The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-08-25

One Of the peculisr and seemingly lncom-
| prehensible features of FIack case Is the
str nge attitu e of the son, wilma 4
Flack. who. it is alleged, took to
his mother at PeekskIll a document
| for her signature winch she declares was
merely a deed Of separation giving her
residence and s25 a week, but winch turns
out I, nave been either complete divorce
| or statement purpOrtng to have Dsen
| taken before a referee. Of course, the
young man denies posi- lively that be has
been guilty of any COLLISION in the matter.
and the Interested lawyers unite in a sort OF
chorus, pro-ounclng the an III
AL right But the dIsclo 'ure'
already made point 10 the conclI-
sion that the divorce was obtained without
the lady havi z either been summon II be-
fore court or referee, or having made any
statement whatever, or given her CO sent
to any procee ing, The dIvorcs has beel
promptly anuulleI. and SHOULD tins worst
fears be realized as TO the charge OF collu-
sion, a prisou may loom up bef re several
of the parties implicated. Mean
while Layer Wright, who
filled the role of counsel for the wife,
declared that he permitted the use Of his
name to oblige a "prOfeS ionM frient.
Judge Mcneil counsel for Ar. Flack, de
clareS that his own acts will be fully sus-
tailed by the court when tue in-e,tis cation
tie case was laid and mo pronou iced the
decree Of divorce, threatensto punish, u the
full extent of the law, any
and al attorneys and private
persons who may have succeeded
j imposing upon the court" The referee,
Mr.. Aeeks, uas yet TO be heard from IL
explanation of his share in the mat or.
Aud all this odd mud lie was still further
implicated by the scovery that the ref
cree, and e lawyer, who had been IS
sig ed in this stran plot to represent the
Interests of Mrs Flack, were related to
eacI other aud that bot we're the political
beneficlaries of t 70 saeriff
No element of dramatic sensation is
wanting in this emarkable case. The dual
life, the substi uto paper, the DysterI us
and intangible "other wife, the attempted
restraint of the lawful wife d her asty
fight from her hotel prison to New York
to begin the battle fJr her rights, consti-
tute a grand moral drama complete in
every detail. Not a scene or character is
wanting. The last act is now "on," and it
is almost beyond doubt that ere lon the
curtain will be rung down in tue good old
way, to the music of virtues triumph over
VICE. But it has been a long seq for
while Chinese play may last seven days,
this one has been going on for twenty
years.
One of the most significant phases of
the Fiack case, as far as the politicians are
concern sd, is the sud leu extln 5uishment
OF the sheriff by big Iljlnn Ric ard
CroHer. He snuffei olt Flack's p1litIc Il
life with a single puff. Indeed il needed
no more than a hint for the RIGA
bookbinder to step down and out of
the chair of the grand sachem, as he will
doubtless presently step down and out of
the fattest office in Tammany'S gift. H
could maze fight if he we're so minded,
for the office OF sheriff is an elective one,
and he might even supplant the Tanma ~
men in his department and put in All
Tammanyites But Flack never was a
IAN of resJu ces. His gal removal i,
really beyond the power of anyone bu
the COVE nor; yet he will probably accept
1t at Cookers hands withour a murmur
Tie fact is that tle rammany Criunvir-
ate has tod y more absolute power in Ne
Jrk than the orga izatlon has welded at
any time since tie days of Tweed. Three
men, Richard Croker, May Hugh J.
ant and Commissioner of Public Works
Thomas f. Gilroy, have at their absolute
control and disposal $4,000, 900 Of patron
age. The total federal patronage il thls
city amouns to little over $1,000, 900
1nly. Tue contrast serves to measure the
extent of Iammaly's power and to indi ate
the IRENE idous influence that can be exert
ed by body which has at It's com ma d
an annual expenditure second only to that
Of the national govern nenu.
1t was now said that, after consultation,
the triutnvi, a has decided to force the dis
graced sheriff 10 give up his Office, without
wailng for the verdict of the courts or the
action of tue governor; for ii ey. waited
or Flack showed fight, the sherlfT's Office
nigh he lost to Ia nmany, and one of .e
biggest avenues of municipal patronage
closed to its followers. Croker, siie It, dark
bro we'd, black-bearded like Kelly, and bill
ious, is shlewd and says little, and Gllroy,
tall, bro wn-haired, and sa guine but cool
headed, has been called the Bismarck of
Iammany because of his sagacityi loo6ing
out for its interests. The mayor is a msre
hgure-head bes.d these two mel. Since
Janu ry last, Tammany, through the mis-
calculations of its leaders and lack of STRAIT
egg, has los control the board of police
justices, aud has made the board of police
commissioners tie ms cad o capturing it
as they had set out to do. A third biunder
would be followed by lch a howl from the
rank an file as mig shake some of the
leaders off their thrones. 81, by a sing %
bow, II hops to decap tate a sheriff, as it
has already castigated grand sachem,
saved the putati III of the wig VAN aud
the credit of the triumvirate itsslf
DAVID WECHSLER