USA > New York > New York : the planting and the growth of the Empire state, Vol. II > Part 18
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The first of these was the board of super- visors, divided in numbers equally between the two great parties. In 1857, by act of the legis- lature devised by the rings, each voter was al- lowed to put only six names on his ballot, while twelve supervisors were chosen, and thus a nomination by either party was equivalent to an election, and the term of the members was lengthened to six years. The politicians who managed this board sought added power through the legislature, and soon had municipal affairs at their mercy. Whatever were the irregulari- ties at the polls in 1868, the despotism in the city acquired new scope and dominion by the legislation of the next session. The master spirit was William M. Tweed, a chair-maker, of little education, but with a liberal and social air, and a belief in Walpole's rule that every man has his price, which he was willing to pay. He was member of congress in 1853, but found local politics more profitable and more easily managed than national matters. He was a supervisor from 1857 as long as it suited his purpose, and was four times chosen president of the board. As deputy street commissioner in 1863 he added vast sums to the expenditures of the department, and in 1867 he had himself elected State senator, to direct personally the legislation of his monstrous schemes. He was
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virtually in control of all the departments of the municipal government, and readily secured certificates that the people desired the measures for which he asked. Tammany Hall chose him for its chief sachem. He gave or refused nom- inations not only in the city, but in the State. He put his creatures on the bench of the courts in the metropolis, he advanced or crushed polit- ical aspirants, and from the taxpayers he drew plunder equal to the revenues of an empire.
In 1868 a new court-house was ordered, with the limit of cost placed at $250,000. It was used as the cover for robberies exceeding $10 .- 000,000, which the contractors drew, and of their drafts they were compelled to pay from fifteen per cent. to sixty-five per cent., and later as much as eighty-five per cent., to Tweed and his allies. The bills were audited by Watson, one of his tools, and were paid by another in- strument. Greed grew upon the plunderers ; and in 1870, on the plea that the citizens de- manded more concentrated responsibility. they secured a new charter, conferring practical con- trol on the mayor, the comptroller, the commis- sioner of parks, and the commissioner of public works. These were A. Oakey Hall. Richard B. Connolly, Peter B. Sweeney, and William M. Tweed, their real dictator, and they constituted a board of audit with control over all appropri-
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ations and with unlimited discretion to borrow money. Fraudulent bills for $6,000,000 were allowed at the only meeting this board ever held, for its powers were at once delegated to the auditor, who acted for Tweed.
With such resources the power of the ring was for the moment absolute. In 1870 it gave John T. Hoffman, for reelection as governor, 52,277 majority in the city, and 33,116 in the State. It reached out for more complete mas- tery by purchase of senators and assemblymen. It gave sinecures on the municipal rolls to its creatures in the country as well as in the sev- eral wards ; and while it imposed tolls on every- thing on which it was called to act, it exhibited a princely liberality to those who served it in official station or in controlling legislation.
This despotism kept in the auditor's office in New York a record of its robberies, and of the division of its plunder, for it had reduced its business to a system and reckoned on a long lease of power. Under the heading of " county liabilities," Watson put down the shares of each of the robbers as carefully as if the proceedings were as regular and commendable as equity could dictate.
This audacity of crime, the imperial airs of Tweed and his immediate colleagues, and the assumptions of Tammany Hall in State and
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national politics, invited scrutiny and led to ex- posure. The long patient taxpayers were stung by their burdens; the citizens grew weary of the rule of such coarse and brutal masters. Claims for credit for organizing the exposure and the resistance are put forth by press and politicians. The marvel is that a great city should suffer such crimes to go on before its eyes ; should allow its expenditures and its debt to run up by the scores of millions ; should continue to accept such persons as its representatives and its rulers ; should tolerate the display of their pleasures and expenditures, of their impudent dictation and audacious de- fiance of courts and statutes. The end came at last. Patience endured until scores of mil- lions were stolen, and the robbers had in- trenched themselves in position.
