Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library SEYMOUR DURST IPhen you leave, please leave this hook Because it has heen said "Sver'thing comes t' him who waits Except a loaned hook." Digitized by the Internet . Arcliive in 2013 littp://arcliive.org/details/celebrationofoneOOtamm ''^ OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK. T I tyic^ p^o^h^'t' 'ic'COT^^cLve^cL i^e^o^i^^, Cwx^c^ loo^^ L-^^^i^ \^c^= i$--L'e^ ^'^^ ^e-o^t^i^, cj-u^L- ^o-ouejLf^ ■^t^a^vL-J^'^^ 'to^^cLc^^i^ St ^o-i^^vuL p^X^ocLc^, -L-e^ts-i^oi-fS^ 9 tL B. K CELEBRATION OF THE One Hundred and Foupenth /nniversai|_y OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAJ.^ I¥DEPEi\DEi\CE, BY THE Society of Tammany OR COLUMBIAN ORDER, HELD AT TAMMANY HALL, J^RIDAY, jIuLY 4TH, 1890, PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE TAMMANY SOCIETY. NEW VORK : JOHN \V. OLIVER, STEAM PRINTER, No. 203 CANAL STREET. 1 8 9 O . SOCIETY OF TAMMANY, or COLUMBIAN ORDER. ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEENTH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF THE ANNIVERSARY OF HELD AT TAMMANY HALL, 14th St., Near Third Ave., Friday, July 4th, 1690. ORDER OF EXERCISES. NATIONAL AIRS By BAYNE'S 69tii REGT. BAND. ADDRESS OF WELCOME, ... By Grand Sachem ABRAM B. TAPPEN. MUSIC. QUARTETTE— "Hail to our Beautiful Land." . . . TAMMANY GLEE CLUB. READING THE DECLARATION OF INDEi'ENDENCE, as pre.-^cribfd by the Constitution and By-Laws of the Society, Bv Brother GEORGE B. McCLELLAN. QUARTETTE— "The Sword of Bunker Hill." . . . TAMMANY GLEE CLUB. HEADING REPLIES TO THE INVITATIONS OF THE SOCIETY FROM DISTINGUISHED DEMOCRATS AND ABSENT BROTHERS, By SECRETARY JOHN B. McGOLDRICK. SOLO AND CHORUS— "The Star Spangled Banner," Mr. PHILLIP F. SULLIVAN, AND TAMMANY GLEE CLUB. **IiONG TALKS," By Hon. WILLIAM D. BYNUM, of Indiana. . Hon. CHARLES F. CRISP, of Georgia. ' MUSIC. •QUARTETTE— "The Flag of our Union, Forever," . . TAMMANY GLEE CLUB. SHORT TALKS, BY Hon. B. T. BIGGS, Governor of Delaware. Hon. JAMES W. COVERT, of New York. WILLIAM M. SPRINGER, of Illinois. " FRANCIS B. SPINOLA, of New York. ASHER G. CARUTH, of Kentucky. " JOHN H. MCCARTHY, of New York. WILLIAM C. P. BRECKINRIDGE, " AMOS J. OUMMINGS. of New York. of Kentucky. " EDWARD J. DUNPHY, of New York, WILLIAM S. HOLMAN, of Indiana. " CHARLES H. TURNER, of New York. WILLIAM MCADOO. of New Jersey. " ASH BEL P. PITCH, of New York. THEO. WILKINSON, of Louisiana. Gen. DANIEL E. SICKLES, of New York. BENTON MCMILLAN, of Tennessee. Hon. ORESTES CLEVELAND, of N. J. JOHN M. ALLEN, of Mississippi. ALLAN L. McDERMOTT, of N. J. Sachems and Officers of the Society. ABRAM B. TAPPEN. Grand Sachem. HUGH J. GRANT, RICHARD CROKER, WM. BOURKE COCKRAN, THOMAS L. FEITNER. JOHL 0. STEVENS, JOHN McCJUADE. BERNARD P. MARTIN, JOHN COCHRANE. JOHN. J. GORMAN. CHARLES M. CLANCY. CHARLES WELDE, HENRY I). PURROY, CHARLES E. SIMMONS, Sachems. ARTHUR LEARY, Treasurer. JOHN B. McGOLDRICK, Secretary. JOHN D. NEWMAN. Wiskinkie. WILLIAM H. DOBBS, Sagamore. JOHN J. GOR^lxy;, FatJier of the Council. MAURICE F. HOLAHAN. Scribe of the Council. COLUMBIA, THE GEM OF THE OCEAN. Sung by Tammany Glee Club, Sachems, Braves and Audience- Columbia, the gem of tLe ocean, The home of the brave and the free, The shrine of each patriot's devotion, A world offers homage to thee, Thy mandates make heroes assemble, When liberty's form stands in view. Thy banners make tyrants tremble, When borne by the Red, White and Blue. Chorus. When borne by the Red, White and Blue — Tammany Hall; When borne by the Red, White and Blue — Tammany Halli Thy banners make tyrants tremble, When borne by the Red, White and Blue — Tammany HalL When war waged its wide desolation, And threatened our land to deform. The ark then of freedom's foundation, Columbia rode safe through the storm, With her garland of victory o'er her. When so proudly she bore her bold crew. With her flag proudly floating before her. The boast of the Red, White and Blue. Chorus. The boast of the Red, W^hite and Blue — Tammany Hall;. The boast of the Red, White and Blue — Tammany Hall; With her flag proudly floating before her, The boast of the Red, White and Blue — Tammany Hall. The wine cup, the wine cup bring hither. And fill you it up to the brim ; May the wreath they have won never wither. Nor the star of their glory grow dim ! May the service united ne'er sever. And hold to their colors so true ! The Army and Navy for ever! Three cheers for the Red, White and Blue. Chorus. Three cheers for the Red, White and Blue — Tammany Hall; Three cheers for the Red, White and Blue — Tammany Hall; The Army and Navy for ever! Three cheers for the Red, White and Blue — Tammany HalL Tammany Society. CELEBRATION OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEENTH Anniversaii^y of American Independence, jIuLY 4TH, 1890. ^HE Celebration of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Anniversary of American Independ- ence, on Friday, July 4th, 1890, was a red letter day in the history of the Society of Tammany OR CoLUMBTAX Order. In accordance with the provisions of its Constitution and Laws of the Society, the Sachems, braves, and loyal democrats assembled to hear the Declaration of Independence read, and to celebrate the natal day of the Re- public. For more than one hundred years have ^ the sons of Tammany met and performed this duty imposed upon tliem by their fathers, in order to keej) alive that love of liberty that caused the 12 Tammany Society . heroes of the Revolution to risk "their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to establish a Union of "free and independent states,*' nnder a government where all men would be recognized as equal, and the laws would be made for the people and by the people. These celebrations of Independence Day. by Tammany, are grownng larger, more interesting and more important. The celebration of July 4th, 1890, w^as one of the grandest ever given by the Society. Representatives of the people of thirteen states, in the House of Representatives, came from their labors in the National Congress to con- gratulate Tammany upon its unswerving democ- racy and devotion to the interests of the people. The exercises w^ere to begin at ten o'clock, but long before that hour thousands of enthusiastic democrats tilled the street in front of the Wig- wam, anxiously waiting for the great doors to be thrown open, and when the hour of assembling arrived every corner of the great hall was filled. The Wigwam was handsomely decorated within and without. Outside the National colors floated from every window, and from each corner ot the Cdehration, 1890. 13 building to the top of the flag-staff on the roof flut- tered the ensigns of the Navy. Within the hall the decorations were very handsome. The boxes and galleries were draped in purple and gold, while around the main gallery were hung thirteen bannerets bearing the coats of arms of the thirteen original states. The boxes reserved for ladies were draped in the National colors. Around the stage was the same draping of purple and gold ; the entrance to the cave was draped to represent the door of a wigwam, and upon the walls were shields bearing the coats of arms of the thirteen original States, New York occupying the place of honor in the centre. Upon the table of the Grand Sachem was a mamiiticent basket of flowers, while on either side of the stage were two large pillows of flowers, one bearing the date of the organiza- tion of the Society '* 1789,'" and the other the year -1890."' Bayne's Sixty-ninth Regiment Band furnished the music, and from its place in the gallery dis- ooursed patriotic and popular airs which were vigorously applauded by the waiting audience. Every inch of space was occupied, the floor of the large hall, the main gallery, and the ladies' 14 Tammany Society. gallery, and the scene was most brilliant and in-^ spiring. It was exactly ten o'clock, when the procession of Sachems, Braves, and guests entered the hallr led by the veteran Wiskinkie, John D. Newman, bearing aloft the Cap of Liberty, and Sagamore William H. Dobbs, with the Tomahawk and Pipe of Peace. The band played a Grand March com- posed for the occasion, and as the Braves and their guests took the places assigned them upon the grand platform they were greeted with applause, loud and long. Among the many distinguished Democrats pre- sent, were : Governor B. T. Biggs of Delaware, Hon. William D Bynum, of Indiana, Hon. Charles F Crisp, of Georgia. Hon. John M. Allen, of Mis- sissippi, Hon. B. A. Emloe, of Tennessee, Hon. Theodore S Wilkinson, of Louisiana. Hon. Wil- liam M. Springer, of Illinois, Hon. S. S. Yoder, of Ohio, Hon." James Kerr, of Pennsylvania, Hon. Asher G. Caruth. of Kentucky. Hon. C H. Man- sur, of Missouri, Mayor Hugh J. Grant, Hon. Richard Croker^ Commissioner of Public Works Thomas F. Gilroy, Police Commissioners James J. Martin and Charles F McLean, Fire Commis- sioners Henry D. Purroy, and Anthou}^ Eickhoff, Celebration, 1800. 