The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-07
BOSS TwEED's DIAMONDS.
Bishop Potter's Story of a Diamond
Suspender Button.

Suspender Button
New York Sun
Bishop Potter said recently that a friend
OF ms picked up a diamond as big as his
dLuno IN the ONCE of Boss Tweed one
day and then it turned out to be one of
the bosss suspender buttons
Now, with all due respect to the bis
mop, mop friend, L do not believe that dia-
hsonq story, said a man who saw much
OF Tweed in his days of power. tsI1ad
Inc Old man ever Worn diamond sus-
pehder button / certainly would have
n nilown az II. Inc TACT is the only big dia
sontalre that he never failed to have in
ms expansive shirt front Tweed was a
Joily OLD dog, and often in his suffering
way used to get off some queer remarks
Just for effect or as a guy on his hear
ers.
ut would have been just like him to
say sd ", whe en- his diamond solitaire was pick
ed up by the bishops friend: .-Oh.
mats only suspender button of mire:
L didn't miss it.
This suspender button story puts me
~ H1lnd OF genuine diamond tale about
the boss. Tweed's spokesman on the flo If
or the assembly was Thomas c. Fields
OF this city. He like the boss, wore a
large diamond in his shirt front But it
naa a little chain and pin attached to it
that the boss'S diamond had not One
evening Field had dined, not wisely. but
TOO Wen, and during the sitting of he as
SSef SCI ply feli into a heavy slumher with
SO a member from this city He saw that
certain bills could not be handled prop
efly unless Fields had clear head, So
he got the speaker,f Billy Hitchman, e.
secure the passage sef a motion to ad-
Journ. John J. Blair and Billy Cook.
members FROM this city, quietly got pos
the lights of the ASSEMBLY chamber were
turned low and Fields was left sleep ng
there. ~ 81 20
1t was dawnslthe; next day when
II nm Ts<I1 i. IL
stretched himself, yaMned and then look
ed around. He said nothing, but uui at'v
walked out and down State street to the
D foslt =, When he turned up at break
Iast BOSS Tweed and Alec Frear were
already at the table. and so was Hitch
man Fields was wild. He had missed
ms ms , diamond when he got TO his room.
He had already gone to police headouar.
tiers and told how he had been robhed
He said that while not feeling well he
mad gone into the, assembly chamber and
lH ,s.g that there was to have been
a night session, he'll had taken ten min
Ittes nap, and that during that time
some one who must have followed him
h mad, taken his diamond. Fields told his
story at the table and RACED like a
Inadman about the loss of his pin.
Wen. Fields said I've d, what mac .
YOU think there was to be a night session
and go to the assembly chamber at a ~
P" Hanged if I know said Fields but,
Tweed pulled at his napkin which he had
NE hahit of tucldng under his big daub' g
f frnnt there on the 5osss big white sh TT
unmistakable by its little gold chain and
pin. ''-io'
There was a general laugh all round
the tn table No; Fields did not laugh. Half
his fat race flushing as red as a b ct.
he exclaimed in a voice that could be
heard all over the dining room:
Weed, always knew you were the
oa1nnedest thief on record, but before this
session Is over I'll make you nav me in
cash ten times the5price of that pfr.' o.
course Fields got his PIN
AT the close Of the session one night
he was with Alexander Frear ami
Speaker Hitehman enjoying a Geld bottle
IN a corner of the boss's room at thp
Beievan. Putting his hands into his
pocket ne drew out q roll of white tissue
paper itg ,a S-a-a.y, said he to Hitchman.
ne pay heavy cash fer that pin bust
ness, didn't L? Well, Compromised. ana
| he unrolled the paper and exhibited three
i nftnrIus Soliaire diamonds worth, it was
on FleidS proved a costly one to B SIS
! Tweed Fields had actually MADE Tweed
believe that he would kill one of his pei
bills: IL he did not settle in that diamond
| way
let me say this: No one who ever
knew the way the Tweed ringsters revel-
ed in money in those days would think
| The diamond suspender button an i'm.
! possibility Diamonds were worn in pre-
fusion by all the Tammany officials and
! the Digger the diamond the bigger the
| man IN the estimate Of the heelers Ii
Is saIa mat many men in the legislature
! VINO helped Tweed in 1871 to pass ceriain
| ring measures were paid with diamord :
| one of them, it2lis said, once remarl5e
| 70 the head of Ct11e 5lobby of that day:
CheckS can be traced and bills can be
MARKED ana gold sea2les niel1ed for fu-
turer Identification, but valuable unse,
diamonds tell no tales out of school,