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Tammany: 1789-1928 Tammany Hall; The Organization; and the Sway of the Bosses By Allan Frankin
Originally published 1928 |
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had predicted his defeat, crushed, he became very ill and gave his orders to Richard Croker to carry out.
"Honest" John Kelly took over the leadership of Tammany after the defeat of the Tweed ring in 1871 when Tammany was in bad repute and the faithful had been separated from their easy money jobs. Reformers were in power in the city government and the only way left for Tammany to regain any of its former prestige was to reform itself. Tammany had to regain the confidence of the honest voters and Kelly set about to do it. He had been a Democrat for years, had been abroad when the Tweed ring was broken up, traveling in the Holy Land. He had only recently retired from the lucrative office as sheriff of New York county, one of the best paying in the city government and could well afford to travel.
Kelly, who was born in Hester street, New York, in 1822, was taciturn and was the inaugurator of the silent boss rule that was followed by Richard Croker and Charles F. Murphy, his successors as Chief of the organization.
Early in life Kelly took an active part in politics, having been a member of a volunteer fire company at the same time as Tweed and making his headquarters of an evening in a saloon frequented by leading politicians. He opposed Tweed, not because of any especial difference in opinions, but because
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