15- Sheriff Daniel E. Sickles, County Clerk Edward' F. Reilly, Recorder Frederick Smyth, Register Frank Fitzgerald, Mayor Patrick Gleason, of Long Island City, Congressmen James W. Covert, and Felix Campbell. Surrogate Rastus Ransom, Deputy County Clerk P. Joseph Scully, Senators William L. Brown, George F. Roesch, Jacob A. Cantor, Eugene S. Ives, Commissioners of Ac- counts Maurice F. Holahan, and Prescott Barker, Tax Commissioner Thomas L Feitner, Commis- sioners of Charities Edward C. Sheehy, and Charles E. Simmons. Street Cleaning Commissioner Hans S. Beatty, Dock Commissioner J. Sergeant Cram, Park Commissioner A. W. Gallup. Corporation Counsel William H. Clark. Rx- Congressman W. Bourke Cockran, City Chamberlain Thomas C. T. Crain, Coroners Ferdinand Levy, Louis W. Schultze, Daniel Hanly. and M. J. B. Messemer, Police Justices Daniel F. McMahon. John Coch- rane, John J. Gorman, Charles Welde, Andrew J. White, and Daniel O'Reilly, Ex- Alderman Patrick Divver. Excise Commissioners Edward F. Fitzpatrick, Joseph Koch, and Alexander Meakin, Civil Justices Peter Mitchell. John McKeon, Charles M. Clancy, Alfred Steckler, Andrew J. Rogers, and William Moore. Assessor Edward Cahill, James Everard, Deputy Commissioner of 16 Tammany Society, Public Works Bernard F. Martin, George Hall, Albert Eltricli, James Fitzpatrick, Charles Steck- ler, John J. Scamiel, Commissioner Edgar L. Ridg- way, Benjamin W. Buchanan of the Supreme Court, Secretary John C. Sheehan of the Aqueduct Board, Ex-Commissioner James C. Spencer, Joseph 0. Davis of the Superior Court, Cornelius A. Caf- fre}^, Judges Simon M. Erlich, David McAdam, Leonard A. Geigerich, James Fitzsimons of the City Court, Edward F. Rejmolds, Clerk Michael T. Daly, Deputy-Sheriff Lawrence Delmore, Ex- Register John ReiJly, Bernard Reilly, Jr., Deputy Street Cleaning Commissioner William Dalton, Hon. Edward P. Hagan, Ex-Senator George W. Plunkitt, John E. Kelly. Ex-Alderman Richard J. Sullivan, James P. Keating, Michael Brennan, Michael Breen, Ex- Alderman Peter Seery, Under- Sherifif John B. Sexton, Ex-Judge John McQuade, Commissioner Charles F. Allen, President John H. y. Arnold of the Board of Aldermen, John F. Carroll, Clerk of Special Sessions ; John C. Mun- ^inger. Marshal John H. McCarthy, Ex-Assembly- raan John B. Shea, Jacob Seabold, John H. J. Ronner, Congressmen Charles H. Turner, Edward J. Dunphy, John Henry McCarthy, Amos J. Cum- mings, and Francis B. Spinola, Assemblymen P. J. Duffy, Timothy D. Sullivan, John Monaghan, Celebration, 1890. 17 Dominick F. MuUaiiey, Phillip Wissig, William Sulzer, Frederick Haffner, William Gr. Byrne, Stephen J. O'Hare, John Connolly, M. J. Stein, Christopher C. Clarke, Aldermen Edward Duffy, Cornelius Flynn, Thomas Lynch, Isaac H. Terrill, and James Curry, Police Justice Edward Hogan,. Superintendent Thomas Brady, Thomas W. Duane, Assemblyman Joseph Blumenthal, Aldermen Wil- liam H. Walker, Alexander J. Dowd, James Gilli- gan, David Barry, and William P. Rinckhoff, Civil Justice Joseph J. Fallon, Water Purveyor William H. Burke, Private Secretary Leicester Holme, William J. Hill, William Lamb, Jr., Thomas C. O'Sullivan, John McCormack, Peter Farrell, Daniel M. Donegan, Charles Rastus Wilson, Demos L. Holmes, Norman Andruss, Bryan Henry, James H. Davis, Deputy-Sheriff Joel 0. Stevens, John Gr. H. Meyers, John A. Lin- heer, Edward Kearney, James Flemming, Louis J. Heintz, Ex-Commissioner Smith E. Lane, Dr. George W. Collins, John A. Boyle, Frank Young, Henry C. Reilly, James A. Forgarty. John P. Hilly, Terence Duffy, Ex-Coroner William H. Kennedy, Dr. Philip E. Donlin, John F. Delury, Augustine Healy, Peter Herron, Benjamin Hatton, John J. Farrell^ Louis Munzinger, Ex-Judge Lea C. Dessar, John Whalen, George A. Lambrecht, 18 Tammany Society. Mayor's-Marslial Daniel Engelhard, Bryan G. Me- Swyny, David Leventritt, Commissioner Thaddeus Moriarty, Bernard F. Malone, John P. Schuch- mann, Judge Henry Bischoff, Jr., J. C. J. Lang- bein, Lewis Lyon, and William E Stillings. Grand Sachem Abram B, Tappen, after the Sachems and Braves were seated, called the as- semblage" to order and welcomed them as fol- lows : Fellow^ Citizens and Fellow Countrymen : We welcome you heartily, a welcome we extend to you of the most hearty and sincere character. We are met here in compliance with the requisi- tions of our charter and the promptings of every patriotic feeling which does honor to the human breast, to celebrate the anniversary of that great day which in a new world gave birth to a new nation, a nation which has grown and prospered beyond all example in the history of mankind, and is now among the most important and dis- tinguished nations of the earth. To preserve and perpetuate all the principles and traditions which enter into the maintenance of our Republic, it is fitting that we celebrate this day by public de- monstrations of the most patriotic character. We Celeh'tition, 1800. 19 must kee}) alive and in active reineiubranee, both in the present and in all future generations, the services and the sacrifices of our forefathers whereby we became a free people. More em- phatically is this the case to-day when we see the ascendancy of true Democratic-Republican i)rinci- ples threatened in the councils of the nation, threatened with destruction by those who have sworn to defend the Constitution and to preserve the Republic. When we see a partisan majorit}^ having a temporary ascendancy in the councils of the nation breaking down all barriers created by the Constitution, and by the traditions and princi- ples of our form of Grovernment. and endeavoring by fraudulent legislation, under the pretence of preventing fraud, themselves to perpetrate fraud, ;and by violence to perpetuate their own ascend- ancy irrespective of the will of the people of this Republic, all times and all occasions are fitting for the most bitter denunciation of such a course. You may go back to the days of the early strug- gles of the colonies to free themselves from the yoke of British thraldom, and you will not find in all the Legislation of the British Parliament anything to equal the legislation attempted at this day by those who are in temporary ascendancy. I might say the same of all other parliamentary 20 Tammany Society. bodies existing under the forms of civil liberty in any part of the world. Now, gentlemen, we are favored, repeating again that earnest welcome we extend to all — not only, as I say, in fulfillment of our chartered requisition, but because it is our great desire, our great jo}^ on an occasion like this, to have you all here — I will sa}^ to you that you will be addressed by some eminent gentle- men, citizens of other States, who have accepted our invitation, and have presented themselves here to enable us fittingly to celebrate this^ day. At the conclusion of the address of the Grand Sachem, the band played several patriotic airs, and the Tammany Glee Club rendered, "Hail ta Our Beautiful Land " Bro. George B. McClellan w^as then indroduced, and read, with fine effect, and amid great applause *'The Declaration of Independence." The Glee Club sang "The Sword of Bunker Hill," and Grand Sachem Abram B. Tappen in- troduced for the first "Long Talk " Hon. William D. Bynum. of Lidiana. Celebration, 1800. 