The record-union., 1895-11-27
Corruption.

Corruption.
The San Francisco Cali on Sunday
last printed five-column report Vi
special correspondent sent TO Iacoiiia,
Wash. to investigate the treasury anu
bank scandals of that city, when nave
been frequently referred to IN the uis-
patches lately.
The correspondent first gives the ms
tory of how the political bosses, packed
nv the banks. cot entire control OF the
city government and managed to hoIu
it for five years.
Following is a condensation OF the re-
port:
Malone had strings enough on the
council which was composed OF as COT
rupt a lot of men as ever got toSelheI'
to compel Handle to appoint WnoIll lll,,,i nc
wished. since confirmation by the couh-
ell was necessary. Therefore 1t came 10
pass that Fred. Taylor. owner OF apoul
half the Opera-alIey houses, was lndue
Controller; J. w Clinton, Street super
intendent; Byron Barlow, Joe houSlho
and Colin Mcintosh, members OF the
Board of Public Works; Sam Mllilgan'
Ci+v ATTORNEY. and w T. Zwickey, an
unknown. Chief of Police. Zwickey had
been recommended by the Chflstlah
element and influence, ana was not OP
DCsed by the gamblers. Ihe SequeI
shows with what reason.
"Now followed an administration OF
the widest extravaganza ana utmost
corruption Streets were graded ana
contracts let for the Improvement at eH-
ortitant prices to favored bidders,
Specifications being altered a1Ier con-
tract to suit the contractor. Money
flowed like water. Boggs, with Wholh
the story deals, was carried along III
the mad whirl Drunken debauches
: ere of nightly occurrence. Iaylor
visited his Opera-alley resorts, carry
ing his friends of the council ana ad-
ministration with him. Zwickey levled
blackmail right and left on gamblers;
variety theaters, saloon-keeperS anu
women Of the town. BOggS spent nun
dreds of dollars nightly in debauchefy-
Clinton. Street superintendent, made
hundreds out of commissions on sup
plies and kept a fine team OF horses at
the city's expense. Boggs openly spec
uIated in city warrants, winch We're pc
ing issued at the rate OF over 9JVOVo
month, buying them over the counter al
7he Citv Treasury and selling them al
en advance of > per cent He made no
secret OF it-indeed, boasted Of his imam
ciering and was applauded by the bank
ers with whom he dealt without favor,
because he had brought to a par war
rants that had previously been quoted
below. Fortunes were making III those
days; real estate speculation had run
mad. and with the fostering pool Of cor
1uDtion at the City Hall there was big
chance to make money in contracts
Rut as this story is to deal with BoggS.
C.ulv a hint of those things, sufficient to
show the atmosphere in which the
Boggs idea was foStered. can be given.
..Boggs was the general favorite OF
the bankers He kept large balances
scattered among them with an impair
tialitV that knew no faVoriteS and bred
no discomfort: and then he called in no
warrants but kept the citys FUNDS III
circula ton. As an instance OF his meth
DDS let me relate one point: lie found
that Eastern Warrant-b buyers were
eager for Tacoma 10-per-cent.warr
and that he could get ! or > per cent
commission and accrued interest on them
through local bankers and brokers, but
that they could handle them better If
the warrants were of large amounts.
Boggs had a wonderful influence with
the Council, so ne procured the passage
Of a resolution requiring all city en-
ployes TO be paid in cash at the Treas
1l-cr's Office. warrants to the total
auount Of the payroll to be drawn III
500 each 20 the order Of George W.
T2CgCs City Treasurer. This was os-
tensihfv done to give all city employees
the benefit Of cash payments instead of
warrants which. it was about that
time conveniently discovered banks
would not buy at par Except from the
City Treasurer, to whom they gave a
premium). The warrants We're conse-
ouently drawn to the order OF George
". Roggs. City Treasurer. in $500 each,
the pay-rolls duly paid and the war
rants delivered to banks and brokers al
the usual premium. This practice had
gone on for several months before il
vas discovered that Eastern buyers
wouldn't touch them at any price. sim
Dlv because, having been drawn to the
~-7-r of fbo Cit Treasurer, they bore
upon their face the evidence of having
been once paid, notwithstanding the in
,,crserneut Not paid for want OF
funds 1t became apparent that the
CITY Treasurer must have received cash
for these warrants and that. having re-
ceived cash for them, they were OF
value to no one as receipts.
''Now. here was a dilemma. The prac-
tice ceased as suddenly as Il began
and the banks held these warrants &c
Pogg's credit as so much cash. Ic
manipulate the Council and manage al
+hese affairs properly cost Boggs big
money. Grattan II. Wheeler, an eX-City
Treasurer. meanwhile had his eye or
Bogcs and the main chance as We'll
Then came the issue of funding bonds
to relieve some mistakes in the warrant
deals and the City Hall bonds TO recon-
Dense the pIotters in that job; these af-
forded Boggs relief and more funds tc
juggle with.
wheeler wanted a piece of all this
"eood graft" and SO he organized a
bank-the Commercial-and Harry
Lombard. he who operated the Japan
eea village at the Midwinter Fair
wanted q piece, and he organized q
hank: so did W. G. Peters, and he or
ganized two banks-one a national anC
tbe other a savings bank-and narry
nan got one together in a hurry foi
fear all would escape before he got
finger in the pie, and So. there came {,
h almost as many banks in town a.
saloons, and quite as truly factors il
nolitics. Therefore. when it became
necessary for Boegs TO he reelected h,
had a powerful backing
Then follows an account of the meth
DDS adopted in the election. Franl
lane. in his Tacoma News. made il no
for Boggs and the ring. The other pa
Ders were under the control OF the ring
and Boggs and his party won the day
rTbe scheme by which the city pur
chased the Tacoma Light and Wate
company for 81, l,f3G,eUV is given in de
tail
The report then continues:
"Here Wheeler came to the front
having been crowded out of the Com
lsarefsl Hank. by organizing the I'm
perial Loan and Trust company. witt
tfeyor fIusoa as President ard GeoT-
~ Boggs. Grattan H. Wheeler and A
" Tawcete prospective De.nocrat
candidate for Mayor as directors. TIL
Senrnose OF this institution was to dea