THE CENTRAL POWER. A REVIEW OF The Pugilistic and Political Activity of BILL TWEED'S Pupil and Successor. WITH AN APPENDIX. Comparing the Croker Ring with the Tweed Ring and Urging a Union of all Factions Against Tammany Hall. by otto k:e:]vie»is:jb:b. Birth and Emigration . His Education, or Lack of it. Early Manhood ... Leader of the Gang . Becomes a Politician . Elected Alderman . During the Tweed Ring . Charged with Murder . Boss of Tammany Hall . The Fas sett Investigation . Horses, Gambling, Politics... CHAPTER II. CHAPTER III. CHAPTER IV. CHAPTER V. CHAPTER VI. CHAPTER VII. CHAPTER VIII. CHAPTER IX. CHAPTER X. CHAPTER XI. CHAPTER XII. CHAPTER XIII. Where Did He Get His Wealth? .. CHAPTER XIV. Open Letter to Boss Broker . APPENDIX. Design for a New City Hall, from “Hallo” ( Illustration ). New Exemplars of Boss Tweed . Press Comments. 24 - BOSS CROKER’S CAREER. A Review of the Pag Hist ic and JPolitical -Aczivitg of Pill Tweed 9 s Pupil and Successor . • CHAPTER I. THE “CENTRAL, POWER” OF NEW YORK. A. Mayoralty Convention in Tammany Mall. Tammany Hall was crowded to Its ut¬ most capacity by the assembled delegates who had been chosen to represent their respective districts in the Mayoralty convention. It was in the Fall of 1892. There was at that time but one local faction whose nomination (conceded to be equivalent to an election) was worth striving for. It was the nomination of Tammany Hall. The citizens of New York, without regard to party, were therefore deeply interested in the choice of the Wigwam. The day for the nom¬ ination had arrived, but with it came no definite indication as to the person who would be selected. It was generally sup¬ posed, however, that Mayor Hugh J. Grant would be renominated. The hour for opening the meeting had arrived, but the boss and his chief satellites, without whom no one would have attempted to set the machinery of the convention in motion, were still ab¬ sent. The delay occasioned considerable surprise and speculation among the del¬ egates; their faces assumed a puzzled expression, and in timid undertones they chatted about the situation. “It won’t be Grant,” “It will be Grant,” was ban¬ died to and fro, and was the gist of nearly all the remarks that could be overheard. The “Slate” Cut and Dried Dehind the Scenes. In the course of private conversation a few of the bolder spirits ventured cau¬ tiously and half apologetically to sug¬ gest the feasibility of naming some other man than Grant, but all such prefer¬ ences were accompanied with profuse qualifications, so that they might not, in any contingency, be regarded as having been intended to disparage the can¬ didacy of any one that would be agreed upon. Apparently, they all wished to shield themselves from being accused later on of the crime of having guessed at the nomination of the wrong man or of having mildly hinted at the desira¬ bility of some other nominee. That would have been unpardonable Insub¬ ordination. To have such a monstrous charge made against a Tammany mem¬ ber and delegate might seriously im¬ peril his future political prospects. So there was not one in that vast assem¬ blage who seemed to regard himself dele¬ gated to exercise his individual judg¬ ment or to declare either his own inde¬ pendent choice or that of his constitu¬ ents. There they all sat like obedient schoolboys, patiently awaiting the “slate” that was being cut and dried be¬ hind the scenes. When it was finally produced, with the name of Thomas F. Gilroy at the head, a cheer of boisterous and universal acclaim arose from every part of the hall, each delegate eagerly seeking to be conspicuous in being first and loudest to shout approval of the decree of the omnipotent Central Power. A Humiliating Spectacle. The scene was as suggestive as it was humiliating. Here was the regular County Convention, representing the Democratic party of the greatest city in the Union, without a single delegate who would dare to voice his own con¬ victions. There were any number of able men in that body, and a great many possessing independent wealth, but, without exception, they bowed to the inexorable Tammany custom, which pro¬ vides that self-assertion is treachery, and that slavish subjection alone is loy¬ alty to the organization. The men who m f 4 BOSS CROKER’S CAREER „ 'r ' ^ 0 C ' ' ‘ had ^v^a't.e^’Kugh ,T. fkraat’s renomi- nadbrji* v^ci'isiied as if< b,^ viiagic, and with wondered unanimity ‘.thjeji all hailed the name of (l T£dm^s K (Gilroy as if he had been the original and only choice of the entire delegation, Ruination was ratified 1 without a. these pages, therefore, to paint a fait ful picture of his life and political act! ity. CHAPTER II. BIRTH AND EMIGRATION. Family Fretensions. Richard Croker was born In Blac.? rock, near Quartertown, County Corl Ireland, on Nov. 24, 1843. He is th son of Eyre Croot Croker. The stor carefully spread by his satellites i that he descends from the family a Henry Croker, of Quartertown, wh was a Major and Inspector-General i.i the British Army. Through him tb Crokers trace their pedigree to ancet tors of the same name who were peopl of distinction and renown in Irelan centuries ago. John Dillon Croker, sai* to be an uncle to Richard, was a mem ber of Parliament for the County Cork and another uncle, Richard Croker, wa a captain in the British Army and a one time Governor of Bermuda. This alleged relationship has causec the Croker family, since its latter-daj prosperity and pre-eminence, to take o deep interest in heraldry matters, and, after considerable research, the inevitable coat-of-arms has made its appearance which is now duly displayed on the family stationery and equipages. It bears the suggestive motto, Deus Aliteos (God Feeds Them). Richard’s father was the blacksmith of Roscarberry, his native hamlet, and was noted for certain peculiarities of character which were not calculated to help him in a business way. He had a growing family and a diminishing in¬ come, and began to cast yearning glances across the ocean. BOSS GROWER'S CAREER 5 His Early Surroundings in Atneria. In 1846 he bundled his humble effects, ; and after a wearisome voyage in the packet Henry Clay, he landed, in the fall of that year with his wife and seven children, on the hospitable shores of free America. They took up their abode near Ninety-ninth street, on a portion of the old Bloomingdale road which is now within the limits of Central Park. Their first residence in the new world con¬ tained no suggestion of the grandeur and elegance which the future had in store for them; on the contrary, it is | described as “a rickety two-story struc¬ ture, surrounded by high rock and a growth of trees and rubbish.” The ! neighborhood was teeming with a class of residents known as “squatters,” who i were so designated because they settled down on unoccupied land regardless of ; ownership, and built upon it their tem¬ porary and unsightly hovels. 1 Among his new neighbors, Eyre Cro- i ker endeavored to establish himself as a “veterinary surgeon,” but his practice did not prove extensive or profitable. After a few years he moved down to East Twenty-sixth street.and from there to Twenty-eighth street. As Mr. Croker, sr., was not fond of great exertion, and as his boys, George, “Ed” and “Dick,” were too young to be¬ come bread-winners, so at this time the family was not over-prosperous.. Later on, however, old Eyre became an attache ; of the Thirty-second street stables of the f Harlem Car Company. The pecuniary ! condition of the family was beginning to : improve, but it was still far from being regarded as comfortable. CHAPTER III. HIS EDUCATION, OR LACK OF IT. a A Plodding Scholar . The history of Richard’s school days is brief and soon told. He was t about twelve years of age when he en¬ tered the public school in East Twenty- seventh street, where his attendance was characterized neither by regularity nor by diligence. At the age of fifteen his schooling abruptly terminates, and he is sent into the world with an education that could scarcely be termed rudi¬ mentary without exaggeration. An Illiterate Man f Yet He Writes for the North American Review. At no time since has he attempted to make up for the wasted opportunity of outh. The crudeness of his intellect as not been improved by a course of reading in later life, as in the case of so many self-made American statesmen. Mr. Croker is an illiterate man. It is doubtful if he ever composed a letter, and, although in his present pcsition it would seem indispensable to him to con¬ duct a voluminous correspondence, few persons can boast of ever having seen him with pen in hand, actually engaged in writing. His desk at Tammany Hall shows no ink stains, for the very obvi¬ ous reason that its owner can’t write, or does not care to commit his thoughts, such as they are, to writing. To sup¬ pose that Richard Croker is the real author of the article that appeared over his signature in the North American Review for February, 1892, is as ridicu¬ lous as it would be to assume that it was the composition of a Fiji Islander. All his spontaneous interviews are like¬ wise deliberately prepared and edited by his literary assistants, of whom he keeps quite an assortment, and among whom there may be found prominent Congress¬ men, Judges and other high public of¬ ficials. Eloquent over Horses and Prize- Fighters, The proof of his lack of culture is furnished to those around him by his utter incapacity for verbal expression. By that is not meant his inability to make public speeches—he has never made one in his life—but refers rather to his apparently circumscribed range of ideas. He speaks in monosyllables, com¬ mands a vocabulary that appears to be limited to about three hundred words and forms his sentences in a way that Bindley Murray would regard with hor¬ ror. It is possible that when discussing a horse-race, a prize-fight or a political caucus, Mr. Croker would betray some signs of fluency and eloquence, but aside from these favorite subjects his speech is halting and hollow, furnishing an in¬ dex to a mind that is wofully ill- equipped and verging toward sterility. A great many persons no doubt imag¬ ine that no man could preside over an organization like Tammany Hall with¬ out possessing a much higher grade of brain power than that with which Mr. Croker is here credited, and who would be strongly inclined to believe that this description of his intellectual stature does not do him justice. To suppose, however, that it requires a great intellect to “run” that institu¬ tion is a serious mistake. The talents needed for distributing spoils, for select¬ ing candidates and for promoting jobs— the three chief functions of a boss—are not necessarily of a nature that only a 6 ROSS CROKER'8 CAREER university training can supply. Any man of ordinary attainments, with a modicum of “horse sense,” would meet the requirements of the place far better than the most erudite college professor. An Ideal Outfit for a Boss. That Mr. Croker is a man of a cer¬ tain degree of tact and judgment, no one will gainsay. Moreover, he has an even temper, “never worries,” and never loses his head.” 