The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-06-02

DO asked to join the general committee
OF Tammany Hall, a body Of voters num-
Dertng several thousand, the chief duty
OF whose members Is to contribute an
nually 30 each to the fund from which
Tammany Hall Is ostensibly maintained.
The aggregate Of the contributions Of
the general committee Is very large.
This committee has certain functions to
perform besides contributing. but the
real policy OF Tammany Hall is directed
BY tho organization committee, consist
Ing OF about 80 mon. By 1t arc chosen
the various executive committees Of Tam
many. The most important Is the finance
committee It's chairman Ia tho real
boss" Richard Croker held this post
during the period Of his supremacy. 80
did John Kelly and Augustus Sohell
and all the rest Of them buck to tho days
Of Tweed Little is known by those not
members Of the inside workings Of this
committee AS all tho world knows,
those who are opposed to Tammany
claim that the mystery surrounding tho
finance committee exists because it's do
ings would not bear the light. It Is not
my purpose to discuss this question,
but to bring out the fact Of Tammany's
remarkable organization and in some
faint degree to show It's basis
It would not BIO possible In the space
at command to describe in dotail the
methods by which Tammany keeps track
Of the voters Of Now York and by which
1t Is possible for tho chief men of the
organization to predict in advance with
reasonable accuracy the outcome Of any
| election, but ono Of the most important
features may be menti,. | Perhaps q
week before election meeting Of dis
trict leaders is held at tho wigwam on
Fourteenth street This Is most i'm
portant meeting for the leaders, and
their future depends upon the accuracy
OF their statements then made
Tho Ta1nmany society Is an entirely
different thing from Tammany Hall, as
the political organization is known. Tho
society is small and very wealthy
body. 1t OWNS tho wigwam. as Tam
mnny's four story brick home on Four
teenth street Is called, and Tammnny
Hall, tho political organization, has al
ways enjoyed the uso Of tho building
rent froe. Tho exact relations Of the
two organizations arc about as inoom-
| prehensible to the -Tammany man
as arc the relations existing between tho
federal government Of the United
States and the governments of tho sepa-
rate states to the average British editor
The Original Society.
Tho Tammany society, or Columbian
order, was founded in 1889. 1t Is claim
ed that its original object was to offset
i'll soino degree tho Society Of tho Gin
cinnntL membership in which was al
lowed to none but officers in tho Reyolu-
ton or their descendants, the basic prin-
ciplo OF the TaInmany society being the
absolute political equality Of oil voters
Tho name was taken from that Of an In
dian chief, '"Tanmanund " Ho was
sometimes called est Tammany, " for
he Is said to havo been good Indian,
and his day" May IL, wa celebrated
with great enthusiasm In Now York
during tho first years of the republic
The chief officer Of the Tammany socie-
ty Is called tho grand saohem. It might
be possible for tho grand sachom of the
Tammany society to bo non Tammany
man. politically considered, and l be-
heve this has happened onoo or twice,
though 1t Is not very likely that it will
occur again soon. The Tnnmany society
leading feature ia, In q way, q mutual
benefit organization 1t is true, there
is no formal insurance feature, but it is
also true that the family Of no deceased
mombcr Of tho society left without
means upon the death Of tho member
has been allowed to suffer
Tho Local Clubs.
Returning to Tammnny Hall, tho DO
itical organization, In conclusion some
monitor should be made Of its local
branches, or clubs These are not named
Tammany branches, nor is there proba-
bly, any clause IN the constitution Of any
of them connecting 1t with Tammany
Hall But tho president Of each club is
usually tho district loader, and the
closest sympathy Is maintained between
the main organization and each Of the
local clubs 1t sometimes happens that
tho president of club becomes dissatis-
fled with the general course Of Tanlna-
ny and essays to sever rotations between
tho two bodies This very thing occur
red not long ago In tho case Of tho Har-
lem Democratic club, whose president
left Tammany and succeeded In carry