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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/3040-h.zip b/3040-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..15c6f72 --- /dev/null +++ b/3040-h.zip diff --git a/3040-h/3040-h.htm b/3040-h/3040-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f2d0f70 --- /dev/null +++ b/3040-h/3040-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,4699 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="us-ascii"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Boss and the Machine, by Samuel P. Orth + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Boss and the Machine, by Samuel P. Orth + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Boss and the Machine + +Author: Samuel P. Orth + +Editor: Allen Johnson + +Release Date: January 17, 2009 [EBook #3040] +Last Updated: February 4, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOSS AND THE MACHINE *** + + + + +Produced by The James J. Kelly Library of St. Gregory's +University, Alev Akman, and David Widger + + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE BOSS AND THE MACHINE, + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + A CHRONICLE OF THE POLITICIANS AND PARTY ORGANIZATION + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h2> + By Samuel P. Orth + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + Contents + </h2> + <p> + <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>THE BOSS AND THE MACHINE</b> </a> + </p> + <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto"> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE RISE OF THE PARTY + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE RISE OF THE MACHINE + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE TIDE OF MATERIALISM + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE POLITICIAN AND THE CITY + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> + </td> + <td> + TAMMANY HALL + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. </a> + </td> + <td> + LESSER OLIGARCHIES + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. </a> + </td> + <td> + LEGISLATIVE OMNIPOTENCE + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE NATIONAL HIERARCHY + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE AWAKENING + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. </a> + </td> + <td> + PARTY REFORM + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI. </a> + </td> + <td> + THE EXPERT AT LAST + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h1> + THE BOSS AND THE MACHINE + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. THE RISE OF THE PARTY + </h2> + <p> + The party system is an essential instrument of Democracy. Wherever + government rests upon the popular will, there the party is the organ of + expression and the agency of the ultimate power. The party is, moreover, a + forerunner of Democracy, for parties have everywhere preceded free + government. Long before Democracy as now understood was anywhere + established, long before the American colonies became the United States, + England was divided between Tory and Whig. And it was only after centuries + of bitter political strife, during which a change of ministry would not + infrequently be accompanied by bloodshed or voluntary exile, that England + finally emerged with a government deriving its powers from the consent of + the governed. + </p> + <p> + The functions of the party, both as a forerunner and as a necessary organ + of Democracy, are well exemplified in American experience. Before the + Revolution, Tory and Whig were party names used in the colonies to + designate in a rough way two ideals of political doctrine. The Tories + believed in the supremacy of the Executive, or the King; the Whigs in the + supremacy of Parliament. The Tories, by their rigorous and ruthless acts + giving effect to the will of an un-English King, soon drove the Whigs in + the colonies to revolt, and by the time of the Stamp Act (1765) a + well-knit party of colonial patriots was organized through committees of + correspondence and under the stimulus of local clubs called "Sons of + Liberty." Within a few years, these patriots became the Revolutionists, + and the Tories became the Loyalists. As always happens in a successful + revolution, the party of opposition vanished, and when the peace of 1783 + finally put the stamp of reality upon the Declaration of 1776, the patriot + party had won its cause and had served its day. + </p> + <p> + Immediately thereafter a new issue, and a very significant one, began to + divide the thought of the people. The Articles of Confederation, adopted + as a form of government by the States during a lull in the nationalistic + fervor, had utterly failed to perform the functions of a national + government. Financially the Confederation was a beggar at the doors of the + States; commercially it was impotent; politically it was bankrupt. The new + issue was the formation of a national government that should in reality + represent a federal nation, not a collection of touchy States. Washington + in his farewell letter to the American people at the close of the war + (1783) urged four considerations: a strong central government, the payment + of the national debt, a well-organized militia, and the surrender by each + State of certain local privileges for the good of the whole. His "legacy," + as this letter came to be called, thus bequeathed to us Nationalism, + fortified on the one hand by Honor and on the other by Preparedness. + </p> + <p> + The Confederation floundered in the slough of inadequacy for several + years, however, before the people were sufficiently impressed with the + necessity of a federal government. When, finally, through the adroit + maneuver of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, the Constitutional + Convention was called in 1787, the people were in a somewhat chastened + mood, and delegates were sent to the Convention from all the States except + Rhode Island. + </p> + <p> + No sooner had the delegates convened and chosen George Washington as + presiding officer, than the two opposing sides of opinion were revealed, + the nationalist and the particularist, represented by the Federalists and + the Anti-Federalists, as they later termed themselves. The Convention, + however, was formed of the conservative leaders of the States, and its + completed work contained in a large measure, in spite of the great + compromises, the ideas of the Federalists. This achievement was made + possible by the absence from the Convention of the two types of men who + were to prove the greatest enemy of the new document when it was presented + for popular approval, namely, the office-holder or politician, who feared + that the establishment of a central government would deprive him of his + influence, and the popular demagogue, who viewed with suspicion all + evidence of organized authority. It was these two types, joined by a third—the + conscientious objector—who formed the AntiFederalist party to oppose + the adoption of the new Constitution. Had this opposition been + well-organized, it could unquestionably have defeated the Constitution, + even against its brilliant protagonists, Hamilton, Madison, Jay, and a + score of other masterly men. + </p> + <p> + The unanimous choice of Washington for President gave the new Government a + non-partizan initiation. In every way Washington attempted to foster the + spirit of an undivided household. He warned his countrymen against + partizanship and sinister political societies. But he called around his + council board talents which represented incompatible ideals of government. + Thomas Jefferson, the first Secretary of State, and Alexander Hamilton, + the first Secretary of the Treasury, might for a time unite their energies + under the wise chieftainship of Washington, but their political principles + could never be merged. And when, finally, Jefferson resigned, he became + forthwith the leader of the opposition—not to Washington, but to + Federalism as interpreted by Hamilton, John Adams, and Jay. + </p> + <p> + The name Anti-Federalist lost its aptness after the inauguration of the + Government. Jefferson and his school were not opposed to a federal + government. They were opposed only to its pretensions, to its assumption + of centralized power. Their deep faith in popular control is revealed in + the name they assumed, Democratic-Republican. They were eager to limit the + federal power to the glorification of the States; the Federalists were + ambitious to expand the federal power at the expense of localism. This is + what Jefferson meant when he wrote to Washington as early as 1792, "The + Republican party wish to preserve the Government in its present form." Now + this is a very definite and fundamental distinction. It involves the + political difference between government by the people and government by + the representatives of the people, and the practical difference between a + government by law and a government by mass-meeting. + </p> + <p> + Jefferson was a master organizer. At letter-writing, the one means of + communication in those days, he was a Hercules. His pen never wearied. He + soon had a compact party. It included not only most of the + Anti-Federalists, but the small politicians, the tradesmen and artisans, + who had worked themselves into a ridiculous frenzy over the French + Revolution and who despised Washington for his noble neutrality. But more + than these, Jefferson won over a number of distinguished men who had + worked for the adoption of the Constitution, the ablest of whom was James + Madison, often called "the Father of the Constitution." + </p> + <p> + The Jeffersonians, thus representing largely the debtor and farmer class, + led by men of conspicuous abilities, proceeded to batter down the prestige + of the Federalists. They declared themselves opposed to large expenditures + of public funds, to eager exploitation of government ventures, to the + Bank, and to the Navy, which they termed "the great beast with the great + belly." The Federalists included the commercial and creditor class and + that fine element in American life composed of leading families with whom + domination was an instinct, all led, fortunately, by a few idealists of + rare intellectual attainments. And, with the political stupidity often + characteristic of their class, they stumbled from blunder to blunder. In + 1800 Thomas Jefferson, who adroitly coined the mistakes of his opponents + into political currency for himself, was elected President. He had + received no more electoral votes than Aaron Burr, that mysterious + character in our early politics, but the election was decided by the House + of Representatives, where, after seven days' balloting, several + Federalists, choosing what to them was the lesser of two evils, cast the + deciding votes for Jefferson. When the Jeffersonians came to power, they + no longer opposed federal pretensions; they now, by one of those strange + veerings often found in American politics, began to give a liberal + interpretation to the Constitution, while the Federalists with equal + inconsistency became strict constructionists. Even Jefferson was ready to + sacrifice his theory of strict construction in order to acquire the + province of Louisiana. + </p> + <p> + The Jeffersonians now made several concessions to the manufacturers, and + with their support linked to that of the agriculturists Jeffersonian + democracy flourished without any potent opposition. The second war with + England lent it a doubtful luster but the years immediately following the + war restored public confidence. Trade flourished on the sea. The frontier + was rapidly pushed to the Mississippi and beyond into the vast empire + which Jefferson had purchased. When everyone is busy, no one cares for + political issues, especially those based upon philosophical differences. + So Madison and Monroe succeeded to the political regency which is known as + the Virginia Dynasty. + </p> + <p> + This complacent epoch culminated in Monroe's "Era of Good Feeling," which + proved to be only the hush before the tornado. The election of 1824 was + indecisive, and the House of Representatives was for a second time called + upon to decide the national choice. The candidates were John Quincy Adams, + Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and William H. Crawford. Clay threw his votes + to Adams, who was elected, thereby arousing the wrath of Jackson and of + the stalwart and irreconcilable frontiersmen who hailed him as their + leader. The Adams term merely marked a transition from the old order to + the new, from Jeffersonian to Jacksonian democracy. Then was the word + Republican dropped from the party name, and Democrat became an appellation + of definite and practical significance. + </p> + <p> + By this time many of the older States had removed the early restrictions + upon voting, and the new States carved out of the West had written manhood + suffrage into their constitutions. This new democracy flocked to its + imperator; and Jackson entered his capital in triumph, followed by a + motley crowd of frontiersmen in coonskin caps, farmers in butternut-dyed + homespun, and hungry henchmen eager for the spoils. For Jackson had let it + be known that he considered his election a mandate by the people to fill + the offices with his political adherents. + </p> + <p> + So the Democrats began their new lease of life with an orgy of spoils. + "Anybody is good enough for any job" was the favorite watchword. But + underneath this turmoil of desire for office, significant party + differences were shaping themselves. Henry Clay, the alluring orator and + master of compromise, brought together a coalition of opposing fragments. + He and his following objected to Jackson's assumption of vast executive + prerogatives, and in a brilliant speech in the Senate Clay espoused the + name Whig. Having explained the origin of the term in English and colonial + politics, he cried: "And what is the present but the same contest in + another form? The partizans of the present Executive sustain his favor in + the most boundless extent. The Whigs are opposing executive encroachment + and a most alarming extension of executive power and prerogative. They are + contending for the rights of the people, for free institutions, for the + supremacy of the Constitution and the laws." + </p> + <p> + There soon appeared three practical issues which forced the new alignment. + The first was the Bank. The charter of the United States Bank was about to + expire, and its friends sought a renewal. Jackson believed the Bank an + enemy of the Republic, as its officers were anti-Jacksonians, and he + promptly vetoed the bill extending the charter. The second issue was the + tariff. Protection was not new; but Clay adroitly renamed it, calling it + "the American system." It was popular in the manufacturing towns and in + portions of the agricultural communities, but was bitterly opposed by the + slave-owning States. + </p> + <p> + A third issue dealt with internal improvements. All parts of the country + were feeling the need of better means of communication, especially between + the West and the East. Canals and turnpikes were projected in every + direction. Clay, whose imagination was fervid, advocated a vast system of + canals and roads financed by national aid. But the doctrine of + states-rights answered that the Federal Government had no power to enter a + State, even to spend money on improvements, without the consent of that + State. And, at all events, for Clay to espouse was for Jackson to oppose. + </p> + <p> + These were the more important immediate issues of the conflict between + Clay's Whigs and Jackson's Democrats, though it must be acknowledged that + the personalities of the leaders were quite as much an issue as any of the + policies which they espoused. The Whigs, however, proved unequal to the + task of unhorsing their foes; and, with two exceptions, the Democrats + elected every President from Jackson to Lincoln. The exceptions were + William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor, both of whom were elected on + their war records and both of whom died soon after their inauguration. + Tyler, who as Vice-President succeeded General Harrison, soon estranged + the Whigs, so that the Democratic triumph was in effect continuous over a + period of thirty years. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, however, another issue was shaping the destiny of parties and + of the nation. It was an issue that politicians dodged and candidates + evaded, that all parties avoided, that publicists feared, and that + presidents and congressmen tried to hide under the tenuous fabric of their + compromises. But it was an issue that persisted in keeping alive and that + would not down, for it was an issue between right and wrong. Three times + the great Clay maneuvered to outflank his opponents over the smoldering + fires of the slavery issue, but he died before the repeal of the Missouri + Compromise gave the death-blow to his loosely gathered coalition. Webster, + too, and Calhoun, the other members of that brilliant trinity which + represented the genius of Constitutional Unionism, of States Rights, and + of Conciliation, passed away before the issue was squarely faced by a new + party organized for the purpose of opposing the further expansion of + slavery. + </p> + <p> + This new organization, the Republican party, rapidly assumed form and + solidarity. It was composed of Northern Whigs, of anti-slavery Democrats, + and of members of several minor groups, such as the Know-Nothing or + American party, the Liberty party, and included as well some of the + despised Abolitionists. The vote for Fremont, its first presidential + candidate, in 1856, showed it to be a sectional party, confined to the + North. But the definite recognition of slavery as an issue by an + opposition party had a profound effect upon the Democrats. Their Southern + wing now promptly assumed an uncompromising attitude, which, in 1860, + split the party into factions. The Southern wing named Breckinridge; the + Northern wing named Stephen A. Douglas; while many Democrats as well as + Whigs took refuge in a third party, calling itself the Constitutional + Union, which named John Bell. This division cost the Democrats the + election, for, under the unique and inspiring leadership of Abraham + Lincoln, the Republicans rallied the anti-slavery forces of the North and + won. + </p> + <p> + Slavery not only racked the parties and caused new alignments; it racked + and split the Union. It is one of the remarkable phenomena of our + political history that the Civil War did not destroy the Democratic party, + though the Southern chieftains of that party utterly lost their cause. The + reason is that the party never was as purely a Southern as the Republican + was a Northern party. Moreover, the arrogance and blunders of the + Republican leaders during the days of Reconstruction helped to keep it + alive. A baneful political heritage has been handed down to us from the + Civil War—the solid South. It overturns the national balance of + parties, perpetuates a pernicious sectionalism, and deprives the South of + that bipartizan rivalry which keeps open the currents of political life. + </p> + <p> + Since the Civil War the struggle between the two dominant parties has been + largely a struggle between the Ins and the Outs. The issues that have + divided them have been more apparent than real. The tariff, the civil + service, the trusts, and the long list of other "issues" do not denote + fundamental differences, but only variations of degree. Never in any + election during this long interval has there been definitely at stake a + great national principle, save for the currency issue of 1896 and the + colonial question following the War with Spain. The revolt of the + Progressives in 1912 had a character of its own; but neither of the old + parties squarely joined issue with the Progressives in the contest which + followed. The presidential campaign of 1916 afforded an opportunity to + place on trial before the people a great cause, for there undoubtedly + existed then in the country two great and opposing sides of public opinion—one + for and the other against war with Germany. Here again, however, the issue + was not joined but was adroitly evaded by both the candidates. + </p> + <p> + None the less there has been a difference between the two great parties. + The Republican party has been avowedly nationalistic, imperialistic, and + in favor of a vigorous constructive foreign policy. The Democratic party + has generally accepted the lukewarm international policy of Jefferson and + the exaltation of the locality and the plain individual as championed by + Jackson. Thus, though in a somewhat intangible and variable form, the + doctrinal distinctions between Hamilton and Jefferson have survived. + </p> + <p> + In the emergence of new issues, new parties are born. But it is one of the + singular characteristics of the American party system that third parties + are abortive. Their adherents serve mainly as evangelists, crying their + social and economic gospel in the political wilderness. If the issues are + vital, they are gradually absorbed by the older parties. + </p> + <p> + Before the Civil War several sporadic parties were formed. The most unique + was the Anti-Masonic party. It flourished on the hysteria caused by the + abduction of William Morgan of Batavia, in western New York, in 1826. + Morgan had written a book purporting to lay bare the secrets of + Freemasonry. His mysterious disappearance was laid at the doors of leading + Freemasons; and it was alleged that members of this order placed their + secret obligations above their duties as citizens and were hence unfit for + public office. The movement became impressive in Pennsylvania, Vermont, + Massachusetts, Ohio, and New York. It served to introduce Seward and + Fillmore into politics. Even a national party was organized, and William + Wirt, of Maryland, a distinguished lawyer, was nominated for President. He + received, however, only the electoral votes of Vermont. The excitement + soon cooled, and the party disappeared. + </p> + <p> + The American or Know-Nothing party had for its slogan "America for + Americans," and was a considerable factor in certain localities, + especially in New York and the Middle States, from 1853 to 1856. The Free + Soil party, espousing the cause of slavery restriction, named Martin Van + Buren as its presidential candidate and polled enough votes in the + election of 1848 to defeat Cass, the Democratic candidate. It did not + survive the election of 1852, but its essential principle was adopted by + the Republican party. + </p> + <p> + Since the Civil War, the currency question has twice given life to + third-party movements. The Greenbacks of 1876-1884 and the Populists of + the 90's were both of the West. Both carried on for a few years a vigorous + crusade, and both were absorbed by the older parties as the currency + question assumed concrete form and became a commanding political issue. + Since 1872, the Prohibitionists have named national tickets. Their + question, which was always dodged by the dominant parties, is now rapidly + nearing a solution. + </p> + <p> + The one apparently unreconcilable element in our political life is the + socialistic or labor party. Never of great importance in any national + election, the various labor parties have been of considerable influence in + local politics. Because of its magnitude, the labor vote has always been + courted by Democrats and Republicans with equal ardor but with varying + success. