A NEST OF SWINDLERS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 199, 23 November 1871, Page 7

A NEST OF SWINDLERS.

Some rather startling revelations have come to us from across the Atlantic, which reveal a state of matters in the Democratic Municipal ■. Government of Hew York which, we venture to say, is totally unprecedented in the annals of city governments. New York, it appears, is entirely at the mercy of a gang of swindlers, who have for years been appropriating large sums of the public money to their own uses and purposes. This gang is better known to the political world as the "Tammany Ring," or Tammany Hall Democrats ; and its leading representatives — Messrs. Hall, Tweed, Sweeney, and Connolly — govern and control the affairs of the city. Hall is the Mayor, Tweed is at the head of the department of public works, Sweeney heads another department of the Municipal Government, and Connolly is tbe Comptroller of Accounts. And this quartett, by & series of gigantic frauds, have been enabled to live on a scale>of splendour rivalling that of many an heir to royalty. "It wasna for the muckle wages I shipped," said a canny Scotch shipcarpenter, " but for the wee things I pick up aboot the decks." It is not by the wages which, Messrs. Hall, Connolly, & Co., receive for their services in the Municipal Government that they are able to live like princes, and dower their daughters with princely dowers, but by the " wee things which they pick np " about the municipal decks. It has .been long suspected that there was something rotten in the state of New York, and mutterings of discontent, " not loud, but deep," were often heard outside the Corporation Buildings ; but it was reserved for the " New York Times," the organ of the Republican party, to open the eyes of the public to the extent of the rottenness. Unfortunately, it has not yet obtained access to the inner secrets of the Comptroller's bureau, but it has obtained sufficient reliable information to convict the whole gang of fraud and wholesale robbery.

And first, it will l)e necessary to keep in mind that tbe frauds alluded to were all perpetrated in connection with one transaction only — the erection of a New Court House in New York. How many other frauds were committed by the Tammany Hall swindlers will only become known when the particulars of their other transactions wt& revealed to the public. Tbe New Crfurt House, it may be stated, was commenced in 1862, and is hardly yet completed. Yet up to~lßj7no less tlian 3,576,506 dollars had been expended or drawn tc" account upon itjr-wfegn^jt clearly proved that a bull3mg equal in size and extent could have been erected for less than a million and a half of

dollars. Query — Where have the other two millions gone to ? But the question might safely have been left unasked, had this large sum covered the entire cost of the erection and furnishing of the building. !N~ot bo, however. It had to be plastered, and lighted, and furnished afterwards, at an additional expenditure of ten millions of dollars. But how has this enormous sum been got rid of, and who are the fortunate contractors who have profited by it/* Andrew J. Q-arvey, it appears, is a plasterer, and has been doing the plaster work of the County Court Buildings; but the County Buildings must either be a stiff job to' plaster, or Andrew J. Garvey's charges must be something exhorbitant. For work said to have been done during the years 1868 and 1869. J. Garvey is credited in the Comptroller's books with having received 2,870,464 dollars ! This enormous sum is said to be for plastering and repairing the New Court House. Now it is not usual for a building that is not yet completed to require many repairs, though it may require some plastering. But granted that it did require a little touching up here and there, it is somewhat strange that while G-arvey's account for plastering the County Buildings only amounts to the sum of 531,594 dollars, his account for "repairing" the plastework is set down at no less than 1,294,684 dollars — a discrepancy which the occupants of the " Nest " will be best able to explain. Nearly a million of this amount, it may be observed, was drawn for work said to have been done within the space of two months. It has been calculated that the money would, at the rate of Is 7Jd a square yard, plaster a surface of 102 acres ! •Query — How much did Garvey really get for his Bhare in the transaction, and how much of tb.9 three millions went into the pockets of the " Ring."

But the Court House plastered and "repaired," it required furnishing; so Messrs. Ingersoll & Co., furniture dealers, are entrusted with the work. Ingersoll is a partner of Tweed, chief sachem of the " Ring," and is consequently the very man to help the swindlers in their schemes. He is ready to endorse warrants to any amount, on the understanding that he gets a share of the proceeds, along with his partner, Tweed. There is one little item to begin with which has been called "an armoury job." To explain — There are certain rooms and lofts in various parts of New York which are designated armouries, and which are supposed to be used as such by the National Guards. Many of these, however, are never used at all ; and are charged for in the Comp-

troller's books at sums exceeding by many thousand dollars what they are actually -worth. But this is not all, for in one day five different warrants are signed by the Mayor and Connolly, and handed over to Ingersoli & Co., for sums amounting in all to 200,000 dollars, for repairs and furniture supplied to these so-called armouries. One of the items of " furniture," we learn, was chairs; and it has been calculated that, at the price of five dollars each, Ingersoll & Co. must have furnished no less than 34,14i5 chairs for these " armouries " — a number which, if placed in a straight row, would extend to 17 miles in length. Query — Into whose pockets did the 200,000 dollars go ?