The accident which always befalls criminals started the slow steps of justice. A clerk in the comptroller's office exposed the frauds, and the " Times " was glad to print the exposure. The aldermen and supervisors challenged investi- gation ; a committee of citizens responded to the challenge, and declared that " the condition of the city finances had served to destroy all confidence in the management of the present officials." September 4, 1871. an indignation meeting was held in Cooper Institute to con-
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sider the frauds. The speeches and resolutions demanded the restoration of the stolen money, and the reformation of the city government. A committee of seventy, with Henry G. Steb- bins as chairman, was appointed to conduct in- vestigations and prosecutions, and devise neces- sary changes in the statutes. Charles O'Conor was deputed to act in behalf of the attorney general. Suits were brought against the comp- troller, Connolly, who resigned, and in default of bail for $500,000 he lay in jail for some weeks and then after bail went to Europe. Tweed was also arrested and promptly gave bail in 81,000.000, soon afterward resigning his post at the head of public works. Sweeney re- signed and fled. Mavor Hall was put on trial, and by the death of a juryman, and then by disagreement of the jury, escaped punishment. After many delays Tweed was twice tried in 1873. On the first trial the jury disagreed ; on the second he was found guilty on fifty-one counts, and was sentenced to a heavy fine and twelve years' imprisonment on Blackwell's Is- land, but the court of appeals pronounced his sentence, which was cumulative, to be illegal. He was discharged in 1875, but was at once rearrested, and held in default of bail on a criminal charge, and also in a civil suit for re- covery of $6,537,117. On his way from Lud-
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low Street jail to his house he escaped, and was carried away in a yacht by confederates. Captured in 1876 in Vigo, Spain, he was re- turned to Blackwell's Island. In the civil suit a verdict was obtained for the full amount, but only a small part was ever collected. The great culprit died in prison April 12, 1878.
The legislature elected in 1871 ordered the impeachment of two judges of the supreme court, George G. Barnard and Albert Cardozo, and of John H. McCunn, judge of the supe- rior court of the city, for corrupt conduct in their judicial capacity. The offenses extended far beyond the sphere of Tweed's operations, but indicated like greed and disregard of lion- orable obligations. Judge Barnard was con- victed and removed from office ; Judge Cardozo resigned to escape trial ; Judge MeCunn aban- doned his defense, but was removed from the bench and soon after died, crushed by the dis- grace.
The committee of seventy submitted a new charter for New York. designed to secure better government and to prevent frauds : and it was passed by the legislature, but vetoed by Gov- ernor Hoffman, as was also another project de- vised for the same purpose. Some other acts aiming to protect the metropolis and its tax- payers became laws. The problem of municipal
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government has in subsequent years commanded much consideration, and charges of peculation and conspiracy have been frequent against per- sons holding official position, and in 1886 two aldermen were sent to state prison for corrup- tion relative to the franchise of a street rail- road in Broadway.
The prizes in the city are so many and so great, and the neglect by citi- zens of their public duties is so general, that the men who make local politics a business are able to maintain themselves in power and to amass wealth, under any system yet proposed.
An incident occurred July 12, 1871, illustrat- ing the extent of foreign feeling, as well as foreign population. in New York. The Irish Orangemen proposed to celebrate on that day the battle of the Boyne, and the Irish Catholics took offense at the parade which was announced. Threats of violence induced the police to forbid the parade, but at Governor Hoffman's request it was permitted. The national guard as well as the police was invoked to protect the proces- sion, but an assault was made, which was re- pulsed at the cost of several lives lost and sev- eral persons wounded. The collision was such as might have taken place in Dublin or Belfast ; the rarity of such incidents, rather than their occurrence. is notable, for by the census of 1875 New York city contained 199,084 persons of
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Irish birth, and as immigrants most of them of mature years, and that number is greater than was the total population of Belfast, or any other city in Ireland except Dublin, and less than one-fifth below the census of that ancient Irish capital.