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. THE RISE OF THE MACHINE + </h2> + <p> + Ideas or principles alone, however eloquently and insistently proclaimed, + will not make a party. There must be organization. Thus we have two + distinct practical phases of American party politics: one regards the + party as an agency of the electorate, a necessary organ of democracy; the + other, the party as an organization, an army determined to achieve certain + conquests. Every party has, therefore, two aspects, each attracting a + different kind of person: one kind allured by the principles espoused; the + other, by the opportunities of place and personal gain in the + organization. The one kind typifies the body of voters; the other the + dominant minority of the party. + </p> + <p> + When one speaks, then, of a party in America, he embraces in that term: + first, the tenets or platform for which the party assumes to stand (i.e., + principles that may have been wrought out of experience, may have been + created by public opinion, or were perhaps merely made out of hand by + manipulators); secondly, the voters who profess attachment to these + principles; and thirdly, the political expert, the politician with his + organization or machine. Between the expert and the great following are + many gradations of party activity, from the occasional volunteer to the + chieftain who devotes all his time to "politics." + </p> + <p> + It was discovered very early in American experience that without + organization issues would disintegrate and principles remain but + scintillating axioms. Thus necessity enlisted executive talent and + produced the politician, who, having once achieved an organization, + remained at his post to keep it intact between elections and used it for + purposes not always prompted by the public welfare. + </p> + <p> + In colonial days, when the struggle began between Crown and Colonist, the + colonial patriots formed clubs to designate their candidates for public + office. In Massachusetts these clubs were known as "caucuses," a word + whose derivation is unknown, but which has now become fixed in our + political vocabulary. These early caucuses in Boston have been described + as follows: "Mr. Samuel Adams' father and twenty others, one or two from + the north end of the town, where all the ship business is carried on, used + to meet, make a caucus, and lay their plans for introducing certain + persons into places of trust and power. When they had settled it, they + separated, and used each their particular influence within his own circle. + He and his friends would furnish themselves with ballots, including the + names of the parties fixed upon, which they distributed on the day of + election. By acting in concert together with a careful and extensive + distribution of ballots they generally carried the elections to their own + mind." + </p> + <p> + As the revolutionary propaganda increased in momentum, caucuses assumed a + more open character. They were a sort of informal town meeting, where + neighbors met and agreed on candidates and the means of electing them. + After the adoption of the Constitution, the same methods were continued, + though modified to suit the needs of the new party alignments. In this + informal manner, local and even congressional candidates were named. + </p> + <p> + Washington was the unanimous choice of the nation. In the third + presidential election, John Adams was the tacitly accepted candidate of + the Federalists and Jefferson of the Democratic-Republicans, and no formal + nominations seem to have been made. But from 1800 to 1824 the presidential + candidates were designated by members of Congress in caucus. It was by + this means that the Virginia Dynasty fastened itself upon the country. The + congressional caucus, which was one of the most arrogant and compact + political machines that our politics has produced, discredited itself by + nominating William H. Crawford (1824), a machine politician, whom the + public never believed to be of presidential caliber. In the bitter fight + that placed John Quincy Adams in the White House and made Jackson the + eternal enemy of Clay, the congressional caucus met its doom. For several + years, presidential candidates were nominated by various informal methods. + In 1828 a number of state legislatures formally nominated Jackson. In + several States the party members of the legislatures in caucus nominated + presidential candidates. DeWitt Clinton was so designated by the New York + legislature in 1812 and Henry Clay by the Kentucky legislature in 1822. + Great mass meetings, often garnished with barbecues, were held in many + parts of the country in 1824 for indorsing the informal nominations of the + various candidates. + </p> + <p> + But none of these methods served the purpose. The President was a national + officer, backed by a national party, and chosen by a national electorate. + A national system of nominating the presidential candidates was demanded. + On September 26, 1831, 113 delegates of the Anti-Masonic party, + representing thirteen States, met in a national convention in Baltimore. + This was the first national nominating convention held in America. + </p> + <p> + In February, 1831, the Whig members of the Maryland legislature issued a + call for a national Whig convention. This was held in Baltimore the + following December. Eighteen States were represented by delegates, each + according to the number of presidential electoral votes it cast. Clay was + named for President. The first national Democratic convention met in + Baltimore on May 21, 1832, and nominated Jackson. + </p> + <p> + Since that time, presidential candidates have been named in national + conventions. There have been surprisingly few changes in procedure since + the first convention. It opened with a temporary organization, examined + the credentials of delegates, and appointed a committee on permanent + organization, which reported a roster of permanent officers. It appointed + a committee on platform—then called an address to the people; it + listened to eulogistic nominating speeches, balloted for candidates, and + selected a committee to notify the nominees of their designation. This is + practically the order of procedure today. The national convention is at + once the supreme court and the supreme legislature of the national party. + It makes its own rules, designates its committees, formulates their + procedure and defines their power, writes the platform, and appoints the + national executive committee. + </p> + <p> + Two rules that have played a significant part in these conventions deserve + special mention. The first Democratic convention, in order to insure the + nomination of Van Buren for Vice-President—the nomination of Jackson + for President was uncontested—adopted the rule that "two-thirds of + the whole number of the votes in the convention shall be necessary to + constitute a choice." This "two-thirds" rule, so undemocratic in its + nature, remains the practice of the Democratic party today. The Whigs and + Republicans always adhered to the majority rule. The early Democratic + conventions also adopted the practice of allowing the majority of the + delegates from any State to cast the vote of the entire delegation from + that State, a rule which is still adhered to by the Democrats. But the + Republicans have since 1876 adhered to the policy of allowing each + individual delegate to cast his vote as he chooses. + </p> + <p> + The convention was by no means novel when accepted as a national organ for + a national party. As early as 1789 an informal convention was held in the + Philadelphia State House for nominating Federalist candidates for the + legislature. The practice spread to many Pennsylvania counties and to + other States, and soon this informality of self-appointed delegates gave + way to delegates appointed according to accepted rules. When the + legislative caucus as a means for nominating state officers fell into + disrepute, state nominating conventions took its place. In 1812 one of the + earliest movements for a state convention was started by Tammany Hall, + because it feared that the legislative caucus would nominate DeWitt + Clinton, its bitterest foe. The caucus, however, did not name Clinton, and + the convention was not assembled. The first state nominating convention + was held in Utica, New York, in 1824 by that faction of the Democratic + party calling itself the People's party. The custom soon spread to every + State, so that by 1835 it was firmly established. County and city + conventions also took the place of the caucus for naming local candidates. + </p> + <p> + But nominations are only the beginning of the contest, and obviously + caucuses and conventions cannot conduct campaigns. So from the beginning + these nominating bodies appointed campaign committees. With the increase + in population came the increased complexity of the committee system. By + 1830 many of the States had perfected a series of state, district, and + county committees. + </p> + <p> + There remained the necessity of knitting these committees into a national + unity. The national convention which nominated Clay in 1831 appointed a + "Central State Corresponding Committee" in each State where none existed, + and it recommended "to the several States to organize subordinate + corresponding committees in each county and town." This was the beginning + of what soon was to evolve into a complete national hierarchy of + committees. In 1848 the Democratic convention appointed a permanent + national committee, composed of one member from each State. This committee + was given the power to call the next national convention, and from the + start became the national executive body of the party. + </p> + <p> + It is a common notion that the politician and his machine are of + comparatively recent origin. But the American politician arose + contemporaneously with the party, and with such singular fecundity of ways + and means that it is doubtful if his modern successors could teach him + anything. McMaster declares: "A very little study of long-forgotten + politics will suffice to show that in filibustering and gerrymandering, in + stealing governorships and legislatures, in using force at the polls, in + colonizing and in distributing patronage to whom patronage is due, in all + the frauds and tricks that go to make up the worst form of practical + politics, the men who founded our state and national governments were + always our equals, and often our masters." And this at a time when only + propertied persons could vote in any of the States and when only professed + Christians could either vote or hold office in two of them! + </p> + <p> + While Washington was President, Tammany Hall, the first municipal machine, + began its career; and presently George Clinton, Governor of New York, and + his nephew, DeWitt Clinton, were busy organizing the first state machine. + The Clintons achieved their purpose through the agency of a Council of + Appointment, prescribed by the first Constitution of the State, consisting + of the Governor and four senators chosen by the legislature. This council + had the appointment of nearly all the civil officers of the State from + Secretary of State to justices of the peace and auctioneers, making a + total of 8287 military and 6663 civil offices. As the emoluments of some + of these offices were relatively high, the disposal of such patronage was + a plum-tree for the politician. The Clintons had been Anti-Federalists and + had opposed the adoption of the Constitution. In 1801 DeWitt Clinton + became a member of the Council of Appointment and soon dictated its + action. The head of every Federalist office-holder fell. Sheriffs, county + clerks, surrogates, recorders, justices by the dozen, auctioneers by the + score, were proscribed for the benefit of the Clintons. De Witt was sent + to the United States Senate in 1802, and at the age of thirty-three he + found himself on the highroad to political eminence. But he resigned + almost at once to become Mayor of New York City, a position he occupied + for about ten years, years filled with the most venomous fights between + Burrites and Bucktails. Clinton organized a compact machine in the city. A + biased contemporary description of this machine has come down to us. "You + [Clinton] are encircled by a mercenary band, who, while they offer + adulation to your system of error, are ready at the first favorable moment + to forsake and desert you. A portion of them are needy young men, who + without maturely investigating the consequence, have sacrificed principle + to self-aggrandizement. Others are mere parasites, that well know the + tenure on which they hold their offices, and will ever pay implicit + obedience to those who administer to their wants. Many of your followers + are among the most profligate of the community. They are the bane of + social and domestic happiness, senile and dependent panderers." + </p> + <p> + In 1812 Clinton became a candidate for President and polled 89 electoral + votes against Madison's 128. Subsequently he became Governor of New York + on the Erie Canal issue; but his political cunning seems to have forsaken + him; and his perennial quarrels with every other faction in his State made + him the object of a constant fire of vituperation. He had, however, taught + all his enemies the value of spoils, and he adhered to the end to the + political action he early advised a friend to adopt: "In a political + warfare, the defensive side will eventually lose. The meekness of + Quakerism will do in religion but not in politics. I repeat it, everything + will answer to energy and decision." + </p> + <p> + Martin Van Buren was an early disciple of Clinton. Though he broke with + his political chief in 1813, he had remained long enough in the Clinton + school to learn every trick; and he possessed such native talent for + intrigue, so smooth a manner, and such a wonderful memory for names, that + he soon found himself at the head of a much more perfect and far-reaching + machine than Clinton had ever dreamed of. The Empire State has never + produced the equal of Van Buren as a manipulator of legislatures. No + modern politician would wish to face publicity if he resorted to the petty + tricks that Van Buren used in legislative politics. And when, in 1821, he + was elected to the Senate of the United States, he became one of the + organizers of the first national machine. + </p> + <p> + The state machine of Van Buren was long known as the "Albany Regency." It + included several very able politicians: William L. Marcy, who became + United States Senator in 1831; Silas Wright, elected Senator in 1833; John + A. Dix, who became Senator in 1845; Benjamin F. Butler, who was United + States Attorney-General under President Van Buren, besides a score or more + of prominent state officials. It had an influential organ in the Albany + Argus, lieutenants in every county, and captains in every town. Its + confidential agents kept the leaders constantly informed of the political + situation in every locality; and its discipline made the wish of Van Buren + and his colleagues a command. Federal and local patronage and a sagacious + distribution of state contracts sustained this combination. When the + practice of nominating by conventions began, the Regency at once discerned + the strategic value of controlling delegates, and, until the break in the + Democratic party in 1848, it literally reigned in the State. + </p> + <p> + With the disintegration of the Federalist party came the loss of + concentrated power by the colonial families of New England and New York. + The old aristocracy of the South was more fortunate in the maintenance of + its power. Jefferson's party was not only well disciplined; it gave its + confidence to a people still accustomed to class rule and in turn was + supported by them. In a strict sense the Virginia Dynasty was not a + machine like Van Buren's Albany Regency. It was the effect of the + concentrated influence of men of great ability rather than a definite + organization. The congressional caucus was the instrument through which + their influence was made practical. In 1816, however, a considerable + movement was started to end the Virginia monopoly. It spread to the + Jeffersonians of the North. William H. Crawford, of Georgia, and Daniel + Tompkins, of New York, came forward as competitors with Monroe for the + caucus nomination. The knowledge of this intrigue fostered the rising + revolt against the caucus. Twenty-two Republicans, many of whom were known + to be opposed to the caucus system, absented themselves. Monroe was + nominated by the narrow margin of eleven votes over Crawford. By the time + Monroe had served his second term the discrediting of the caucus was made + complete by the nomination of Crawford by a thinly attended gathering of + his adherents, who presumed to act for the party. The Virginia Dynasty had + no further favorites to foster, and a new political force swept into power + behind the dominating personality of Andrew Jackson. + </p> + <p> + The new Democracy, however, did not remove the aristocratic power of the + slaveholder; and from Jackson's day to Buchanan's this became an + increasing force in the party councils. The slavery question illustrates + how a compact group of capable and determined men, dominated by an + economic motive, can exercise for years in the political arena a + preponderating influence, even though they represent an actual minority of + the nation. This untoward condition was made possible by the political + sagacity and persistence of the party managers and by the unwillingness of + a large portion of the people to bring the real issue to a head. + </p> + <p> + Before the Civil War, then, party organization had become a fixed and + necessary incident in American politics. The war changed the face of our + national affairs. The changes wrought multiplied the opportunities of the + professional politician, and in these opportunities, as well as in the + transfused energies and ideals of the people, we must seek the causes for + those perversions of party and party machinery which have characterized + our modern epoch. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. THE TIDE OF MATERIALISM + </h2> + <p> + The Civil War, which shocked the country into a new national consciousness + and rearranged the elements of its economic life, also brought about a new + era in political activity and management. The United States after + Appomattox was a very different country from the United States before + Sumter was fired upon. The war was a continental upheaval, like the + Appalachian uplift in our geological history, producing sharp and profound + readjustments. + </p> + <p> + Despite the fact that in 1864 Lincoln had been elected on a Union ticket + supported by War Democrats, the Republicans claimed the triumphs of the + war as their own. They emerged from the struggle with the enormous + prestige of a party triumphant and with "Saviors of the Union" inscribed + on their banners. + </p> + <p> + The death of their wise and great leader opened the door to a violent + partizan orgy. President Andrew Johnson could not check the fury of the + radical reconstructionists; and a new political era began in a riot of + dogmatic and insolent dictatorship, which was intensified by the mob of + carpetbaggers, scalawags, and freedmen in the South, and not abated by the + lawless promptings of the Ku-Klux to regain patrician leadership in the + home of secession nor by the baneful resentment of the North. The soldier + was made a political asset. For a generation the "bloody shirt" was waved + before the eyes of the Northern voter; and the evils, both grotesque and + gruesome, of an unnatural reconstruction are not yet forgotten in the + South. + </p> + <p> + A second opportunity of the politician was found in the rapid economic + expansion that followed the war. The feeling of security in the North + caused by the success of the Union arms buoyed an unbounded optimism which + made it easy to enlist capital in new enterprises, and the protective + tariff and liberal banking law stimulated industry. Exports of raw + material and food products stimulated mining, grazing, and farming. + European capital sought investments in American railroads, mines, and + industrial under-takings. In the decade following the war the output of + pig iron doubled, that of coal multiplied by five, and that of steel by + one hundred. Superior iron and copper, Pennsylvania coal and oil, Nevada + and California gold and silver, all yielded their enormous values to this + new call of enterprise. Inventions and manufactures of all kinds + flourished. During 1850-60 manufacturing establishments had increased by + fourteen per cent. During 1860-70 they increased seventy-nine per cent. + </p> + <p> + The Homestead Act of May 20, 1862, opened vast areas of public lands to a + new immigration. The flow of population was westward, and the West called + for communication with the East. The Union Pacific and Central Pacific + railways, the pioneer transcontinental lines, fostered on generous grants + of land, were the tokens of the new transportation movement. Railroads + were pushing forward everywhere with unheard-of rapidity. Short lines were + being merged into far-reaching systems. In the early seventies the + Pennsylvania system was organized and the Vanderbilts acquired control of + lines as far west as Chicago. Soon the Baltimore and Ohio system extended + its empire of trade to the Mississippi. Half a dozen ambitious + trans-Mississippi systems, connecting with four new transcontinental + projects, were put into operation. + </p> + <p> + Prosperity is always the opportunity of the politician. What is of + greatest significance to the student of politics is that prosperity at + this time was organized on a new basis. Before the war business had been + conducted largely by individuals or partnerships. The unit was small; the + amount of capital needed was limited. But now the unit was expanding so + rapidly, the need for capital was so lavish, the empire of trade so + extensive, that a new mechanism of ownership was necessary. This device, + of course, was the corporation. It had, indeed, existed as a trading unit + for many years. But the corporation before 1860 was comparatively small + and was generally based upon charters granted by special act of the + legislature. + </p> + <p> + No other event has had so practical a bearing on our politics and our + economic and social life as the advent of the corporate device for owning + and manipulating private business. For it links the omnipotence of the + State to the limitations of private ownership; it thrusts the interests of + private business into every legislature that grants charters or passes + regulating acts; it diminishes, on the other hand, that stimulus to + honesty and correct dealing which a private individual discerns to be his + greatest asset in trade, for it replaces individual responsibility with + group responsibility and scatters ownership among so large a number of + persons that sinister manipulation is possible. + </p> + <p> + But if the private corporation, through its interest in broad charter + privileges and liberal corporation laws and its devotion to the tariff and + to conservative financial policies, found it convenient to do business + with the politician and his organization, the quasi-public corporations, + especially the steam railroads and street railways, found it almost + essential to their existence. They received not only their franchises but + frequently large bonuses from the public treasury. The Pacific roads alone + were endowed with an empire of 145,000,000 acres of public land. States, + counties, and cities freely loaned their credit and gave ample charters to + new railway lines which were to stimulate prosperity. + </p> + <p> + City councils, legislatures, mayors, governors, Congress, and presidents + were drawn into the maelstrom of commercialism. It is not surprising that + side by side with the new business organization there grew up a new + political organization, and that the new business magnate was accompanied + by a new political magnate. The party machine and the party boss were the + natural product of the time, which was a time of gain and greed. It was a + sordid reaction, indeed, from the high principles that sought victory on + the field of battle and that found their noblest embodiment in the + character of Abraham Lincoln. + </p> + <p> + The dominant and domineering party chose the leading soldier of the North + as its candidate for President. General Grant, elected as a popular idol + because of his military genius, possessed neither the experience nor the + skill to countermove the machinations of designing politicians and their + business allies. On the other hand, he soon displayed an admiration for + business success that placed him at once in accord with the spirit of the + hour. He exalted men who could make money rather than men who could + command ideas. He chose Alexander T. Stewart, the New York merchant + prince, one of the three richest men of his day, for Secretary of the + Treasury. The law, however, forbade the appointment to this office of any + one who should "directly or indirectly be concerned or interested in + carrying on the business of trade or commerce," and Stewart was + disqualified. Adolph E. Borie of Philadelphia, whose qualifications were + the possession of great wealth and the friendship of the President, was + named Secretary of the Navy. Another personal friend, John A. Rawlins, was + named Secretary of War. A third friend, Elihu B. Washburne of Illinois, + was made Secretary of State. Washburne soon resigned, and Hamilton Fish of + New York was appointed in his place. Fish, together with General Jacob D. + Cox of Ohio, Secretary of the Interior, and Judge E. Rockwood Hoar of + Massachusetts, Attorney-General, formed a strong triumvirate of ability + and character in the Cabinet. But, while Grant displayed pleasure in the + companionship of these eminent men, they never possessed his complete + confidence. When the machinations for place and favor began, Hoar and Cox + were in