21 Mr. Bynum was received with great applause. He spoke as follows : Address of Hon. William D. Byxum. Grand Sachem, Ladies and Gextlemex : — I cannot truly express the gratification and pleas- ure it affords me to be with you to-day and to participate in the celebration of our national birthday in this memorable hall. Here has dwelt Tammany, the devoted friend and firm supporter of constitutional rights and personal liberty for a period co-existent with the constitution itself. There is a special pleasure to me, as I believe there would be to every Hoosier Democrat at being apble to join with you in this commemora- tion. Every Indiana Democrat remembers with gratitude the true and loyal friendship that ex- isted between that noble-hearted and trusted leader of Tammaiiy, the late Mr. Kelly, and the ideal Democrat of his time, the late Vice-Presi- dent, Mr. Hendricks. We can never forget that whenever the democracy of Indiana raised the banner of Hendricks in national contests that - Tammany rallied to his support with as loyal de- votion as his own idolitrous followers. [Ap- plause.] Although not commissioned by the 22 Tammany Society. democracy of Indiana I know, I but express their wish when I convey to you words of praise and good-will in jo\xv efforts to maintain and uphold the principles of constitutional government as committed to us by our fathers. The occasion of the celebration of our birthday as an independent people affords an opportune time to look back over the past, take a view of the course over which we have traveled and to ascertain whether we are moving in the right direction. It is no blind adoration that impels us in the belief that no greater patriots ever lived than those who declared and achieved our in- dependence, not as a nation but as a free people. The founders of our Government did not believe in a nation with a big N. They believed that supreme sovereignty resided and should remain with the people. It is a somewhat prevalent be- lief amongst the masses that our rights and privi- leges are derived from constitutional provisions. Suffice it to say that this is not democracy — not even com'pound democracy. We do not look to constitutions as the source of our inestimable rights and the origin of our great liberties! They are but the instruments by which pre-existing rights are secured and guarded against the en- croachments and oppression of governments. Our Celebration, 1800. 23 Constitution was so framed, should be so ad- ministered and must be so preserved. No major- ity, however great and powerful has the right to take away by constitutional provisions or other- wise the natural privileges of a minority, how- ever small and feeble. Every effort to engraft upon the Constitution of a State or of the Federal Government a provision which has for its object the restraint of a natural right, the prohibition of a lawful pursuit is an unwarranted encroachment upon the liberties of the people, and is the offspring of that spirit of intolerance which in all ages of the world's history, when unbridled, has led to cruelties too heartless to witness and crimes too horrible to mention. The right of a majority'to govern is a right with clearly defined and distinctly marked bounderies. A majority has the right to govern; and is entitled to con- fidence and support so long as it respects, not only respects but jealously preserves the rights of the minority. [Applause.] The greatest danger to our institutions is not in the rebellion of a minority, but in the tyranny and oppressions of the majority. That our Con- 'stitution is as near equipoise in tlie distribution of its powers between the different departments of the Government as could well be made has been 24 Tammany Society. demonstrated time and again. The line of de- markation between the reserved sovereignty of the people of the States and the powers conferred upon the Federal Government is as clearly in- dicated as it is possible, conceding to the latter the power of self-preservation. Upon occasions of national rejoicings we are given more to ex- ultation than to serious thought. We point with pride to the great contests through which we have passed, to the great struggles from which we have triumphantly emerged as sure guarantees that the progress of our glory as a free people will never be seriously obstructed ; but we should remember that many a stately ship has safely passed the reefs, triumphantly rode the crested-billows of the storm in mid-ocean to be wrecked by a gale upon the sands of the beach within sight of her port. The preservation of the rights of the people depend more upon the character and patriotism of those who may be entrusted with the reins of government than upon the limitations to their powers or the number and strength of provisions in the bill of rights. We have passed that period in our history when we need have any fears of the impairment or destruction of our form of government by foreign foes or from a want of the proper adjustment of the powers Celebration, 1890. 25 delegated: but have reached a period when selfish interests seek to administer our great preroga- tives for the benefit of a few to the detriment of many. It has been attested by those of other republics that the founders of ours contributed as much to its success, by their examples, as by their great abilities and labors. To set a true example is to perform a noble deed. They loved freedom, and therefore labored to secure its blessings to themselves and their posterity forever. They experienced the difficulties and impossibilities of framing a Constitution which was free from ob- jections and of conferring powers which could not be abused, and therefore knew how necessary it was that the spirit as well as the letter of each and eve](iy provision of that instrument should be strictly construed and faithfully observed. Strict to construe, they were strict to observe I The sentiment and patriotism of the age necessarily crystallized into principles essential to the correct modes of interpretation, to the faithful observance of the limits of the powers granted, and in the maintenance and preservation of these was founded this grand temple of liberty nearly a hundred . years agone. Democratic ideas and Democratic principles, in my judgment, are the only sure and safe repositories of the ])riceless jewels of liberty, justice and law. [Applause.] 26 Tammany Society. They dominated and influenced the administra- tion of affairs in this Government for more than sixty years, and under their benign influence the broad expanse of our domain reached the golden, shores of the Pacific, and the capability of the people for self-government was successfully de- monstrated and it is to be hoped firmly estab- lished. I look upon the time when the teachings and principles of the Democratic party were sup- planted in the administration of affairs as a dangerous one for the people. A departure when once taken diverges more and more the longer it is pursued, and the more difficult becomes the return. Step by step we have progressed in th(^ direction of unlimited power in the hands of the Federal Government, until to-day we are face to face with a despotic rule that may, in the in- toxication of its success, go to the extent that it can only be throttled by patriotic deeds of valor and courage. For months the people have wit- nessed, not I believe without indignation, the presiding officer of the House of Representatives assume unwarranted powers, trample upon the rights of representatives, override the most sacred provisions of the Constitution for the purpose of robbing constituencies of their rightful repre- sentation. Practices established and precedents. Celebration, 1800. 