The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-11-06
SEATTLE. FRIDAY. goV. g.
THE rAmmANY rIGEs.

The election Of Flower in New orE
was O victory for what Is known as the
Tamrnany Tiger. Tammsny Hall cannot
be justly defined as political party, al
though nominaIly Tammany claims to be
the very head, front and heart Of the
Democracy or the Empire state. Tam
many Is correctly defined by George w.
Curtis, who turned the scale for Cleve-
lands election in 1884 and tried TO re-elect
him in 1858, to be coordination or con-
spirhcy primarily for the control Of the
city government for the benefit Of certain
men and vast train of their dependents.
This combination is kept together by a
cohesive attraction of corruption and .
common thirst for civic plunder Its
leaders do not include q single
Democrat Of New York city
conspicuous for civic capacity or
business eminence. Their leaders are
notorious for nothing save public and
private impurity. Mayor Grant is cor
ruptionist who paid part Of his debt to
Richard Croker by making little Flossie
Croker q "present" of 5000. Richard
Croker, who is Grants brains, was origin
ally ferocious ward striker who has been
tried for murder. The parents of these
leaders were mostly foreigners, and were
conspicuous for devotion to no other in
dustry save the keeping Of ''gin MILL"
The Tammany politicians are for the
most part men tainted with crime and are
natural exiles from the industrial, educa-
ted, decens life of the great city which
they govern. The annual pay roll
Of Tammsny Is $i5,0O0,0OO, and is
administered by these corrupt conspira-
tors against the municipal treasury, who,
In large way. live just as Buckley, the
egitive boss Of San Francisco, did In a
email way, by their command of city
patronage and opportunities, selling the
local Offices to the highest bidder and cor
rupting members Of the legislature in fur
therance Of their bandit policy. The
rank and file Of their followers is COM
posed chiefly OF the ignorant and criminal
class Of the population. The Tammany
leaders have no politics or principles but
plunder, but they always fly the Demo-
cratic flag, because in New York city that
Tweed Tammany became so corrupt and
rudacious that an uprising and fusion
OF the honest citizens of both parties
hurled IL from power, removed its judges
by impeachment, convicted and sent to
hspenitentiary several Of its robbers and
drove the rest into sudden fight and ig-
uominious exile. 1t is the boast of the
nr<s.s 4. .. M
organizer and leader of this overthrow of
We TTeed-Tammany ring. but Tilden was
not "a reformer;" he never assailed the
Tweed ring until it had been fully ex-
posed, disrupted and convicted and was on
the way - execution. Tilden stood over
the drowning Tweed and pushed his head
under water, but he never offered 70 hurt
him until he had actually been thrown
overheard and was hopelessly swimming
for his life.
The exposure Of the Tweed ring was
wrought by the New York Times. then a
kstanneh Republican newspaper. and II was
90 complete that every Democrat who was
intelligent enough to feel the instinct OF
selfpreservGtion fastened with all the
rest of the party rats to leave the sinking
pirate ship, Tammany Hall. Tilden was
ne manager of the corrupt Tammanv
campaign Of 1865 when 5000 fraudulent
6 naturalization papers were issued and
voted upon 10 elect Hoffman governor.
For years the conddaut of the eorrupt
s7t<nmany leaders, Tden was the first 10
leap from the sinking ship and opcn FIRE
upon his old messmates until he sunk the
craft on which he had sailed so often when
the weather was fair. The Democrat n
whom the most credit was due for sincere
opposition 70 the Tweed-rammany ring
was John Kelly. who was never 4 public
robher
Under kelly's leadership Tammanv
hail was reorsanlzed ont of its wreck Of
1901, and as long as Kelly had his
health and was the real ruler Of Fs-nmanv
New York city did not greatly suffer from
misgovernment. When Kelly's hand Was
removed from the helm Tammauy Us'Iba-
gan to slowly drift under corrupt control.
With the startling warning Of the Tweed
conspiracy fresh in memory both pa-tjes
made an effort 20 elect worthy men 2, TIA
Office of mayor. Under Haye,neve-
wickham, Ely. Edison. Grace and Hewitt
Tammany as a corrupt machine was unshle
20 capture the government of the
city, but in an evil hour
partisan considerations tempted the Re-
publicans to refuse Mayor Hewitt full
support for reelection, and Tammany sue
ceeded In electing Grant mayor. The
ample powers of appointment and removal
with which the mayor of New York Is
clothed are none too extensive for good
government, when the executive IS At once
an able and an honest man, bus in the
hands of corrupt man like Grant they
become a powerful instrument 10 entrench
his pplitical party in power.
1 Since the defeat of Mayor Hewitt for
reelection Tammany has remained n
mower and has abused lis opportunity for
its own ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 50 successfully
that today Il is as frightful municipal
robber and parasite as Was the Tweed
Tammany ring OF twenty years sgo. This