'He is also noted for trying to keep his word and for being true to his friends. These are invaluable qualities in a Tammany leade r, and go further in making his HEmagement a success than he could h@§Hfc.u> achieve with the literary ability of a Lowell or the eloquence of a Depew. The truth of the matter is that an educated man of refined tastes and moral sensibilities would be as much out of place at the head of Tammany Hall as a minister in command of a pirate ship. The process of natural selection by which there came to the surface in suc¬ cessive order such characters as Bill Tweed, John Morrissey, John Kelly and Bichard Croker demonstrates that com¬ parative illiteracy, if accompanied with native shrewdness and moral obtuse¬ ness, is the ideal outfit for a Tammany boss-ship. forty years ago, owing to JJ® inefficiency of the Police Depart- elei 5 ent > through its organiza- tion into ward gangs, freely terrorized the community, and generally exercised influence on municipal morais. Mr. Richard Croker developed a ty P£ al representative of these an< 2- bummer brigades, and spent f ° ] ™t? ve years of his life amid their debasing associations. Cut Out for a Brize-Fighter. CHAPTER IV. EARLY MANHOOD. A. Typical Tough. In rdating the story of Mr. Croker’s youth and early manhood, we touch the least inspiring and darkest chapter of his checkered career. It is just such a story as might be written about any young man who grows up without men- tal spiritual training, without the ennobling influences of home, and with¬ out a regular calling. In every large city, among the dif¬ ferent types of character that cosmo¬ politan life develops, there is one that occupies the border-line between respect¬ ability and criminality, the transition from one state to the other being natu¬ ral, frequent and entirely dependent upon chance. This species is largely recruited from the improvident poor, the ignorant and the irreligious, whose occupation is loafing, whose home is the street, whose Alma Mater Is the corner saloon. It com¬ prises the lawless element of society to regulate and repress which is the chief excuse for the existence of the police. “cut e oSt” Ua S physI , cally he w as in cu L9“‘ for the social atmosphere wL he chose to place himself. stron £ frame, a deep £ short ae . ck and a pair of hard ft* Passionately fond of rough and brawls, he could hold his own With the toughest of his cronies. Prize- ®o on became his pet hobby, and the Pursuit of that sport he devoted all his energies. He became a trainer and backer for professional sluggers, and gradually, by means of his own clever “dukes,” he rose to the fighter 6 himself? Ctl ° n ° £ a P ro(esslonal Among the men who were prepared- for the prize-ring by Prof. Croker was the noted Pete Maguire. A fistic con- ak! ™ a ? arranged between him and ffi^en, of Philadelphia, a protege °f Billy McMullin, of the same city, who was widely famed as a leader or toughs and repeaters. Mr. Croker got up the fight and arranged all the details. It was fought near Baltimore, on Feb. 5. 1868. The friends of both combatants, on the way to the battle¬ field, met by chance on board of a train, when a fierce scuffle ensued, in which a dozen men were knocked senseless. thickest of the melee stood the bold hero of our story dealing “knock¬ out blows in all directions. Becomes a Professional Slugger. But Mr. Croker was not content to be merely a second, since he was confiident to shine as a principal. His first fistic encounter was supposed ^o ha ^f bee i 1 with Beddy Haskins in the cellar of a house owned by a cer¬ tain McAnearney. Later he met and vanquished Pat Kelly in a saloon at the corner of Thirty-fifth street and Third avenue. An important match was next arranged for Mr. Croker for a finish” fight with “Owney” Geoghe- gfan, who had a record, but it fell through. Mr. Croker’s best-known battle is the one he fought with “Dickie” Lynch in ■ on , e JL? on a Sunday morning in I8bb. Lynch was a famous fighter, yet in that memorable contest he was badly pounded, and carried from the BOSS CHOKER'S CAREER 7 ng minus several front teeth. Mr. roker also “knocked out” Matt Green id Denny Leary, but the precise dates ' these meetings have not been pre- srved. Mr. Croker has had many a bloody :awl outside of the prize ring. A great amber of local sports still recall the srce “shindy" in Jim Cusick’s rat-and- jg pit on the west side. Cusick was nown as the “Man Eater," and had the ,‘putation of being able to kill more its with his mouth in an hour than any )g could in a day. On one occasion roker’s dog was matched to fight usick’s dog. The pit was packed with le backers of both kinds of dogs—the vo-legged as well as the four-legged When Croker’s was getting to be the nder dog, the excitement became in- ;nse. The men went to the aid of their uadrupeds with fists. A general battle illowed. For three-quarters of an hour Dth species of brutes bit, gouged and anched each other promiscuously. T'hen the smoke of the scuffle cleared way the bloody pit was seen to be ;rewn with parts of human ears and leces of human fingers. I The Idol of Bullies and, Blacklegs. Mr. Croker’s growing fame as a fighter tade him the idol of the bullies and lacklegs who infested the vicinity of the ourth avenue tunnel. Near its en¬ hance stood the old freight depot of the :arlem Railroad. Teamsters, hackmen, lechanics, railroad hands and many thers connected with the handling of •eight made the neighborhood a bustling mtre for industrious persons. Such men re apt to have some money in their I ockets, and wherever they congregate ley will be sure to attract a flock of aman vultures. The vicinity of the tunnel, therefore, i scame the objective point of as tough nd desperate a set of rowdies as could e found anywhere in the city. Sneak- lieves, garroters, burglars and hlghway- len were there in choice variety. As birds of a feather” it did not take them *ng to find a common rendezvous, and, l pursuance of the gregarious instinct f man, these choice spirits decided to flock together,” their organization be- 5 ming known to fame as the “Fourth venue Tunnel Gang.” h CHAPTER V. LEADER OF THE GANG. Fists His Wag to leadership. Mr. Richard Croker was destined by irtue of his peculiar endowments to be- >me the leader of the Fourth Avenue unnel Gang, as he was later fated to se, in consequence of the same qual- les. to leadership in our local govern¬ ment But unlike the city of New York, the members of the gang never gave themselves up to Mr. Croker’s absolute sway. He had to fist his way over every inch of ground in his struggle for supremacy, and his triumphal path to the captaincy was strewn with scores of rivals who had been made to bite the dust. There was only one gentleman whose rivalry caused Mr. Croker any serious unpleasantness, and that man was “Ed” Quigley. Mr. Quigley was more than a match for Mr. Croker. Tradition re¬ ports that Quigley was a “giant in strength and a tyrant in disposition,” and could toy with his competitor as “a cat with a mouse.” Quigley, it is further alleged, was in the habit of “kicking the present Tammany boss from one street corner to another.” Unfortunately for the future course of municipal his¬ tory, Quigley was one day found in the tunnel with both legs cut off by a train. With the most dangerous opponent out of the way, only the “Riley boys” were left to dispute the title of leader¬ ship with Mr. Croker. The Rileys, as the gang historian relates, had a regular custom of “wiping up” the pavements of Third avenue with “Dick,” but as they were more inclined to industry than to professional rowdyism (one of them having been the section foreman on the Harlem Railroad), they surrendered the field to their zealous and determined antagonist, and Mr. Croker was soon proudly acknowledged by all his con¬ geners to be their only guide, philosopher and master. Hell f s Hole, the Gang Headquarters. A saloon at the corner of Twenty-sixth street and Fourth avenue was the head¬ quarters of the Tunnel Gang. It is not remembered by what appellation the place was designated, but if there ever was a spot on earth that deserved to be known as “Hell’s Hole,” it was lo¬ cated right at that corner. The choicest products of the slums were drawn thither as the needle is drawn to the pole. It became the Mecca towards which the minions of vice and crime irresistibly gravitated. From there em¬ anated all the more important attacks then made on the law, order and decency of the city. Cock-fights, prize-fights, larcenies, personal assaults and all sorts of depredations were conceived and ex¬ ecuted by the frequenters of that hor¬ rible hostelry. The Twenty-first Ward was completely at the mercy of these ruffians, who in¬ troduced a veritable reign of terror. Inoffensive citizens were brutally as¬ saulted and robbed daily. Of these dastardly attacks by the members of the Tunnel Gang we recall the following three instances: 8 BOSS CROKER'8 CAREER Croker and His Slung-Shot. An assault on Christopher Pullman, a leading Republican politician, who was knocked senseless at the corner of Thirty-second street and Second avenue in 1868, receiving injuries from which he never recovered. An assault on Dorman B. Eaton who, though still alive to tell the story, was brought close to death’s door at the time; and, lastly, the assault on James Moore, by Mr. Croker in per¬ son, a report of which is luckily pre¬ served to us in the New York Times of Sept 8, 1871, and reads as follows; Croker Assaults James Moore. “On last Tuesday evening. Sept 5, about 8.46 P. M., ex-Alderman Richard Croker, of the Twenty-first Ward, who is the leader of the St. Patrick’s Alli¬ ance (Dick Connolly’s secret organiza¬ tion in that ward), with the assistance of another individual, who can be identi¬ fied by parties who were present, as¬ saulted a man named James Moore with a slung-shot, knocking him down and then kicking him, at the corner of Thir¬ ty-first street and Third avenue. The ex-Alderman is now holding a sinecure position under Dick Connolly, and is oc¬ casionally appointed as a commissioner on street openings. He is also the indi¬ vidual who put in a bid for Washington Market (it is supposed) as a blind for ‘Slippery Dick.’ ” the repeaters who intend to swell the Democratic vote in Philadelphia to-day? providing they are not apprehended. They have been recruited in almost every ward in the city, and each dete¬ ction is headed by a prominent striker, who is to receive the lion’s share of the funds. * * • Among them were members of the ‘Pudding Gang from the Swamp’ in the Fourth Ward; the ‘Dead Rabbits’ Crowd ’ from the Five Points and Mulberry street;, in the Sixth Ward; the ‘Old White Ghost Runners,’ from the Tenth Ward; the ^Dld Rock Rangers,' in the Fourteenth Ward, and a large number of ‘Mackerelites, “Hookitest’ ‘Fung- town and Bungtown Rangers’ and a number of other organized bands of toughs. * * * Last, but lot least, were 150 Metro¬ politan Bandits, under the notorious Dick Croker, all well armed and spoihng for fight. They hail from the Twenty-first Ward. Fully five thousand of the most hardened desper¬ adoes of this city are now in Philadel¬ phia.” It is further recorded that on the day after this exodus occurred “no¬ body was robbed or assaulted in New York, nobody had his pockets picked, the police had little or nothing to do and the police courts were idle.” A fervent prayer was uttered that Philadelphia might regard “those In¬ teresting classes of our population, who added variety, if not attractiveness, to her election, as a permanent loan.” Beads a Gang of Repeaters. One of the most lucrative enterprise! for the gangs in those days was th< wholesale repeating business. Everj leader of a well-organized ward ganj commanded a good price by contracting to hire out his followers on election day Mr. Croker probably obtained his firsi impressions of the science of governmeni as chieftain of the Tunnel Gang, ir charging, at their head, upon the ballot boxes of New York and other cities Among his confreres were such men as Mike Norton, Florry Scannell, Reddy the Blacksmith and “Red” Leary, the noted burglar. History has not left unrecorded his efforts in this elevating field of politi¬ cal activity. By turning to the New York Tribune of Oct. 13, 1868, we shall find a most interesting account of one of Mr. Croker’s repeating expeditions. The report reads as follows: Hick Croker’s Bandits. “New York City was fast emptied of many of her roughs yesterday. Their ugly countenances were seen congregat¬ ing around the Camden and Amboy Railroad depot all bound for Phila¬ delphia. These roughs and bullies are CHAPTER VI. BECOMES A POLITICIAN. Among the Fire Baddies. T un Y ec> 1864 ’ Mr * Croker joined the Volunteer Fire Department, Engine No. zs, located at Fourth avenue and Twen- ty-seventh street. The Fire Department at that date played a very important part in city politics, and active member¬ ship was the stepping-stone to a polit¬ ical career. The engine-houses were in most cases a kind of club-room, where for pastime the members indulged in a low order of amusements and discussed politics. Bitter feuds and frequent lights between rival companies attracted all lovers of rough excitement, so that Mr. Croker, with his fistic abilities and brute courage, was in his right element among the fire laddies. .Bill Tweed was then foreman of the Americus” engine, and was known all over the city as “Big Six.” The Fire Department had proved to him a royal foad .£°. political advancement. The en¬ tire b hoy” element began to look up to him with admiration, and to follow in his footsteps. Like him, they aban- BOSS CHOKER’S CAREER 9 to—--— - -- loned all thought of legitimate busi- less, and turned their attention wholly :o politics as a means of livelihood. In ;his way thousands of worthless scamps ind incompetent demagogues were Irawn into the political whirlpool, and lelped to build up that gigantic system >f corruption known in history as the Tweed ring. i Croker Impressed with Tweed’s Pise to Power. In the school of politico-criminal . statesmanship thus founded there was a lumble disciple in the person of Fire- nan Croker. He watched the growing ; nfluence of Boss Tweed, and noted the ! ncreasing political value of a following i imong the rough element. A change i svas coming over the aspect of munic- | pal affairs. The respectable element :hat had previously held office was be- i ng driven to the wall. Political power vas rapidly slipping from the hands of 'esponsible citizens, and was being seized by those who entered politics n a spirit of adventure and purely for :he purpose of spoliation. Mr. Richard Croker began his political career while this revolution was in progress. His young mind obtained its irst impressions of politics amid influ¬ ences and surroundings that were not mly intensely selfish, but positively im- noral and unpatriotic. He saw Tweed’s Igure loom up in portentous magnitude from a common fireman to an almighty •uler, whose sphere of action embraced :he whole city and was beginning to ex¬ tend over the State. The effect of this netamorphosis on Mr. Croker’s lmagina- j :ion was just what might have been ex¬ acted. It implanted the germ of an am- )ition that would some day tempt him tlso to assume the role of a supreme Tammany boss. A. Thieves’ Paradise. The example of Tweed’s phenomenal ise to power and the success which at- ended his peculiar political methods I tad its inevitable effect on men ana methods. The body politic became thor- j ughly honeycombed with corruption. The taxpayer was regarded by the ring •s a legitimate prize, to be stripped of 11. his possessions, just as brigand re¬ gards his captive victim. Everybody was ent on lining his own pockets at the 1 ublic expense, and thousands sought ffice to share in the wholesale plunder. [Tweed shrewdly yielded to this pressure nd allowed the city payrolls to be length¬ ened without limit. Whole regiments were appointed to hold sinecure posi¬ tions, and drew their pay regularly with¬ out doing any service in- return. It seemed as if New York city had become a thieves’ paradise. Croker has His Name Placed on the Pay-Polls. Mr. Richard Croker, observing how one after another of his comrades in the engine-house obtained a lucrative ap¬ pointment, finally made up his mind to seek a soft berth for himself. He ap¬ plied to the well-known James O’Brien, the popular leader of his district. Mr. O’Brien promptly complied by having Mr. Croker’s name placed on the salary- list as a court officer. He was ostensibly assigned to Judge Barnard’s court, but in reality was free from all service, to¬ gether with a score of other attaches. Among the names that figured on the salary-roll of the same court besides that of Mr. Croker were those of Flor¬ ence Scannell and the present Mayor, Thomas F. Gilroy. Under such circumstances did Mr. Croker become a professional politician and enter upon a career that was des¬ tined to make him the “Central Power” of New York City, and one of the most powerful men in the country. CHAPTER VII. ELECTED ALDERMAN. The Goal of His Ambition. The class of politicians to which Mr. Croker then belonged generally regarded a membership in the Board of Aldermen as the goal towards which all exertion should be directed, and to become a full- fledged Alderman was to attain the very zenith of political renown. This ambition seized the soul of our hero, and again he turned to his friend and leader, O’Brien, for assistance. In 1867, O’Brien, while serving a term as Alderman, was elected Sheriff, and the vacancy thus caused was filled at a special election, held in December, 1868, by the elevation of Richard Croker to the dignity of Aldermanship. He was sworn into office and took his seat on Dec. 20, 1869. The same year he was re¬ elected for a full term, buit was legis¬ lated out of office by the Tweed Charter, serving only until June, 1870. Mr. Croker drew $4,000 a year as Alderman, and at the same time drew another salary of $1,200 as court officer. This double-salary performance is duly recorded in the Comptroller’s report for 1869. During the short period of his activity as a legislator he afforded us a perfect opportunity to gauge his political char¬ acter. If we may judge of the present by the past—if the Boss represents but a development of the economic ideas of the 10 BOSS CROKER'S CAREER Aldermen—a flood of light will be thrown on the system of municipal control under Tammany Hall that will make things that have appeared strange seem very natural. Lavish with the Taxpayer's Money. It will no longer be surprising to know that the tendency to extravagance, job¬ bery, waste and corruption characteris¬ tic of Tammany rule to this day is an in¬ herited disease, and is derived from Mr Croker’s own experiences and exertions as an Alderman. He had hardly taken his seat in 1869 when we find him voting for a resolution to raise the salaries of the District Court Justices “to the lev'el of these received by the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas!” His next move is a vote to pro¬ vide the Aldermen and the Police Jus¬ tices with some “badge, insignia or stave of office.” The Police Justices and their clerks are not sufficiently compensated, in his judgment, so he votes “aye” on the question to fix the Police Justices’ salary “at the same rate as is now paid to the City Judge, and that the salary of each Police Justices’ clerk be fixed at five thousand dollars ($5,000) per annum, and the salary of each of the Police Court clerks be fixed at four thousand dollars ($4,000) per annum.” Voting for increases of salary kept him quite busy. Here is a small list of those whom he helped to a salary grab: Assistant Librarian. Messenger to Librarian. First Marshal, Mayor’s office. Clerk to Superintendent of Lands and Places. General Clerk, Board of Assistant Al¬ dermen. Eighth Assistant Clerk, Board of Al¬ dermen. Headers to Board of Aldermen. Readers to Board of Assistant Aider- men. Regulator of Public Clocks. Second Clerk, Bureau of Street Im¬ provement. Assistant Clerks to Board of Aider- men. Votes for Patent-Pavement Jobs. But increasing salaries was one of the milder forms of extravagance. Money was voted liberally for experimental pav¬ ing contracts, every one of which was a job. There were over a dozen different patent pavement companies, and all of them were permitted to take a whack aJ the treasury. Among the preferred one were the Fisk, Stow, Stafford, Robbing Nicholson and Paul companies. The; 1 received from $5 to $6 per square yard mostly for wooden pavements that wer dear at $2. Mayor Hall vetoed most o] the paving ordinances, but the boarc passed them over the veto in every In stance. Here is an extract from one o, his veto messages, dated Feb. 21, 1870: “* * * carefully examined the man ner in which it (Stow foundation wood! pavement), was laid down. Though onls sixty days old, it is already full of de¬ pressions, and the arch of the street is so changed that water is liable to stand in pools. The Mayor is not informed whether one property holder on the line of the numerous streets embraced by the annexed resolutions has asked for these experimental pavements. On the con¬ trary, the Mayor has before him em-j phatic remonstrances against the pave^ ment.” These earnest words availed nothing., Mr. Croker and his colleagues kept up| to the end the practice of making the taxpayers liable for worthless paving contracts. Indulges in Expensive Johes. Another expensive joke in which Alder*! man Croker steadily participated, waS’ the habit of appointing fictitious newsj papers as “corporation papers,” to pubj lish the proceedings of the Common Council and public notices and adver j tisements. A list of those so designated will show at a glance that there was “money in it” for some one: Emerald, Irish People, Irish Tribune, Evening Mail, ; New York Era, The Stockholder, New York Argus, New York Courier, Skandinavisk Post, National Guardsman, ! New Yorker Demokrat, Harlem Evening Times, New York Official Railroad News, Insurance and Real Estate Journal. It was during Mr. Croker’s term, and with his vote, that the New York Print¬ ing Company (of which Tweed was the; principal stockholder, and which paid a! dividend of $50,000 to $75,000 to each of its members on a capital stock of $10,000) BOSS CROKER'S CAREER 11 i 'as designated printers to the corpora- on, and the Controller was directed to [ ay its bills when certified by the clerks -f the respective boards of the Common ouncil. ?lls His Soul Into Political Bondage. But Mr. Croker’s brief Aldermanic ireer has a worse stain, if that were >ssible, than the mere suspicion that he as dishonest. There is proof that he olated his oath to the people—that he Id his very soul into political bondage, n agreement which he signed is almost ^paralleled in our political history, et the document speak for itself: “The undersigned, Aldermen of the ity and County of New York, being ily and severally sworn, do depose and jiy that they will not, :n their official ipacity as Aldermen, vote for the con¬ ciliation of any officer created under ie provisions of the city charter or any ws of this State, or adopt any ordi- mce or resolution affecting the powers, Uties and interests of any municipal de- j irtment of said city or county govern¬ ment, without consulting with Messrs, i^enry H. Genet, Thomas J. Creamer, jichael Norton, George W. McLean and I eorge H. Purser, and first obtaining ie consent of said last-named gentle- i en to any contemplated act. j “Sworn to before me this 20th day of arch, 1870. “JOEL O. STEVENS, “Commissioner of Deeds.” This was signed by Richard Croker id eight other Aldermen. It may be ! died the original “combine,” and no mbt served as a model for the famous 3oodle” Board of 1884. A Black Bccord. Space prevents us from going into more extended examination of Mr. roker’s Aldermanic record. It is easy » infer what it was in its entirety •om the distinguishing features just | lumerated. It is a record like that ft behind by hundreds of mediocre, j icompetent and conscienceless Coun- ! Imen, who have their brief day of I ory and grab and then sink into eter- | il and deserved obscurity. There is lot a scintilla of reason why Mr. Cro¬ p’s fate should have been any differ- it from theirs. His legislative activity id not a single redeeming trait; it as as black as the complete utiliza- m of his opportunities could make it. CHAPTER VIII. DURING THE TWEED RING. Wants a Finger in the Pic. When the city of New York was at the mercy of Tweed and his ring of common thieves Mr. Croker looked on that saturnalia of municipal debauchery, not like a citizen who feels that his out¬ raged rights call for resentment, but rather like one whose indignation is aroused by being prevented from put¬ ting his own itching fingers into the pie. He made haste to connect at some point where the treasury was being tapped through secret channels, and a month after the legal extinguishment of his Aldermanic dignity we find him securely ensconced in the office of “Superintendent of Market Rents and Fees” under Ring Comptroller Richard B. Connolly, and by virtue of his ap¬ pointment. There existed a market ring, which was Connolly’s own side enterprise. It was a “wheel within a wheel,” and was considered a big bonanza. Stall-keepers were mercilessly swindled, and jobs of every variety were put up to extort money both from the city and the marketmen. The market ring was in im¬ mediate charge of Supts. Carroll and Feore, two choice appointees of Connol¬ ly. On one occasion Feore was pressed for an assessment. He excused his pay¬ ment of it on the ground that it cost him $8,000 to secure his appointment. He was then charged with “making $50,- 000 a year,” to which he promptly re¬ plied that even if he did there was very Tittle left for himself, as he was continually bled and paid money regu¬ larly to several persons, among whom were Senators Genet and Mike Norton. Chummy with Two Slick Specimens of Tweed ism. There is no evidence that Mr. Croker and Mr. Tweed were well known to each other, but, on the other hand, he was intimately acquainted with his superior in office, Connolly, and was more than “chummy” with “Prince Harry” Genet. These two men were his particular friends during the halcyon days of the ring, and their re¬ lations were close and confidential. If a man’s political character can be in¬ fluenced by that of his associates, then Mr. Croker must have acquired some very bad habits from two of the slick¬ est specimens that Tweedism ever pro¬ duced. 12 BOSS CHOKER'S CAREER Connolly and Genet could have nosed as typical models for a statue of “The Corruptionist in American Politics ’’ Both were steeped up to their necks in the thefts 0 f the time; both were capa¬ ble of the meanest kind of public rob- bery. Connolly had a house, stable and surroundings finished by Ring Contrac¬ tor Garvey, for which the latter pre¬ sented and had honored by the Comp¬ aq s jy en warrants amounting to -? ei } et bad a Private residence and stable built at a cost to the citv of $125,000 by the contractor who erected the Harlem -Court House. The same £«™ et ’ + :u aS a convict ed felon, escaped fr ° m . tbe custody of the Sheriff, for which Brennan was punished by thirty days imprisonment. It was a com¬ mon thing for ring contractors to per- Wo y k and supply materials to leading ring members and their fam- aithoriUes PreSent thelr blUs t0 the Connolly’s Millions Transferred. Mr. Croker’s friend, Connolly, de¬ veloped into one of the richest ring- sters. When the storm broke, he was the first to weaken, and quietly began to dispose of his ill-gotten wealth. On Sept. 6, 1871, two days after the ap- pofmment of the Commute of Seventy, transferred half a million of United States registered bonds to his son-in-law, Joel Fithian, for safety, yet S ? 1 l l retained three and a half millions of the same securities. Connolly was anxious to “peach” on his pals, and made overtures t 0 Mr. Tilden to that effect. His motto evidently was “Im¬ munity for myself at any price.” All these happenings were no doubt care¬ fully noted by Mr. Croker, who may have had intuitive premonitions of similar personal experiences in the dis¬ tant future. When the crash and scattering of the fn^°K S ^ weed Rin S came Mr/ Croker rpffrifl 3 £5' ce the Public market, and £2 r time i° the classic sur¬ roundings of a Twenty-first Ward tough. He rested for two years until ^r™ S t° rm b e w over, and then, having formed an intimacy with John Kelly Ihl ™^ inff *« Tamm , any boss ' he secured inl873 mlnatl ° n and WaS elected Coroner A Perfect Product of the Spoils System. „?o ke rs subsequent political ca¬ reer, up to the time he was made The Boss, in 1886, is without any dis¬ tinguishing characteristics. As Cor °uer for two terms, as Mar shal for the collection of per taxes, as Fire Commissioner and as City Chamberlain, he is an in¬ different official, without special apti tude, originality or executive ability. Like the many unknown thousands who get into office as a reward foi political services, whose only qualifica¬ tion is their power to command vote; on election day, so is Mr. Croker a mere creature of the spoils system. He possesses sufficient native wit to adap himself to the ordinary routine of any place he may fall into, and to draw his salary with due punctuality, but that is all there is to the man, and that is all that is to be expected of him As a stateman and guardian of the public weal he would be a lamentable failure. CHAPTER IX. CHARGED WITH MURDER. The O’Brien and CroJeer Fend. isKL° n f election morning, Nov. 4, 1874, the following despatch was re¬ ceived at Police Headquarters: 7 V 40 cs A " ^‘ an aR ercation took place at Second avenue and Thirtv- fourth street between Richard Croker John Sheridan Henry Hickey, James O Bnen and John McKenna. McKenna was shot in right side of head; fatal wound; taken to Bellevue.” This fight and murder was the cul- a bltte r. feud between ex- Sheriff O’Brien and Richard Croker As previously noted, Mr. Croker owed his entrance into politics and his first election as Alderman to his friend, Tb ® Tweed charter had abol- °* d Roar d of Aldermen, and called for a new election in May, 1870 Mr- Jp,™ ker wanted to succeed himself but O Bnen nominated Bernard O’Neill, one of his deputy sheriffs. Mr. Croker claimed that O’Brien had promised him a renominaHon, and accused the latter of having acted in bad faith. That was the cause and beginning of their enmity. Mr. Croker tried hard to oust O’Brien from the leadership in the Twenty-first Ward. He started the Tammany Asso¬ ciation in East Twenty-first street to oppose the Jackson Club, which was the headquarters of O’Brien’s Young Democracy. CroJeer Starts a Bow. At the election in question O’Brien was a candidate for Congress, being op¬ posed by Abram S. Hewitt. Mr. Croker. who was a Coroner at the time, had cha,rge of his district for Tammany HalL He started out early to make the BOSS CROKER'S CAREER 13 >unds of the polling-places in company ith a set of armed bruisers, two or horn, at least, had police records for aving been in shooting scrapes. They let a number of O’Brienites in the treet. Mr. Croker accosted them. To uote his own language from the wit- ess-stand, he said: . ... ... “If you thieves don’t get out of this dist¬ rict you’ll all fetch up in State pnson. >’Brien, of course, happened to be round, and rushed to the spot. The two -andied epithets for a moment, and then truck at each other. O’Bnen shouted. !, I don’t want any repeaters around here ike you.” Mr. Croker retorted classic¬ ally: “We don’t want any - suckers i,nd loafers around here.” To quote from dr. Croker’s testimony again: Then i lauled off and hit him again. * * * O’Brien struck me at the side of the lead. I am very sure I struck him -.wice in the teeth.” 