the way. Hoar had offended the Senate in his recommendations for + federal circuit judges (the circuit court was then newly established), and + when the President named him for Justice of the Supreme Court, Hoar was + rejected. Senator Cameron, one of the chief spoils politicians of the + time, told Hoar frankly why: "What could you expect for a man who had + snubbed seventy Senators!" A few months later (June, 1870), the President + bluntly asked for Hoar's resignation, a sacrifice to the gods of the + Senate, to purchase their favor for the Santo Domingo treaty. + </p> + <p> + Cox resigned in the autumn. As Secretary of the Interior he had charge of + the Patent Office, Census Bureau, and Indian Service, all of them + requiring many appointments. He had attempted to introduce a sort of civil + service examination for applicants and had vehemently protested against + political assessments levied on clerks in his department. He especially + offended Senators Cameron and Chandler, party chieftains who had the ear + of the President. General Cox stated the matter plainly: "My views of the + necessity of reform in the civil service had brought me more or less into + collision with the plans of our active political managers and my sense of + duty has obliged me to oppose some of their methods of action." These + instances reveal how the party chieftains insisted inexorably upon their + demands. To them the public service was principally a means to satisfy + party ends, and the chief duty of the President and his Cabinet was to + satisfy the claims of party necessity. General Cox said that distributing + offices occupied "the larger part of the time of the President and all his + Cabinet." General Garfield wrote (1877): "One-third of the working hours + of Senators and Representatives is hardly sufficient to meet the demands + made upon them in reference to appointments to office." + </p> + <p> + By the side of the partizan motives stalked the desire for gain. There + were those to whom parties meant but the opportunity for sudden wealth. + The President's admiration for commercial success and his inability to + read the motives of sycophants multiplied their opportunities, and in the + eight years of his administration there was consummated the baneful union + of business and politics. + </p> + <p> + During the second Grant campaign (1872), when Horace Greeley was making + his astounding run for President, the New York Sun hinted at gross and + wholesale briberies of Congressmen by Oakes Ames and his associates who + had built the Union Pacific Railroad, an enterprise which the United + States had generously aided with loans and gifts. + </p> + <p> + Three committees of Congress, two in the House and one in the Senate (the + Poland Committee, the Wilson Committee, and the Senate Committee), + subsequently investigated the charges. Their investigations disclosed the + fact that Ames, then a member of the House of Representatives, the + principal stockholder in the Union Pacific, and the soul of the + enterprise, had organized, under an existing Pennsylvania charter, a + construction company called the Credit Mobilier, whose shares were issued + to Ames and his associates. To the Credit Mobilier were issued the bonds + and stock of the Union Pacific, which had been paid for "at not more than + thirty cents on the dollar in road-making." * As the United States, in + addition to princely gifts of land, had in effect guaranteed the cost of + construction by authorizing the issue of Government bonds, dollar for + dollar and side by side with the bonds of the road, the motive of the + magnificent shuffle, which gave the road into the hands of a construction + company, was clear. Now it was alleged that stock of the Credit Mobilier, + paying dividends of three hundred and forty per cent, had been distributed + by Ames among many of his fellow-Congressmen, in order to forestall a + threatened investigation. It was disclosed that some of the members had + refused point blank to have anything to do with the stock; others had + refused after deliberation; others had purchased some of it outright; + others, alas!, had "purchased" it, to be paid for out of its own + dividends. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Testimony before the Wilson Committee. +</pre> + <p> + The majority of the members involved in the nasty affair were absolved by + the Poland Committee from "any corrupt motive or purpose." But Oakes Ames + of Massachusetts and James Brooks of New York were recommended for + expulsion from the House and Patterson of New Hampshire from the Senate. + The House, however, was content with censuring Ames and Brooks, and the + Senate permitted Patterson's term to expire, since only five days of it + remained. Whatever may have been the opinion of Congress, and whatever a + careful reading of the testimony discloses to an impartial mind at this + remote day, upon the voters of that time the revelations came as a shock. + Some of the most trusted Congressmen were drawn into the miasma of + suspicion, among them Garfield; Dawes; Scofield; Wilson, the newly elected + Vice-President; Colfax, the outgoing Vice-President. Colfax had been a + popular idol, with the Presidency in his vision; now bowed and disgraced, + he left the national capital never to return with a public commission. + </p> + <p> + In 1874 came the disclosures of the Whiskey Ring. They involved United + States Internal Revenue officers and distillers in the revenue district of + St. Louis and a number of officials at Washington. Benjamin H. Bristow, on + becoming Secretary of the Treasury in June of that year, immediately + scented corruption. He discovered that during 1871-74 only about one-third + of the whiskey shipped from St. Louis had paid the tax and that the + Government had been defrauded of nearly $3,000,000. "If a distiller was + honest," says James Ford Rhodes, the eminent historian, "he was entrapped + into some technical violation of the law by the officials, who by virtue + of their authority seized his distillery, giving him the choice of + bankruptcy or a partnership in their operations; and generally he + succumbed." + </p> + <p> + McDonald, the supervisor of the St. Louis revenue district, was the leader + of the Whiskey Ring. He lavished gifts upon President Grant, who, with an + amazing indifference and innocence, accepted such favors from all kinds of + sources. Orville E. Babcock, the President's private secretary, who + possessed the complete confidence of the guileless general, was soon + enmeshed in the net of investigation. Grant at first declared, "If Babcock + is guilty, there is no man who wants him so much proven guilty as I do, + for it is the greatest piece of traitorism to me that a man could possibly + practice." When Babcock was indicted, however, for complicity to defraud + the Government, the President did not hesitate to say on oath that he had + never seen anything in Babcock's behavior which indicated that he was in + any way interested in the Whiskey Ring and that he had always had "great + confidence in his integrity and efficiency." In other ways the President + displayed his eagerness to defend his private secretary. The jury + acquitted Babcock, but the public did not. He was compelled to resign + under pressure of public condemnation, and was afterwards indicted for + conspiracy to rob a safe of documents of an incriminating character. But + Grant seems never to have lost faith in him. Three of the men sent to + prison for their complicity in the whiskey fraud were pardoned after six + months. McDonald, the chieftain of the gang, served but one year of his + term. + </p> + <p> + The exposure of the Whiskey Ring was followed by an even more startling + humiliation. The House Committee on Expenditures in the War Department + recommended that General William W. Belknap, Secretary of War, be + impeached for "high crimes and misdemeanors while in office," and the + House unanimously adopted the recommendation. The evidence upon which the + committee based its drastic recommendation disclosed the most sordid + division of spoils between the Secretary and his wife and two rascals who + held in succession the valuable post of trader at Fort Sill in the Indian + Territory. + </p> + <p> + The committee's report was read about three o'clock in the afternoon of + March 2, 1876. In the forenoon of the same day Belknap had sent his + resignation to the President, who had accepted it immediately. The + President and Belknap were personal friends. But the certainty of + Belknap's perfidy was not removed by the attitude of the President, nor by + the vote of the Senate on the article of impeachment—37 guilty, 25 + not guilty-for the evidence was too convincing. The public knew by this + time Grant's childlike failing in sticking to his friends; and 93 of the + 25 Senators who voted not guilty had publicly declared they did so, not + because they believed him innocent, but because they believed they had no + jurisdiction over an official who had resigned. + </p> + <p> + There were many minor indications of the harvest which gross materialism + was reaping in the political field. State and city governments were + surrendered to political brigands. In 1871 the Governor of Nebraska was + removed for embezzlement. Kansas was startled by revelations of brazen + bribery in her senatorial elections (1872-1873). General Schenck, + representing the United States at the Court of St. James, humiliated his + country by dabbling in a fraudulent mining scheme. + </p> + <p> + In a speech before the Senate, then trying General Belknap, Senator George + F. Hoar, on May 6, 1876, summed up the greater abominations: + </p> + <p> + "My own public life has been a very brief and insignificant one, extending + little beyond the duration of a single term of senatorial office. But in + that brief period I have seen five judges of a high court of the United + States driven from office by threats of impeachment for corruption or + maladministration. I have heard the taunt from friendliest lips, that when + the United States presented herself in the East to take part with the + civilized world in generous competition in the arts of life, the only + products of her institutions in which she surpassed all others beyond + question was her corruption. I have seen in the State in the Union + foremost in power and wealth four judges of her courts impeached for + corruption, and the political administration of her chief city become a + disgrace and a byword throughout the world. I have seen the chairman of + the Committee on Military Affairs in the House rise in his place and + demand the expulsion of four of his associates for making sale of their + official privilege of selecting the youths to be educated at our great + military schools. When the greatest railroad of the world, binding + together the continent and uniting the two great seas which wash our + shores, was finished, I have seen our national triumph and exaltation + turned to bitterness and shame by the unanimous reports of three + committees of Congress—two in the House and one here—that + every step of that mighty enterprise had been taken in fraud. I have heard + in highest places the shameless doctrine avowed by men grown old in public + office that the true way by which power should be gained in the Republic + is to bribe the people with the offices created for their service, and the + true end for which it should be used when gained is the promotion of + selfish ambition and the gratification of personal revenge. I have heard + that suspicions haunt the footsteps of the trusted companions of the + President." + </p> + <p> + These startling facts did not shatter the prestige of the Republicans, the + "Saviors of the Union," nor humble their leaders. One of them, Senator + Foraker, says: * "The campaign (1876) on the part of the Democrats gave + emphasis to the reform idea and exploited Tilden as the great reform + governor of New York and the best fitted man in the country to bring about + reforms in the Government of the United States. No reforms were needed: + but a fact like that never interfered with a reform campaign." The + orthodoxy of the politician remained unshaken. Foraker's reasons were the + creed of thousands: "The Republican party had prosecuted the war + successfully; had reconstructed the States; had rehabilitated our + finances, and brought on specie redemption." The memoirs of politicians + and statesmen of this period, such as Cullom, Foraker, Platt, even Hoar, + are imbued with an inflexible faith in the party and colored by the + conviction that it is a function of Government to aid business. Platt, for + instance, alluding to Blaine's attitude as Speaker, in the seventies, + said: "What I liked about him was his frank and persistent contention that + the citizen who best loved his party and was loyal to it, was loyal to and + best loved his country." And many years afterwards, when a new type of + leader appeared representing a new era of conviction, Platt was deeply + concerned. His famous letter to Roosevelt, when the Rough Rider was being + mentioned for Governor of New York (1899), shows the reluctance of the old + man to see the signs of the times: "The thing that really did bother me + was this: I had heard from a great many sources that you were a little + loose on the relations of capital and labor, on trusts and combinations, + and indeed on the numerous questions which have recently arisen in + politics affecting the security of earnings and the right of a man to run + his own business in his own way, with due respect of course to the Ten + Commandments and the Penal Code." + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * "Notes from a Busy Life", vol. I., 98. +</pre> + <p> + The leaders of both the great parties firmly and honestly believed that it + was the duty of the Government to aid private enterprise, and that by + stimulating business everybody is helped. This article of faith, with the + doctrine of the sanctity of the party, was a natural product of the + conditions outlined in the beginning of this chapter—the war and the + remarkable economic expansion following the war. It was the cause of the + alliance between business and politics. It made the machine and the boss + the sinister and ever present shadows of legitimate organization and + leadership. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. THE POLITICIAN AND THE CITY + </h2> + <p> + The gigantic national machine that was erected during Grant's + administration would have been ineffectual without local sources of power. + These sources of power were found in the cities, now thriving on the + new-born commerce and industry, increasing marvelously in numbers and in + size, and offering to the political manipulator opportunities that have + rarely been paralleled. * + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Between 1860 and 1890 the number of cities of 8000 or more + inhabitants increased from 141 to 448, standing at 226 in + 1870. In 1865 less than 20% of our people lived in the + cities; in 1890, over 30%; in 1900, 40%; in 1910, 46.3%. By + 1890 there were six cities with more than half a million + inhabitants, fifteen with more than 200,000, and twenty- + eight with more than 100,000. In 1910 there were twenty- + eight cities with a population over 200,000, fifty cities + over 100,000, and ninety-eight over 50,000. It was no + uncommon occurrence for a city to double its population in a + decade. In ten years Birmingham gained 245%, Los Angeles, + 211%, Seattle, 194%, Spokane, 183%, Dallas, 116%, + Schenectady, 129%. +</pre> + <p> + The governmental framework of the American city is based on the English + system as exemplified in the towns of Colonial America. Their charters + were received from the Crown and their business was conducted by a mayor + and a council composed of aldermen and councilmen. The mayor was usually + appointed; the council elected by a property-holding electorate. In New + England the glorified town meeting was an important agency of local + government. + </p> + <p> + After the Revolution, mayors as well as councilmen were elected, and the + charters of the towns were granted by the legislature, not by the + executive, of the State. In colonial days charters had been granted by the + King. They had fixed for the city certain immunities and well-defined + spheres of autonomy. But when the legislatures were given the power to + grant charters, they reduced the charter to the level of a statutory + enactment, which could be amended or repealed by any successive + legislature, thereby opening up a convenient field for political + maneuvering. The courts have, moreover, construed these charters strictly, + holding the cities closely bound to those powers which the legislatures + conferred upon them. + </p> + <p> + The task of governing the early American town was simple enough. In 1790 + New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and Charleston were the only + towns in the United States of over 8000 inhabitants; all together they + numbered scarcely 130,000. Their populations were homogeneous; their wants + were few; and they were still in that happy childhood when every voter + knew nearly every other voter and when everybody knew his neighbor's + business as well as his own, and perhaps better. + </p> + <p> + Gradually the towns awoke to their newer needs and demanded public service—lighting, + street cleaning, fire protection, public education. All these matters, + however, could be easily looked after by the mayor and the council + committees. But when these towns began to spread rapidly into cities, they + quickly outgrew their colonial garments. Yet the legislatures were loath + to cast the old garments aside. One may say that from 1840 to 1901, when + the Galveston plan of commission government was inaugurated, American + municipal government was nothing but a series of contests between a small + body of alert citizens attempting to fix responsibility on public officers + and a few adroit politicians attempting to elude responsibility; both + sides appealing to an electorate which was habitually somnolent but + subject to intermittent awakenings through spasms of righteousness. + </p> + <p> + During this epoch no important city remained immune from ruthless + legislative interference. Year after year the legislature shifted officers + and responsibilities at the behest of the boss. "Ripper bills" were + passed, tearing up the entire administrative systems of important + municipalities. The city was made the plaything of the boss and the + machine. + </p> + <p> + Throughout the constant shifts that our city governments have undergone + one may, however, discern three general plans of government. + </p> + <p> + The first was the centering of power in the city council, whether composed + of two chambers—a board of aldermen and a common council—as in + New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, or of one council, as in many lesser + cities. It soon became apparent that a large body, whose chief function is + legislation, is utterly unfit to look after administrative details. Such a + body, in order to do business, must act through committees. Responsibility + is scattered. Favoritism is possible in letting contracts, in making + appointments, in depositing city funds, in making public improvements, in + purchasing supplies and real estate, and in a thousand other ways. So, by + controlling the appointment of committees, a shrewd manipulator could + virtually control all the municipal activities and make himself overlord + of the city. + </p> + <p> + The second plan of government attempted to make the mayor the controlling + force. It reduced the council to a legislative body and exalted the mayor + into a real executive with power to appoint and to remove heads of + departments, thereby making him responsible for the city administration. + Brooklyn under Mayor Seth Low was an encouraging example of this type of + government. But the type was rarely found in a pure form. The politician + succeeded either in electing a subservient mayor or in curtailing the + mayor's authority by having the heads of departments elected or appointed + by the council or made subject to the approval of the council. If the + council held the key to the city treasury, the boss reigned, for + councilmen from properly gerrymandered wards could usually be trusted to + execute his will. + </p> + <p> + The third form of government was government by boards. Here it was + attempted to place the administration of various municipal activities in + the hands of independent boards. Thus a board had charge of the police, + another of the fire department, another of public works, and so on. Often + there were a dozen of these boards and not infrequently over thirty in a + single city, as in Philadelphia. Sometimes these boards were elected by + the people; sometimes they were appointed by the council; sometimes they + were appointed by the mayor; in one or two instances they were appointed + by the Governor. Often their powers were shared with committees of the + council; a committee on police, for instance, shared with the Board of + Police Commissioners the direction of police affairs. Usually these boards + were responsible to no one but the electorate (and that remotely) and were + entirely without coordination, a mere agglomeration of independent + creations generally with ill-defined powers. + </p> + <p> + Sometimes the laws provided that not all the members of the appointive + boards should "belong to the same political party" or "be of the same + political opinion in state and national issues." It was clearly the + intention to wipe out the partizan complexion of such boards. But this + device was no stumbling-block to the boss. Whatever might be the + "opinions" on national matters of the men appointed, they usually had a + perfect understanding with the appointing authorities as to local matters. + As late as 1898, a Democratic mayor of New York (Van Wyck) summarily + removed the two Republican members of the Board of Police Commissioners + and replaced them by Republicans after his own heart. In truth, the + bipartizan board fitted snugly into the dual party regime that existed in + many cities, whereby the county offices were apportioned to one party, the + city offices to the other, and the spoils to both. It is doubtful if any + device was ever more deceiving and less satisfactory than the bipartizan + board. + </p> + <p> + The reader must not be led to think that any one of these plans of + municipal government prevailed at any one time. They all still exist, + contemporaneously with the newer commission plan and the city manager + plan. + </p> + <p> + Hand in hand with these experiments in governmental mechanisms for the + growing cities went a rapidly increasing expenditure of public funds. + Streets had to be laid out, paved, and lighted; sewers extended; + firefighting facilities increased; schools built; parks, boulevards, and + playgrounds acquired, and scores of new activities undertaken by the + municipality. All these brought grist to the politician's mill. So did his + control of the police force and the police courts. And finally, with the + city reaching its eager streets far out into the country, came the + necessity for rapid transportation, which opened up for the municipal + politician a new El Dorado. + </p> + <p> + Under our laws the right of a public service corporation to occupy the + public streets is based upon a franchise from the city. Before the days of + the referendum the franchise was granted by the city council, usually as a + monopoly, sometimes in perpetuity; and, until comparatively recent years, + the corporation paid nothing to the city for the rights it acquired. + </p> + <p> + When we reflect that within a few decades of the discovery of electric + power, every city, large and small, had its street-car and electric-light + service, and that most of these cities, through their councils, gave away + these monopoly rights for long periods of time, we can imagine the + princely aggregate of the gifts which public service corporations have + received at the hands of our municipal governments, and the nature of the + temptations these corporations were able to spread before the greedy gaze + of those whose gesture would seal the grant. + </p> + <p> + But it was not only at the granting of the franchise that the boss and his + machine sought for spoils. A public service corporation, being constantly + asked for favors, is a continuing opportunity for the political + manipulator. Public service corporations could share their patronage with + the politician in exchange for favors. Through their control of many jobs, + and through their influence with banks, they could show a wide assortment + of favors to the politician in return for his influence; for instance, in + the matter of traffic regulations, permission to tear up the streets, + inspection laws, rate schedules, tax assessments, coroners' reports, or + juries. + </p> + <p> + When the politician went to the voters, he adroitly concealed his designs + under the name of one of the national parties. Voters were asked to vote + for a Republican or a Democrat, not for a policy of municipal + administration or other local policies. The system of committees, + caucuses, conventions, built up in every city, was linked to the national + organization. A citizen of New York, for instance, was not asked to vote + for the Broadway Franchise, which raised such a scandal in the eighties, + but to vote for aldermen running on a national tariff ticket! + </p> + <p> + The electorate was somnolent and permitted the politician to have his way. + The multitudes of the city came principally from two sources, from Europe + and from the rural districts of our own country. Those who came to the + city from the country were prompted by industrial motives; they sought + wider opportunities; they soon became immersed in their tasks and paid + little attention to public questions. The foreign immigrants who congested + our cities were alien to American institutions. They formed a + heterogeneous population to whom a common ideal of government was unknown + and democracy a word without meaning. These foreigners were easily + influenced and easily led. Under the old naturalization laws, they were + herded into the courts just before election and admitted to citizenship. + In New York they were naturalized under the guidance of wardheelers, not + infrequently at the rate of one a minute! And, before the days of + registration laws, ballots were distributed to them and they were led to + the polls, as charity children are given excursion tickets and are led to + their annual summer's day picnic. + </p> + <p> + The slipshod methods of naturalization have been revealed since the new + law (1906) has been in force. Tens of thousands of voters who thought they + were citizens found that their papers were only declarations of + intentions, or "first papers." Other tens of thousands had lost even these + papers and could not designate the courts that had issued them; and other + thousands found that the courts that had naturalized them were without + jurisdiction in the matter. + </p> + <p> + It was not merely among these newcomers that the boss found his + opportunities for carrying elections. The dense city blocks were + convenient lodging places for "floaters." Just before elections, the + population of the downtown wards in the larger cities increased + surprisingly. The boss fully availed himself of the psychological and + social reactions of the city upon the individual, knowing instinctively + how much more easily men are corrupted when they are merged in the crowd + and have lost their sense of personal responsibility. + </p> + <p> + It was in the city, then, that industrial politics found their natural + habitat. We shall now scrutinize more closely some of the developments + which arose out of such an environment. