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employment of expert accountants, was expended in the search; and also that Democratic officeholders, during their six years in office, handled $250,000,000, of which not one dollar was stolen or wasted!

Secondly-That every contract entered into for public work was awarded to the lowest bidder.

Thirdly-That no public work was paid for until the inspectors and engineers of the department had certified that the specifications were strictly carried out, and that this was also indorsed by the engineers of the Comptroller's office.

The annual yearly budget under Mayors Grant and Gilroy, from January 1st, 1889, to December 31st, 1894, was $34,210,310.33. The budget for 1897, under Mayor Strong, was $45,686,297.17.

Here is a list of the increased amounts in each department under Mayor Strong above the expenditures of the last year under Tammany administration:

INCREASE.

Mayor's office and Bureau of License, Common Council...

Department of Public Works

Department of Street Improvements

Department of Health

Police Department

Street Cleaning

Fire Department

Department of Buildings

Taxes and Assessments

Board of Education

Commissioners of Accounts

Sheriff's office

Armories and Drill Rooms

Salaries of Judges

Miscellaneous account

$14,155

457,595

420,390

156,278

1,844,792

.1,130,863

195,529

136,085

42,500

.1,297,105

27,500

12,050

39.689

320,070

397,098

And yet the cry continued that extravagance, fraud and corruption marked Tammany control!

CHAPTER LX.

SOME EMBARRASING RESULTS OF CONSOLIDATION.

T

HE complication of the finances continued for several months, mainly over the question whether county debts could be justly charged to the consolidated city, and, also, whether public work contracted for, but not accomplished, in some cases not even commenced, could properly be reckoned as part of the city debt. The various legal opinions uttered upon the question whether New York had exceeded its "debt limit" was not finally cleared up, so as to give the new administration full liberty of action, until July, 1899, when it was clearly demonstrated that the city was well within its legal right to issue new bonds, and take up the needed work of improvements; since when, every department has been pushed to its utmost capacity.

New York city is constantly handicapped by the irritating and unjustifiable interference of the State Legislature. The narrow-minded, who appear at present to be in the majority, never seem happy unless they are devising some plan to interfere with Home Rule in the metropolis-as if the residents of any location were not better fitted to judge of their own needs than non-residents can possibly be. If this sort of spirit continues to actuate the State government, the question may very possibly develop as to dividing the State, so as to give to the largest city in the United States real Home Rule, of which it is now deprived by the constant interference of the Legislature, whose action, instead of striving to benefit the metropolis, is ever directed to curtailing its liberties, and making it subordinate to outside influence-certainly not superior in intelligence, or any other good quality, to the sound Democracy of the Empire City of the whole country.

CHAPTER LXI.

EFFORTS TO DESTROY THE SOCIETY.

T various times in the life of this Society, numerous efforts were made to destroy its existence, as well as to impair its usefulness. It being a very strong and powerful Democratic organization, based, as is now understood from the preceding pages on the Rock of Liberty, it became quite important for its opponents to try to weaken its power, and in so doing they have ever freely used the unworthy weapons of vituperation and slander, against its representatives as well as against the Society itself.

In fact, the opponents of the political faith represented by the Tammany organization seem to have made a special point of trying to destroy by defamation of character both individuals as well as the general good name of the Society, believing that that was the best policy to destroy the effectiveness of its organization.

In 1876, an extraordinary effort was made to abolish the Tammany Society, not openly, but under cover of a bill introduced in the State Senate by Senator Wooden, a Republican. This bill, as was generally believed and asserted at the time, was projected and actually drawn by Dorman B. Eaton, a Republican reformer in the City of New York, who appeared before the Judiciary Committee in its support. It was entitled, "An Act to prevent the abuse of corporate franchise and special privileges conferred by law through their use for corrupt and partisan purposes."

The members of the Legislature saw the dangerous power contained in the bill, and also perceived, as the New York Tribune expressed it, that "such a sweeping measure might hit where it was not intended."

The unceasing political feud, always existing in the State of New York, however, incited several efforts to control and divert the purposes of the Society, one, particularly strong, being in 1879, after the bolting of the Tammany delegates to the State Convention and the nomination of John Kelly for Governor. The County Democracy, organized under Abram Hewitt, Edward Cooper and others, made a fight at the polls of the Tammany Society at its regular meeting that year, and were defeated by a large majority. The Board of Sachems favored by Mr. Kelly was elected, and his influence and power continued in the Tammany organization.

Then, and now, the policy of all its opponents has been, as is well known, to villify and traduce the Society, while year after year, the confidence of the people is attested in its beneficence and usefulness, by the increased majorities at the polls.

CHAPTER LXII.

GRAND SACHEMS.-FROM 1789 TO 1899.

1789-90. WILLIAM MOONEY.

1790-91. WILLIAM PITT SMITH.

1791-92. JOSIAH OGDEN HOFFMAN.

1792-93. JOHN R. B. ROGERS.

1793-94. WILLIAM PITT SMITH.

1794-95. Jonx LITTLE.

1795-96. PETER R. LIVINGSTON.

1796-97. NICHOLAS EVERTSON.

1808. BENJAMIN ROMAIN.

1811. CLARKSON CROLIUS. (Major Twenty-seventh Regiment United States Infantry.)

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1866-68. JOHN T. HOFFMAN (Governor of New York)

1868-71. WILLIAM M. TWEED.

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1885-87. P. HENRY DUGRO (Justice Supreme Court). 1887-89. JAMES A. FLACK.

1889-91. ABRAM D. TAPPAN.
1891-93. THOMAS F. GILROY.

1895. FREDERICK SMYTH (Justice Supreme Court).
1896. FREDERICK SMYTH (Justice Supreme Court).
1897. THOMAS L. FEITNER.
1898. THOMAS L. FEITNER.
1899. THOMAS L. Feitner.
1900. THOMAS L. FEITNER.

* Date of term of office uncertain, records being lost; as also terms of office between 1797 and 1808.

Dates of terms of office for certain periods uncertain as many records were lost between 1808 and 1844. Also in the fire at the Wigwam on Fourteenth street.

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