The story of the Sun, New York, 1833-1918 / by Frank M. O'Brien.

274

THE STORY OF "THE SUN"

Was it utterly absurd that the Tweed idolaters should
have taken seriously the Sun's little joke? No, for so
serious a writer as Gustavus Myers wrote in his " History of Tammany Hall " (1901) that "one of the signers
of the circular has assured the author that it was a serious proposal. The attitude of the Sun confirms this."
And another grave literary man, Dr. Henry Van Dyke,
set this down in his "Essays on Application" (1908):
William M. Tweed, of New York, who reigned over
the city for seven years, stole six million dollars or more
for himself and six million dollars or more for his followers; was indorsed at the heights of his corruption by
six of the richest citizens of the metropolis; had a public
statue offered to him by the New York Sun as a " noble
benefactor of the city," etc.
Of course Mr. Myers and Dr. Van Dyke had never
read the statue articles from beginning to end, else
they would not have stumbled over the brick that even
Tweed, with all his conceit, was able to perceive.
In July, 1871, when the New York Times was fortunate enough to have put in its hands the proof of what
everybody already suspected-that Senator Tweed,
Comptroller Connolly, Park Commissioner Sweeny, and
their associates were plundering the city-the Sun was
busy with its own pet news and political articles, the
investigation of the Orange riots and the extravagance
and nepotism of President Grant's administration.
The Sun did not like the Times, which had been directed, since the death of Henry J. Raymond, in 1869,
by Raymond's partner, George Jones, and Raymond's
chief editorial writer, Louis J. Jennings; but the Sun
liked the Tweed gang still less. It had been pounding
at it for two years, using the head-lines " Boss Tweed's
Legislature," or " Mr. Sweeny's Legislature," every day