Popular misgovernment in the United States by Alfred Byron Cruikshank

Author:Alfred Byron Cruikshank [Cruikshank, Alfred Byron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Reference, Nonfiction, Reference & Language, History & Theory, Classics, Political Science, Fiction & Literature
ISBN: 4064066150662
Google: ALlrtAEACAAJ
Goodreads: 26276865
Publisher: Good Press
Published: 2019-12-19T05:00:00+00:00

MISCELLANEOUS MINOR SCANDALS.

Illinois—1901. Investigation disclosed that $65,000 a year was being collected by politicians from the salaries of those employed at the State Insane Hospital and other State Institutions.

Minnesota—1903. Minneapolis City scandals. Conviction of Chief of Police and an ex-Mayor on charges of blackmailing gamblers, etc.; attempted bribery of County Commissioners.

Land and Post-Office. In 1903 politicians and others were indicted in Nebraska for corrupt land and post-office transactions.

Other similar post-office irregularities in McKinley’s administration, implicating high officials; many indictments; gross department incompetence and carelessness revealed (1903).

New York, 1904. Fire Department scandals, fraudulent hose purchases of $23,410.

Kansas, 1905. Government land frauds implicating a state senator and other officials.

New York, 1905. “The notorious ‘Ten’ carried through a scheme in the New York Senate, by which the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railway bonds were to be included in the savings bank bill as proper securities for investment. The ‘Black Horse Cavalry’ had succeeded in a similar deal formerly and members had made a large profit on the consequent appreciation of the bonds in question.” (Reinsch, p. 248.)

New York—1906. Ahearn scandals; padded payrolls, illegal purchases, etc., amounting to millions, involving office of Borough President.

New York—1914. Hunts Point Bathing Place; value $4300, sold to the City of New York in 1914 for $247,000.

Indiana—1908. Conspiracy to defraud the State; former legislative speaker indicted.

New Jersey—1913. One Kuehnle, political boss of Atlantic City, sentenced to prison for voting as a water commissioner to award a contract to a company of which he was a stockholder.

In 1899 a book of about eight hundred pages, entitled Thirty Years of New York Politics, was published by Breen who had been for a generation active in New York politics and had held office as member of the state legislature and as local magistrate. It presents a vivid picture of the corruption, rascality and incapacity that characterized the politicians of New York City and State from about 1860 to 1890. He tells of forgeries of items in legislative tax bills, the true bills immediately after passage by the legislature being altered by additions of items and the forged tax bills placed before the governor and signed by him. Some of Breen’s tales are even amusing, showing the open way in which the business of official bribery has been carried on and the fun there was supposed to be in the business. In one instance there was a gas bill before the New York legislature opposed by the company interested. A lobbyist was in charge whose original orders to pass the bill were revoked and he was directed to kill it. In order to make his services appear more valuable to the company the lobbyist had the bill reported favorably. Subsequently he had it defeated and the members waited upon him for their cash at the Kenmore House, Albany, N. Y., the fee of each being $250. Meantime another bill had been introduced regulating the price of gas and the members were told that they would get nothing until they also killed the second bill.

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