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. TAMMANY HALL + </h2> + <p> + Before the Revolutionary War numerous societies were organized to aid the + cause of Independence. These were sometimes called "Sons of Liberty" and + not infrequently "Sons of St. Tammany," after an Indian brave whom + tradition had shrouded in virtue. The name was probably adopted to + burlesque the royalist societies named after St. George, St. David, or St. + Andrew. After the war these societies vanished. But, in New York City, + William Mooney, an upholsterer, reorganized the local society as "Tammany + Society or Columbian Order," devoted ostensibly to goodfellowship and + charity. Its officers bore Indian titles and its ceremonies were more or + less borrowed from the red man, not merely because of their unique and + picturesque character, but to emphasize the truly American and + anti-British convictions of its members. The society attracted that + element of the town's population which delighted in the crude ceremonials + and the stimulating potions that always accompanied them, mostly small + shopkeepers and mechanics. It was among this class that the spirit of + discontent against the power of Federalism was strongest—a spirit + that has often become decisive in our political fortunes. + </p> + <p> + This was still the day of the "gentleman," of small clothes, silver + shoe-buckles, powdered wigs, and lace ruffles. Only taxpayers and + propertied persons could vote, and public office was still invested with + certain prerogatives and privileges. Democracy was little more than a + name. There was, however, a distinct division of sentiment, and the drift + towards democracy was accelerated by immigration. The newcomers were + largely of the humble classes, among whom the doctrines of democratic + discontent were welcome. + </p> + <p> + Tammany soon became partizan. The Federalist members withdrew, probably + influenced by Washington's warning against secret political societies. By + 1798 it was a Republican club meeting in various taverns, finally + selecting Martling's "Long Room" for its nightly carousals. Soon after + this a new constitution was adopted which adroitly transformed the society + into a compact political machine, every member subscribing to the oath + that he would resist the encroachments of centralized power over the + State. + </p> + <p> + Tradition has it that the transformer of Tammany into the first compact + and effective political machine was Aaron Burr. There is no direct + evidence that he wrote the new constitution. But there is collateral + evidence. Indeed, it would not have been Burrian had he left any written + evidence of his connection with the organization. For Burr was one of + those intriguers who revel in mystery, who always hide their designs, and + never bind themselves in writing without leaving a dozen loopholes for + escape. He was by this time a prominent figure in American politics. His + skill had been displayed in Albany, both in the passing of legislation and + in out-maneuvering Hamilton and having himself elected United States + Senator against the powerful combination of the Livingstons and the + Schuylers. He was plotting for the Presidency as the campaign of 1800 + approached, and Tammany was to be the fulcrum to lift him to this + conspicuous place. + </p> + <p> + Under the ostensible leadership of Matthew L. Davis, Burr's chief + lieutenant, every ward of the city was carefully organized, a polling list + was made, scores of new members were pledged to Tammany, and during the + three days of voting (in New York State until 1840 elections lasted three + days), while Hamilton was making eloquent speeches for the Federalists, + Burr was secretly manipulating the wires of his machine. Burr and Tammany + won in New York City, though Burr failed to win the Presidency. The + political career of this remarkable organization, which has survived over + one hundred and twenty years of stormy history, was now well launched. + </p> + <p> + From that time to the present the history of Tammany Hall is a tale of + victories, followed by occasional disclosures of corruption and + favoritism; of quarrels with governors and presidents; of party fights + between "up-state" and "city"; of skulking when its sachems were unwelcome + in the White House; of periodical displays of patriotism for cloaking its + grosser crimes; of perennial charities for fastening itself more firmly on + the poorer populace which has always been the source of its power; of + colossal municipal enterprise for profit-sharing; and of a continuous + political efficiency due to sagacious leadership, a remarkable + adaptability to the necessities of the hour, and a patience that outlasts + every "reform." + </p> + <p> + It early displayed all the traits that have made it successful. In 1801, + for the purpose of carrying city elections, it provided thirty-nine men + with money to purchase houses and lots in one ward, and seventy men with + money for the same purpose in another ward, thus manufacturing freeholders + for polling purposes. In 1806 Benjamin Romaine, a grand sachem, was + removed from the office of city controller by his own party for acquiring + land from the city without paying for it. In 1807 several superintendents + of city institutions were dismissed for frauds. The inspector of bread, a + sachem, resigned because his threat to extort one-third of the fees from + his subordinates had become public. Several assessment collectors, all + prominent in Tammany, were compelled to reimburse the city for deficits in + their accounts. One of the leading aldermen used his influence to induce + the city to sell land to his brother-in-law at a low price, and then bade + the city buy it back for many times its value. Mooney, the founder of the + society, now superintendent of the almshouse, was caught in a + characteristic fraud. His salary was $1000 a year, with $500 for family + expenses. But it was discovered that his "expenses" amounted to $4000 a + year, and that he had credited to himself on the books $1000 worth of + supplies and numerous sums for "trifles for Mrs. Mooney." + </p> + <p> + In September, 1826, the Grand Jury entered an indictment against Matthew + L. Davis and a number of other Tammany men for defrauding several banks + and insurance companies of over $2,000,000. This created a tremendous + sensation. Political influence was at once set in motion, and only the + minor defendants were sent to the penitentiary. + </p> + <p> + In 1829 Samuel Swartwout, one of the Tammany leaders, was appointed + Collector of the Port of New York. His downfall came in 1838, and he fled + to Europe. His defalcations in the Custom House were found to be over + $1,222,700; and "to Swartwout" became a useful phrase until Tweed's day. + He was succeeded by Jesse Hoyt, another sachem and notorious politician, + against whom several judgments for default were recorded in the Superior + Court, which were satisfied very soon after his appointment. At this time + another Tammany chieftain, W. M. Price, United States District Attorney + for Southern New York, defaulted for $75,000. + </p> + <p> + It was in 1851 that the council commonly known as "The Forty Thieves" was + elected. In it William M. Tweed served his apprenticeship. Some of the + maneuvers of this council and of other officials were divulged by a Grand + Jury in its presentment of February 23, 1853. The presentment states: "It + was clearly shown that enormous sums of money were spent for the + procurement of railroad grants in the city, and that towards the decision + and procurement of the Eighth Avenue railway grant, a sum so large that + would startle the most credulous was expended; but in consequence of the + voluntary absence of important witnesses, the Grand Jury was left without + direct testimony of the particular recipients of the different amounts." + </p> + <p> + These and other exposures brought on a number of amendments to the city + charter, surrounding with greater safeguards the sale or lease of city + property and the letting of contracts; and a reform council was elected. + Immediately upon the heels of this reform movement followed the shameful + regime of Fernando Wood, an able, crafty, unscrupulous politician, who + began by announcing himself a reformer, but who soon became a boss in the + most offensive sense of that term—not, however, in Tammany Hall, for + he was ousted from that organization after his reelection as mayor in + 1856. He immediately organized a machine of his own, Mozart Hall. The + intense struggle between the two machines cost the city a great sum, for + the taxpayers were mulcted to pay the bills. + </p> + <p> + Through the anxious days of the Civil War, when the minds of thoughtful + citizens were occupied with national issues, the tide of reform ebbed and + flowed. A reform candidate was elected mayor in 1863, but Tammany returned + to power two years later by securing the election and then the reelection + of John T. Hoffman. Hoffman possessed considerable ability and an + attractive personality. His zeal for high office, however, made him easily + amenable to the manipulators. Tammany made him Governor and planned to + name him for President. Behind his popularity, which was considerable, and + screened by the greater excitements of the war, reconstruction, and the + impeachment of Andrew Johnson, lurked the Ring, whose exposures and + confessions were soon to amaze everyone. + </p> + <p> + The chief ringster was William M. Tweed, and his name will always be + associated in the public mind with political bossdom. This is his + immortality. He was a chairmaker by trade, a vulgar good fellow by nature, + a politician by circumstances, a boss by evolution, and a grafter by + choice. He became grand sachem of Tammany and chairman of the general + committee. This committee he ruled with blunt directness. When he wanted a + question carried, he failed to ask for the negative votes; and soon he was + called "the Boss," a title he never resented, and which usage has since + fixed in our politics. So he ruled Tammany with a high hand; made + nominations arbitrarily; bullied, bought, and traded; became President of + the Board of Supervisors, thus holding the key to the city's financial + policies; and was elected State Senator, thereby directing the granting of + legislative favors to his city and to his corporations. + </p> + <p> + In 1868 Tammany carried Hoffman into the Governor's chair, and in the + following year the Democrats carried the State legislature. Tweed now had + a new charter passed which virtually put New York City into his pocket by + placing the finances of the metropolis entirely in the hands of a Board of + Apportionment which he dominated. Of this Board, the mayor of the city was + the chairman, with the power to appoint the other members. He promptly + named Tweed, Connolly, and P. B. Sweeny. This was the famous Ring. The + mayor was A. Oakey Hall, dubbed "Elegant Oakey" by his pals because of his + fondness for clubs, society, puns, and poems; but Nast called him "O. K. + Haul." Sweeny, commonly known as "Pete," was a lawyer of ability, and was + generally believed to be the plotter of the quartet. Nast transformed his + middle initial B. into "Brains." Connolly was just a coarse gangster. + </p> + <p> + There was some reason for the Ring's faith in its invulnerability. It + controlled Governor and legislature, was formidable in the national + councils of the Democratic party, and its Governor was widely mentioned + for the presidential nomination. It possessed complete power over the city + council, the mayor, and many of the judges. It was in partnership with + Gould and Fiske of the Erie, then reaping great harvests in Wall Street, + and with street railway and other public service corporations. Through + untold largess it silenced rivalry from within and criticism from without. + And, when suspicion first raised its voice, it adroitly invited a + committee of prominent and wealthy citizens, headed by John Jacob Astor, + to examine the controller's accounts. After six hours spent in the City + Hall these respectable gentlemen signed an acquitment, saying that "the + affairs of the city under the charge of the controller are administered in + a correct and faithful manner." + </p> + <p> + Thus intrenched, the Ring levied tribute on every municipal activity. + Everyone who had a charge against the city, either for work done or + materials furnished, was told to add to the amount of his bill, at first + 10%, later 66%, and finally 85%. One man testified that he was told to + raise to $55,000 his claim of $5000. He got his $5000; the Ring got + $50,000. The building of the Court House, still known as "Tweed's Court + House," was estimated to cost $3,000,000, but it cost many times that sum. + The item "repairing fixtures" amounted to $1,149,874.50, before the + building was completed. Forty chairs and three tables cost $179,729.60; + thermometers cost $7500. G. S. Miller, a carpenter, received $360,747.61, + and a plasterer named Gray, $2,870,464.06 for nine months' "work." The + Times dubbed him the "Prince of Plasterers." "A plasterer who can earn + $138,187 in two days [December 20 and 21] and that in the depths of + winter, need not be poor." Carpets cost $350,000, most of the Brussels and + Axminster going to the New Metropolitan Hotel just opened by Tweed's son. + </p> + <p> + The Ring's hold upon the legislature was through bribery, not through + partizan adhesion. Tweed himself confessed that he gave one man in Albany + $600,000 for buying votes to pass his charter; and Samuel J. Tilden + estimated the total cost for this purpose at over one million dollars. + Tweed said he bought five Republican senators for $40,000 apiece. The vote + on the charter was 30 to 2 in the Senate, 116 to 5 in the Assembly. + Similar sums were spent in Albany in securing corporate favors. The + Viaduct Railway Bill is an example. This bill empowered a company, + practically owned by the Ring, to build a railway on or above any street + in the city. It provided that the city should subscribe for $5,000,000 of + the stock; and it exempted the company from taxation. Collateral bills + were introduced enabling the company to widen and grade any streets, the + favorite "job" of a Tammany grafter. Fortunately for the city, exposure + came before this monstrous scheme could be put in motion. + </p> + <p> + Newspapers in the city were heavily subsidized. Newspapers in Albany were + paid munificently for printing. One of the Albany papers received $207,900 + for one year's work which was worth less than $10,000. Half a dozen + reporters of the leading dailies were put on the city payroll at from + $2000 to $2500 a year for "services." + </p> + <p> + The Himalayan size of these swindles and their monumental effrontery led + the New York Sun humorously to suggest the erection of a statue to the + principal Robber Baron, "in commemoration of his services to the + commonwealth." A letter was sent out asking for funds. There were a great + many men in New York, the Sun thought, who would not be unwilling to + refuse a contribution. But Tweed declined the honor. In its issue of March + 14, 1871, the Sun has this headline: + </p> + <p> + "A GREAT MAN'S MODESTY" + </p> + <p> + "THE HON. WILLIAM M. TWEED DECLINES THE SUN'S STATUE. CHARACTERISTIC + LETTER FROM THE GREAT NEW YORK PHILANTHROPIST. HE THINKS THAT VIRTUE + SHOULD BE ITS OWN REWARD. THE MOST REMARKABLE LETTER EVER WRITTEN BY THE + NOBLE BENEFACTOR OF THE PEOPLE." + </p> + <p> + Another kind of memorial to his genius for absorbing the people's money + was awaiting this philanthropic buccaneer. Vulgar ostentation was the + outward badge of these civic burglaries. Tweed moved into a Fifth Avenue + mansion and gave his daughter a wedding at which she received $100,000 + worth of gifts; her wedding dress was a $5000 creation. At Greenwich he + built a country estate where the stables were framed of choice mahogany. + Sweeny hobnobbed with Jim Fiske of the Erie, the Tweed of Wall Street, who + went about town dressed in loud checks and lived with his harem in his + Opera House on Eighth Avenue. + </p> + <p> + Thoughtful citizens saw these things going on and believed the city was + being robbed, but they could not prove it. There were two attacking + parties, however, who did not wait for proofs—Thomas Nast, the + brilliant cartoonist of Harper's Weekly, and the New York Times. The + incisive cartoons of Nast appealed to the imaginations of all classes; + even Tweed complained that his illiterate following could "look at the + damn pictures." The trenchant editorials of Louis L. Jennings in the Times + reached a thoughtful circle of readers. In one of these editorials, + February 24, 1871, before the exposure, he said: "There is absolutely + nothing—nothing in the city—which is beyond the reach of the + insatiable gang who have obtained possession of it. They can get a grand + jury dismissed at any time, and, as we have seen, the legislature is + completely at their disposal." + </p> + <p> + Finally proof did come and, as is usual in such cases, it came from the + inside. James O'Brien, an ex-sheriff and the leader in a Democratic + "reform movement" calling itself "Young Democracy," secured the + appointment of one of his friends as clerk in the controller's office. + Transcripts of the accounts were made, and these O'Brien brought to the + Times, which began their publication, July 8, 1871. The Ring was in + consternation. It offered George Jones, the proprietor of the Times, + $5,000,000 for his silence and sent a well-known banker to Nast with an + invitation to go to Europe "to study art," with $100,000 for "expenses." + </p> + <p> + "Do you think I could get $200,000?" innocently asked Nast. + </p> + <p> + "I believe from what I have heard in the bank that you might get it." + </p> + <p> + After some reflection, the cartoonist asked: "Don't you think I could get + $500,000 to make that trip?" + </p> + <p> + "You can; you can get $500,000 in gold to drop this Ring business and get + out of the country." + </p> + <p> + "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." + </p> + <p> + "Only be careful, Mr. Nast, that you do not first put yourself in a + coffin," said the banker as he left. + </p> + <p> + 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. + </p> + <p> + 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 one year and was then released on a flimsy technicality + by the Court of Appeals. Civil suits were now brought, and, unable to + obtain the $3,000,000 bail demanded, the fallen boss was sent to jail. He + escaped to Cuba, and finally to Spain, but he was again arrested, returned + to New York on a man-of-war, and put into Ludlow Street jail, where he + died April 12, 1878, apparently without money or friends. + </p> + <p> + The exact amount of the plunder was never ascertained. An expert + accountant employed by the housecleaners estimated that for three years, + 1868-71, the frauds totaled between $45,000,000 and $50,000,000. The + estimate of the aldermen's committee was $60,000,000. Tweed never gave any + figures; he probably had never counted his gains, but merely spent them as + they came. O'Rourke, one of the gang, estimated that the Ring stole about + $75,000,000 during 1865-71, and that, "counting vast issues of fraudulent + bonds," the looting "probably amounted to $200,000,000." + </p> + <p> + The story of these disclosures circled the earth and still affects the + popular judgment of the American metropolis. It seemed as though Tammany + were forever discredited. But, to the despair of reformers, in 1874 + Tammany returned to power, electing its candidate for mayor by over 9000 + majority. The new boss who maneuvered this rapid resurrection was John + Kelly, a stone-mason, known among his Irish followers as "Honest John." + Besides the political probity which the occasion demanded, he possessed a + capacity for knowing men and sensing public opinion. This enabled him to + lift the prostrate organization. He persuaded such men as Samuel J. + Tilden, the distinguished lawyer, August Belmont, a leading financier, + Horatio Seymour, who had been governor, and Charles O'Conor, the famous + advocate, to become sachems under him. This was evidence of reform from + within. Cooperation with the Bar Association, the Taxpayers' Association, + and other similar organizations evidenced a desire of reform from without. + Kelly "bossed" the Hall until his death, June 1, 1886. + </p> + <p> + He was succeeded by Richard Croker, a machinist, prizefighter, and + gang-leader. Croker began his official career as a court attendant under + the notorious Judge Barnard and later was an engineer in the service of + the city. These places he held by Tammany favor, and he was so useful that + in 1868 he was made alderman. A quarrel with Tweed lost him the place, but + a reconciliation soon landed him in the lucrative office of Superintendent + of Market Fees and Rents, under Connolly. In 1873 he was elected coroner + and ten years later was appointed fire commissioner. His career as boss + was marked by much political cleverness and caution and by an equal degree + of moral obtuseness. + </p> + <p> + The triumph of Tammany in 1892 was followed by such ill-disguised + corruption that the citizens of New York were again roused from their + apathy. The investigations of the Fassett Committee of the State Senate + two years previously had shown how deep the tentacles of Tammany were + thrust into the administrative departments of the city. The Senate now + appointed another investigating committee, of which Clarence Lexow was the + chairman and John W. Goff the counsel. The Police Department came under + its special scrutiny. The disclosures revealed the connivance of the + police in stupendous election frauds. The President of the Police Board + himself had distributed at the polls the