayor Havemeyer arraigned him on the
charge Of POPULATION and branded him
"worse than Tweed" the matter was
one of local concern chiefly. But in
1880, when Mr.. Kelly has attained to
the Importance of running the fortunes Of
the whole Democratic party of the United
States in a Presidential election, it is an
interesting matter for people everywhere
to investigate what manner of man he is.
There are many features Of Mayor
Havemeyer's allegations to which we
shall from time to time direct public at.
tention. This morning we select only
one for special notice, inasmuch as our
Albany correspondent has made a very
important contribution towards a correct
comprehension of it by a search among
the records of the Secretary Of State in
that city. During the six years that Mr..
Kelly was Sheriff of this county-lS59-
81 and l865-67-he reported to the Sec
retary's Office at Albany lib, 600 criminal
convictions in the courts of New York
county and collected from the public
treasury fees for each report. Mayor
Havemeyer charged that these fees were
fraudulent to the amount of $34, 229,
by reason of false reports, and in evil
dence Of the falsity he cited the fact that
the convictions officially reported by the
clerks Of the court during the same Pc
Rod were only 20, SS5-a discrepancy of
80, 204, too enorm Gus to be explainable on
the theory Of a " clerical error" As a
test Of the correctness of the clerks re-
ports and the falsity Of Kelly's our cor
respondent has examined and tabulated
the Sheriffs reports Of convic tions for
the six years-lS53.S- preceding Kelly's
first term. They amount to only g. $50.
We leave the public to-day to make their
own infegences without further comment.
GENERAL GARFIELD fell 81. 900 short
of carrying the popular vote of the coun
try. He is therefore a minority Presi-
dent, though beating General Hancock a
few votes. Our Republican friends haven't
a great deal to crow about on the score of
popular Endorsement of their candidate.
Eureka Con. Letter.