But he was speedily convinced that the revelations and the terrors of exposure had only reduced the amount of the blackmail levied by reducing the number of those who could be compelled to pay. The evidence of Captain Meakin’s collector, Edward Shalvey, was conclusive on this point. He swore in the witness-box that he had gone on collecting, without making the slightest change, right down to September:-- Q. You collected from these several places, liquor dealers, policy shops, and houses of ill-fame as you did under the previous captain? A. Yes, sir. Q. Did you ever meet with any refusal to pay from people engaged in this class of business, or did they all pay as matter of course? A. They all paid as matter of course. Q. So that, officer, even beneath the terrible frown of the Lexow Committee, the collections went on just the same? A. Yes, sir. Q. The old, old story continued, is that not so? A. Yes, sir. Q. And while, as a matter of fact, while there were exposures made and being testified to before this Committee since last April or May, right along the collections continued unbroken, did they not? A. Yes, sir; not to such an extent. Q. And the captains took the money in the same way? A. Yes, sir. Chairman Lexow: It seems incredible!--Vol. i., pp. 5,407-8. “It is a tough old world, sir,” as the old stager remarked to an enthusiastic young Reformer, “and takes a deal of moving.” It is a very tough old world, and in the whole hemisphere there are few places tougher than New York. The contributions paid by contractors to Mr. Croker can easily be understood. One Michael Moran, who was engaged in the towboat business, towing garbage under the Street Cleaning Department, made various subscriptions of from £10 to £30 to Tammany Hall. He was asked why he did so. He replied that Mr. Croker was the treasurer of the organisation he was doing some work for. “Tammany Hall, you mean?” asked the Chairman. “Well, I guess so,” replied Moran. “Don’t you know there is a distinction between the City and the organisation known as Tammany Hall?” asked the Chairman. There was no reply. But Moran evidently did not. Tammany Hall was the organisation that stood for the City. For him it was the City, and Moran said to subscribe to Tammany was the natural feeling amongst everybody that worked for the City; “one done it, and I didn’t want to be left behind by anybody else; I thought I would hold my own end up”:-- Q. Did any one suggest to you the advisability of giving up this money? A. I have had conversations with other men that were in the employ of the City, and we compared notes occasionally to know what was done, and how we could keep ourselves solid. No political contributions were made by Moran before Tammany came into power. So the Chairman asked:--