policemen who committed these + frauds. It was further revealed that vice and crime under police + protection had been capitalized on a great scale. It was worth money to be + a policeman. One police captain testified he had paid $15,000 for his + promotions; another paid $12,000. It cost $300 to be appointed patrolman. + Over six hundred policy-shops were open, each paying $1500 a month for + protection; pool rooms paid $300 a month; bawdy-houses, from $25 to $50 + per month per inmate. And their patrons paid whatever they could be + blackmailed out of; streetwalkers, whatever they could be wheedled out of; + saloons, $20 per month; pawnbrokers, thieves, and thugs shared with the + police their profits, as did corporations and others seeking not only + favors but their rights. The committee in its statement to the Grand Jury + (March, 1892) estimated that the annual plunder from these sources was + over $7,000,000. + </p> + <p> + During the committee's sessions Croker was in Europe on important + business. But he found time to order the closing of disreputable resorts, + and, though he was only a private citizen and three thousand miles away, + his orders were promptly obeyed. + </p> + <p> + Aroused by these disclosures and stimulated by the lashing sermons of the + Rev. Charles H. Parkhurst, the citizens of New York, in 1894, elected a + reform government, with William L. Strong as Mayor. His administration set + up for the metropolis a new standard of city management. Colonel George E. + Waring organized, for the first time in the city's history, an efficient + streetcleaning department. Theodore Roosevelt was appointed Police + Commissioner. These men and their associates gave to New York a period of + thrifty municipal housekeeping. + </p> + <p> + But the city returned to its filth. After the incorporation of Greater New + York and the election of Robert A. Van Wyck as its mayor, the great beast + of Tammany arose and extended its eager claws over the vast area of the + new city. + </p> + <p> + The Mazet Committee was appointed by the legislature in 1899 to + investigate rumors of renewed corruption. But the inquiry which followed + was not as penetrating nor as free from partizan bias as thoughtful + citizens wished. The principal exposure was of the Ice Trust, an attempt + to monopolize the city's ice supply, in which city officials were + stockholders, the mayor to the extent of 5000 shares, valued at $500,000. + It was shown, too, that Tammany leaders were stockholders in corporations + which received favors from the city. Governor Roosevelt, however, refused + to remove Mayor Van Wyck because the evidence against him was + insufficient. + </p> + <p> + The most significant testimony before the Mazet Committee was that given + by Boss Croker himself. His last public office had been that of City + Chamberlain, 1889-90, at a salary of $25,000. Two years later he purchased + for $250,000 an interest in a stock-farm and paid over $100,000 for some + noted race-horses. He spent over half a million dollars on the English + racetrack in three years and was reputed a millionaire, owning large + blocks of city real estate. He told the committee that he virtually + determined all city nominations; and that all candidates were assessed, + even judicial candidates, from $10,000 to $25,000 for their nominations. + "We try to have a pretty effective organization—that's what we are + there for," he explained. "We are giving the people pure organization + government," even though the organizing took "a lot of time" and was "very + hard work." Tammany members stood by one another and helped each other, + not only in politics but in business. "We want the whole business [city + business] if we can get it." If "we win, we expect everyone to stand by + us." Then he uttered what must have been to every citizen of understanding + a self-evident truth, "I am working for my pockets all the time." + </p> + <p> + Soon afterwards Croker retired to his Irish castle, relinquishing the + leadership to Charles Murphy, the present boss. The growing alertness of + the voters, however, makes Murphy's task a more difficult one than that of + any of his predecessors. It is doubtful if the nature of the machine has + changed during all the years of its history. Tweed and Croker were only + natural products of the system. They typify the vulgar climax of organized + looting. + </p> + <p> + In 1913 the Independent Democrats, Republicans, and Progressives united in + a fusion movement. They nominated and, after a most spirited campaign, + elected John Purroy Mitchel as mayor. He was a young man, not yet forty, + had held important city offices, and President Wilson had appointed him + Collector of the Port of New York. His experience, his vigor, ability, and + straight-dealing commended him to the friends of good government, and they + were not disappointed. The Mitchel regime set a new record for clean and + efficient municipal administration. Men of high character and ability were + enlisted in public service, and the Police Department, under Commissioner + Woods, achieved a new usefulness. The decent citizens, not alone in the + metropolis, but throughout the country, believed with Theodore Roosevelt + that Mr. Mitchel was "the best mayor New York ever had." But neither the + effectiveness of his administration nor the combined efforts of the + friends of good government could save him from the designs of Tammany Hall + when, in 1917, he was a candidate for reelection. Through a tactical + blunder of the Fusionists, a small Republican group was permitted to + control the party primaries and nominate a candidate of its own; the + Socialists, greatly augmented by various pacifist groups, made heavy + inroads among the foreign-born voters. And, while the whole power and + finesse of Tammany were assiduously undermining the mayor's strength, + ethnic, religious, partizan, and geographical prejudices combined to elect + the machine candidate, Judge Hylan, a comparatively unknown Brooklyn + magistrate. + </p> + <p> + How could Tammany regain its power, and that usually within two years, + after such disclosures as we have seen? The main reason is the scientific + efficiency of the organization. The victory of Burr in New York in 1800 + was the first triumph of the first ward machine in America, and Tammany + has forgotten neither this victory nor the methods by which it was + achieved. The organization which was then set in motion has simply been + enlarged to keep easy pace with the city's growth. There are, in fact, two + organizations, Tammany Hall, the political machine, and Tammany Society, + the "Columbian Order" organized by Mooney, which is ruled by sachems + elected by the members. Both organizations, however, are one in spirit. We + need concern ourselves only with the organization of Tammany Hall. + </p> + <p> + The framework of Tammany Hall's machinery has always been the general + committee, still known, in the phraseology of Burr's day, as "the + Democratic-Republican General Committee." It is a very democratic body + composed of representatives from every assembly district, apportioned + according to the number of voters in the district. The present + apportionment is one committeeman for every fifteen votes. This makes a + committee of over 9000, an unwieldy number. It is justified, however, on + two very practical grounds: first, that it is large enough to keep close + to the voters; and second, that its assessment of ten dollars a member + brings in $90,000 a year to the war chest. This general committee holds + stated meetings and appoints subcommittees. The executive committee, + composed of the leaders of the assembly districts and the chairman and + treasurer of the county committee, is the real working body of the great + committee. It attends to all important routine matters, selects candidates + for office, and conducts their campaigns. It is customary for the members + of the general committee to designate the district leaders for the + executive committee, but they are elected by their own districts + respectively at the annual primary elections. The district leader is a + very important wheel in the machine. He not only leads his district but + represents it on the executive committee; and this brotherhood of leaders + forms the potent oligarchy of Tammany. Its sanction crowns the high + chieftain, the boss, who, in turn, must be constantly on the alert that + his throne is not undermined; that is to say, he and his district leaders + must "play politics" within their own bailiwicks to keep their heads on + their own shoulders. After their enfranchisement in New York (1917) women + were made eligible to the general and executive committees. Thirty-seven + were at once elected to the executive committee, and plans were made to + give them one-half of the representation on the general committee. + </p> + <p> + Each of the twenty-three assembly districts is in turn divided into + election districts of about 400 voters, each with a precinct captain who + is acquainted with every voter in his precinct and keeps track, as far as + possible, of his affairs. In every assembly district there are + headquarters and a club house, where the voters can go in the evening and + enjoy a smoke, a bottle, and a more or less quiet game. + </p> + <p> + This organization is never dormant. And this is the key to its vitality. + There is no mystery about it. Tammany is as vigilant between elections as + it is on election day. It has always been solicitous for the poor and the + humble, who most need and best appreciate help and attention. Every poor + immigrant is welcomed, introduced to the district headquarters, given + work, or food, or shelter. Tammany is his practical friend; and in return + he is merely to become naturalized as quickly as possible under the + wardship of a Tammany captain and by the grace of a Tammany judge, and + then to vote the Tammany ticket. The new citizen's lessons in political + science are all flavored with highly practical notions. + </p> + <p> + Tammany's machinery enables a house-to-house canvass to be made in one + day. But this machinery must be oiled. There are three sources of the + necessary lubricant: offices, jobs, the sale of favors; these are + dependent on winning the elections. From its very earliest days, fraud at + the polls has been a Tammany practice. As long as property qualifications + were required, money was furnished for buying houses which could harbor a + whole settlement of voters. It was not, however, until the adoption of + universal suffrage that wholesale frauds became possible or useful; for + with a limited suffrage it was necessary to sway only a few score votes to + carry an ordinary election. + </p> + <p> + Fernando Wood set a new pace in this race for votes. It has been estimated + that in 1854 there "were about 40,000 shiftless, unprincipled persons who + lived by their wits and the labor of others. The trade of a part of these + was turning primary elections, packing nominating conventions, repeating, + and breaking up meetings." Wood also systematized naturalization. A card + bearing the following legend was the open sesame to American citizenship: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "Common Pleas: + Please naturalize the bearer. + N. Seagrist, Chairman." +</pre> + <p> + Seagrist was one of the men charged by an aldermanic committee "with + robbing the funeral pall of Henry Clay when his sacred person passed + through this city." + </p> + <p> + When Hoffman was first elected mayor, over 15,000 persons were registered + who could not be found at the places indicated. The naturalization + machinery was then running at high speed. In 1868, from 25,000 to 30,000 + foreigners were naturalized in New York in six weeks. Of 156,288 votes + cast in the city, 25,000 were afterwards shown to be fraudulent. It was + about this time that an official whose duty it was to swear in the + election inspectors, not finding a Bible at hand, used a volume of + Ollendorf's "New Method of Learning to Read, Write, and Speak French." The + courts sustained this substitution on the ground that it could not + possibly have vitiated the election! + </p> + <p> + A new federal naturalization law and rigid election laws have made + wholesale frauds impossible; and the genius of Tammany is now attempting + to adjust itself to the new immigration, the new political spirit, and the + new communal vigilance. Its power is believed by some optimistic observers + to be waning. But the evidences are not wanting that its vitality and + internal discipline are still persistent. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. LESSER OLIGARCHIES + </h2> + <p> + New York City is not unique in its experience with political bossdom. + Nearly every American city, in a greater or less degree, for longer or + shorter periods, has been dominated by oligarchies. + </p> + <p> + Around Philadelphia, American sentiment has woven the memories of great + events. It still remains, of all our large cities, the most "American." It + has fewer aliens than any other, a larger percentage of home owners, a + larger number of small tradespeople and skilled artisans—the sort of + population which democracy exalts, and who in turn are presumed to be the + bulwark of democracy. These good citizens, busied with the anxieties and + excitements of their private concerns, discovered, in the decade following + the Civil War, that their city had slipped unawares into the control of a + compact oligarchy, the notorious Gas Ring. The city government at this + time was composed of thirty-two independent boards and departments, + responsible to the council, but responsible to the council in name only + and through the medium of a council committee. The coordinating force, the + political gravitation which impelled all these diverse boards and council + committees to act in unison, was the Gas Department. This department was + controlled by a few designing and capable individuals under the captaincy + of James McManes. They had reduced to political servitude all the + employees of the department, numbering about two thousand. Then they had + extended their sway over other city departments, especially the police + department. Through the connivance of the police and control over the + registration of voters, they soon dominated the primaries and the + nominating conventions. They carried the banner of the Republican party, + the dominant party in Philadelphia and in the State, under which they more + easily controlled elections, for the people voted "regular." Then every + one of the city's servants was made to pay to the Gas Ring money as well + as obeisance. Tradespeople who sold supplies to the city, contractors who + did its work, saloon-keepers and dive-owners who wanted protection—all + paid. The city's debt increased at the rate of $3,000,000 a year, without + visible evidence of the application of money to the city's growing needs. + </p> + <p> + In 1883 the citizens finally aroused themselves and petitioned the + legislature for a new charter. They confessed: "Philadelphia is now + recognized as the worst paved and worst cleaned city in the civilized + world. The water supply is so bad that during many weeks of the last + winter it was not only distasteful and unwholesome for drinking, but + offensive for bathing purposes. The effort to clean the streets was + abandoned for months and no attempt was made to that end until some + public-spirited citizens, at their own expense, cleaned a number of the + principal thoroughfares.... The physical condition of the sewers" is + "dangerous to the health and most offensive to the comfort of our people. + Public work has been done so badly that structures have to be renewed + almost as soon as finished. Others have been in part constructed at + enormous expense and then permitted to fall to decay without completion." + This is a graphic and faithful description of the result which follows + government of the Ring, for the Ring, with the people's money. The + legislature in 1885 granted Philadelphia a new charter, called the Bullitt + Law, which went into effect in 1887, and which greatly simplified the + structure of the government and centered responsibility in the mayor. It + was then necessary for the Ring to control primaries and win elections in + order to keep the city within its clutches. So began in Philadelphia the + practice of fraudulent registering and voting on a scale that has probably + never been equaled elsewhere in America. Names taken from tombstones in + the cemeteries and from the register of births found their way to the + polling registers. Dogs, cats, horses, anything living or dead, with a + name, served the purpose. + </p> + <p> + The exposure of these frauds was undertaken in 1900 by the Municipal + League. In two wards, where the population had decreased one per cent in + ten years (1890-1900), it was found that the registered voters had + increased one hundred per cent. From one house sixty-two voters were + registered, of sundry occupations as follows: "Professors, bricklayers, + gentlemen, moulders, cashiers, barbers, ministers, bakers, doctors, + drivers, bartenders, plumbers, clerks, cooks, merchants, stevedores, + bookkeepers, waiters, florists, boilermakers, salesmen, soldiers, + electricians, printers, book agents, and restaurant keepers." One hundred + and twenty-two voters, according to the register, lived at another house, + including nine agents, nine machinists, nine gentlemen, nine waiters, nine + salesmen, four barbers, four bakers, fourteen clerks, three laborers, two + bartenders, a milkman, an optician, a piano-mover, a window-cleaner, a + nurse, and so on. + </p> + <p> + On the day before the election the Municipal League sent registered + letters to all the registered voters of certain precincts. Sixty-three per + cent were returned, marked by the postman, "not at," "deceased," + "removed," "not known." Of forty-four letters addressed to names + registered from one four-story house, eighteen were returned. From another + house, supposed to be sheltering forty-eight voters, forty-one were + returned; from another, to which sixty-two were sent, sixty-one came back. + The league reported that "two hundred and fifty-two votes were returned in + a division that had less than one hundred legal voters within its + boundaries." Repeating and ballot-box stuffing were common. Election + officers would place fifty or more ballots in the box before the polls + opened or would hand out a handful of ballots to the recognized repeaters. + The high-water mark of boss rule was reached under Mayor Ashbridge, + "Stars-and-Stripes Sam," who had been elected in 1899. The moderation of + Martin, who had succeeded McManes as boss, was cast aside; the mayor was + himself a member of the Ring. When Ashbridge retired, the Municipal League + reported: "The four years of the Ashbridge administration have passed into + history leaving behind them a scar on the fame and reputation of our city + which will be a long time healing. Never before, and let us hope never + again, will there be such brazen defiance of public opinion, such flagrant + disregard of public interest, such abuse of power and responsibility for + private ends." + </p> + <p> + Since that time the fortunes of the Philadelphia Ring have fluctuated. Its + hold upon the city, however, is not broken, but is still strong enough to + justify Owen Wister's observation: "Not a Dickens, only a Zola, would have + the face (and the stomach) to tell the whole truth about Philadelphia." + </p> + <p> + St. Louis was one of the first cities of America to possess the + much-coveted home rule. The Missouri State Constitution of 1875 granted + the city the power to frame its own charter, under certain limitations. + The new charter provided for a mayor elected for four years with the power + of appointing certain heads of departments; others, however, were to be + elected directly by the people. It provided for a Municipal Assembly + composed of two houses: the Council, with thirteen members, elected at + large for four years, and the House of Delegates, with twenty-eight + members, one from each ward, elected for two years. These two houses were + given coordinate powers; one was presumed to be a check on the other. The + Assembly fixed the tax rate, granted franchises, and passed upon all + public improvements. The Police Department was, however, under the control + of the mayor and four commissioners, the latter appointed by the Governor. + The city was usually Republican by about 8000 majority; the State was + safely Democratic. The city, until a few years ago, had few tenements and + a small floating population. + </p> + <p> + Outwardly, all seemed well with the city until 1901, when the inside + workings of its government were revealed to the public gaze through the + vengeance of a disappointed franchise-seeker. The Suburban Railway Company + sought an extension of its franchises. It had approached the man known as + the dispenser of such favors, but, thinking his price ($145,000) too high, + had sought to deal directly with the Municipal Assembly. The price agreed + upon for the House of Delegates was $75,000; for the Council, $60,000. + These sums were placed in safety vaults controlled by a dual lock. The + representative of the Company held one of the keys; the representative of + the Assembly, the other; so that neither party could take the money + without the presence of both. The Assembly duly granted the franchises; + but property owners along the line of the proposed extension secured an + injunction, which delayed the proceedings until the term of the venal + House of Delegates had expired. The Assemblymen, having delivered the + goods, demanded their pay. The Company, held up by the courts, refused. + Mutterings of the disappointed conspirators reached the ear of an + enterprising newspaper reporter. Thereby the Circuit Attorney, Joseph W. + Folk, struck the trail of the gang. Both the president of the railway + company and the "agent" of the rogues of the Assembly turned state's + evidence; the safe-deposit boxes were opened, disclosing the packages + containing one hundred and thirty-five $1000 bills. + </p> + <p> + This exposure led to others—the "Central Traction Conspiracy," the + "Lighting Deal," the "Garbage Deal." In the cleaning-up process, + thirty-nine persons were indicted, twenty-four for bribery and fifteen for + perjury. + </p> + <p> + The evidence which Folk presented in the prosecution of these scoundrels + merely confirmed what had long been an unsavory rumor: that franchises and + contracts were bought and sold like merchandise; that the buyers were men + of eminence in the city's business affairs; and that the sellers were the + people's representatives in the Assembly. The Grand Jury reported: "Our + investigation, covering more or less fully a period of ten years shows + that, with few exceptions, no ordinance has been passed wherein valuable + privileges or franchises are granted until those interested have paid the + legislators the money demanded for action in the particular case.... So + long has this practice existed that such members have come to regard the + receipt of money for action on pending measures as a legitimate perquisite + of a legislator." + </p> + <p> + These legislators, it appeared from the testimony, had formed a + water-tight ring or "combine" in 1899, for the purpose of systematizing + this traffic. A regular scale of prices was adopted: so much for an + excavation, so much per foot for a railway switch, so much for a street + pavement, so much for a grain elevator. Edward R. Butler was the master + under whose commands for many years this trafficking was reduced to + systematic perfection. He had come to St. Louis when a young man, had + opened a blacksmith shop, had built up a good trade in horseshoeing, and + also a pliant political following in his ward. His attempt to defeat the + home rule charter in 1876 had given him wider prominence, and he soon + became the boss of the Democratic machine. His energy, shrewdness, + liberality, and capacity for friendship gave him sway over both Republican + and Democratic votes in certain portions of the city. A prominent St. + Louis attorney says that for over twenty years "he named candidates on + both tickets, fixed, collected, and disbursed campaign assessments, + determined the results in elections, and in fine, practically controlled + the public affairs of St. Louis." He was the agent usually sought by + franchise-seekers, and he said that had the Suburban Company dealt with + him instead of with the members of the Assembly, they might have avoided + exposure. He was indicted four times in the upheaval, twice for attempting + to bribe the Board of Health in the garbage deal—he was a + stockholder in the company seeking the contract—and twice for + bribery in the lighting contract. + </p> + <p> + Cincinnati inherited from the Civil