1McKenna Gasped: “Dick Croker Shot Me.” In the midst of the scuffle between the two a shot was beard, and John Mc¬ Kenna, a worker for O’Brien, who had jumped forward to interfere, fell to the ground with a bullet in his head. A fusillade followed from half a dozen re¬ volvers. Officer John Smythe carried McKenna to a drugstore. McKenna gasped: “Dick Croker shot me. At the station-house Mr. Croker en¬ tered a charge of assault against O’Brien, and the latter accused Croker of murder. Coroner Woltman let his colleague go under nominal bail. At the trial before the Coroner s jury, Mr. Croker had all the advantages that political influence could exert Boss John Kelly attended each session, and was several times accompanied by Mayor-Elect William H. Wickham. The papers dubbed it “John Kelly s Inquest. Col. Fellows represented the accused, who was amply protected besides by Mr. Woltman himself. Horace Russell acted for the District-Attorney, and several times characterized “the Privileges that had been granted the accused person as scandalizing the administration of jus¬ tice.” Damaging Testimony . The testimony was conflicting. Several witnesses affirmed that they saw Mr. Croker, with the pistol in his hand, fire the shot; others denied it. „ One of the witnesses, Sergt. Frank B. Randall, testified at follows: “I found John McKenna in the drug store. I knew him and said. Johnny, how did this happen?’ He answered, ‘Dick Croker shot me.’ I asked him to tell me all about it, as it was my busi¬ ness to know. He said: I T sa ^ ri °,P r a i ®^ and Croker quarrelling and I ran in ana Croker shot me, and then after that George Hickey fired two shots at me. After a little while McKenna said. Oh, you cowardly wretch, Dick Croker, to shoot me.’ I saw Officer Smythe and said: ‘You being stationed here, ought to know about th s.’ He replied, I do know. I saw Croker strike O’Brien and Shoot at him. The revolver was so close thit the powder burnt my ear.’’’ Another witness, Sergt. William H. Chrvstie, testified that Officer Smythe, wh^brought in Croker and the Hickeys, Sid that he saw Croker hit O’Brien and fi The W Co™ t er’fverfict. which surprised JSr '“ S"® McKenna came to his death from a pistol-shot wound in the head by the hand of some party to the jury unknown. I Mr. Dana’s Sun Warns New Yorkers. There was considterable indigimtlon over this verdict. The not hplieve there was a fair trial. inis sentiment was forcibly expressed in a leading editorial of the New York Sun on Nov. 14, 1874. It makes good reading eV ‘"The° verdict 1 of the Coroner’s Jury in ShSff ‘feTel oeatedly expressed before the election, of the danger of giving to Tammany Hall the complete control of the city. * * * The shadow of Tammany Hall was in that court-room—the room where the Coroner’s investigation took P^ce. The feeling will be that it was cast over that inquest to protect violence and shield murder. Is it for’such base uses, such dangerous ends that the po¬ litical organization of Tammany at pres¬ ent exists? Are the dagger and the pis¬ tol to be the emblems of its power? Then no man in New York is safe. Four days later Mr. Croker was in¬ dicted by the Grand Jury. As he passed to his cell in Murderers’ Row, a familiar voice called out to him: “Hello Hick. It was the voice of his friend, John Scannell. “How are you, John? replied Mr. Croker. Their mutual misfortune awakened a bond of sympathy which has not since been severed. Croker Tried for Murder Before Judge Barrett. Mr. Croker’s trial before Judge Bar¬ rett. in the Court of Oyer and Terminer, resulted in a disagreement. After seven¬ teen hours’ deliberation the jury found it¬ self equally divided, and were discharged. Later it was ascertained that of the six who believed that Croker was piilty, three only were of the opinion that he fired the shot designedly, while the other three believed he hit McKenna accident¬ ally. 14 BOSS CHOKER’S CAREER The question as to who killed Mc¬ Kenna, therefore, remains a mystery to this day. There are several men who profess to know the real murderer, ana there are others, men of excellent re¬ pute, such as ex-Mayors Hewitt and Cooper, who claim to have satisfied themselves that Mr. Croker Is entirely innocent. Be that as it may, Mr. Croker can never escape the grave imputation that it was through his instrumentality, if not by his own deed, that a life was sacrificed on that memorable election day. On this point we must hear the au¬ thoritative voice of Judge Barrett, as expressed in his charge to the jury. The Judge said: “There are some facts about which there is no conflict, and one of them is this: It is an undoubted fact that the very origin of the affair, the ab¬ solute commencement of it, all emanated from the prisoner himself-^that is, he, in company with the two Hickeys and Sheridan, met Borst and Costello. He threatened Borst, substantially directed him to get out of the district; told him if he didn’t do so he would get into State prison. iNow, that was the origin of the affair. It commenced at that point and I am bound to say to you that the prisoner had no right to take any sucn position as to Borst. We have no evi¬ dence that either Borst or Costello had done any act of violence that morning to justify any such species of hectoring on the part of the defendant. * * • Now, it is also an undoubted fact that Borst and Costello and the two O’Briens were unarmed. It is equally an un¬ doubted fact that the two Hickeys and Sheridan, who were in the immediate company of the prisoner, were armed.” Mr. Croker was never brought to a second trial. The Indictment was nolle- prosequied. CHAPTER X. BOSS OF TAMMANY HALL. First in the Line of Promotion. Mr. Croker had now passed through every degree required in the preparatory course for a Tammany diploma of lead¬ ership. He had been successively a thug, prize-fighter, repeater, sinecurlst, Alderman and, as a crowning glory, was under bail for “killing his man." What was more natural therefore than that when his friend John Kelly died, in 3886, this distinguished scholar and grad¬ uate of the Tammany College should be considered first In the line of promo¬ tion, and instinctively selected, on the theory of the survival of the fittest, to step into Kelly’s shoes as Chief Boss and Boodle Bearer of “de organization." Mr. Croker started in cautiously and conservatively. He did not at first “show his hand.” No one knew better than he did that Tammany Hall was still suf¬ fering from the odium that Tweed had brought upon it. To make Tammany a power again in New York City affairs it was necessary to conciliate and win back the respectable elements of the Democracy To regain the confidence of the taxpayers Tammany would have to make sham pretensions to economy and public morality. It was under this mask that Mr. Croker proposed to lead the “old guard" back to the promised land of milk and honey. The Big Four. In furtherance of the shrewd game he was playing, Mr. Croker surrounded himself with three men who respectively possessed qualities that he lacked—abil¬ ity, in the person of Bourke Cockran; comparative respectability, in the person of Hugh J. Grant, and practicability, in the person of Thomas F. Gilroy. To¬ gether they constituted “The Big Four," and as long as they harmonized all their plans worked smoothly. They succeeded in imposing themselves on the public as conscientious reformers, and as Tam¬ many men of a better type than their predecessors. In 1888 Mr. Grant, who failed to vote for the Broadway Railroad franchise— because he favored another scheme—was nominated for Mayor on a reform (!) platform. His election was the first sub¬ stantial victory for Tammany in many a year. With the Mayoralty as an enter¬ ing wedge it did not take long for the remnants of the old crew to pick out the snug berths they had once before oc¬ cupied, so that as early as 1889 we find “the fag ends and tailing” of the Tweed gang back in control of the Govern¬ ment of New York city. The Democratic State Machine “Combine.” About this time the “machine” Demo¬ crats were making headway in the State. Gov. Hill was in the executive chair at Albany, having captured it at the expense of Mr. Cleveland’s defeat for the Presidency. An era of “deals" and corruption was inaugurated at tne capital. Edward Murphy, Jr., chairman BOSS CROKER'S CAREER of the Democratic State Committee; William F. Sheehan, Speaxer of the As¬ sembly, together with Boss Croker ana the Governor, had formed a political and business partnership. It was the most powerful combination «ince the days of the Albany regency, without its unusual ability and its comparative integrity. The “combine’' was aggressive, unscru¬ pulous and dishonest. In 1891 it stole the State Senate and elected David B. Hill United States Senator. In 1892 it elected its tools to the Governorship and Lieu¬ tenant-Governorship, and gained abso¬ lute control of the State administration. In 1893 it sent “Ed” Murphy to the United States Senate, to be a vest-pocket attachment to the senior Senator from New York. It was during this period that the whole system of the Democratic organization was perverted to give a fraudulent expression to the choice of the Democratic voters for President. Messrs. Croher and Murphy Supplant the hobby. The growing power of the combine was now principally directed to the exploiting of the Legislature. Mr. Crocker and Mr. Murphy pooled their issues, and together became interested in such legislation as involved their own financial enterprises, as well as those measures which they bargained to pass as party bosses, by- contracting to deliver the party vote in the Legislature in return for alleged campaign contributions. They perfected a system by which corporations could ob¬ tain valuable public franchises without provision for adequate return to the pub¬ lic treasury; by which they could be guaranteed the passage of favorable measures and of immunity from legisla¬ tive “strikes.” The lobby, as a means of bribery, was simply superseded by the managers of the party in power. All persons and corporations interested in legislation were served with notice that they were no longer to pay tribute to the Black Horse Cavalry. Messrs. Murphy and Croker were henceforth to take care of all that kind of business. f< Turns Down” the Disobedient and Dosses Everything. Mr. Croker, as boss, introduced various other startling changes. It is since his assumption of control that the practice has been established of issuing instruc¬ tions frdm Foists an th gtvoet o c ba .