While the movement against the Tweed des- potism was advancing, New York was brought again into national politics by the selection of one of its citizens as a candidate for president. Criticisms on the administration of President Grant caused in the republican party serious divisions, which in this State at one time threat- ened to carry away not only many leaders but a large body of electors. Movements began early either to prevent the renomination of General Grant, or, failing in that, to secure the election of an opposing candidate not identified with the democratic party. A national con- vention of the liberal party held in Cleveland in May, 1872, selected Horace Greeley as such a candidate, and in the subsequent July the democrats in national convention adopted the nomination. The result at the polls was over- whelmingly disappointing to the supporters of Mr. Greeley. In New York as elsewhere, the majority of the voters were unwilling to take the risks of a radical change in the national administration. The State gave Grant 53,456
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more votes than to Greeley, while in the elec- toral college Grant received 300 and all others only 66. Before that college met, Mr. Greeley, broken in mind as well as body, had gone to his grave, adding tragedy to the close of the canvass.
Mr. Greeley is altogether a unique figure in our politics. Born in Vermont in 1811, he came to New York city in 1831 as a printer. He was soon a partner in starting the " Morn- ing Post," the first penny paper in the world, and it led him to bankruptcy. From various newspaper work he earned a livelihood, until in 1841 he founded the New York " Tribune," to which be gave his life, with incidental writing of books on agriculture, on political economy, and the history of " The American Conflict." He served one term in congress, and was a member of the constitutional convention of 1867 ; he had an ambition for other positions and for that of governor of the State, which. however, his party unwisely refused him. No man wrote more forcibly than he in favor of the tariff, against the extension of slavery, for the maintenance of the Union. Quaint in ap- pearance and manners, and lacking somewhat in worldly wisdom. he was honest beyond doubt, and brave to the last degree. His honesty and his independence stood in the way of the party
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managers, and there was sometimes an aggra- vation about the self-assertion of the man, con- scious of his genius, which was the secret of not a few personal estrangements. He was in pub- lic affairs naturally a censor, and thus he was strongest in opposition. He was free in his criticism of Mr. Lincoln, and he enlisted vigor- ously in the exposure of the abuses, incident to an immense war and to vast expenditures, which occurred under President Grant, while he had never taken kindly to the choice of military chiefs for president. Intense in his hostility to slavery, he had tried to avoid the war, and in 1864 he was ready to have the government pay for the slaves to secure peace. His readiness in signing the bail bond of Jefferson Davis, after the capture of the rebel chief, was charac- teristic of him. His selection by the liberal convention as its candidate was natural : his nomination by the democrats was a declaration that they were willing to support the most pro- nounced opponent of all their principles, for a generation their most formidable antagonist be- fore the people, on the single hope of securing a change in the national administration. What- ever error Mr. Greeley committed in suppo-ing that he could impress his personality on the party that he had opposed so long, and could lead into alliance with it a sufficient number
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of his former followers to control the election, was forgiven in the sad circumstances that at- tended his death, November 29, 1872.
In 1872 General John A. Dix was elected governor by 53,451 majority over Francis Ker- nan. He was a soldier, a scholar, and a states- man. Born in New Hampshire in 1798, he entered the army at an early age, and was a cap- tain when he resigned and studied law. Making his home in Cooperstown, he was elected secre- tary of state in 1833, and in that office he ex- hibited excellent administrative abilities, and especially advanced the interests of the common schools. Chosen to the United States senate in 1845, he was faithful and far-sighted in the per- formance of his duties, while he took the side of liberty in the contests which were arising. Sent as minister to France, he was called, when Mr. Buchanan's cabinet broke up, December 10, 1860, to the difficult position of secretary of the treasury, and electrified the country by an order to the lieutenant of a revenue cutter at New Orleans: " If any man attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot." Appointed a major general of volunteers in May, 1861, he was entrusted with important duties in the field. and in positions calling for discretion and courage, as in New York during the riots. He had the gifts to win reputation
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as an author, and in business he administered large affairs with success. As governor he de- serves to rank with the best trained and most competent of the distinguished men who have occupied the executive chair. He met with con- siderable censure for vetoing in 1873 a bill for allowing towns to vote for the prohibition of the sale of liquors, because he held that, while the principle of "local option " was correct, a distinction should be made, as the act did not, between ardent spirits and the lighter bever- ages. He cast the whole weight of his office in favor of the movement for reform in municipal, State, and national politics, and was conscien- tious and upright in all his acts. Renominated in 1874, he failed to secure the hearty support of certain managers of his party, but carried with him into private life the esteem and re- spect of all parties, and in his death. April 21, 1879, the commonwealth lost one of its most brilliant and versatile and honored citizens.