War the domestic excitements and + political antagonisms of a border city. Its large German population gave + it a conservative political demeanor, slow to accept changes, loyal to the + Republican party as it was to the Union. This reduced partizan opposition + to a docile minority, willing to dicker for public spoils with the + intrenched majority. + </p> + <p> + George B. Cox was for thirty years the boss of this city. Events had + prepared the way for him. Following closely upon the war, Tom Campbell, a + crafty criminal lawyer, was the local leader of the Republicans, and John + R. McLean, owner of the Cincinnati Enquirer, a very rich man, of the + Democrats. These two men were cronies: they bartered the votes of their + followers. For some years crime ran its repulsive course: brawlers, + thieves, cutthroats escaped conviction through the defensive influence of + the lawyer-boss. In 1880, Cox, who had served an apprenticeship in his + brother-in-law's gambling house, was elected to the city council. Thence + he was promoted to the decennial board of equalization which appraised all + real estate every ten years. There followed a great decrease in the + valuation of some of the choicest holdings in the city. In 1884 there were + riots in Cincinnati. After the acquittal of two brutes who had murdered a + man for a trifling sum of money, exasperated citizens burned the criminal + court house. The barter in justice stopped, but the barter in offices and + in votes continued. The Blaine campaign then in progress was in great + danger. Cox, already a master of the political game, promised the + Republican leaders that if they would give him a campaign fund he would + turn in a Republican majority from Cincinnati. He did; and for many years + thereafter the returns from Hamilton County, in which Cincinnati is + situated, brought cheer to Republican State headquarters on election + night. + </p> + <p> + Cox was an unostentatious, silent man, giving one the impression of + sullenness, and almost entirely lacking in those qualities of comradeship + which one usually seeks in the "Boss" type. From a barren little room over + the "Mecca" saloon, with the help of a telephone, he managed his machine. + He never obtruded himself upon the public. He always remained in the + background. Nor did he ever take vast sums. Moderation was the rule of his + loot. + </p> + <p> + By 1905 a movement set in to rid the city of machine rule. Cox saw this + movement growing in strength. So he imported boatloads of floaters from + Kentucky. These floaters registered "from dives, and doggeries, from coal + bins and water closets; no space was too small to harbor a man." For once + he threw prudence to the winds. Exposure followed; over 2800 illegal + voters were found. The newspapers, so long docile, now provided the + necessary publicity. A little paper, the Citizen's Bulletin, which had + started as a handbill of reform, when all the dailies seemed closed to the + facts, now grew into a sturdy weekly. And, to add the capstone to Cox's + undoing, William H. Taft, the most distinguished son of Cincinnati, then + Secretary of War in President Roosevelt's cabinet, in a campaign speech in + Akron, Ohio, advised the Republicans to repudiate him. This confounded the + "regulars," and Cox was partially beaten. The reformers elected their + candidate for mayor, but the boss retained his hold on the county and the + city council. And, in spite of all that was done, Cox remained an + influence in politics until his death, May 20, 1916. + </p> + <p> + San Francisco has had a varied and impressive political experience. The + first legislature of California incorporated the mining town into the city + of San Francisco, April 15, 1850. Its government from the outset was + corrupt and inefficient. Lawlessness culminated in the murder of the + editor of the Bulletin, J. King of William, on May 14, 1856, and a + vigilance committee was organized to clean up the city, and watch the + ballot-box on election day. + </p> + <p> + Soon the legislature was petitioned to change the charter. The petition + recites: "Without a change in the city government which shall diminish the + weight of taxation, the city will neither be able to discharge the + interest on debts already contracted, nor to meet the demands for current + disbursements.... The present condition of the streets and public + improvements of the city abundantly attest the total inefficiency of the + present system." + </p> + <p> + The legislature passed the "Consolidation Act," and from 1856 to 1900 + county and city were governed as a political unit. At first the hopes for + more frugal government seemed to be fulfilled. But all encouraging + symptoms soon vanished. Partizan rule followed, encouraged by the + tinkering of the legislature, which imposed on the charter layer upon + layer of amendments, dictated by partizan craft, not by local needs. The + administrative departments were managed by Boards of Commissioners, under + the dictation of "Blind Boss Buckley," who governed his kingdom for many + years with the despotic benevolence characteristic of his kind. The + citizens saw their money squandered and their public improvements lagging. + It took twenty-five years to complete the City Hall, at a cost of + $5,500,000. An official of the Citizens' Non-partizan party, in 1895, + said: "There is no city in the Union with a quarter of a million people, + which would not be the better for a little judicious hanging." + </p> + <p> + The repeated attempts made by citizens of San Francisco to get a new + charter finally succeeded, and in 1900 the city hopefully entered a new + epoch under a charter of its own making which contained several radical + changes. Executive responsibility was centered in the mayor, fortified by + a comprehensive civil service. The foundations were laid for municipal + ownership of public utilities, and the initiative and referendum were + adopted for all public franchises. The legislative power was vested in a + board of eighteen supervisors elected at large. + </p> + <p> + No other American city so dramatically represents the futility of basing + political optimism on a mere plan. It was only a step from the mediocrity + enthroned by the first election under the new charter to the gross + inefficiency and corruption of a new ring, under a new boss. A Grand Jury + (called the "Andrews Jury") made a report indicating that the + administration was trafficking in favors sold to gamblers, prize-fighters, + criminals, and the whole gamut of the underworld; that illegal profits + were being reaped from illegal contracts, and that every branch of the + executive department was honeycombed with corruption. The Grand Jury + believed and said all this, but it lacked the legal proof upon which Mayor + Schmitz and his accomplices could be indicted. In spite of this report, + Schmitz was reelected in 1905 as the candidate of the Labor-Union party. + </p> + <p> + Now graft in San Francisco became simply universal. George Kennan, + summarizing the practices of the looters, says they "took toll everywhere + from everybody and in almost every imaginable way: they went into + partnership with dishonest contractors; sold privileges and permits to + business men; extorted money from restaurants and saloons; levied + assessments on municipal employees; shared the profits of houses of + prostitution; forced beer, whiskey, champagne, and cigars on restaurants + and saloons on commission; blackmailed gamblers, pool-sellers, and + promoters of prize-fights; sold franchises to wealthy corporations; + created such municipal bureaus as the commissary department and the city + commercial company in order to make robbery of the city more easy; leased + rooms and buildings for municipal offices at exorbitant rates, and + compelled the lessees to share profits; held up milkmen, kite-advertisers, + junk-dealers, and even street-sweepers; and took bribes from everybody who + wanted an illegal privilege and was willing to pay for it. The motto of + the administration seemed to be 'Encourage dishonesty, and then let no + dishonest dollar escape.'" + </p> + <p> + The machinery through which this was effected was simple: the mayor had + vast appointing powers and by this means directly controlled all the city + departments. But the mayor was only an automaton. Back of him was Abe + Ruef, the Boss, an unscrupulous lawyer who had wormed his way into the + labor party, and manipulated the "leaders" like puppets. Ruef's game also + was elementary. He sold his omnipotence for cash, either under the + respectable cloak of "retainer" or under the more common device of + commissions and dividends, so that thugs retained him for their freedom, + contractors for the favors they expected, and public service corporations + for their franchises. + </p> + <p> + Finally, through the persistence of a few private citizens, a Grand Jury + was summoned. Under the foremanship of B. P. Oliver it made a thorough + investigation. Francis J. Heney was employed as special prosecutor and + William J. Burns as detective. Heney and Burns formed an aggressive team. + The Ring proved as vulnerable as it was rotten. Over three hundred + indictments were returned, involving persons in every walk of life. Ruef + was sentenced to fourteen years in the penitentiary. Schmitz was freed on + a technicality, after being found guilty and sentenced to five years. Most + of the other indictments were not tried, the prosecutor's attention having + been diverted to the trail of the franchise-seekers, who have thus far + eluded conviction. + </p> + <p> + Minneapolis, a city blending New England traditions with Scandinavian + thrift, illustrates, in its experiences with "Doc" Ames, the maneuvers of + the peripatetic boss. Ames was four times mayor of the city, but never his + own successor. Each succeeding experience with him grew more lurid of + indecency, until his third term was crystallized in Minneapolis tradition + as "the notorious Ames administration." Domestic scandal made him a social + outcast, political corruption a byword, and Ames disappeared from public + view for ten years. + </p> + <p> + In 1900 a new primary law provided the opportunity to return him to power + for the fourth time. Ames, who had been a Democrat, now found it + convenient to become a Republican. The new law, like most of the early + primary laws, permitted members of one party to vote in the primaries of + the other party. So Ames's following, estimated at about fifteen hundred, + voted in the Republican primaries, and he became a regular candidate of + that party in a presidential year, when citizens felt the special urge to + vote for the party. + </p> + <p> + Ames was the type of boss with whom discipline is secondary to personal + aggrandizement. He had a passion for popularity; was imposing of presence; + possessed considerable professional skill; and played constantly for the + support of the poor. The attacks upon him he turned into political capital + by saying that he was made a victim by the rich because he championed the + poor. Susceptible to flattery and fond of display, he lacked the power to + command. He had followers, not henchmen. His following was composed of the + lowly, who were duped by his phrases, and of criminals, who knew his bent; + and they followed him into any party whither he found it convenient to go, + Republican, Democratic, or Populist. + </p> + <p> + The charter of Minneapolis gave the mayor considerable appointing power. + He was virtually the dictator of the Police Department. This was the great + opportunity of Ames and his floating vote. His own brother, a weak + individual with a dubious record, was made Chief of Police. Within a few + weeks about one-half of the police force was discharged, and the places + filled with men who could be trusted by the gang. The number of detectives + was increased and an ex-gambler placed at their head. A medical student + from Ames's office was commissioned a special policeman to gather loot + from the women of the street. + </p> + <p> + Through a telepathy of their own, the criminal classes all over the + country soon learned of the favorable conditions in Minneapolis, under + which every form of gambling and low vice flourished; and burglars, + pickpockets, safe-blowers, and harlots made their way thither. Mr. W. A. + Frisbie, the editor of a leading Minneapolis paper, described the + situation in the following words: "It is no exaggeration to say that in + this period fully 99% of the police department's efficiency was devoted to + the devising and enforcing of blackmail. Ordinary patrolmen on beats + feared to arrest known criminals for fear the prisoners would prove to be + 'protected'....The horde of detective favorites hung lazily about police + headquarters, waiting for some citizen to make complaint of property + stolen, only that they might enforce additional blackmail against the + thief, or possibly secure the booty for themselves. One detective is now + (1903) serving time in the state prison for retaining a stolen diamond + pin." + </p> + <p> + The mayor thought he had a machine for grinding blackmail from every + criminal operation in his city, but he had only a gang, without discipline + or coordinating power, and weakened by jealousy and suspicion. The wonder + is that it lasted fifteen months. Then came the "April Grand Jury," under + the foremanship of a courageous and resourceful business man. The regime + of criminals crumbled; forty-nine indictments, involving twelve persons, + were returned. + </p> + <p> + The Grand Jury, however, at first stood alone in its investigations. The + crowd of politicians and vultures were against it, and no appropriations + were granted for getting evidence. So its members paid expenses out of + their own pockets, and its foreman himself interviewed prisoners and + discovered the trail that led to the Ring's undoing. Ames's brother was + convicted on second trial and sentenced to six and a half years in the + penitentiary, while two of his accomplices received shorter terms. Mayor + Ames, under indictment and heavy bonds, fled to Indiana. + </p> + <p> + The President of the City Council, a business man of education, tact, and + sincerity, became mayor, for an interim of four months; enough time, as it + proved, for him to return the city to its normal political life. + </p> + <p> + These examples are sufficient to illustrate the organization and working + of the municipal machine. It must not be imagined by the reader that these + cities alone, and a few others made notorious by the magazine muck-rakers, + are the only American cities that have developed oligarchies. In truth, + not a single American city, great or small, has entirely escaped, for a + greater or lesser period, the sway of a coterie of politicians. It has not + always been a corrupt sway; but it has rarely, if ever, given efficient + administration. + </p> + <p> + Happily there are not wanting signs that the general conditions which have + fostered the Ring are disappearing. The period of reform set in about + 1890, when people began to be interested in the study of municipal + government. It was not long afterwards that the first authoritative books + on the subject appeared. Then colleges began to give courses in municipal + government; editors began to realize the public's concern in local + questions and to discuss neighborhood politics as well as national + politics. By 1900 a new era broke—the era of the Grand Jury. Nothing + so hopeful in local politics had occurred in our history as the + disclosures which followed. They provoked the residuum of conscience in + the citizenry and the determination that honesty should rule in public + business and politics as well as in private transactions. The Grand Jury + inquisitions, however, demonstrated clearly that the criminal law was no + remedy for municipal misrule. The great majority of floaters and illegal + voters who were indicted never faced a trial jury. The results of the + prosecutions for bribery and grosser political crimes were scarcely more + encouraging. It is true that one Abe Ruef in a California penitentiary is + worth untold sermons, editorials, and platform admonitions, and serves as + a potent warning to all public malefactors. Yet the example is soon + forgotten; and the people return to their former political habits. + </p> + <p> + But out of this decade of gang-hunting and its impressive experiences with + the shortcomings of our criminal laws came the new municipal era which we + have now fully entered, the era of enlightened administration. This new + era calls for a reconstruction of the city government. Its principal + feature is the rapid spread of the Galveston or Commission form of + government and of its modification, the City Manager plan, the aim of + which is to centralize governmental authority and to entice able men into + municipal office. And there are many other manifestations of the new civic + spirit. The mesmeric influence of national party names in civic politics + is waning; the rise of home rule for the city is severing the unholy + alliance between the legislature and the local Ring; the power to grant + franchises is being taken away from legislative bodies and placed directly + with the people; nominations are passing out of the hands of cliques and + are being made the gift of the voters through petitions and primaries; + efficient reforms in the taxing and budgetary machinery have been + instituted, and the development of the merit system in the civil service + is creating a class of municipal experts beyond the reach of political + gangsters. + </p> + <p> + There have sprung up all sorts of collateral organizations to help the + officials: societies for municipal research, municipal reference + libraries, citizens' unions, municipal leagues, and municipal parties. + These are further supplemented by organizations which indirectly add to + the momentum of practical, enlightened municipal sentiment: boards of + commerce, associations of business and professional men of every variety, + women's clubs, men's clubs, children's clubs, recreation clubs, social + clubs, every one with its own peculiar vigilance upon some corner of the + city's affairs. So every important city is guarded by a network of + voluntary organizations. + </p> + <p> + All these changes in city government, in municipal laws and political + mechanisms, and in the people's attitude toward their cities, have tended + to dignify municipal service. The city job has been lifted to a higher + plane. Lord Rosebery, the brilliant chairman of the first London County + Council, the governing body of the world's largest city, said many years + ago: "I wish that my voice could extend to every municipality in the + kingdom, and impress upon every man, however high his position, however + great his wealth, however consummate his talents may be, the importance + and nobility of municipal work." It is such a spirit as this that has made + the government of Glasgow a model of democratic efficiency; and it is the + beginnings of this spirit that the municipal historian finds developing in + the last twenty years of American life. It is indeed difficult to see how + our cities can slip back again into the clutches of bosses and rings and + repeat the shameful history of the last decades of the nineteenth century. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. LEGISLATIVE OMNIPOTENCE + </h2> + <p> + The American people, when they wrote their first state constitutions, were + filled with a profound distrust of executive authority, the offspring of + their experience with the arbitrary King George. So they saw to it that + the executive authority in their own government was reduced to its lowest + terms, and that the legislative authority, which was presumed to represent + the people, was exalted to legal omnipotence. In the original States, the + legislature appointed many of the judicial and administrative officers; it + was above the executive veto; it had political supremacy; it determined + the form of local governments and divided the State into election + precincts; it appointed the delegates to the Continental Congress, towards + which it displayed the attitude of a sovereign. It was altogether the most + important arm of the state government; in fact it virtually was the state + government. The Federal Constitution created a government of specified + powers, reserving to the States all authority not expressly given to the + central government. Congress can legislate only on subjects permitted by + the Constitution; on the other hand, a state legislature can legislate on + any subject not expressly forbidden. The state legislature possesses + authority over a far wider range of subjects than Congress—subjects, + moreover, which press much nearer to the daily activities of the citizens, + such as the wide realm of private law, personal relations, local + government, and property. + </p> + <p> + In the earlier days, men of first-class ability, such as Alexander + Hamilton, Samuel Adams, and James Madison, did not disdain membership in + the state legislatures. But the development of party spirit and machine + politics brought with it a great change. Then came the legislative caucus; + and party politics soon reigned in every capital. As the legislature was + ruled by the majority, the dominant party elected presiding officers, + designated committees, appointed subordinates, and controlled lawmaking. + The party was therefore in a position to pay its political debts and + bestow upon its supporters valuable favors. Further, as the legislature + apportioned the various electoral districts, the dominant party could, by + means of the gerrymander, entrench itself even in unfriendly localities. + And, to crown its political power, it elected United States Senators. But, + as the power of the party increased, unfortunately the personnel of the + legislature deteriorated. Able men, as a rule, shunned a service that not + only took them from their private affairs for a number of months, but also + involved them in partizan rivalries and trickeries. Gradually the people + came to lose confidence in the legislative body and to put their trust + more in the Executive or else reserved governmental powers to themselves. + It was about 1835 that the decline of the legislature's powers set in, + when new state constitutions began to clip its prerogatives, one after + another. + </p> + <p> + The bulky constitutions now adopted by most of the States are eloquent + testimony to the complete collapse of the legislature as an administrative + body and to the people's general distrust of their chosen representatives. + The initiative, referendum, recall, and the withholding of important + subjects from the legislature's power, are among the devices intended to + free the people from the machinations of their wilful representatives. + </p> + <p> + Now, most of the evils which these heroic measures have sought to remedy + can be traced directly to the partizan ownership of the state legislature. + The boss controlling the members of the legislature could not only dole + out his favors to the privilege seekers; he could assuage the greed of the + municipal ring; and could, to a lesser degree, command federal patronage + by an entente cordiale with congressmen and senators; and through his + power in presidential conventions and elections he had a direct connection + with the presidential office itself. + </p> + <p> + It was in the days before the legislature was prohibited from granting, by + special act, franchises and charters, when banks, turnpike companies, + railroads, and all sorts of corporations came asking for charters, that + the figure of the lobbyist first appeared. He acted as a middleman between + the seeker and the giver. The preeminent figure of this type in state and + legislative politics for several decades preceding the Civil War was + Thurlow Weed of New York. As an influencer of legislatures, he stands + easily first in ability and achievement. His great personal attractions + won him willing followers whom he knew how to use. He was party manager, + as well as lobbyist and boss in a real sense long before that term was + coined. His capacity for politics amounted to genius. He never sought + office; and his memory has been left singularly free from taint. He became + the editor of the Albany Journal and made it the leading Whig "up-state" + paper. His friend Seward, whom he had lifted into the Governor's chair, + passed on to the United States Senate; and when Horace Greeley with the + New York Tribune joined their forces, this potent triumvirate ruled the + Empire State. Greeley was its spokesman, Seward its leader, but Weed was + its designer. From his room No. 11 in the old Astor House, he beckoned to + forces that made or unmade presidents, governors, ambassadors, + congressmen, judges, and legislators. + </p> + <p> + With the tremendous increase