Read BOSS TWEED: The Corrupt Pol who Conceived the Soul of Modern New York Online
Authors: Kenneth D. Ackerman
Tags: #History
Chester Alan Arthur … “Tweed Republicans”: Reeves, p.49-50.
Tweed as Commissioner of Public Works … Peter B. Sweeny to head the Public Parks Board: Hall proclamation, April 9, 1870. Hall papers. NYMA.
“I beg you to take [it] …”: Letter from Hall toTweed, April 5, 1850. Hall papers. NYHS.
“Senator Tweed is to take charge …”:
Albany Argus
, April 12, 1870, in Hall scrapbooks, NYPL.
“It would give me great pleasure …”: Letter from Cooper to Tweed, May 28, 1870, in Hirsch, 275.
“to reimburse … those…”: Tweed testimony, Aldermen, p. 92.
Garvey… Ingersoll, …$50,000 … Keyser and Oakey Hall $25,000: Werner, p.184 and Aldermen testimony.
“Republican Legislature had to be bought,…”: Woodward testimony, Aldermen, p. 699.
Tweed’s … direct account of the meeting : Tweed testimony, Aldermen, p. 78.
“a very confidential man” … “had my confidence “: Tweed testimony, Aldermen, p. 75.
“That the County Auditor [Watson] collect …”:
Text of resolution from Tweed testimony, Aldermen, p. 142. Tweed would claim that the Board never met at all, that the record was forged later by Oakey Hall after the public scandal had begun. See Tweed testimony, Aldermen, p. 141
Courthouse … budgeted at $250,000 … graft … none ever proven.: See e.g. Hershkowitz, p. 112-114.
“Woodward brought me over a batch…”: Tweed testimony, Aldermen, p. 76.
“see [Oakey] Hall and tell him …”: Tweed testimony, Aldermen, p. 77.
Woodward… $932,858.50 … account of William M. Tweed: See spreadsheet titled “Identification of the parties receiving the proceeds of warrants drawn for allowances made by Special Board of Audit, under Sec. 4, of the County Tax Levy of 1870.” box 23, Tilden papers. NYPL.
$384,395.19 to the New-York Printing Company: See spreadsheet titled “Deposits to credit of New-York Printing Company.” box 23, Tilden papers. NYPL. Company president Charles Wilbour later would claim that Tweed had sold his stock in the company on April 4, 1870, about two months before these transactions, though Tweed’s lawyers would never raise this point in his criminal trials to dispute the implication that these transactions amounted to a pass-through of government funds. See affidavit of Charles E. Wilbour in the New-York Times and other newspapers, September 4, 1871.
“[Watson] told me that he had to pay …”: Woodward testimony, Aldermen, p. 691-692.
months James paid his brother a total of $228,120 …: See spreadsheet slabeled “Payments by James M. Sweeny for account of Peter B. Sweeny, by checks on Tenth National Bank” and “Deposits by James M. Sweeny in the Nassau Bank from May 6th to August 23rd, 1870,” in box 23, Tilden papers. NYPL. See also checks attached to Tweed confession,
New York Herald
, October 10, 1877.
Oakey Hall … Suspension Bridge and Erie Junction RRG : See spreadsheet labeled “Suspension Bridge & Erie Junction R.R.G.” in box 22, Tilden papers. NYPL.
Garvey … Connolly’s private home: Garvey testimony, Aldermen, p. 551-2; Garvey testimony in Hall trial, October 25, 1872, in
New-York Times
, October 26, 1872.
$96,300 to Smith, Gould, Martin and Company: The cancelled check is in the Tweed papers. NYHS.
tax bills … uncollected: $907,158.86 : Townsend, p. 39.
Total 1870 taxes …
pre capita
in New York…: Hoffmann papers, p. 321-322, NYSL.
New York …l debt… $36.3 million to … $73 million : See “Statement of the Debt of the City and County of New York taken from the Reports and Statements of the Comptroller.” Hall papers. NYMA.
Seligman … House of Rothschild … Discounts Gesellschaft: Mandelbaum, p. 77, and cites therein. See also list titled “7% Revenue Bonds, County Payable December 1, 1871,” in box 23, Tilden papers. NYPL.
Chapter 5. Park Row
(pages 91–104)
“My doctor says peremptorily…”: Letter from Jones to Raymond, April 6, 1869. Jones papers. NYTA.
Jones … “suggestions” : See e.g. letter from Jones to Raymond, July 1, 1863. Jones papers. NYTA.
Raymond … actress named Rose Eytinge : Berger, p. 30-31.
“I shall never sell the Times …”:
Harper’s Weekly
, February 22, 1890. See also Davis, p. 83.
“it takes a steamer three days …” Juggernaut saturnalia festival: Morphet, p. 35, 41, 42.
“I have seen a good deal of Jennings …”: Letter from Raymond to Jones, July 17, 1868. Jones papers. NYPL.