27 observed and revered from the foundation of the Grovernment have been ignored by the Speaker with a rudeness akin to barbarism, and even his own words and arguments, uttered under the solemnity of the most sacred obligation that could be administered to a freeman, that of preserving and defending the Constitution of his country, were, when cited in condemnation of his conduct, scoffed and jeered by himself and partisans as if they were but the idle vaporings of a brainless demagogue upon the sandlots of San Francisco. What a transition in so short a period of time I What a change from the Fiftieth to the Fifty-first Congress ! From gentleness to austerity ; im- partiality to favoritism, refinement to brutalit3\ justice ^o injustice, right to wrong — Carlisle to Reed. [Applause.] The outrageous acts of the Speaker were not only excused but commended by his partisans under the pretext that dilatory proceedings were no longer to be tolerated. The direct tax bill, it was said, had been lost in the last Congress by obstructionary proceedings. The Blair Educa- tional Bill had died upon the calendar, notwith- , standing, it was claimed, a large majority of the representatives of the people favored its pas- sage. The payment of the French spoliation 28 Tammamj Society, claims, it was shouted, had been defeated by the action of a minority in defiance of the will of the House, and for the enactment of these measures the Speaker, in a braggadocio air, announced that this Congress was organized for action. Summer has come, the surplus has departed, and all these schemes are yet in embryo. The surplus was exhausted in such a short space of time that the}" had to halt before they got fairly started. No one, however, was deceived by this hypocrisy. Every intelligent person knew that the design and purpose of these freebooters was to rob a sufficient number of constituencies of the rightful representatives and place others in their stead who could be utilized in the enactment of a Federal election law, designed to perpetuate themselves in power, in defiance of the action and will of the people. The bill which has just passed the House provides that the Chief Super- visor now ill office and such as may hereafter be appointed in their respective judicial districts by the judges of the Circuit Court of the United States shall perform the duties prescribed for them. They are, upon the receipt of a petition from one hundred citizens and voters in any city, containing more than 20,000 inhabitants, or any congressional district, or a petition from fifty Celebration, 1890. 29 citizens and voters from any county or parish in any congressional district to certify lists of per- sons to act as supervisors in all rating precincts within such territory, and the judge is required from such lists to appoint three supervisors in each rating precinct. It is made the duty of the precinct supervisors, under the direction of the Chief Supervisor, to make in any city or town, within live weeks of the election, a house to house canvass of the precinct or district, and to as- certain by inquiry at any dwelling or other place the name, age, nativity, term of residence and other qualifications, and make report in writing to the Chief Supervisor. To attend the registra- tion of voters, to challenge the right to register or to remain on the registry and to require the registration officer to mark any voter for challenge. To attend the election and witness the counting of votes. To make, certif}^ and forward returns of the votes cast in the precinct, for representa- tion in Congress, to the Chief Supervisor. To make, in any city or town of 20,000 or more, when required by the Chief Supervisor, a list of all such persons as may be naturalized in any court therein ; the date of their naturalization, their residence, place of nativity, name and re- sidence of their witnesses, the same to be tiled 30 Tammany Society. in the office of the Chief Supervisor. These are but a small portion of the duties to be performed by the precinct supervisors and their chiefs, but give a general idea of the purpose and scope of the bill. It requires no extraordinary powers of mental vision to foresee the design of this measure, although it is impossible for any true Democrat to conceive a conscience so biased with partisan-^ ship, a mind so polluted with bigotry and a heart so destitute of patriotism as to deliberately pre- pare and openly advocate its provisions. [Ap- plause.] What a machine for oppression, intimidation and corruption ! The office of Chief Supervisor is to be made the centre of political information and political advantage. He will be the source of information and power. He will send out his partisan supervisors to invade the homes of humble citizens to find out their politics, and, if they be Democrats, to hunt up their history, to see if by some excuse they may challenge or in- timidate them on election day. If the elector should chance to be of foreign birth the record of his naturalization and the names and history of his witnesses are to be found, and all this informa- tion is to be reported to the Chief Supervisor, to be kept and recorded by him in his office. In Celebration, 1800. 31 short, this is a bill to legalize the Republican organization to be supported with unlimited appropriations out of the Federal Treasury, and to clothe its members with power to persecute, arrest and imprison, without cause, any Democrat who may labor under the delusion that he still has a right to participate in elections. No such a measure ever emanated from the brain of a true lover of his people or a devoted friend of his country. The spirit of its origin never had a habitation except in a heart filled with venom. Our free institutions have weathered many a storm ; they majestically withstood the attacks from the alien and sedition laws ; they triumphed over Knownothingism ; they have survived the unbridled passions and dreadful influences of a terrible war between the sections ; they have re- ceived many a stab, but never in my judgment from any source has been made such a wicked and deadl}^ thrust at the very heart of the nation as has been made by those who are seeking to enact this law. [Applause.] Be not deceived! 'This measure is not in- tended for the South alone, it is intended for New York and Indiana in 1892, and for your city and my city when its monstrous provisions can be in- voked. It is to enable that original "package'' 32 Tammany Society. of political rascality, John I. Davenport, to ap point an army of spies to invade the houses of your citizens to rob them of their naturalization papers, to terrorize over them, and drive them from the polls by the aid of Federal marshals. But this is not all. It is further provided that there shall be appointed a Board of Canvassers in each district, composed of three members, whose duty it shall be to canvass and tabulate the vote certified to them as cast for representa- tive in Congress, and to forward a copy to the 'Clerk of the House of Representatives, and this return is to be the evidence which shall control the clerk in making up the roll of members. If by any chance a district, which has been marked -as essential to the success of a Republican major- ity in the House, should by the State election boards appear to have chosen a Democrat, as a last and final resort the Federal supervisors are empowered to count in the Republican, and the Clerk of the House is required, under severe penalties, to place his name upon the roll as the member elect. For fear they will not be able to do the counting, after the next House is organ- ized, they provide for doing it beforehand. Ever since 1876 I have had the fullest confidence in the xibility of the Republican party to steal anything Celebration, 1800, 3a it desired, but I confess this is the most previous arrangement they have yet been able to devise. Oh, that the patriotic sense of the i)eople might be aroused, on this our birthday of free- dom, to a realization of the danger that threatens their liberties ! What are the excuses made by those who have dared to commit such a crime against free gov- ernment? That the people can no longer be entrusted with the supreme power to guard and protect their own liberties. Who are to become the guardians of the people in the preservation of the great trust Avhich the fathers committed to their custody more than a hundred and score 3^ears ago? Sirs, if there is one great overshadowing crime for which the Republican leaders and the Republican party are solely responsible it is for debauching the