The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-08-25
THE CAREER OF FLACK.
TIE GREAT DIVORCE SCANDAL
THE TOPIC IN THE METROPOLIS.

bis Lucky contract 20 T4nI AOOOy
and Sankey's Hymns - He Gives
Literally to Tam@any and is Politi-
cslly Advanced-Eis Downfall-The
Tammany Triunvirste and Its In
fuence on city and state Politics
Dividing 100000 of Patron
age.
(Copggi9hted)
New YORK. Aug. 24-The worlds fair,
the weather a ID all other topics are tenn
porarilv cast into the shade by the cele-
brated Flack scandal, which has been tie
talk of the town for week past Involv-
ing, as it does, politicians, lawyers and even
Judges, it naturally attracts more wide
spread attention than would ordinarily be
the case, and it opens up to tie wondering
gaze of unsuspecting New Workers. the Sc
cret methods for taili 6 divorces in this
state, which thev were won't to b asst had
hedged the sacred bond of wedlock with
more feguards than any other state in
the union.
James A. Flack, the defen liant in the
present case, is a man Of about ffty-hve
Dark complexioned. thick set and large
hmbed, ne weighs probably abou- ?3J
pou ds, and of late years has been getting
unpleasa tiy stout. His career i, New
York presents a str king illustration of the
advan age that comes from seizing single
golden opportunity; for had Flack missed,
even by a hairs breadth the lucky chance
of his life, he would hardl have been heard
of to-day, either in politics or in a div rec
court.
When, some fifteen years ago, the Moody
and Saukey craze struck in all over the
country, Flack owned a very modest book
bindery in William stleet, where he kept
few hands employed on such small 10 IS as
his patrons gave him. He was then il
Tammapy, but was not considered an active
politician bv any means. Indeed there
were hundredsmo e prominent, and far more
likely to receive promotion aud political
consideration. He was New Yorker by
birth, a native of Essex county, this state,
and descended from the New Jersey Dutch.
Singularly enough. many believed him to
be an Irshman, for the stocky build of e
man and his easy-going, plegmatc nature
gave this impression. The contract 70 r
printing, binding and pla' ing on the mar
ket he Moody d Sankey hymn book was
competed for by number of tradesmen,
and Flack's bid being the low st, wa &C
cepted He did not think m ich f the
matter. 1t wasn't a formidable job, ap-
parently and he was all the more surprised
when, after getting out the first edition, o..
ders came in 50 heavily from all parts of the
country tina he was com peeled TO hire ex-
ira force and enlarge his establi ,hment.
Edition followed edition, and here
seemed to be no limit to the demand. Or
ders from distant points swelled 10 emo =
nous proportio S, and agan a I'd agai
was the aston ded bookbinde Obliged TO
extend his premises. ms continued until
he had steAdily running mighty force Of
workmen, and lie felt that h had struck a
bonanza He was coming wea th out of
the insignifican job to which, when he bid
for it, he ad scarcely given more than a
passing thought In few years he had
clea. ed $4,000 The impetus it gave to
his general business was such that he be-
gan TO be known very widely among the
Q trade and u prosper in every direction. He
made liberal donatia to Tammanv, for he
well knew that measure of politician 8
usefulness to the WIgWam dope ds largely
upon two things, his personal pull" with
the boys about election time, and the
amount of his contributions to the campaign
fund.
He was now fairly on the road to promo
ton a. d hi advancement was rapid The
stout. s9ber-faced DO kbnder who had
little perso al ma gnetism and no oritoric Al
ability whatever, TO nd himself in great
demand, socially and politically. His uane
pushed to the 'front.' alo with the other
respectabies who are SO useful when public
attention is desired. At nasS-maetings.
a public din Iers, balls, philAnthropic
affairs aud charities of every description, he
was specially prominent, and his purse was
as open as that Of any man of his mean 3,
Mr.. Flack might be prudent in business
close in money matters generally, and it
was not suprisn hat he should be so, for
in his y nth he had hard struggle; but be
knew that the value of public applause and
appreciation derended la gely upon the
ann unit paid for it. So Flack's name be-
came watchword in Tammany hall and a
synonym for solid respectability and self
made manhood.
whatever Jimmy Fl ok is" he used to
say, 'he owes it to himsslf. He isn't in
debted TO anybody else for it. Pve alwa rs
been in rammany, cept when | joined
Mozart hal to help my friend Bill Con Ter
beat Harry Genet for sheriff. But | was
soon ba k again"
His education had been that of the COM
mon schools and in later years he did not
attempt TO improve it. IL would have de-
tracted some W hat he feared. from his char
acter as self-made man, dabble in tut gs
erudite, so he suck to his account-b ook,
and did not extend lis arlthmetical studies
beyond VII, was nece sary to figure out
ward major. ties and election results. He
was an adept at this, AMI long b fore g
death of John Kelly, Flack was regard d
as one of the most reliable of the big chiefs
henchmen. He could tell to a huudr Il
votes, just how his district and ward would
60 He was too valuable TO be buried
among the rank and file of the followers OF
the W gwam, so they made him a sachem,
and be felt that be vas at last on the hgl
wave that might bear him to honors hither
to beyond his reach.
But, all this time, there was a skeleton
lurking in the Flack family cupboard
1t was very ugly skeleton, too, a I'd
1T brought many a furrow to the
sturdy brow of the hard-hea ed bookbinde
IL sat with him at the feastS in the old hal
on Fourteenth street. when he met hi.
associates there, and it danced before his
eyes az he skinned his big leigers to COZ
his profits Itwss omnipresent, aud as HI
began to grow older and heavier, it gre
even more familiar and hardly ever lef
him. When he was made C unity clerk i
took possession the Office along with MIN
and sat there, like grim mascot, brlngin!
sorr W with every success. Again whei
he was elected sheriff, it confronted aim
and refused 10 depar 1t was My whe.
he broke the spell by a low which starte,
the community nd shattered TIE repuja
tion of a lifetime, that the accul sed thi
vanished Laid bare 20 the public eve. i
fled forever; but 1t lad done its work
just no the CO. es londenu is in the ia
NOUS divorce suit has not yet appeared /
has been asserted that she was a woman
named Cherry and again that she was ,