“He was the most lovable man …”: Letter from Jennings to Jones, June 22, 1869. Jones papers, NYPL.
“the most abusive pen …”:
New-York Times, Jubilee Supplement
,..
“jolly, genial, and off-handed …”:
New York Sun
, March 26, 1870.
“Senator Tweed is in a fair way …”:
New-York Times
, April 8, 1870.
“far above the average …”:
New-York Times
, April 13, 1870.
D. George Wallis … three sinecure positions at City Hall:
Evening Free Press
, August 31, 1870.
Albany Argus
, for one, received…: Tweed testimony, Aldermen, p. 239.
$2.7 million … to the press : Booth committee report, in Townsend,, p. 38. The
New York Herald
’s James Gordon Bennett, far too wealthy for bribes, Mayor Hall had appointed Bennett’s friend Gunning Bedford assistant district attorney and had assigned a policeman to guard Bennett’s mansion on Washington Heights. Wingate, p. 389.
New-York Times
…“necessary legal advertisements…”: See certificate dated August 9, 1867. NYTA.
paychecks from City Hall jump to over $21,000 and $29,000 :
New York Sun
, July 22, 1871.
Leading New York newspapers
: Table is from
New York Herald
, September 8, 1871; F. Hudson, p. 687.
I would not exercise…” “I shall not enter …”: Letter from Connolly to Jones, July 14, 1868. Jones papers, NYPL.
“serious evil that hordes of Irish …”: Morphet, p. 72.
“Senator Tweed in a New Role”:
Harper’s Weekly
, April 16, 1870.
Nast… cartoons … Tweed… in the background: See, for instance, “The Ecumenical Counsel, at Albany, New York” (Paine, p. 139) showing Governor Hoffman holding court dressed like the Pope: “I am infallible Pius Hoffman. You are infallible Cardinal Sweeny, We are infallible Tammany Ring,” a sign behind him says, as he and all the Tammany leaders meditate over a box labeled “Tax Payers and tenants Handy Cash.” Tweed, almost lost in the crowd with a grin on his face and a hand on his big stomach, wears a Cardinal’s hat labeled “Big Six” with a pussycat’s face drawn on it, a tamed version of the tiger emblem of his fireman days.
“We should like to have a treatise…”:
New-York Times
, September 20, 1870.
“Perfect Harmony …”:
New York World
, September 21, 1870.
“the whole convention rose …”:
New York World
, September 22, 1870.
Tilden’s name on a slate of malcontents …reject … 242 to 23:
New-York Times
, April 19, 1870.
Tweed had threatened to Lieutenant Governor Allen Beach…: Bigelow (Tilden writings), p.. 569. Tilden claimed he responded by saying “You had better try it,” though it is not clear when he said it.
O’Brien-ites declined—“unless they could be…”:
New-York Times
, September 22, 1870; Wingate, II, p.130-131.
Tilden’s … 500 tickets … stolen: Wingate, II, p. 130-131.
“assured [the convention] that the City …”:
New York World
, September 22, 1870.
“The audience was put to sleep …”:
New-York Times
, September 22, 1870.
“Tammany is supreme. … “:
New-York Times
, September 22, 1870.
“Mr. Tilden as the Slave of the ‘Ring’”:
New-York Times
, September 23,
1870.
“Will the [
Times
] tell us what …”:
New York World
, September 24, 1870.
“We hope [Mr. Tilden] has a realizing sense …”: Flick, 205.
Clubs in his honor popped …”: For instance, the Fifteenth Ward William M. Tweed Association that week opened a new clubhouse on East 9th, a “fine brown-stone building… elegantly furnished throughout at the expense of several thousand dollars” with public reading room, billiard tables and library for its 250 members, most calling themselves “personal friends of William M. Tweed.”
New-York Times
, September 24, 1870.
Chapter 6. Whitewash
(pages 105–122)
“Mildly startled”: Berger, p.36.
“King Tweed …”“ “The firman [edict] of an Eastern potentate …”:
New-York Times
, September 28, 1870.
“Mr. Tweed passes his Sundays…” “Mr. Tweed was worth less …”:
New-York Times
, November 2, 1870.
“Tweed and Fisk are bold …”:
New-York Times
, November 29, 1870.
“No man can answer newspaper attacks …”: Hershkowitz, p. 160.
Tweed … New York Mutual Insurance Company, the New York Gas Light Company, the Guardian Savings Bank, the Bowling Green Railway Company, the National Broadway Bank, and the Third Avenue Railway Company: Hershkowitz, p. 156.
FN: “None less than Brooks Brothers”: Spann, pp. 46-50.
“Why Attack Mr. Tweed?”:
New-York Times
, September 29, 1870.
“I am always in the habit …”:
New York Sun
, March 26, 1870.
1,300 names to its payroll… “ruffians” :
New-York Times
, September 26, 1870.
“Where is Connolly’s Report?” “The Comptroller, Mr. Richard Connolly…”:
New- York Times
, October 21, 22, 1870.