purity of the ballot and corrupting elections until an honest result is utterly impossible. [Great ap- plause.] Ill 1880 they levied assessments upon the sub- ordinate officials of the Grovernment, including the battle-scarred veterans and the widows of deceased soldiers, to secure a corruption fund to debauch the voters of Indiana at the October election. '34 Tammany Society. In 1888 they "fried the fat" out of the mono- polies to carry out an organized system of corrup- tion in New York and Indiana by which the honest sentiment of the people was defeated. But these practices require too much labor and are attended with great risks, and are not likely to be fruitful sources of "boodle'' in the future, and they therefore propose, by this election bill, to legalize their organization of corruption, clothe it with supreme and arbitrary power to carry out their schemes of debauchery without fear or molestation. They surround themselves with Federal power and grant to themselves appropriations perpetu- ally and without limit to carry on their campaigns of sophistry and " soap," boodle and " blocks of five." Not content to risk their cause here they go farther and provide that in case they fail at the polls they shall make the returns and certify the results. Their rapacious ingenuity and malevolent de- signs it seems would have been satisfied and exhausted by these provisions, but such was not the case. In this bill is embodied, as crimes, acts which may be honest and praiseworthy upon the part of electors, and for the commission of these the severest punishments and penalties are Celebration, 1890, 35 prescribed, and then for fear that they might be €aught in the meshes of the net which they had • spread for others the}' amend the law so as to enable them to pack juries with their partisans to acquit Republicans and convict Democrats. What a commentary that this bill should have originated in tlie House of Representatives. What an outrage for the people's representatives, sel- ected to guard, with argus vigilance, their rights and liberties, to turn u})on them and brand them as too dishonest and corrupt to be trusted in the supervision and control of all that is sacred to them and to their posterity. The advocates of this measure say to the people: " You are not to be trusted with management of your own elections, and therefore we propose to send Federal Super- visors and Federal Marshals to watch over you ; to construe your laws, to canvass your votes and make up your returns, with power to arrest and imprison you without warrant if you dare question their acts, however arbitrary and despotic they may be.'' Shame upon a party and upon the men that would thus stigmatize the brave and patriotic people of this country, whose devotions to free institutions has been sealed with their blood upon a hundred battlefields. This bill strikes down the vital principle of our 36 Tammany Society. Government. A representative Republic must languish and expire if the source of its life and duration — the right of free and untrammeled elec- tions shall be poisoned or cut off, [Applause.] Who are the persons most persistent and most potent in demanding the enactment of this law? Who are these men who arrogate to themselves all the virtue and all the honesty that is left amongst the people, and who seek to be enthroned perpetually as the guardians of their welfare? As well might the wolf ask to be chosen to guard the lamb, the lion the fawn, or the serpent the dove, as for the Republican managers to ask to be sel- ected as guardians of the purity of the ballot. [Great applause.] The last man to be trusted with an arbitrary power is the man who would ruthlessly lay his hand upon it. No patriot ever coveted such a power. No lover of his country and his people ever asked to be clothed with supreme authority over them. Those who ask for such a power de- sire it for base and corrupt purposes. Let not the people of the North believe that this measure is to enforce the rights of the colored people of the South. The colored people are only to be injured by it. It is to stifle the voices of the people of New York and Indiana, pivotal States,. Celebration, 1800, 37 and thereby thwart the will of the people of the country in the great contest in 1892. It is in- tended to intrench in power the most dangerous set of men that ever influenced and dominated public affairs. Its enactment will be the most serious blow ever given to popular government and free institutions in this country, — *' Whosoever bath the gift of tongue let him use it ; AYhosoever can wield the pen of the ready writer let him dip it in the inkhorn; Whosoever hath a sword let him girdle it on, for the crisis demands our highest exertions, physical and moral." [Great applause]. After the enthusiasm that greeted the speech of Congressman Bynum had exhausted itself, the Grand Sachem introduced for the second "Long Talk*' Hon. Charles F. Crisp, of Georgia. The welcome accorded to Congressman Crisp was as enthusiastic as that given the previous speaker. He spoke as follows : Address of Hon. Charles F. Crisp. My Countrymen : — I am privately advised by ^my friend, Gen. Spinola — you are acquainted with him, I suppose — that somewhere hereabouts is a spring, which like time and tide waits for no 38 Tammany Society. man, which bubbles about one o'clock, and into which, if you would have the full benefit of the springs, you must enter at the time of the moving of the waters. And then he told me privately, too, that there are about a dozen representatives of the people from various States, who are ex- pected to say a word or two to you on this occa- sion, and putting this and that together I con- cluded from what he said that although I was put down for a long talk the most satisfactory thing I could do would be to give you a short talk, and therefore I shall do so. My friend from Indiana has discussed almost exhaustively that measure which has attracted so much attention in the country, which has so agitated the House of Representatives, and the passage of which on the day before yesterday has so seriously endangered the liberties of the people. He has told you of its provisions. I might j^ay to you something of the practices, the parlia- mentary practices in the House which have led up to and enabled the dominant party to secure the passage of that law. When this Congress assembled there were eight majority of Republi- cans in the House. How that majority was ob- tained you know as well as I do. You know the vast campaign fund contributed by those gentle- Celebration, 1890, 39 men who are the special beneficiaries of existing laws, and by those gentlemen who desired the maintenance and continuance of a system which •enabled them to obtain an undue advantage of the masses of the people. You know how by the use of that great fund this majority was acquired in the House of Representatives. That majority, my friends, was not what is called a working majority. Under the history and practices of this Grovernment for a hundred years, the minor- ity when so large as it was in the Fifty-first Con- gress had it in their power by the use of con- stitutional means to demand discussion — calm, reasonable discussion — to demand the right of amendments, and thev also had the rioht under the consMtution to see that a constitutional major- ity voted for before a bill was passed by the House of Representatives. You know the history of the struggle after the House met. You know how precedents were overridden. You know how the views expressed by leading Republicans of the past were disregarded, and under that rule 4ind under that system the majority of the present House were enabled to do practically what they -pleased. Still, my friends, they were without a working majorit3^ There were seventeen con- tests, seventeen contested election cases brought 40 Tammany Society. to this House. Every one of the sitting members was a Democrat. Every one of those who were- seeking seats in the House was a Republican. For every Democrat that they could turn out and seat a Republican in his place they added two to their majority. The Committee on Elections have ruthlessly turned out of the House of Representa- tives gentlemen who were there as the lawfully accredited representatives of their constituencies. They have recommended, and the House has adopted their report, the unseating of a gentle- man who was sent to the House by thirteen thousand majority. And instead of having eight, as they had when the Congress met, they now have twenty majority in the House of Representa- tives. When that twenty was obtained, then, my friends, you see what they have done, so far as the House is concerned, to perpetuate themselves in power. By a majority of those votes this in- iquitous election bill was passed on the da}^ before yesterday. They have made, by their changes in the returns from the officials of the States, a change of twelve majority in the House of Repre- sentatives. So that we can say, and truthfully say, that this law, which is intended to bind hand and foot the people of this country, has been passed by them with the aid and assistance of Celebration, 1890. 