The successful candidate for governor in 1874 was Samuel J. Tilden, who, after the crimes of Tweed and his partners were exposed, had enlisted in their punishment. In his first mes- sage he called attention to the heavy expen- ditures for repairs on the canals, and recom- mended retrenchment. Objection had often been urged to the system of repairs by contract,
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and to the lavish appropriations made in con- nection with them. A canal convention in 1868 had demanded the abolition of the con- tracting board, the abrogation of all contracts for repairs, and the prosecution of all persons who had fraudulently obtained money on such contracts. A committee appointed by the legis- lature of 1867 followed up if it did not prompt these recommendations, and a canal commis- sioner was put on trial under impeachment for crimes relative to fraudulent contracts and pay- ments, but he was acquitted. The report of the legislative committee, however, showed the schemes by which contractors combined to con- trol prices of work, and to secure appropriations which gave the sanction of law to their opera- tions. Governor Tilden took up and extended the investigation, which he presented in a spe- cial message in March. 1875, and asked for a commission to prosecute further inquiries with a view to legal proceedings. Exposures were made by the reports of the commission, and the "canal ring " was vigorously denounced. By " unbalanced bids " on ten contracts, $1,560,769 was collected, by increase in quantities, where the apparent work offered amounted, at the same rate, to only 8124.735. The annual ex- penditures, by a constitutional amendment adopted in 1874, had been limited to the net
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receipts from the canals in the previous year, and the resources for fraud were thus effectually crippled. Some new statutes were passed to protect the State. Governor Dix had com- menced a suit against a firm of contractors for recovery of excess of payments ; this was con- tinued, and another was begun, but the State was beaten in both cases. A canal commis- sioner, an appraiser, some minor officers on the canals, and three citizens were arrested, but the courts were not able to convict them. The canal auditor was suspended for speculation in canal certificates.
Public sentiment was aroused against evil- doing in official station. Belief was accorded to charges which on examination were not sus- tained. The hue and cry wrought in some cases personal wrong, and the ostensible chan- pions of reform were not always the men of strictest conscience or cleanest hands. The general effect of the process of purification, which extended to national as well as to muni- cipal and State affairs, was to assert a more rigid accountability in office, and a more severe morality in public expenditures. In the midst of some cant, there was the blunt sense of the people pronouncing the use of their money, under whatever name, for political purposes or to advance personal ends, sheer robbery, and
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many processes theretofore treated as legitimate were in these years brought to an end. 1
Opportunities for fraud exist under any sys- tem in cities, where large sums are expended, and corrupt men combine while good citizens are unwary. Special acts in the legislature lead to like temptations and like dangers. Tweed fortified himself, in his schemes of rob- bery, behind statutes devised for his purposes, and in the same period railroad corporations sought benefits of doubtful propriety, or even of scandalous character, at the hands of the legis- lature. Charges of direct bribery were made in the assembly, the author in one case being expelled for failure to produce testimony re- garded as adequate, while in another case the proof was so direct as to brand the recipient of $100,000 with disgrace and ruin. When privi- leges of great pecuniary value are sought from the legislature, without due regard for the in- terests of the people, the promoters are tempted to offer money for that which will bring wealth to them, and legislators are sometimes found prone to grasp for a share of that which they treat as spoils upon the community.
The odium attached to corrupt legislators and to those who speculate on public contracts and offices, and use the money of the taxpayers to advance partisan interests, is not yet suffi-
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cient always to deter men aspiring to be leaders in the State and nation, from seeking wealth and power by such means. As the frequency of exposure and of overthrow increases, some check to crimes of this class may be expected. But under a government by the people, the only security for honesty and efficiency and wise ad- ministration must be in the vigilance and zeal and determination of the citizens themselves. No statutes can make up for lack on their part. Their neglect presents the opportunity and therefore the incitement to frauds in municipal affairs, and to corruption in legislation. The ease with which fortunes are amassed, and the readiness with which money is spent in New York, and in less degree in other cities, lead the taxpayers to endure robbery and fraud, rather than perform the constant and close labor es- sential to secure good government. Temporary uprisings, like that which sent Tweed to prison to die, prove that whenever they choose to do so, the people of even our greatest city can administer their affairs on the highest level of honesty and efficiency.