of business after the Civil War, New York + City became the central office of the nation's business, and many of the + interests centered there found it wise to have permanent representatives + at Albany to scrutinize every bill that even remotely touched their + welfare, to promote legislation that was frankly in their favor, and to + prevent "strikes"—the bills designed for blackmail. After a time, + however, the number of "strikes" decreased, as well as the number of + lobbyists attending the session. The corporate interests had learned + efficiency. Instead of dealing with legislators individually, they + arranged with the boss the price of peace or of desirable legislation. The + boss transmitted his wishes to his puppets. This form of government + depends upon a machine that controls the legislature. In New York both + parties were moved by machines. "Tom" Platt was the "easy boss" of the + Republicans; and Tammany and its "up-state" affiliations controlled the + Democrats. "Right here," says Platt in his Autobiography (1910), "it may + be appropriate to say that I have had more or less to do with the + organization of the New York legislature since 1873." He had. For forty + years he practically named the Speaker and committees when his party won, + and he named the price when his party lost. All that an "interest" had to + do, under the new plan, was to "see the boss," and the powers of + government were delivered into its lap. + </p> + <p> + Some of this legislative bargaining was revealed in the insurance + investigation of 1905, conducted by the Armstrong Committee with Charles + E. Hughes as counsel. Officers of the New York Life Insurance Company + testified that their company had given $50,000 to the Republican campaign + of 1904. An item of $235,000, innocently charged to "Home office annex + account," was traced to the hands of a notorious lobbyist at Albany. Three + insurance companies had paid regularly $50,000 each to the Republican + campaign fund. Boss Platt himself was compelled reluctantly to relate how + he had for fifteen years received ten one thousand dollar bundles of + greenbacks from the Equitable Life as "consideration" for party goods + delivered. John A. McCall, President of the New York Life, said: "I don't + care about the Republican side of it or the Democratic side of it. It + doesn't count at all with me. What is best for the New York Life moves and + actuates me." + </p> + <p> + In another investigation Mr. H. O. Havemeyer of the Sugar Trust said: "We + have large interests in this State; we need police protection and fire + protection; we need everything that the city furnishes and gives, and we + have to support these things. Every individual and corporation and firm—trust + or whatever you call it—does these things and we do them." No + distinction is made, then, between the government that ought to furnish + this "protection" and the machine that sells it! + </p> + <p> + No episode in recent political history shows better the relations of the + legislature to the political machine and the great power of invisible + government than the impeachment and removal of Governor William Sulzer in + 1913. Sulzer had been four times elected to the legislature. He served as + Speaker in 1893. He was sent to Congress by an East Side district in New + York City in 1895 and served continuously until his nomination for + Governor of New York in 1912. All these years he was known as a Tammany + man. During his campaign for Governor he made many promises for reform, + and after his election he issued a bombastic declaration of independence. + His words were discounted in the light of his previous record. Immediately + after his inauguration, however, he began a house-cleaning. He set to work + an economy and efficiency commission; he removed a Tammany superintendent + of prisons; made unusually good appointments without paying any attention + to the machine; and urged upon the legislature vigorous and vital laws. + </p> + <p> + But the Tammany party had a large working majority in both houses, and the + changed Sulzer was given no support. The crucial moment came when an + emasculated primary law was handed to him for his signature. An effective + primary law had been a leading campaign issue, all the parties being + pledged to such an enactment. The one which the Governor was now requested + to sign had been framed by the machine to suit its pleasure. The Governor + vetoed it. The legislature adjourned on the 3rd of May. The Governor + promptly reconvened it in extra session (June 7th) for the purpose of + passing an adequate primary law. Threats that had been made against him by + the machine now took form. An investigating committee, appointed by the + Senate to examine the Governor's record, largely by chance happened upon + "pay dirt," and early on the morning of the 13th of August, after an + all-night session, the Assembly passed a motion made by its Tammany floor + leader to impeach the Governor. + </p> + <p> + The articles of impeachment charged: first, that the Governor had filed a + false report of his campaign expenses; second, that since he had made such + statement under oath he was guilty of perjury; third, that he had bribed + witnesses to withhold testimony from the investigating committee; fourth, + that he had used threats in suppression of evidence before the same + tribunal; fifth, that he had persuaded a witness from responding to the + committee's subpoena; sixth, that he had used campaign contributions for + private speculation in the stock market; seventh, that he had used his + power as Governor to influence the political action of certain officials; + lastly, that he had used this power for affecting the stock market to his + gain. + </p> + <p> + Unfortunately for the Governor, the first, second, and sixth charges had a + background of facts, although the rest were ridiculous and trivial. By a + vote of 43 to 12 he was removed from the governorship. The proceeding was + not merely an impeachment of New York's Governor. It was an impeachment of + its government. Every citizen knew that if Sulzer had obeyed Murphy, his + shortcomings would never have been his undoing. + </p> + <p> + The great commonwealth of Pennsylvania was for sixty years under the + domination of the House of Cameron and the House of Quay. Simon Cameron's + entry into public notoriety was symbolic of his whole career. In 1838, he + was one of a commission of two to disburse to the Winnebago Indians at + Prairie du Chien $100,000 in gold. But, instead of receiving gold, the + poor Indians received only a few thousand dollars in the notes of a bank + of which Cameron was the cashier. Cameron was for this reason called "the + Great Winnebago." He built a large fortune by canal and railway contracts, + and later by rolling-mills and furnaces. He was one of the first men in + American politics to purchase political power by the lavish use of cash, + and to use political power for the gratification of financial greed. In + 1857 he was elected to the United States Senate as a Republican by a + legislature in which the Democrats had a majority. Three Democrats voted + for him, and so bitter was the feeling against the renegade trio that no + hotel in Harrisburg would shelter them. + </p> + <p> + In 1860 he was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. + President Lincoln made him Secretary of War. But his management was so + ill-savored that a committee of leading business men from the largest + cities of the country told the President that it was impossible to + transact business with such a man. These complaints coupled with other + considerations moved Lincoln to dismiss Cameron. He did so in + characteristic fashion. On January 11, 1862, he sent Cameron a curt note + saying that he proposed to appoint him minister to Russia. And thither + into exile Cameron went. A few months later, the House of Representatives + passed a resolution of censure, citing Cameron's employment of + irresponsible persons and his purchase of supplies by private contract + instead of competitive bidding. The resolution, however, was later + expunged from the records; and Cameron, on his return from Russia, again + entered the Senate under circumstances so suspicious that only the + political influence of the boss thwarted an action for bribery. In 1877 he + resigned, naming as his successor his son "Don," who was promptly elected. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime another personage had appeared on the scene. "Cameron made + the use of money an essential to success in politics, but Quay made + politics expensive beyond the most extravagant dreams." From the time he + arrived of age until his death, with the exception of three or four years, + Matthew S. Quay held public office. When the Civil War broke out, he had + been for some time prothonotary of Beaver County, and during the war he + served as Governor Curtin's private secretary. In 1865 he was elected to + the legislature. In 1877 he induced the legislature to resurrect the + discarded office of Recorder of Philadelphia, and for two years he + collected the annual fees of $40,000. In 1887 he was elected to the United + States Senate, in which he remained except for a brief interval until his + death. + </p> + <p> + In 1899 came revelations of Quay's substantial interests in state moneys. + The suicide of the cashier of the People's Bank of Philadelphia, which was + largely owned by politicians and was a favorite depository of state funds, + led to an investigation of the bank's affairs, and disclosed the fact that + Quay and some of his associates had used state funds for speculation. + Quay's famous telegram to the cashier was found among the dead official's + papers, "If you can buy and carry a thousand Met. for me I will shake the + plum tree." + </p> + <p> + Quay was indicted, but escaped trial by pleading the statute of + limitations as preventing the introduction of necessary evidence against + him. A great crowd of shouting henchmen accosted him as a hero when he + left the courtroom, and escorted him to his hotel. And the legislature + soon thereafter elected him to his third term in the Senate. + </p> + <p> + Pittsburgh, as well as Philadelphia, had its machine which was carefully + geared to Quay's state machine. The connection was made clear by the + testimony of William Flinn, a contractor boss, before a committee of the + United States Senate. Flinn explained the reason for a written agreement + between Quay on the one hand and Flinn and one Brown in behalf of Chris + Magee, the Big Boss, on the other, for the division of the sovereignty of + western Pennsylvania. "Senator Quay told me," said Flinn, "that he would + not permit us to elect the Republican candidate for mayor in Pittsburgh + unless we adjust the politics to suit him." The people evidently had + nothing to say about it. + </p> + <p> + The experiences of New York and Pennsylvania are by no means isolated; + they are illustrative. Very few States have escaped a legislative scandal. + In particular, Rhode Island, Delaware, Illinois, Colorado, Montana, + California, Ohio, Mississippi, Texas can give pertinent testimony to the + willingness of legislatures to prostitute their great powers to the will + of the boss or the machine. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. THE NATIONAL HIERARCHY + </h2> + <p> + American political maneuver culminates at Washington. The Presidency and + membership in the Senate and the House of Representatives are the great + stakes. By a venerable tradition, scrupulously followed, the judicial + department is kept beyond the reach of party greed. + </p> + <p> + The framers of the Constitution believed that they had contrived a method + of electing the President and Vice-President which would preserve the + choice from partizan taint. Each State should choose a number of electors + "equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the + State may be entitled in the Congress." These electors were to form an + independent body, to meet in their respective States and "ballot for two + persons," and send the result of their balloting to the Capitol, where the + President of the Senate, in the presence of the Senate and the House of + Representatives, opened the certificates and counted the votes. The one + receiving the greatest number of votes was to be declared elected + President, the one receiving the next highest number of votes, + Vice-President. George Washington was the only President elected by such + an autonomous group. The election of John Adams was bitterly contested, + and the voters knew, when they were casting their ballots in 1796, whether + they were voting for a Federalist or a Jeffersonian. From that day forward + this greatest of political prizes has been awarded through partizan + competition. In 1804 the method of selecting the Vice-President was + changed by the twelfth constitutional amendment. The electors since that + time ballot for President and Vice-President. Whatever may be the legal + privileges of the members of the Electoral College, they are considered, + by the voters, as agents of the party upon whose tickets their names + appear, and to abuse this relationship would universally be deemed an act + of perfidy. + </p> + <p> + The Constitution permits the legislatures of the States to determine how + the electors shall be chosen. In the earlier period, the legislatures + elected them; later they were elected by the people; sometimes they were + elected at large, but usually they were chosen by districts. And this is + now the general custom. Since the development of direct nominations, there + has been a strong movement towards the abolition of the Electoral College + and the election of the President by direct vote. + </p> + <p> + The President is the most powerful official in our government and in many + respects he is the most powerful ruler in the world. He is + Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy. His is virtually the sole + responsibility in conducting international relations. He is at the head of + the civil administration and all the important administrative departments + are answerable to him. He possesses a vast power of appointment through + which he dispenses political favors. His wish is potent in shaping + legislation and his veto is rarely overridden. With Congress he must be in + daily contact; for the Senate has the power of ratifying or discarding his + appointments and of sanctioning or rejecting his treaties with foreign + countries; and the House of Representatives originates all money bills and + thus possesses a formidable check upon executive usurpation. + </p> + <p> + The Constitution originally reposed the choice of United States Senators + with the state legislatures. A great deal of virtue was to flow from such + an indirect election. The members of the legislature were presumed to act + with calm judgment and to choose only the wise and experienced for the + dignity of the toga. And until the period following the Civil War the + great majority of the States delighted to send their ablest statesmen to + the Senate. Upon its roll we find the names of many of our illustrious + orators and jurists. After the Civil War, when the spirit of commercialism + invaded every activity, men who were merely rich began to aspire to + senatorial honors. The debauch of the state legislatures which was + revealed in the closing year of the nineteenth century and the opening + days of the twentieth so revolted the people that the seventeenth + constitutional amendment was adopted (1913) providing for the election of + senators by direct vote. + </p> + <p> + The House of Representatives was designed to be the "popular house." Its + election from small districts, by direct vote, every two years is a + guarantee of its popular character. From this characteristic it has never + departed. It is the People's House. It originates all revenue measures. On + its floor, in the rough and tumble of debate, partizan motives are rarely + absent. + </p> + <p> + Upon this national tripod, the Presidency, the Senate, and the House, is + builded the vast national party machine. Every citizen is familiar with + the outer aspect of these great national parties as they strive in placid + times to create a real issue of the tariff, or imperialism, or what not, + so as to establish at least an ostensible difference between them; or as + they, in critical times, make the party name synonymous with national + security. The high-sounding platforms, the frenzied orators, the parades, + mass meetings, special trains, pamphlets, books, editorials, lithographs, + posters—all these paraphernalia are conjured up in the voter's mind + when he reads the words Democratic and Republican. + </p> + <p> + But, from the standpoint of the professional politician, all this that the + voter sees is a mask, the patriotic veneer to hide the machine, that + complex hierarchy of committees ranging from Washington to every + cross-roads in the Republic. The committee system, described in a former + chapter, was perfected by the Republican party during the days of the + Civil War, under the stress of national necessity. The great party leaders + were then in Congress. When the assassination of Lincoln placed Andrew + Johnson in power, the bitter quarrel between Congress and the President + firmly united the Republicans; and in order to carry the mid-election in + 1866, they organized a Congressional Campaign Committee to conduct the + canvass. This practice has been continued by both parties, and in "off" + years it plays a very prominent part in the party campaign. Congress + alone, however, was only half the conquest. It was only through control of + the Administration that access was gained to the succulent herbage of + federal pasturage and that vast political prestige with the voter was + achieved. + </p> + <p> + The President is nominally the head of his party. In reality he may not + be; he may be only the President. That depends upon his personality, his + desires, his hold upon Congress and upon the people, and upon the + circumstances of the hour. During the Grant Administration, as already + described, there existed, in every sense of the term, a federal machine. + It held Congress, the Executive, and the vast federal patronage in its + power. All the federal office-holders, all the postmasters and their + assistants, revenue collectors, inspectors, clerks, marshals, deputies, + consuls, and ambassadors were a part of the organization, contributing to + its maintenance. We often hear today of the "Federal Crowd," a term used + to describe such appointees as still subsist on presidential and + senatorial favor. In Grant's time, this "crowd" was a genuine machine, + constructed, unlike some of its successors, from the center outward. But + the "boss" of this machine was not the President. It was controlled by a + group of leading Congressmen, who used their power for dictating + appointments and framing "desirable" legislation. Grant, in the + imagination of the people, symbolized the cause their sacrifices had won; + and thus his moral prestige became the cloak of the political plotters. + </p> + <p> + A number of the ablest men in the Republican party, however, stood aloof; + and by 1876 a movement against the manipulators had set in. Civil service + reform had become a real issue. Hayes, the "dark horse" who was nominated + in that year, declared, in accepting the nomination, that "reform should + be thorough, radical, and complete." He promised not to be a candidate for + a second term, thus avoiding the temptation, to which almost every + President has succumbed, of using the patronage to secure his reelection. + The party managers pretended not to hear these promises. And when Hayes, + after his inauguration, actually began to put them into force, they set + the whole machinery of the party against the President. Matters came to a + head when the President issued an order commanding federal office-holders + to refrain from political activity. This order was generally defied, + especially in New York City in the post-office and customs rings. Two + notorious offenders, Cornell and Arthur, were dismissed from office by the + President. But the Senate, influenced by Roscoe Conkling's power, refused + to confirm the President's new appointees; and under the Tenure of Office + Act, which had been passed to tie President Johnson's hands, the offenders + remained in office over a year. The fight disciplined the President and + the machine in about equal proportions. The President became more amenable + and the machine less arbitrary. + </p> + <p> + President Garfield attempted the impossible feat of obliging both the + politicians and the reformers. He was persuaded to make nominations to + federal offices in New York without consulting either of the senators from + that State, Conkling and Platt. Conkling appealed to the Senate to reject + the New York appointees sent in by the President. The Senate failed to + sustain him. Conkling and his colleague Platt resigned from the Senate and + appealed to the New York legislature, which also refused to sustain them. + </p> + <p> + While this absurd farce was going on, a more serious ferment was brewing. + On July 2, 1881, President Garfield was assassinated by a disappointed + office-seeker named Guiteau. The attention of the people was suddenly + turned from the ridiculous diversion of the Conkling incident to the + tragedy and its cause. They saw the chief office in their gift a mere pawn + in the game of place-seekers, the time and energy of their President + wasted in bickerings with congressmen over petty appointments, and the + machinery of their Government dominated by the machinery of the party for + ignoble or selfish ends. + </p> + <p> + At last the advocates of reform found their opportunity. In 1883 the Civil + Service Act was passed, taking from the President about 14,000 + appointments. Since then nearly every President, towards the end of his + term, especially his second term, has added to the numbers, until nearly + two-thirds of the federal offices are now filled by examination. President + Cleveland during his second term made sweeping additions. President + Roosevelt found about 100,000 in the classified service and left 200,000. + President Taft, before his retirement, placed in the classified service + assistant postmasters and clerks in first and second-class postoffices, + about 42,000 rural delivery carriers, and over 20,000 skilled workers in + the navy yards. + </p> + <p> + The appointing power of the President, however, still remains the + principal point of his contact with the machine. He has, of course, other + means of showing partizan favors. Tariff laws, laws regulating interstate + commerce, reciprocity treaties, "pork barrels," pensions, financial + policies, are all pregnant with political possibilities. + </p> + <p> + The second official unit in the national political hierarchy is the House + of Representatives, controlling the pursestrings, which have been the + deadly noose of many executive measures. The House is elected every two + years, so that it may ever be "near to the people"! This produces a reflex + not anticipated by the Fathers of the Constitution. It gives the + representative brief respite from the necessities of politics, and hence + little time for the necessities of the State. + </p> + <p> + The House attained the zenith of its power when it arraigned President + Johnson at the bar of the Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors in + office. It had shackled his appointing power by the Tenure of Office Act; + it had forced its plan of reconstruction over his veto; and now it led + him, dogged and defiant, to a political trial. Within a few years the + character of the House changed. A new generation interested in the issues + of prosperity, rather than those of the war, entered public life. The + House grew unwieldy in size and its business increased alarmingly. The + minority, meanwhile, retained the power, through filibustering, to hold up + the business of the country. + </p> + <p> + It was under such conditions that Speaker Reed, in 1890, crowned himself + "Czar" by compelling a quorum. This he did by counting as actually present + all members whom the clerk reported as "present but not voting." The + minority fought desperately for its last privilege and even took a case to + the Supreme Court to test the constitutionality of a law passed by a + Reed-made quorum. The court concurred with the sensible opinion of the + country that "when the quorum is present, it is there for the purpose of + doing business," an opinion that was completely vindicated when the + Democratic minority became a majority and adopted the rule for its own + advantage. + </p> + <p> + By this ruling, the Speakership was lifted to a new eminence. The party + caucus, which nominated the Speaker, and to which momentous party + questions