“turned down.” This .system of ^i^Upline has made the Tammany boss an absolute autocrat under our Government. No one can obtain an office without his consent; no one can perform its duties with¬ out submitting to his supervision. Pub¬ lic men must have no conscience, no policy, no judgment, no will, ex¬ cept such as the boss dictates or sanctions. Yet that boss rules without having been chosen by the people, and without having taken an oath of fidelity, and without the necessity of rendering an account. That is Jeffersonian Democ¬ racy as interpreted by Tammany Hall. Two Fatal Blunders Which the “Boys” Will Not Forgive. Two serious blunders have been com¬ mitted by Boss Croker, from the effects of which the organization will not re¬ cover for many a year. In both instances he was led into the commission of his mistakes through his entanglement with and friendship for “Ed” Murphy. In the late Presidential campaign Mr. Croker had the opportunity, by putting himself in line with the prevailing senti¬ ment of the national Democracy, to come in for a large share of credit for Mr. Cleveland’s election. Influenced by Mr. Murphy, he cast his lot with David B. Hill, and dragged the organization down to defeat with the collapse of the “pea¬ nut” statesman’s boom. If Tammany is now out in the cold in matters of Federal patronage, it is entirely due to Mr. Crok- er’s folly and shortsightedness. His second great error consisted in his preference of “Ed” Murphy over Bourke Cockran for the Senatorship. It was the first time in its long history that Tam¬ many Hall had the chance of being rep¬ resented in the United States Senate by one of its own active members—a man of rare intellectual gifts and brilliant oratorical ability. Here was an opportu¬ nity to rehabiliate Tammany and to raise it in the estimation of the whole nation. Will He Be “Turned Down” Too ? Nothing could have happened that would have done it as effectually. Boss Croker, however, bound up in commer¬ cial and political schemes with his friend from Troy, was obliged to bow t« the lat- 16 BOSS CROKER’S CAREER ter s ambitious caprice. Tbitswere thrown awaj golden opportunities, that come (^nly once, m the gourde ot r any man’s boss-smp, for strengthening and solidi¬ fying Tammany IJali., Bo^ Croker did, i»ot. maintain harmn niouc relations* with ' “The Big Fml?° He dUarreiicd with and “turnll down” both Grant and Cockran, and signs are not wanting that he is now atsSforiK points with Mayor Gilrov anfl nthi leaders. It is only a question of °n}£i before his own followers, angered ^d aroused at the manner in which thev have been duped and misled, will tr? down ” Wn SkiU at 4116 game “turning CHAPTER XI. the fassett investigation. Reviving the Tweed Ring. the legislative session of 1890 a committee of the State Senate, headed py bloat Fassett, was appointed tn nn^ e ol ISa f C /i tbe mana sement of cities Yo?k d Tht d nS artl9 ^ lar attention to New road Vn^!^r ^ mittee was fairJ y on the £ aad *o unearth some of the more start- thiL e « la of Tammany misrule, when bolsls of S tho 0asumi ? iate . < ? between the n? S ^t° £ J he ,°PP° sin S “machines” one faith °^n i? eals which makes men lose nT*Ti» n *i. hu . man integrity. But, fortu- ■ufflr?SnJS? J nvest ^ a tion had proceeded to thl en ni y J° make one fact apparent the people—namely, that the “New n’"h WhIc l? had been niasquerad- rofivi«eace, undisturbed by public notoriety, j ept such as you might have invited i >n yourself by your occasional con- j ts with the criminal laws and the ice authorities. But as you have isen to exercise the functions of a Ler and have kindly and paternally lertaken to relieve us of our public ponsibilities—without our consent— i must expect to receive your share of ,t impertinent criticism to which all j ssessors of regal power are obliged to )mit in this age of free speech and of |;'ree press. I L Man Who Relongs in Rail Shotild Not Attempt to Read ! P j:, therefore, as a dutiful citizen of is unfortunate town, take the liberty j J tell you that your training, your decedents, your associations, your Piole life, in fact, has been of such a karacter than the mere toleration of j ur presence and unrestrained liberty more than our good nature should be ked to endure, while your brazen ■sumption of political leadership is e most revolting insult that was ever fered an intelligent and honorable tople; that p man of your stamp, ;hose history is that of a member of e criminal class, for whose benefit ils are built, should be suffered as an ’biter in the most important con- rns of government—in matters af- cting life, liberty and prosperity; that J >u should be permitted to dictate j ie selection of our judges, Controller, I ay or and Congressmen, and to make Liem bow to your will—is an indictment I our public spirit, and a condition iat is at war with all enlightened ideas j! orderly and moral society. ! New York at the Mercy of a Tunnel Gang. Since you have become the boss you ; ave turned Tammany Hall into a | ourth Avenue Tunnel Gang, and our j ity and her taxpayers you have made • ie victims of the avaricious greed, the redatory cunning and criminal propen¬ sities of its members. You have made a market of the most precious interests of government, and reduced its sacred privileges to mere matters of bargain and sale. The one object of your sway has been to take from the substance of the people for the private gain of your¬ self and your satellites, as much as they would reasonably bear without suspicion or resistance. The organization which youi control represents organized robbery, pure and simple, as it did under the Tweed regime. Political principles and the ad¬ vocacy of public questions have long ago ceased to interest it. The one purpose that animates its activity is the capture and the division of the spoils of office. When it wins an election it regards the city as a conquered province, and its adherents loot the treasury, while its boss declares martial law and acts the role of an authorized dictator. You, as boss, and the bandits behind you, have subverted all the safeguards that the Constitution provides- for the efficacy of free institutions, and have trained your supporters to debauch the ballot box. To perpetuate your power you do not hesitate to encourage, re¬ ward and protect those who commit crimes against the purity of the elective franchise—“one of the gravest crimes known to the law.” To gain your sel¬ fish ends you do not scruple to attack and undermine the very foundation of free government. Blaekmail the Main Prop of Tammany. The main prop in the vicious fabric of your society is blackmail. Vice and crime yield their tribute to your rapacity, and honest industry is burdened to in¬ crease the comforts of the shifty and worthless. A golden stream pours into the Tammany coffers from corporations, contractors, shopkeepers, gamblers, bagnios, dives, barrooms and every ele¬ ment that plies an immoral or illegal oc¬ cupation. (Mr. Croker, have you ever rendered an accounting of all the fabulous sums that pass through your hands?) It is from these sources that your or¬ ganization gets its corruption fund for the repeaters and hired frauds of elec¬ tion day, and it is from the same plun¬ der that you, as boss, have grown rich, powerful and insolent. The example of your life must beget corruption and tempt every officeholder to become a BOSS CHOKER'S CAREER 22 thief. It must teach the rising genera¬ tion that official dishonesty is no crime, that official perjury is no sin, that to override the will of the people is one of the high duties of public men. It must lead to an utter disregard of law, of morality and of common decency in all political affairs. Tour rule means po¬ litical leprosy. There can be no political health so long as it is permitted to con¬ tinue. Atrocious and Abominable Govern¬ ment. Twenty-four years ago the situation under your predecessor, Boss Tweed, was exactly similar. Horace Greeley drew a picture of it in the Tribune that will be recognized as a perfect image of the present. It gives us a broad view in a narrow compass. This is what he said: “There was never on earth a munici¬ pal structure that more sadly, urgently needed reforming than the government of the city of New York. It is scanda¬ lously inefficient for good and enormous¬ ly potent for evil. It subserves the ends of the blackleg, the debauchee, the ruffian, the felon; it does not shield in¬ nocence, conserve virtue, promote use¬ ful industry or encourage thrift. If ever a thing called government were atrocious and abominable, we are living under that sort on this island to-day.” New Torlc Leased Out to Knaves and Adventurers. Since the overthrow of the Tweed ring there has been no material change in the methods of local government. Now, as then, the city revenues are spent in a manner to secure votes for Tammany Hall, as a first considera¬ tion, and the interests of the taxpay¬ ers are subordinated to that purpose. In the employment of all labor, in the awarding of contracts, in the adminis¬ tration of the departments and of crim¬ inal justice. Tweed’s system has been more or less steadily maintained. Now, as then, vagabonds administer justice, rowdies and greedy jobbers represent Tammany in the city councils and tb State Legislature, and this great cit;< with its wealth, its majesty, its r derived its local influence and r er through the control of the State ilslature. By numerous special en- nents, by frequent charter changes, I, finally, by the passage of the no- ous “ring charter,” it practically de¬ fied the city of all semblance of self- ernment and ruled it as a conquered ivince. ■‘tie utilization of the Legislature for T purpotees dates back to 1857, when act was adopted providing for equal resentation of the two parties in the ird of Supervisors. ,ae division of spoils was beginning .