41 fnen who were elected to the House of Repre- sentatives by a Republican majority in the House and not by the people they pretend to represent. Without the aid of those votes that law could not have passed. And now what is to happen ? Now, what of the liberties of the people? If this law should toe, or this act should become a law, it is the taking •awaj^ from tlie people the right to manage and ■control their own affairs. If this (xovernment stands for any one thing more than another it is the right of local self-government, the right of home rule. If we believe in this country in any ■one thing as to offices and office-holders, it is that {there should be on their part a responsibility to the peojjle, who are the real rulers of the nation. 'This bill violates both of those ideas. There are nine Circuit Courts in the United States. There iire two Democratic judges. Practically only one Democratic judge could act under this bill. The Chief Supervisor of election designates the judge who shall act, and that judge appoints a returning board for a sovereign Stale. The Circuit embraces several States, and the judge of the court appoints a board of three men, who are to certif}^ who were elected by the people of the State of New York. There is no responsibility upon any of these 42 Tammany Society. officers so that the people can reach them. If your election officers are appointed by your State officers or elected by you their acts can be re-^ viewed at the polls, but no matter how fraudulent may be the practices of the returning board or of the Federal Court there is no way under our Con- stitution and under this bill by which they can be reached. If the Court should do wrong the only method of reaching the Court is by impeachment.. The only way to impeach a judge is upon articles moved by the House of Representatives, and the House of Representatives which might be ex- pected to move those articles, if it were neces- sary, hold their seats by virtue of certificates given to them by a returning board which is absolutely at the control of the judge. He ap- points the board and removes them at his pleas- ure. How much responsibility is there upon his part? The returning board is only responsible to him. Now, we all know in this country what a returning board is. It has not been so long since you and I were defrauded out of the Presi- dent we had elected by the action of returning boards. You recollect in 1876 the action of the returning board in Louisiana, in Florida, and in South Carolina. Do you recollect that visiting statesmen went down into that country, and with Celebration, 1890. 43 their aid and influence these returning boards certified to lies, and on their certificates the President elected by the people was defrauded out of his seat. Those returning boards were re- warded. These visiting statesmen and their party friends had control of the patronage of the Gov- ernment, and if you will take the trouble to go back to the books and records of those days and look into them, you will find ihat every one of these men, these returning boards and their officers and subordinates, every one of them, was given a lucrative position under the Federal G-overnment. With the power of the purse and with the power of the patronage of the G-overnment, I ask you what chance have the people against a party of this past history of the Republican party. Our only safety, my friends, is holding all public officials to strict accountability to the people. I do not care how high and exalted may be the character of the individual you elect to any office, I say to 3^ou that history has demonstrated that the only })erfectly safe and satisfactory security against corruption and maladministration is to hold your public servants to a strict accountability to you for the manner in which they discharge the duties of their office. Under this bill you cannot do this. The Republican party are only 44 Tammany Society. temporarily in power in the House if we can have an honest election in future, but they are desperate people. The faction that now leads and controls them is the most radical of the radical. That representative who seems most to dominate and control them has told you that the one thing- needful to the success, the continued success of the R(3publican party, is the passage of a law which enables them to do their own registering, their own counting, and their own certifying. That means that that registration, and counting, and certifying will maintain in all the departments of the Government, in despite of the wishes of the people, representatives of the party who are now in possession of the departments of the Govern- ment. Do you want any better demonstration of that than the House of Representatives? They ought to be fair representatives of their party. They ought to be as good as returning boards that you will get under the law, and I sa}^ to you — and I say it with some knowledge of the question, because I have investigated ever}" one of the cases that they have contested — I say to you that they have turned out of the House of Representatives members who were legally elected, and seated men who had no more shadow of a right to a seat than you have now to the seat that I represent in Celebration, 1890, 45 Congress. If they are thus dishonest, if they are thus blind, accepting them as a fair and correct type of the average Republican, what can you expect of the returning board that may be ap- pointed under this law? I am not an alarmist. We have seen many troubles in this country. The good sense and patriotism, the honesty and the integrity of the people have blocked them all. Now we are menaced with another and a greater peril. The dominant party by assailing the section where \ live, the section that I love, the section which you love, the section so magnificently de- fended by the great Governor of New York two days ago in Indiana, by assailing that section have sought to excite prejudices up here that we hope and believe that twenty-five years since the war has buried and hidden out of sight. By ex- citing those prejudices they seek to justify the passage of this law, saying to you doubtless that it is necessary for peace in the South, but having in mind, as suggested by my friend from Indiana, the fact that it may be used very advantageously in New York bv them. All people know who deal in trade with the South that these reflections upon her s^'stem, upon her peace and order are false and untrue. The millions of capital that have gone down there 46 Tammany Society. since the war, the hundreds of thousands of our Northern fellow-citizens who live there now, the tax returns of the cities and counties and States,, the amount of money accumulated and property accumulated by freedmen, the general advance and prosperity of all that section unite in de- nouncing as false a statement that down there there is . oppression or injustice to anybody. If the people of this country cannot be led off on that false issue those now in power feel that their tenure is short. They feel that the legislation of this session, even as far as they have gone, is oppressive to the masses of the people. That which is to come, that which they are pledged to, or were pledged to in the last campaign, but which they are holding back until the next election, is still more oppressive. They realize that if the people of this country are able to go to the polls and freely cast their ballots, and have them honestly counted, and have the majorities so set up honestly asserted in the departments of the Government, they know and feel that their lease of power is gone. Knowing that, feeling that^ they are willing to do anything to retain power. They do this under the plea of peace. They want peace. Under that precious plea, my friends, in all ages outrages have been committed upon Celebration, 1890. 