“[W]e charge them …”:
New-York Times
, October 22, 1870.
13 “We of New York …”:
New York World
, October 28, 1870.
Belmont … “canaille,” :McJimsey, p. 139.
“Every Democratic vote… “:
New York World
, October 28, 1870.
“I … have never in my life spoken …”:
New-York Times
, November 6, 1870; Lynch, p. 346.
One exception was the Sixth Ward: Anbinder, p. 327.
the mayor’s “cool judgment, perfect self-possession …”:
New York World
, November 8, 1870.
: “we … certify the account books of the department …”: See newspapers and Lynch, p. 347.
“These names [Astor and the others] represent …”: Davis, p.98.
“full and fearless vindication,” … “No one ever questioned…”:
New York World
, November 8, 1870.
“used as a cover and a shield …”: Wingate, II, p. 139.
“Jimmy, I think as much of you …”:
New York Sun
, March 30, 1870.
“We shall cut off their supplies”:
New York Sun
, March 29, 1870.
O’Brien … claims for sheriff’s office expenses … $350,000 … “supplies to county jail..”: See Tweed testimony, Aldermen, p. 50-51; Tweed confession,
New York Herald
, October 10, 1877.
“Our boss was at the time …”: O’Brien testimony, Frauds, p. 432.
“I can hardly get a street sweeper …”:
New York Herald
, January 8, 1871.
“You’ve been a kind friend…”“Tears as big as black walnuts…” :
New York Sun
, January 3, 1871.
Twenty years later sitting on a veranda …:
New York World
, August 16, 1891. See also Harper, p, 289, Paine, 167.
“[A] smooth, smiling fellow …”: O’Brien interview,
New York World
, August 16, 1891.
Connolly… at O’Brien’s …Jackson Club: See, for instance,
New York Sun
, March 26, 1870.
“a seemingly inoffensive fellow…”: Wingate, II, p. 141.
“I told Mr. O’Brien about them …”: Copeland testimony in Hall trial, in
New-York Times
, October 26, 1872.
“I could not hear anything …”: Copeland testimony, Hall trial, in
New-York Times
, October 26, 1872.
“every person in the office …”: Copeland testimony in Tweed trial, in
New-York Times
, January 17, 1873.
“it was utterly impossible…”: Copeland affidavit, in
New-York Times
, October 3, 1871.
Garvey … to meet privately with Watson: Garvey testimony, in
New-York Times
, October 29, 1871.
“very angry if he found out …”: Copeland testimony, Hall Grand Jury, p. 18-19; Wingate, p. II, 141.
O’Brien … arrangement …county supervisor: Tweed confession,
New York Herald
, October 10, 1877.
“The applause was deafening …”:
New York Sun
, January 3, 1871.
“more closely approximate …”:
Evening Democrat
, in
New-York Times
, December 29, 1870.
“like a planet in his shirt …”: Werner, p. 188.
“blue uniforms, liberally upholstered …”:
The Star
, clipping from January 1871, Hall scrapbooks, NYPL.
“The Monarch of Manhattan …”:
The Evening Telegram
, January 6, 1871. Hall scrapbooks, NYPL.
clog dancing…:
The Star
, January 19, 1871.
Tweed’s city was booming: see Kessner, p. 49,78.
“The Mayor was dressed …”: Unidentified newspaper clip, 1870. Hall scrapbooks, NYPL.
“Here [in New York City] you enjoy …”: Bowen, p, 69.
“[Hall’s] first message as Mayor …”: Bernstein, p. 199.
“Mr. Peter B. Sweeny is said …”:
Evening Free Press
, October 15, 1870.
Sweeny, …Victor Hugo … Baron Haussmann … Jean Corot: Leonard, p. 109.
city park expenses … to over $550,000 in 1870: Wingate, II, p. 122.
“The greatest fault which Mr. Sweeny can find …”:
New-York Times
, June 17, 1871.
“alleged to be of the pre-Adamite…” “a science which,…”:Wingate, II, p. 123.
Green, …refused to attend meetings: See letters from Sweeny to Manton Marble, June 6 and December 8, 1870. Marble papers. LC.
Green’s ethic of frugal penny-pinching and long-term planning: Kessner, p. 139. On Green generally, see Kessner, (Chapter 2, “New York’s Napoleon,”) and Foord.
$15,000 to the Fenians:
New York Herald
, January 31, 1871.
Croton Aqueduct … Tweed had paid $25,000: Hershkowitz, p. 156;
New-York Times
, February 3 and 16, 1871.
“Oh, Boss, put another naught …”: Werner, p. 194.
“Some Stolen Money Returned.“… “When a man can plunder…”:
New-York Times
, December 29, 1870, January 2, 1871.
“That donation, as you call it,… “:
New York Herald
, January 8, 1871
“A man’s family is dear …”: New York Herald, January 8, 1871.
“That’s the last straw” : Harper, p. 287; Paine, p. 158.