(receive more attention and to grow fe important than the performance public duties. The act of 1857 was first practical step in the develop- lt of that gigantic combination pse record of infamous public crimes p never be effaced from the memory jour citizens. Weed was president of that board its ruling spirit. Under his guard- ship a rich crop of fraudulent jobs \ harvested each session, among ch ferry leases, street improve- lts and gas contracts were the »t abundant and lucrative. He made iself the central figure of the drama blunder, and his influence and power New York politics became supreme. TWEED IN THE STATE SENATE. In 1869 Tweed had himself elected to the Senate, and at once took the lead at Albany. The Herald truly asserted at the time, “he carried the Legisla¬ ture in his pocket.” Sweeny, Connolly and Hall rendered him effective aid as lobbyists. With unprecedented boldness and the most shamefaced bribery they passed, in 1870, the famous “ring char¬ ter,” which gave them “a pickpocket’s bonanza”—an unlimited license to steal. By virtue of its provisions they con¬ centrated in their persons every func¬ tion of public authority. They could levy taxes, audit all county liabilities* appoint all subordinate officials, pre¬ scribe and enforce ordinances. As Til- den aptly expressed it, “the act of 1870 practically conferred all the powers of local government upon certain leading officials of the ring for long periods and freed from all accountability, as if their names had been mentioned as grantees in the bill.” HALCYON DAYS OF RING RULE. Then began the halcyon days of ring rule. Multifarious devicesi for the per¬ petration of fraud were speedily in¬ vented and diligently prosecuted. Frauds were perpetrated in real estate specu¬ lations, in paving, printing, advertising and building contracts. Huge estab¬ lishments were constructed for the manufacture of every article needed In any quantity by the city government, and everything furnished for its use had to go through the agency of the ubiquitously thrifty leaders. Relatives of ring members were made referees and receivers by ring judges, and drew princely fees as commissioners of award and assessment. Tweed’s fingers were in every pie. No financial or industrial enterprise could arise without first setting aside to him a share of its stock and electing him one of its officers. His greed was insa¬ tiable. Judging from the public record of the transfers of property, he was in a fair way to purchase a very large part of Manhattan Island. His will was little less than law with every of¬ ficeholder of the State, from the Gov¬ ernor at Albany to the heads of the city departments. No one would have dared to refuse him any favor he might have chosen to demand. 26 NEW EXEMPLARS OF BOSS TWEED VULGAR DISPLAYS OP PLUNDER. The evidences of great wealth in the possession of the leaders soon appeared on the surface. They launched into a high style of living, characterized by vulgar display. Heavy diamonds flashed resplendent in their shirt fronts. Tweed built a house in Fifth avenue and a country seat at Greenwich. He and his pals caroused on champagne at their own Metropolitan Hotel and drank to each other’s health from silver goblets. In the evening they gambled at the Amer- icus Club,, where they expectorated on the Axminster carpets and Turkish rugs, while reclining on luxuriously up¬ holstered sofas. Most of them, strange to say, indulged the expensive taste for horseflesh, and few, if any, of them failed to lay claim to a stable of noted trotters. It was at the clubhouse one evening, when a cer¬ tain nervous ringster, impressed by its dazzling appointments, inquired of a brother member if he did not fear that their frauds were becoming rather too brazen. The latter calmly replied: “Let the others cover up and hide matters for themselves; that’s not my lookout. I’ve got my pile snug and safe.” BEGINNING OP THE END. Exactly fifteen months after the pas¬ sage of the ring charter the community was electrified by the first authentic ex¬ posure of ring frauds. With great diffi¬ culty the fearful rottenness of Tweed- ism was gradually laid bare. Fraud permeated and saturated the whole municipal system. Over eight millions had been squandered on the courthouse that was to have cost origi¬ nally one-quarter of a million. Millions more had been stolen through armory frauds, schoolhouse frauds, rotten pave¬ ment frauds and frauds of infinite va¬ riety. It was found that 65 to 85 per cent, of the face value of all contractors’ bills were fraudulent. For plastering the courthouse Andrew J. Garvey drew $2,870,464.06. for plumbing John H. Keyser got $1,231,817.76, and Ingersoll & Co., sup¬ plying the chairs and carpets, received the neat lUtle sum of $5,663,646.83. The system of division among the thieves was later discovered by Mr. Til- den. He found, by examining the books of the Broadway Bank that on every warrant in favor of the contractors Tweed received 24 per cent., Connolly 2/: per cent., Sweeny 10 per cent., and Wat¬ son and Woodward each got 5 per cent. As an example of their boldness it may be mentioned that on one occasion the sum of $384,000 was paid to the New York Printing Company, and upon the same day Tweed deposited to his own credit the check of that company for $104,000. WAR AGAINST THE RING. The contest for the overthrow of the rirg was to be waged against fearfu odds. It was securely intrenched, anc the powers of the police, the judiciary and the Legislature were at its com- mand. The leaders were wily and un¬ scrupulous. The whole machinery oi election was in their absolute control. All the crime and ignorance of th< community stood like an immovable rockbed of support behind the Boss, ever re-electing him to tihe Senate and urging the erection of a public statue in his honor. Even the press, that Argus-eye' watchman over official integrity, faile< to see wherein the ring was wrong, and besides deprecating all opposition, as cribed It to interested motives. The intelligent public also seemed i< have lost its head and its ears as well for it was for a long while deaf to al appeals. The outlook was indeed gloomy and the boldest might well have' de sp aired. Within two months of its flna overthrow the ring seemed to be “mort securely established in power than any dynasty in Europe.” THE STORM BREAKS. The storm, however, was inevitably portending and could not be dispelled Public spirit was awakening from its ’etihargy, stimulated by Editor Jennings defiant pen. Cartoonist Nash’s brillian pencil, and Tilden’s and O’Conor’s rest less and undaunted courage. On Sept. 4, 1871, a great indignatloi meeting was held at the Cooper Union! Ex-Mayor William F. Havemeyer pre sided. “The prosperity of this city,” h< began, “is due solely to its natural ad vantages; its growth is in spite of th< negligence, ignorance and corruption oi its government.” Judge Emott, the first speaker, ex NEW EXEMPLARS OF BOSS TWEED 27 laimed: “Look at your officials waLow- ag in wealth and then answer the ques- ion as to who got the taxpayers’ money. * * The world is waiting to see if the aen of New York believe in honesty or worship fraud.” Then spoke up Judge Pierrepont: “How appens it,” he asked, “that these official aen have grown so vastly rich? By vhat magic power were their sudden aillions made? Not out of their salaries, ore!” Oswald Ottendorfer referred to the city s bleeding from a hunderd wounds and ying prostrate under the burden of a ebt amounting to over $100,000,000, the payment of which must necessarily im- ose new and manifold burdens to be orne by the working classes out of heir ©canty earnings. “The great realth of New York,” he continued, attracted the vultures from all direc- lons, and the city is looked upon as a rilch cow to support in opulence the eeches of corruption.” 'Ex-Gov. Salomon spoke as fol- )ws: “Has it not long since been the onviction of all thinking men in this ommunity that the affairs of the city 7ere in the hands of a few shrewd, un- crupulous and bad men banded and eld together for a common purpose? lave we not seen the men in control row immensely rich within a few ears in the public service, and have re not been well satisfied long since aat their riches were the ill-gotten ains of public plunder?” c THE COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY. That this plain spoken and deter- lined demonstration, whose outcome r as the Committee of Seventy, struck f jrror into the hearts of the despoilers lay well be imagined. In abject fear some of them quietly ransferred their plunder preparatory > a hasty departure. A general de- Ftruction of all incriminating books, ' apers, accounts and memoranda relat- ig to city affairs was commenced. The ontroller’s office was burglarized at ight, and a lot of vouchers relating p county work was stolen. Evidently 1 ley considered that the beginning of ie end was at hand. ! That'the rulers of New York had been lieves was now universally admitted, et the plain task of sending them to 1 rison was not so simple. The ring had taken the precaution to secure a judiciary that would protect them from the legal penalties of their crimes. Most of the judges were thoroughly corrupt, and as ready to sell law as a grocer might sugar. There was no court in the city of New York that could be trusted with any case in which Tweed and his associates were parties. Despite all these obstacles the great legal acumen and perseverance of Til- den and O’Conor paved the way to rem¬ edy the wrong, and Boss Tweed was finally forced to don the felon’s garb. ANALOGOUS CONDITIONS. No well-informed citizen after care¬ fully conning this recital can fail to trace the lifelike analogy between the Tammany of Bill Tweed and the Tajn- many of Dick Croker. There are all new men, of course, in the present ring, and they pursue entirely differ¬ ent tactics, but the objects and results are exactly the same as of yore. Most of the present ringmasters were apprentices under the old boss, and, profiting by his experience, are sedulous¬ ly avoiding his mistakes. Little is the danger that any of them will allow him¬ self to be caught in the meshes of the law. They keep no accounts or records, neither do they deposit their percent¬ ages in the same banks wherein the con¬ tractors cash their warrants, in the olumsy fashion of their political precep¬ tors. In all their political activity they are job-and-rob politicians of the old school, yet so shrewdly do they operate and so carefully do they cover their tracks that every valuable interest of the city could go to rack and ruin without affording the possibility of fixing any single act on which a criminal prosecution could be justly grounded. It is only by some iucky accident that we may ever hope to secure evidence sufficient to indict and convict. jE AD ER.S ACCUMULATING FOR¬ TUNES. Meanwhile the leaders will remain rich beyond the dreams of avarice, and will be growing constantly richer. They are again buying or building mansions on Fifth avenue, and indulging appetites that were once supposed to be the spe- 28 NEW EXEMPLARS Of ROSS TWEED cial prerogatives of princes and million¬ aires. Those who a few years ago owned scarcely a dollar are now possessors