4T the people. When the Government of Poland was overturned and a usurper was on the throne, it was announced "Peace reigned in Warsaw."' When the French republic was succeeded by the empire and Napoleon the Third ascended the throne, it was given out to the world "The Empire is peace." When these people, this Republican party, shall have stifled the voice of the people at the polls, when they shall have a set of returning boards and supervision by which you are intimidated from the honest expression of your vote, where you do not have the benefit of its honest return, then they, too, will say ta the people of the world that in the great Republic there is peace. T say for myself, and I shall con- clude with this, and in raying it I know I but reflect vour sentiment, that I should choose rather some of the strife and turmoil of liberty to this peace and quiet of a military despotism. Several popular airs were rendered by the band, and the Griee Club sang: "The Flag of our Union Forever." Secretary John B. McGoldrick, read the replies to the invitations of the Society from- distiaguished Democrats, and absent Brothers. (The letters will be found printed in full in the- back part of this book.) 48 Tammany Society. The ' Star Spangled Banner," was then sung "bj Mr. Phillip F. Sullivan, assisted by the Tam- many Glee Club. Tlie Grand Sachem then intro- duced Governor B. T. Biggs, of Delaware, as the first of the "Short Talkers.'' who had promised to obey the five minute rule. Governor Biggs was greeted with a round of applause when he arose to speak. After saying that Tammany Hall was rooted and grounded in the hearts of the American people, he referred to the Federal Election bill as the most important political measure of the day. ''The time is coming," he said, "when beyond a doubt that law will return to that bourne from which no traveller returns, unwept, unhonored, and unsung. Let the negroes in the South have their rights. No one denies them their rights. They have as many to-day as the white man in the Southern States, but if I were a Southern man I would never allow^ the negro, as long as life lasted, to have his own rights and my own too. Coming here to-day I saw that the President had signed the bill admitting Idaho as a State. I know that territory has not now a population of fifty .thousand." Celebration, 1890. 49 Congressmaii William M. Springer, oI Illinois, spoke as follow^ : Fellow Citizens of the Tammany Society : — I am profoundly grateful to you for the cordial greeting you have extended to me on this occa- sion. I would that time permitted that I should address you on this occasion as I feel in my heart that I would like to ; but as I am getting so accus- • tomed under the present rules of the House of Representatives to the five minute rule, I cannot possibly go beyond it. That is all a Democrat is allowed to speak now in behalf of the people and representation which he has — has to fight for that. I, however, in the brief time allowed me desire to call your attention to the fact that the continued ascenclancy of the Republican party in this country is a menace to popular government and to home rule. In 1876 the leaders of that party stole the presidency of the United States, and legalized their theft by a partisan Electoral Commission. In 1880 they corrupted the voters of Indiana and New York with money, wrung from the office- holders of the country. In 1888 they purchased the election of Benjamin Harrison with money wrung from the manufacturers of the country. In the present House of Representatives they have violated every principle of home rule by unseat- -50 Tammany Society, ing Democrats who were elected by thirteen thous- and majority. They have gone further, and have passed through the House of Representatives two bills, one of which, the McKinley bill, is intended to use and usurp the taxing power of the Govern- ment for the purpose of compelling the people to contribute of their hard earnings to the support of the monopolists and capitalists of the country, thus making the poor poorer, and the rich richer. A bill which is intended among other things to •destroy the commerce of the whole city of New York, and to close the ports of our country from the commerce of the world. They have gone further than that, distrusting — as they well may do — the people of this country at the next election, and have passed an electoral law through the House of Representatives, which lias for its avowed object the wresting of elections from the people and conferring them upon a des- potism organized in Washington and intended to destroy the power of the people to govern them- selves in this country. But I warn the leaders of ■this party that they may carry this business too far. I warn them that the people of this country are the descendants of Revolutionary sires who proclaimed the right of the people to govern them- selves even against the foreign despot, George the Celebration, ISOO. 51 Third. Let them profit by the examples of the past. If they carry on and carry out their nefari- ous purposes tlie time may come, and it may even now be dawning upon us, when the people of this country will assemble at their places of meeting and again proclaim the great principles of the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. When- ever it shall be demonstrated that the right of the people to turn this party out of power at the ballot box is ruthlessly taken from us, let them know now that that power will be wrested from them if we have to go to the beginning as our forefathers did. They must remember that what- ever pay betide in this country, in the language of that great man, once President of the United States, and who formerly represented in the House of Representatives the district which I now have the honor to represent, " that the peo- ple of this country are determined that a govern- ment by the people, for the people, shall not perish in this country." I feel assured, my fellow citizen, that popular government and home rule will not perish among us, for when our rights are so far persecuted and wrested from us that we cannot successfully use 52 Tammany Society. and have the right to use our ballots, we will seek other means of asserting them, and that assertion will not be in vain. When that declaration, when that new declaration is made, if it ever shall be made in this country, you will find a million^ yes, ten million patriots, in this country who have a right to vote, and who will never sacrifice it, re- newing again their allegiance to popular govern- ment and home rule, and who will in every voting 23lace in the land pledge anew in the sight of Divine Providence, and appealing to Him for their guidance, and pledge their lives, their for- tunes, and their sacred honor to retain this right- Congressman Caruth, of Kentucky, spoke of the Federal Election bill, and declared that the Republican party, with all its infamous measures, could not possibly keep a Democratic majority out of the next House of Representatives. Mr. Caruth's speech included a paraphrase of the epitaph on his five wives, written by a man who moved their remains from one graveyard to another, and unfortunately mixed them up : Stranger, pause and drop a tear, Susan Sparks is buried here, Mingled in some mysterious manner With Sarah, Marj, Jane, and Banner. Celebration, 1890, 53 Mr. Caruth suggested