ened profit him--streets opened put money in his purse. Paving an
avenue with poultice enriches him--taking off the poultice increases his
wealth. His rapacity, like the trunk of an elephant, with equal skill
twists a fortune out of the Broadway widening, and picks up dishonest
pennies in the Bowery."

In 1861, Mr. Tweed appeared in the courts of the city as a bankrupt. In
1871, his wealth is estimated at from $15,000,000, to $20,000,000. The
manner in which he is popularly believed to have amassed this immense sum
is thus described in a pamphlet recently issued in New York:

"While holding the position of State Senator he also held the position of
Supervisor--was the leading spirit and President of the old Board of
Supervisors, that has been denounced as the most scandalously corrupt
body that ever disgraced a civilized community--and also the position of
Deputy Street Commissioner. The first two be used to put money in his
pocket, but the last was used mainly to enable him to keep a set of
ruffians about him, who were paid out of the city treasury, and to afford
lucrative positions to men who might be of service in promoting his
political and pecuniary interests. By employing the same agencies that
he had used to secure his own election, he gradually worked his
particular friends into positions where he could use them, and then
commenced a scheme for surrounding every department in the government of
the city and county with a perfect network, which would enable himself
and his confederates to appropriate to their own use the greater part of
the city and county revenues. The new Court-House has been a mine of
wealth to these thieves from its very inception. The quarry from which
the marble was supplied was bought by the gang for a mere nominal price,
and has since netted them millions of dollars. The old fire
engine-houses were turned over to 'Andy' Garvey and other cronies of
Tweed's at rents ranging from $50 to $150 a year, and some of them have
been let by these fellows as high as $5000 a year. The public schools,
the different departments of the government, and the public institutions
under the control of the city authorities, all needed furniture, and
Tweed started a furniture manufactory in connection with James H.
Ingersoll, who has since achieved a notoriety as the most shameless thief
among the fraternity of scoundrels whom we are now describing. Tweed's
next step was to get control of a worthless l