of city and country residences, yachts, trotters and crested equipages. Their families, gorgeous in satins and jewels, parade their recently acquired wealth at fashionable seaside resorts in Summer, and in Winter strive to emulate the so¬ cial aristocracy by tendering mock re¬ ceptions to distinguished personages in their city drawing rooms. Tammany is truly flourishing, and great is the reign of Tweed II. THE THEFT OF THE STATE SEN¬ ATE. Ever since they encompassed the “theft of the State Senate,” and ob¬ tained full control of the State admin¬ istration, they have proceeded on the same lines that became odiously fa¬ miliar during the period of Tweed’s re¬ gime. They at once parceled out the property and privileged of the tax¬ payers as though they had acquired them by direct purchase for private use. They have substituted the tyran¬ ny of a political machine for the gen- erouls forms of a people’s government. They have put none but pliant tools into public office, so as to pervert the legitimate functions of government to purely personal and pecuniary purposes. They have steadfastly ulsed the Legis¬ lature to further schemes of plunder and to perpetuate their authority. They have outraged the principle of home rule and punished recalcitrant commu¬ nities by altering their charters and arbitrarily forcing officials upon them in defiance of local Sentiment. They have supplanted the lobby and are themselves retained, for a consideration, to protect the interests of corporations. They have dictated the selection of United States Senators who misrepre^ sent and disgrace their State. They have made the Chief Executive of the State a figurehead without authority, who humbly seeks their assent before affixing his signature to a bill. They have, finally, converted popular elec¬ tions into mere ratifications of their arbitrary nominations. RESEMBLANCES TO TWEED RUI Locally, the resemblance to Twee times is astonishingly real. The ri is expending ever so much and acco piiishing ever so little. By a decept; tax rate they seek to hide their < travaganoe. Their appointments to fice have been fitly characterized as “i worst ever made in a civilized co miunity.” A term in prison is a su pasisport to Tammany preferment tn a course in college. Public intere are treated as if they were a spec or sport, and offices are but gambli stakes. Of money-making devices there is end. The laws for the regulation a repression of crime are used as a ba. tor blackmail, to benefit those wm duty it is to enforce them. Every p sibie business interest is terrorized a Died to swell Tammany’s corrupt; rund. Costly public improvements are plant regardless of actual necessity, anu spt fications are drawn for favorite contra ors so as to preclude competition. Sons and so.ns-in-law monopolize i choicest refereeships and receivershi and make ‘‘barrels of money” out! condemnation proceedings by ‘‘prote ing” the interests of property ownt A horde of inspectors of different ' riety and degrees of rapacity is turi loose to prey upon the industrious a on the municipal salary rolls are mai drones whose only labor is performed > pay day. Appointments and promotions in Fire and Police departments are note ously sold for cash, and the saloonke ers pay—now arranged through their sociation—a ruinous tribute to be p mitted to violate the Sunday law. would be monotonous to enumerate Innumerable contrivances by which Te many Hall drains the pockets of whom the central and district bosses < manage by hook or crook to draw i; their enormous dragnet of official tortion. Yet Boss Croker is virtue asking again: “What are you going do about it?” PRESENT CONDITIONS. The conditions are now similar to th immediately preceding the downfall the Tweed ring. Public Indignation j NEW EXEMPLARS OF BOSS TWEED discontent, though general, are slow in crystallizing, and only await a leader equal to the emergency to kindle it into a consuming conflagration. Would that Samuel J. Tilden were with us to guide us again out of the wilderness of polit¬ ical demoralization and corruption. MR. TILDEN’S REFORM WORK. Previous to the Fall election of 1871 Mr. Tilden, though chairman of the State Committee and the official head of the Democratic party, confronted by a con¬ dition of which the present is a counter¬ part, earnestly advocated a union of all elements on local candidates. In a speech at Cooper Institute, Nov. 2, 1871, he said: “The millions of people who compose our great metropolis have been the sub¬ ject of a conspiracy the most audacious and moist wicked ever known in our free and happy land. A cabal of corrupt men have seized upon all the powers of the local government and converted them, not only for the purposes of misgovern- ment, but also of personal plunder. It is, in my judgment, the foremost duty of every good citizen to join with his fellows in the effort to overthrow this corrupt and degrading tyranny. For that reason I stand before you to-night. If we found our dwellings wrapt in flames we should not inquire whether it was an American, an Irishman or a German, whether it was a Democrat or a Republican who lent us a hand to put out the fire. And on this occasion, in this great crisis in the affairs of our city, caring nothing who unites with us or with whom I unite for this grand object, I come before you to advocate a union of all honest men against a combination of plunderers.'*' ANOTHER UPRISING NEEDED. These noble sentiments, though ut¬ tered twenty-two years ago, apply with equal, if not greater, force to our own dilemma of to-day. The wisdom of his advice was vindicated by the speedy and successful routing of the ring forces; and through the loss of the Legislature material assistance was ren¬ dered to the people in their fight for reform. Let history repeat itself in this par¬ ticular. By prompt action it may yet be possible to arouse and organize public spirit to combat the organization of selfishness and venality. Let us have a united anti-Tammany county ticket; let all honest men of every shade of political belief unite to wrest the city from ring control. There is no duty of the true citizen paramount to that of meeting this great emergency in the broad and patriotic spirit of that sterling Democrat, Samuel J. Tilden. Let there be “a union of all honest men.” Press Comments WHO CHOKER IS, The most important of all publications con¬ cerning Croker is the biography by Otto Kempner, the essential parts of which are pub¬ lished in the World. The chief value of this work lies in the fact that it mercilessly strips off all disguises and presents the naked and ugly truth as to the man who rules New York with the high hand of the ruffian and bully that he is. Since Richard Croker acquired wealth, not through industry but through politics, he has posed as a "central power”, as a statesman, as a man called upon to expound in the magazines the principles of government, as the mentor of of Congress, as an authority upon the science of taxation and as a "swagger” millionaire, travel¬ ling as a gentleman of elegant leisure in a lux¬ uriously appointed private car. Mr. Kempner ruthlessly rubs off all this glam¬ our. He shows what Croker is and who. He tells the story of his boyhood, youth and man¬ hood. He shows him to be an illiterate person, a vulgar, cock-fighting, dog-fighting bruiser and thug. He recounts the story of his career in the prize-ring. He tells how he made himself master of the Tunnel Gang of thugs who once infested the Twenty-first Ward and how he em¬ ployed his supremacy there in the debauchery of elections and in worse ways. He recalls the story of the cowardly and brutal murder of John McKenna, for which Croker was tried and and in spite of all influences not acquitted. In brief Mr. Kempner shows us the real C ker and asks the people of New York to i serve what sort of a creature it is that they ;L submitting to as the arbitrary ruler of this gr city. As a preparation for his boss-ship "he h been,” says Mr. Kempner, "successively a tht prize-fighter, repeater, sinecurist, Alderm; and as a crowning glory was under bail ‘killing his man.’ ” In recalling the facts of this petty but ar gant despot’s career Mr. Kempner renders great public service. He quickens the menu of men as to facts yvhich they ought to bear mind. He appeals to the consciences of iy| TO RISE UP AND THROW OFF THE RULE OF A V REARED AND LIVING IN THE SEMI-CRIMINAL . mosphere —to put it more strongly—of gan conspiracies and miscellaneous thuggery; a n who has attained power through the leaders! of lawbreakers and who has achieved weal nobody knows how, in a position which gi' him access to illimitable plunder without least danger of responsibility to the law. No citizen of New York who has co cern either for his conscience or for 1 material interests can afford to-day omit a careful reading of Otto Ken i ner's biography of Jtichard Croker. N. Y. World READ AND BEUSH. Since Richard Croker became ruler of New York, many sketches of his career have been published, but his early history was so involved in obscurity, that the writing of a complete bio¬ graphy was a difficult task. Ex-Assemblyman Otto Kempner undertook it some time ago and he now has in press a pamphlet entitled : "Boss Croker’s Career, A Review of the Pugilistic and Political Activity of Bill Tweed’s Pupil and Successor.” We believe the story as told here is quite ac¬ curate and will not be disputed, but it is an AWFULLY DISGRACEFUL ONE FOR THIS GREAT CITY. The account of his parentage—father an "In¬ spector General” in the British army—published some time ago in the World, was quite mythh as we pointed out when it appeared, and v| concocted by some of his followers to give j air of respectability to his ill-gotten wealth, is the son of a poor blacksmith. His life has b< like that of too many boys of this city, whi inefficient control by poor and ignorant pare throws on the streets and into bad companyB an early age. He became an ordinary "tout ’ and prize fighter and then city hall politicijj He fought several times in the ring, belonge<1 "a gang”, was in many street brawls and \1 once tried for murder. No New Yorker oudl TO READ THE TALE WITHOUT BLUSHING.— AT. Evening Eost. 1 ! IN COURSE OF PREPARATION BY Mr. OTTO KEMPNER: The Waste of Millions TAMMANY HALL IN ACCOUNT WITH THE TAXPAYERS A Demand for the Application of Sound Business Principles to our Municipal Affairs. Practical Suggestions for Reducing Public Ex\ penditures by Cutting Down Extravagent Salarie\ and Abolishing Costly Sinecures and Useless Depari ments. How the City Revenues may be Increased am the Annual Burden of the Citizens of Hew Yor\ Materially Lightened .