as an epitaph for those whom the roused people will bury and mix up : Stranger, pause, but drop no tear, For Tommy Keed lies buried here ; Mingled in some mysterious way With parts of Wauamaker, Piatt, and Quay. Congressman Theodore Wilkinson, of Louisiana, spoke of the Statute of Liberty as the symbol of American Independence. Woe to him," he vehemently declared, "be he presiding officer of the House of Representatives or any other tyrant, if he intercepts its rays or dims its splendor.'' Congi^ssman Benton McMillan, of Tennessee, spoke in the same strain as previous speakers, in referring to the Federal Election bill : "The assassins of liberty,'* he said, "have stepped into the very citadel of American institu- tions, but there are yet brave hearts and strong hands to defy their despotism. The men who con- tributed the money with which to purchase the last election have been rewarded with high places. ^ Wanamaker, who secured a contribution of Four Hundred Thousand Dollars to the Republican cause, received in payment a place in the Cabinet. Tammany Society. During the last National canvass, to my certain knowledge, he was teaching a Sunday School in Philadelphia, buying votes in Indiana, and ex- hibiting ' Christ before Pilate ' throughout the country. "The Democratic party/' Mr. McMillan, con- tinued, " sprang from the Revolution, and wher- ever, liberty's battle is to be fought, wherever the cause of justice is to be championed, there will Democratic soldiers be found, fighting valiantly." Congressman John M. Allen, of Mississippi, was the next speaker, he said : "I am glad to be with Tammany to-day. I come here smarting under the outrages perpe- trated upon me and my party at Washington. I am glad to be with you here to rekindle the fires of American liberty. If the principles of the Re- publican party are to prevail, we are in sore need of a new declaration of independence. "The pretext for the outrages about to be committed by the Republican part}^ is the alleged outrages in the South. I will not deny that there have been cases in the Southern States, as in all States of the Union, for that matter, where elections have not gone strictly to the line, but I do say that the very worst ballot-box stufifer who Celebration, 1890. 55 ever operated in the South would pale his in- •effectual fires before the rascality and scoundrel- ism I have myself seen in the unseating of mem- bers of the House of Representatives. "If the sentiment of your song, 'let tyrants tremble/ prevails, the Republican party is doomed to destruction. I can assert with all positiveness -of conviction that what that party is now attempt- ing to do is more destructive to liberty than was the secession of the Southern States." Congressman Kerr, of Pennsylvania, spoke of the thirteen original colonies, the thirteen Sachems of Tammany Hall and the thirteen Congressmen that were the guests of Tammany. The visiting Congressmen, he said, were all the representatives of Democratic States except Mr. Springer, of Illinois, and himself. But Illinois, he declared, was wavering in the balance, and the Pennsylvania forces of Democracy had been martialed to do battle to Quayism and Reedism, with good chances for success. Congressman Emloe, of Tennessee, made another reference to a possible new declaration of inde- pendence. If the time came when another such declaration was needed, he felt sure that Tammany would be found at the front. 56 Tammany Society. Congressman Yoder, of Ohio, began his speech by declaring that Ohio would take a front seat in the next Democratic National Convention. Tammany Hall, he said, had given New York the best local government of any city in the world. He wanted to impress upon the minds of the people of the country the necessity of assembling in mass meetings to protest against the Federal Election bill. "The Senate is waiting to hear from you,'' he declared. "Let that body receive a significant expression of opinion from every county seat in the country regarding this odious measure." Congressman Mansur, of Missouri, was the last speaker. "In the West," he said, "the question of tariff reform was a winning issue, and the question of Federal influence levelled at a free people would win in the East and South. The Federal Election bill was the greatest insult ever cast into the teeth of a free people. It was the last effort of a political party that was dying in the ditch." It was long after two o'clock when the last "Short Talk" was over. The large audience rose and gave three cheers for the visiting Con-^ gressmen. After the Glee Club, Sachems, Braves- Celebration, 1890, 57 tind audience had joined the grand chorus of the "Red, White and Blue,'' the march was taken «p, and the guests led in triumph to the cave, where large tables were spread with refreshments, :and the feast of reason and flow of soul was kept up until late in the evening, when the visitors were taken in charge of by the committee, and the one hundred and fourteenth celebration of Independence Day by the Tammany Society was over. Celebration, 1890. 59 EE PLIES TO INVITATIONS. Hon. Abram B. Tappen, Grand Sacliem; Maeion, Massachusetts, June 30, 1890. Dear Sir : — My absence from the City of New York, and plains which I have ah-eady made, prevent my ac- ceptance of the courteous invitation which I have re- ceived, to attend the Celebration by the Tammany So- ciety, of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Anniversary of American Independence. The Celebration contemplated by your ancient and time-honored organization, will, it seems to me, fall short in the impressions done to the occasion, if it does not persistently present and emphasize the idea that the Declaration of Independence was the protest of honest and sturdy men against the wrongs and oppressions of misgovernment. The reasons and justification for their , revolt are exhibited in their recital of a long list of grievous instances of mal-administration. They com- plained that their interests had been so neglected, and their rights as lawful subjects so violated under British rule, that the}' were absolved from further fealty. 60 Tammany Society. Our Fathers in establishing a new government upon the will of the People and consecrated to their care and just protection, could not prescribe limitations which would deny to political parties its conduct and admin- istration. The opportunities and the temptations thus necessarily presented to partisanship, have brought us to a time when party control is far too arrogard and hitter, and when, in public place, the true interests of the country are too lightly considered. In this predicament, those who love their country may well remember with comfort and satisfaction on Independence Day, that the disposition of the American people to revolt against mal-administration still remains to them, and is the badge of their freedom and inde- pendence, as well as their security for continued pros- perity and happiness. They will not revolt against their plan of government - — for its protection and preservation supply every in- spiration of true Americanisn^ But because they are free and independent American citizens, they will, as long as their love and veneration for their government shall last, revolt against the domination of any politi- cal party, which entrusted with power, sordidly seeks only its continuance, and which faithlessly violating its plain and simple duty to the people, insults them with professions of disinterested solicitude, while it eats out their substance. And yet, with all this, we should not in blind security deny the existence of danger. The masses of our coun- trymen are brave and therefore generous ; they are strong and therefore confident, and they are honest and therefore unsuspecting. Our peril lies in the ease with which they may be deluded and cajoled by those who would traffic with their interests. No occasion is more opportune than the Celebration of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Anniversary of Celebration, 1S90 61 American Independence, to warn the American people of the present necessity on their part of a vi