But to come back to the Court Houses. This Ingersoll & Co., it appears, in two years received for cabinet work and furniture supplied to the Court Houses and County Offices the sum of 2,817,496 dollars, signed, of couree, by the two head-centres of the "Ring," Mayor Hall and Comptroller Connolly. An eminent upholsterer has offered to furnish the new Court Houses magnificently for 600,000 dollars, aiid make a handsome profit of it besides. It is calculated that the above sum, pocketed uuder cover of Ingersoll & Co., would provide two parlour suits of furniture at 200 dollars each, and three bedroom suits at 200 dollars each, for every house on both sides of Broadway — and Broadway, as all the world knows, is the main thoroughfare in New York — from the battery to the upper end. But the County Courts require carpets as well as furniture, and Ingersoll & Co. must look after them. So this prosperous firm immediately launches out in the carpet line, and in two years has endorsed warrants for 565,731 dollars' worth of the -material. Nor is it ended here ; for a reporter has been interviewing a Mr. R. Gre^g in the Broadway, and we find that this Mr. Gregg has been commissioned to supply, and is supplying, carpets to the value of between 20,000 and 30,000 dollars per month. We say commissioned ; for no one ever supposes that a single yard is supplied, though the "Ring" charge the tax-payers to that amount. Here is another calculation. At four and a half dollars per yard, the sum said to have been expended on carpets would provide sufficient to extend 70 miles in length! And the strangest thing of all is, that, with so many miles of carpet at command, and so many thousand dollars' - wbVth coming in every month, some of the largest rooms in the Court House should still be unprovided for. Altogether, this firm of Ingersoll & Co. is credited with having received warrants amounting to the enormous sum of 5,663,646 dollars for furniture, carpets, and "repairs." But Ingersoll <fc Co. is not supposed to have done all the work and drawn all the money. There is a certain G. T. Millar, or A. G-. Millar — for his name appears in the Comptroller's books both ways — a J. W. Smith, or aJ. A. Smith — for tbe " Ring " is not particular as to a name, and so it appears in the books both ways also — and a C. D. Bollar & Co., who figures as having received large sums for work done ; but the accounts for which are all indorsed by Ingersoll & Co. It is worthy of remark that, though Miller, the carpenter, figures in his account for 360,751 dollars for work done, there is very little woodwork in tbe Court House at all, it being built mostly of marble and iron. If the carpenters' work cost so much, what must the iron and marble work have cost ? Query again— How much of this 5,663,646 dollars went to feather the nests of the illustrious " Eing."

There is another little account charged against this remarkable Court House not unworthy of notice. Keyson & Co. are plumbers and gas-fitters, and Keyson & Co. are instructed to do the the plumber and gas-work of the Court House. Now, there are 18 different offices in the Court House, and in each of these there is a waehbasin and a water-closet; and for keeping these in repair, the public of New York are charged by this Keyson & Co. 400,344 dols. a year. Truly a princely sum for so trifling a, service ! According to the published accounts, Keyson and Co. have received for plumbering and gas work in the County Court since 1865 the sum of 361,174 dollars ; in the County Offices, 439,513 ; and in the " Armouries " and drill-rooms, 431,129 — or, in round numbers, 1,231,817 dollars. But a notable feature in these accounts is, that there is so much confusion with the dates, that accounts which had no existence at first, are often entered in the books as having been paid ten times over; and in some instances parties are represented as having drawn as many as eleven cheques on one day for the same furniture" and repairs. Names of persons are also inserted in the books as having drawn large sums, which have either had no existence at all, or who distinctly deny having ever received a penny of the money with which they have been credited.

A congress of delegates from the various branches of the International Association is sitting in London, under the presidency of Dr. . Carl Marx. France, Italy, Spainy- Belgium,-Ger-many and Switzerland" are represented. The object of the congress is to arrange for immediate action on the Continenti