The standard of morality and honor for legis- lators is higher now than in the earlier days, but it needs to be enforced with increasing vigor. The immense sums involved in such matters as the reorganization of the Erie Railroad, in fran-
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chises in New York city, in contracts on the Erie Canal during their sway, and in other trans- actions incident to the vast affairs of six million people, multiply manifold the occasions for possible scandals. The steady efforts to sub- stitute general laws for special acts, rights open to all citizens for privileges bestowed on favor- ites, have been the expression of the sense and conscience of the people. The rebukes admin- istered to politicians who used their places as legislators or their control of offices, to raise funds for partisan purposes and to advance their own ambitions, have been nowhere more pronounced than in New York. Afar off, pos- sibly, but yet as the ideal of the legislator, the duty is proclaimed to separate personal interest in every form from public affairs, and to decide every question of law and every task of office by the bearing of that single question and that individual task on the welfare of the com- munity.
The exposures of combinations in New York city in 1886 to exchange offices for contracts, and to put patronage into pawn to party man- agers, have led not only to investigations but to the prompt indictment of the accused as common criminals. When such conspiracies can be treated like burglary or highway robbery, the effect must be marked on the conduct of
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officials and political managers. Bargaining for control of offices may be delicate in phrase or bold in form; if under any guise it can be held to be crime punishable by the courts, ambitious men, however greedy, will be careful to keep out of the prisoners' dock. Public sentiment and popular vigilance have done much to threaten if not to secure such results even in the metro- polis.
The New York delegation in the United States senate in this decade consisted of Roscoe Conkling. elected in 1867 and again in 1873 and 1879, and Francis Kernan, chosen for a single term in 1875. Among the representa- tives, Henry W. Slocum, Samuel S. Cox, Clark- son N. Potter, Noah Davis, Jr., Robert B. Roosevelt, Smith Ely, Jr., Clinton L. Merriam, Stewart L. Woodford, H. Boardman Smith. Clarkson N. Potter, and Walter L. Sessions were among the most active and influential, of those who entered congress at this period. Among their colleagues were also members who in private and public life have conferred honor on the commonwealth.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
IN THE NATION'S SECOND CENTURY.
1876-1885.
WHEN he was governor of New York, Mr. Tilden asserted himself with vigor as head of the democratic party in the State. After the exposure of Tweed he enlisted zealously in his overthrow and a change of control in the gov- ernment of New York city, and taking up in- vestigations that had let light upon canal con- tracts, he urged war on the "canal ring," and for both policies he claimed and received credit for the labors of others as well as for his own. The people everywhere were intent on reform in legislation and administration, and he placed himself forward as the aggressive champion of reform. The State democratic convention in 1876 passed a resolution that " the nomination of Samuel J. Tilden to the office of president would secure the vote of New York." and place the canvass on the ground of " national regen- eration and reform." Strong and bitter opposi- tion was made to him before the national con-
IN THE NATION'S SECOND CENTURY. 701
vention by the leaders of Tammany Hall, but the evil reputation of Tweed and his deeds was used to turn their attitude into a source of strength to Mr. Tilden, who received 404} votes on the first ballot (492 being requisite to a choice ), and 535 on the second ballot. He was presented as the democratic candidate for presi- dent less on the party platform than on his own record. He took personal charge of the canvass with a diligence and attention to details ex- ceeding even the adroitness and vigilance of Aaron Burr or Martin Van Buren. With a mass of political literature and of letters in fac- simile, and an organization unrivaled in its sys- tem and extent, he appealed to the electors, not on the old lines of his party, but almost exclu- sively on the pledge of reform.
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