et $200,000?" innocently asked Nast.

"I believe from what I have heard in the bank that you might get it."

After some reflection, the cartoonist asked: "Don't you think I could
get $500,000 to make that trip?"

"You can; you can get $500,000 in gold to drop this Ring business and
get out of the country."

"Well, I don't think I'll do it," laughed the artist. "I made up my
mind not long ago to put some of those fellows behind the bars, and I am
going to put them there."

"Only be careful, Mr. Nast, that you do not first put yourself in a
coffin," said the banker as he left.

A public meeting in Cooper Institute, April 6, 1871, was addressed by
William E. Dodge, Henry Ward Beecher, William M. Evarts, and William F.
Havemeyer. They vehemently denounced Tweed and his gang. Tweed smiled
and asked, "Well, what are you going to do about it?" On the 4th of
September, the same year, a second mass meeting held in the same place
answered the question by appointing a committee of seventy. Tweed,
Sweeny, and Hall, now alarmed by the disclosures in the Times, decided
to make Connolly the scapegoat, and asked the aldermen and supervisors
to appoint a committee to examine his accounts. By the time the
committee appeared for the examination--its purpose had been well
announced--the vouchers for 1869 and 1870 had disappeared. Mayor Hall
then asked for Connolly's resignation. But instead, Connolly consulted
Samuel J. Tilden, who advised him to appoint Andrew H. Green, a
well-known and respected citizen, as his deputy. This turned the tables
on the three other members of the Ring, whose efforts to oust both
Connolly and Green were unavailing. In this manner the citizens
got control of the treasury books, and the Grand Jury began its
inquisitions. Sweeny and Connolly soon fled to Europe. Sweeny afterwards
settled for $400,000 and returned. Hall's case was presented to a grand
jury which proved to be packed. A new panel was ordered but failed to
return an indictment because of lack of evidence. Hall was subsequently
indicted, but his trial resulted in a disagreement.

Tweed was indicted for felony. He remained at large on bail and was
twice tried in 1873. The first trial resulted in a disagreement, the
second in a conviction. His sentence was a fine of $12,000 and twelve
years' imprisonment. When he arrived at the penitentiary, he answered
the customary questions. "What occupation?" "Statesman." "What
religion?" "None." He served o