Year: 1872

|
mean the modern Democratic party, came into
power in 1929, under General jackson.


One man, Samuel Swartwont, in General Jack
sons day, when the Government raised only
about thirty million dollars year, stole million
dollars in the New York custom house-nearly
as much money as has been stolen under this
Administration in three years, in collecting and
paying out nearly twenty-one hundred million
dollars. The percentage of loss under the
Administration has been less than under any
Administration since General jackson was inau-
gurated President of the United States. There
| is not shadow of doubt of it. l assert here
and now that there has been less percentage
of loss under General Grants administration
than under that of any other Administration
since the days of John Quincy Adams. John
Tyler son Of President Tyler, in letter
recently published, states that there were, in
Van Bnren's administration, ninety eight re-
ceivers of the public money, ninety-six of whom
became defaulters. Ninety-sx out of ninety
eight! Laughter. Is there any man here
tonight who knows that any one of those men
was ever sent to the penitentiary?


| believe a Republican thief is worse man
| than Democratic thief. Laughter. He has
not had so many bad examples. Laughter and
applause A Republican thief is the wckedest
and meanest thief in all the land. He joins
great party that was brought into being to give
freedom to the slave, maintain the unity of the
country, and preserve the life of the nation. In
the ranks of that party is a large mass of the
intelligence of the country, OF the praying men
and women of the country. A man who joins
that political organization betrays his trust and
steals the money of the Government, is a base
creature, and the penitentiary is the only place
where he should dwell.


The difference between Republicans and Dem
ocrats on this question is this: the Republicans
try to discover and punish their thieves the
Democrats never punish theirs. You cannot
tell me tonight of man who stole from the
national Government under a Democratic ad
ministration who sent to the penitentiary.
Under this Administration several thieves have
been sent there Most of their stealing was
under the late administration, for there has been
little stealing under this. Under Andrew John
sons administration mean men got Office. He
went back on his party, on his record upright
Democrats paid little attention to him honest
Republicans kept away from the White House,
and mean men of both parties sought the bene-
fits of his patronage About forty collectors Of
internal revenue under his administration became
defauters for about million and three quarters.
Under the three years of General Grants ad-
ministration four collectors became defaulters
and for amounts less than two hundred thousand
4
dollars


| During the war we paid through the pay
masters department of the Army more than a
thousand million dollars. That money was paid
sometimes when troops were on the march,
sometimes when they were under fire. and we
lost less than quarter of million dollars
| Never in the history of the human family
there any higher evidence of integrity. In the
war of 1872, in paying out the little money we
paid during that war; we lost about two million
dollars. Since General Spinner entered upon
his office Treasurer of the United States,
S55, 900, 900 900 have passed through his office,
counted by from three to four hundred men and
women We have lost between fifty and sixty
thousand dollars in these eleven years. while
$55, 900, 100000 have gone through the Office.
| We punished one man, fined him. and he is now
trying to get back S5,000 for he says we made
him pay $4,000 more than he STOLE Laughter |
I We have sent to prison three trusted clerks,
men of capacity and ability, whom everybody
trusted and respected. That is the way we have
served our thieves. We have sent two men who
stole under Andrew Johnson's administration,
and were prosecuted under this Administration
in Baltimore, to the penitentiary.


We had a paymaster in the Army he was
not Republican his father was not a Repub-
hcan but an old Wing, and Assistant Secretary
|
young man was college graduate, inherited
100000 was member of Christian Church,
had noble wife and three beautiful children,
lived within his income, got passion for stock
gambling, lost his 100000, and then took
100000 of the money of the Government He
was arrested when he might have run away. He
was sent to the penitentiary at Albany for ten
years About the same time the discovery was
made of the boldest and most gigantic robbery
of the people ever perpetrated in ancient or
modern times Bill Tweed" Boss Tweed y
a man who, a few years ago, went through
bankruptcy, and who is said to have boasted,
within year, that he had SIS, S,000,0 900, and with
him the tribe of Tammany Hall have been dis
covered and exposed Some of these thieves
have gone to Europe, some of them are enjoy
ing the pleasures of the healthful breezes and
snow-drifts of Canada, some of them are in one
part of the country and some in another. While
we were trying Major Hodge, and sending him
to the penitentiary at Albany for ten years, with
the approval of the entire Republican party of
the country, Bill Tweed the greatest thief in all
| the history of the human family, the boss thief
of the world, loud laughter and applause was
sent to Albany, not to the penitentiary, but the
State House as a State senator, by twelve thou
sand Democratic majority. Applause.


These two cases illustrate exactly the differ
ence between the two parties the one denounc-
ing thieves and arresting and Furnishing them
when it can, the other never Furnishing them.
| am told by leading Democrats, some of them
members of the committee of seventy, men who
have done all they could to expose and break
these Tammany thieves down, that they do not
believe that one of these thieves will ever go to
the penitentiary. They stole the Erie railroad !;
they stole the State of New York from General
Grant in 1868; they have stolen their millions
from the city they have stolen judges and
stolen juries, and they get elected to the Legs-
lature they do not get sent to the State prison.
And the men who denied this stealing, who
denied that they stole the State of New York
when they knew that they did it, who denied
the stealing of these Tammany Hall men, until
it was finally brought out and established so
clearly that nobody could longer deny it-these
very men are accusing the Administration of
stealing | have heard before of Satan's re-
buking sin, but never saw anything so brazen
as this. Loud applause.


There has been collected, under General
Grants administration, in three years, nearly
twelve hundred million dollars = nearly four
hundred millions year; there has been paid out
nearly thousand million dollars; making about
twenty-one hundred million dollars. We have
lost, out of this immense sum, in all the depart
I