were referred, gave solidarity to the party. But the influence + of the Speaker, through his power of appointing committees, of referring + bills, of recognizing members who wished to participate in debate, insured + that discipline and centralized authority which makes mass action + effective. The power of the Speaker was further enlarged by the creation + of the Rules Committee, composed of the Speaker and two members from each + party designated by him. This committee formed a triumvirate (the minority + members were merely formal members) which set the limits of debate, + proposed special rules for such occasions as the committee thought proper, + and virtually determined the destiny of bills. So it came about, as Bryce + remarks, that the choice of the Speaker was "a political event of the + highest significance." + </p> + <p> + It was under the regency of Speaker Cannon that the power of the Speaker's + office attained its climax. The Republicans had a large majority in the + House and the old war-horses felt like colts. They assumed their + leadership, however, with that obliviousness to youth which usually + characterizes old age. The gifted and attractive Reed had ruled often by + aphorism and wit, but the unimaginative Cannon ruled by the gavel alone; + and in the course of time he and his clique of veterans forgot entirely + the difference between power and leadership. + </p> + <p> + Even party regularity could not long endure such tyranny. It was not + against party organization that the insurgents finally raised their + lances, but against the arbitrary use of the machinery of the organization + by a small group of intrenched "standpatters." The revolt began during the + debate on the Payne-Aldrich tariff, and in the campaign of 1908 + "Cannonism" was denounced from the stump in every part of the country. By + March, 1910, the insurgents were able, with the aid of the Democrats, to + amend the rules, increasing the Committee on Rules to ten to be elected by + the House and making the Speaker ineligible for membership. When the + Democrats secured control of the House in the following year, the rules + were revised, and the selection of all committees is now determined by a + Committee on Committees chosen in party caucus. This change shifts + arbitrary power from the shoulders of the Speaker to the shoulders of the + party chieftains. The power of the Speaker has been lessened but by no + means destroyed. He is still the party chanticleer. + </p> + <p> + The political power of the House, however, cannot be calculated without + admitting to the equation the Senate, the third official unit, and, + indeed, the most powerful factor in the national hierarchy. The Senate + shares equally with the House the responsibility of lawmaking, and shares + with the President the responsibility of appointments and of + treaty-making. It has been the scene of many memorable contests with the + President for political control. The senators are elder statesmen, who + have passed through the refining fires of experience, either in law, + business, or politics. A senator is elected for six years; so that he has + a period of rest between elections, in which he may forget his + constituents in the ardor of his duties. + </p> + <p> + Within the last few decades a great change has come over the Senate, over + its membership, its attitude towards public questions, and its relation to + the electorate. This has been brought about through disclosures tending to + show the relations on the part of some senators towards "big business." As + early as the Granger revelations of railway machinations in politics, in + the seventies, a popular distrust of the Senate became pronounced. No + suggestion of corruption was implied, but certain senators were known as + "railway senators," and were believed to use their partizan influence in + their friends' behalf. This feeling increased from year to year, until + what was long suspected came suddenly to light, through an entirely + unexpected agency. William Randolph Hearst, a newspaper owner who had in + vain attempted to secure a nomination for President by the Democrats and + to get himself elected Governor of New York, had organized and financed a + party of his own, the Independence League. While speaking in behalf of his + party, in the fall of 1908, he read extracts from letters written by an + official of the Standard Oil Company to various senators. The letters, it + later appeared, had been purloined from the Company's files by a faithless + employee. They caused a tremendous sensation. The public mind had become + so sensitive that the mere fact that an intimacy existed between the most + notorious of trusts and some few United States senators—the + correspondents called each other "Dear John," "Dear Senator," etc.—was + sufficient to arouse the general wrath. The letters disclosed a keen + interest on the part of the corporation in the details of legislation, and + the public promptly took the Standard Oil Company as a type. They + believed, without demanding tangible proof, that other great corporations + were, in some sinister manner, influencing legislation. Railroads, + insurance companies, great banking concerns, vast industrial corporations, + were associated in the public mind as "the Interests." And the United + States Senate was deemed the stronghold of the interests. A saturnalia of + senatorial muckraking now laid bare the "oligarchy," as the small group of + powerful veteran Senators who controlled the senatorial machinery was + called. It was disclosed that the centralization of leadership in the + Senate coincided with the centralization of power in the Democratic and + Republican national machines. In 1911 and 1912 a "money trust" + investigation was conducted by the Senate and a comfortable entente was + revealed between a group of bankers, insurance companies, manufacturers, + and other interests, carried on through an elaborate system of + interlocking directorates. Finally, in 1912, the Senate ordered its + Committee on Privileges and Elections to investigate campaign + contributions paid to the national campaign committees in 1904, 1908, and + 1912. The testimony taken before this committee supplied the country with + authentic data of the interrelations of Big Business and Big Politics. + </p> + <p> + The revolt against "Cannonism" in the House had its counterpart in the + Senate. By the time the Aldrich tariff bill came to a vote (1909), about + ten Republican senators rebelled. The revolt gathered momentum and + culminated in 1912 in the organization of the National Progressive party + with Theodore Roosevelt as its candidate for President and Hiram Johnson + of California for Vice-President. The majority of the Progressives + returned to the Republican fold in 1916. But the rupture was not healed, + and the Democrats reelected Woodrow Wilson. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX. THE AWAKENING + </h2> + <p> + In the early days a ballot was simply a piece of paper with the names of + the candidates written or printed on it. As party organizations became + more ambitious, the party printed its own ballots, and "scratching" was + done by pasting gummed stickers, with the names of the substitutes printed + on them, over the regular ballot, or by simply striking out a name and + writing another one in its place. It was customary to print the different + party tickets on different colored paper, so that the judges in charge of + the ballot boxes could tell how the men voted. When later laws required + all ballots to be printed on white paper and of the same size, the parties + used paper of different texture. Election officials could then tell by the + "feel" which ticket was voted. Finally paper of the same color and quality + was enjoined by some States. But it was not until the State itself + undertook to print the ballots that uniformity was secured. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime the peddling of tickets was a regular occupation on + election day. Canvassers invaded homes and places of business, and even + surrounded the voting place. It was the custom in many parts of the + country for the voters to prepare the ballots before reaching the voting + place and carry them in the vest pocket, with a margin showing. This was a + sort of signal that the voter's mind had been made up and that he should + be let alone, yet even with this signal showing, in hotly contested + elections the voter ran a noisy gauntlet of eager solicitors, harassing + him on his way to vote as cab drivers assail the traveler when he alights + from the train. This free and easy method, tolerable in sparsely settled + pioneer districts, failed miserably in the cities. It was necessary to + pass rigorous laws against vote buying and selling, and to clear the + polling-place of all partizan soliciting. Penal provisions were enacted + against intimidation, violence, repeating, false swearing when challenged, + ballot-box stuffing, and the more patent forms of partizan vices. In order + to stop the practice of "repeating," New York early passed laws requiring + voters to be duly registered. But the early laws were defective, and the + rolls were easily padded. In most of the cities poll lists were made by + the party workers, and the name of each voter was checked off as he voted. + It was still impossible for the voter to keep secret his ballot. The buyer + of votes could tell whether he got what he paid for; the employer, so + disposed, could bully those dependent on him into voting as he wished, and + the way was open to all manner of tricks in the printing of ballots with + misleading emblems, or with certain names omitted, or with a mixture of + candidates from various parties—tricks that were later forbidden by + law but were none the less common. + </p> + <p> + Rather suddenly a great change came over election day. In 1888 Kentucky + adopted the Australian ballot for the city of Louisville, and + Massachusetts adopted it for all state and local elections. The + Massachusetts statute provided that before an election each political + party should certify its nominees to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. + The State then printed the ballots. All the nominees of all the parties + were printed on one sheet. Each office was placed in a separate column, + the candidates in alphabetical order, with the names of the parties + following. Blank spaces were left for those who wished to vote for others + than the regular nominees. This form of ballot prevented "voting straight" + with a single mark. The voter, in the seclusion of a booth at the + polling-place, had to pick his party's candidates from the numerous + columns. + </p> + <p> + Indiana, in 1889, adopted a similar statute but the ballot had certain + modifications to suit the needs of party orthodoxy. Here the columns + represented parties, not offices. Each party had a column. Each column was + headed by the party name and its device, so that those who could not read + could vote for the Rooster or the Eagle or the Fountain. There was a + circle placed under the device, and by making his mark in this circle the + voter voted straight. + </p> + <p> + Within eight years thirty-eight States and two Territories had adopted the + Australian or blanket ballot in some modified form. It was but a step to + the state control of the election machinery. Some state officer, usually + the Secretary of State, was designated to see that the election laws were + enforced. In New York a State Commissioner of Elections was appointed. The + appointment of local inspectors and judges remained for a time in the + hands of the parties. But soon in several States even this power was taken + from them, and the trend now is towards appointing all election officers + by the central authority. These officers also have complete charge of the + registration of voters. In some States, like New York, registration has + become a rather solemn procedure, requiring the answering of many + questions and the signing of the voter's name, all under the threat of + perjury if a wilful misrepresentation is made. + </p> + <p> + So passed out of the control of the party the preparation of the ballot + and the use of the ballot on election day. Innumerable rules have been + laid down by the State for the conduct of elections. The distribution of + the ballots, their custody before election, the order of electional + procedure, the counting of the ballots, the making of returns, the custody + of the ballot-boxes, and all other necessary details, are regulated by law + under official state supervision. The parties are allowed watchers at the + polls, but these have no official standing. + </p> + <p> + If a Revolutionary Father could visit his old haunts on election day, he + would be astonished at the sober decorum. In his time elections lasted + three days, days filled with harangue, with drinking, betting, raillery, + and occasional encounters. Even those whose memory goes back to the Civil + War can contrast the ballot peddling, the soliciting, the crowded noisy + polling-places, with the calm and quiet with which men deposit their + ballots today. For now every ballot is numbered and no one is permitted to + take a single copy from the room. Every voter must prepare his ballot in + the booth. And every polling-place is an island of immunity in the sea of + political excitement. + </p> + <p> + While the people were thus assuming control of the ballot, they were + proceeding to gain control of their legislatures. In 1890 Massachusetts + enacted one of the first anti-lobby laws. It has served as a model for + many other States. It provided that the sergeant-at-arms should keep + dockets in which were enrolled the names of all persons employed as + counsel or agents before legislative committees. Each counsel or agent was + further compelled to state the length of his engagement, the subjects or + bills for which he was employed, and the name and address of his employer. + </p> + <p> + The first session after the passage of this law, many of the professional + lobbyists refused to enroll, and the most notorious ones were seen no more + in the State House. The regular counsel of railroads, insurance companies, + and other interests signed the proper docket and appeared for their + clients in open committee meetings. + </p> + <p> + The law made it the duty of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to report to + the law officers of the State, for prosecution, all those who failed to + comply with the act. Sixty-seven such delinquents were reported the first + year. The Grand Jury refused to indict them, but the number of + recalcitrants has gradually diminished. + </p> + <p> + The experience of Massachusetts is not unique. Other States passed more or + less rigorous anti-lobby laws, and today, in no state Capitol, will the + visitor see the disgusting sights that were usual thirty years ago—arrogant + and coarse professional "agents" mingling on the floor of the legislature + with members, even suggesting procedure to presiding officers, and not + infrequently commandeering a majority. Such influences, where they + persist, have been driven under cover. + </p> + <p> + With the decline of the professional lobbyist came the rise of the + volunteer lobbyist. Important bills are now considered in formal committee + hearings which are well advertised so that interested parties may be + present. Publicity and information have taken the place of secrecy in + legislative procedure. The gathering of expert testimony by special + legislative commissions of inquiry is now a frequent practice in respect + to subjects of wide social import, such as workmen's compensation, widows' + pensions, and factory conditions. + </p> + <p> + A number of States have resorted to the initiative and referendum as + applied to ordinary legislation. By means of this method a small + percentage of the voters, from eight to ten per cent, may initiate + proposals and impose upon the voters the function of legislation. South + Dakota, in 1898, made constitutional provision for direct legislation. + Utah followed in 1900, Oregon in 1902, Nevada in 1904, Montana in 1906, + and Oklahoma in 1907. East of the Mississippi, several States have adopted + a modified form of the initiative and referendum. In Oregon, where this + device of direct government has been most assiduously applied, the voters + in 1908 voted upon nineteen different bills and constitutional amendments; + in 1910 the number increased to thirty-two; in 1912, to thirty-seven; in + 1914 it fell to twenty-nine. The vote cast for these measures rarely + exceeded eighty per cent of those voting at the election and frequently + fell below sixty. + </p> + <p> + The electorate that attempts to rid itself of the evils of the state + legislature by these heroic methods assumes a heavy responsibility. When + the burden of direct legislation is added to the task of choosing from the + long list of elective officers which is placed before the voter at every + local and state election, it is not surprising that there should set in a + reaction in favor of simplified government. The mere separation of state + and local elections does not solve the problem. It somewhat minimizes the + chances of partizan influence over the voter in local elections; but the + voter is still confronted with the long lists of candidates for elective + offices. Ballots not infrequently contain two hundred names, sometimes + even three hundred or more, covering candidates of four or five parties + for scores of offices. These blanket ballots are sometimes three feet + long. After an election in Chicago in 1916, one of the leading dailies + expressed sympathy "for the voter emerging from the polling-booth, + clutching a handful of papers, one of them about half as large as a bed + sheet." Probably most voters were able to express a real preference among + the national candidates. It is almost equally certain that most voters + were not able to express a real preference among important local + administrative officials. A huge ballot, all printed over with names, + supplemented by a series of smaller ballots, can never be a manageable + instrument even for an electorate as intelligent as ours. + </p> + <p> + Simplification is the prophetic watchword in state government today. For + cities, the City Manager and the Commission have offered salvation. A few + officers only are elected and these are held strictly responsible, + sometimes under the constant threat of the recall, for the entire + administration. Over four hundred cities have adopted the form of + government by Commission. But nothing has been done to simplify our state + governments, which are surrounded by a maze of heterogeneous and + undirected boards and authorities. Every time the legislature found itself + confronted by a new function to be cared for, it simply created a new + board. New York has a hodgepodge of over 116 such authorities; Minnesota, + 75; Illinois, 100. Iowa in 1913 and Illinois and Minnesota in 1914, + indeed, perfected elaborate proposals for simplifying their state + governments. But these suggestions remain dormant. And the New York State + Constitutional Convention in 1915 prepared a new Constitution for the + State, with the same end in view, but their work was not accepted by the + people. It may be said, however, that in our attempt to rid ourselves of + boss rule we have swung through the arc of direct government and are now + on the returning curve toward representative government, a more + intensified representative government that makes evasion of responsibility + and duty impossible by fixing it upon one or two men. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X. PARTY REFORM + </h2> + <p> + The State, at first, had paid little attention to the party, which was + regarded as a purely voluntary aggregation of like-minded citizens. + Evidently the State could not dictate that you should be a Democrat or a + Republican or force you to be an Independent. With the adoption of the + Australian ballot, however, came the legal recognition of the party; for + as soon as the State recognized the party's designated nominees in the + preparation of the official ballot, it recognized the party. It was then + discovered that, unless some restrictions were imposed, groups of + interested persons in the old parties would manage the nominations of both + to their mutual satisfaction. Thus a handful of Democrats would visit + Republican caucuses or primaries and a handful of Republicans would return + the favor to the Democrats. In other words, the bosses of both parties + would cooperate in order to secure nominations satisfactory to themselves. + Massachusetts began the reform by defining a party as a group of persons + who had cast a certain percentage of the votes at the preceding election. + This definition has been widely accepted; and the number of votes has been + variously fixed at from two to twenty-five per cent. Other States have + followed the New York plan of fixing definitely the number of voters + necessary to form a party. In New York no fewer than 10,000 voters can + secure recognition as a state party, exception being made in favor of + municipal or purely local parties. But merely fixing the numerical minimum + of the party was not enough. The State took another step forward in + depriving the manipulator of his liberty when it undertook to determine + who was entitled to membership in the party and privileged to take part in + its nominations and other party procedure. Otherwise the virile minority + in each party would control both the membership and the nominations. + </p> + <p> + An Oregon statute declares: "Every political party and every volunteer + political organization has the same right to be protected from the + interference of persons who are not identified with it, as its known and + publicly avowed members, that the government of the State has to protect + itself from the interference of persons who are not known and registered + as its electors. It is as great a wrong to the people, as well as to + members of a political party, for anyone who is not known to be one of its + members to vote or take any part at any election, or other proceedings of + such political party, as it is for one who is not a qualified and + registered elector to vote at any state election or to take part in the + business of the State." It is a far reach from the democratic laissez + faire of Jackson's day to this state dogmatism which threatens the + independent or detached voter with ultimate extinction. + </p> + <p> + A variety of methods have been adopted for initiating the citizen into + party membership. In the Southern States, where the dual party system does + not exist, the legislature has left the matter in the hands of the duly + appointed party officials. They can, with canonical rigor, determine the + party standing of voters at the primaries. But where there is party + competition, such a generous endowment of power would be dangerous. + </p> + <p> + Many States permit the voter to make his declaration of party allegiance + when he goes to the primary. He asks for the ticket of the party whose + nominees he wishes to help select. He is then handed the party's ballot, + which he marks and places in the ballot-box of that party. Now, if he is + challenged, he must declare upon oath that he is a member of that party, + that he has generally supported its tickets and its principles, and that + at the coming election he intends to support at least a majority of its + nominees. In this method little freedom is left to the voter who wishes to + participate as an independent both in the primaries and in the general + election. + </p> + <p> + The New York plan is more rigorous. Here, in all cities, the voter enrolls + his name on his party's lists when he goes to register for the coming + election. He receives a ballot upon which are the following words: "I am + in general sympathy with the principles of the party which I have + designated by my mark hereunder; it is my intention to support generally + at the next general election, state and national, the nominees of such + party for state and national offices; and I have not enrolled with or + participated in any primary election or convention of any other party + since the first day of last year." On this enrollment blank he indicates + the party of his choice, and the election officials deposit all the + ballots, after sealing them in envelopes, in a special box. At a time + designated by law, these seals are broken and the party enrollment is + compiled from them. These party enrollment books are public records. + Everyone who cares may consult the lists. The advantages of secrecy—such + as they are—are thus not secured. + </p> + <p> + It remained for Wisconsin, the experimenting State, to find a way of + insuring secrecy. Here, when the voter goes to the primary, he is handed a + large ballot, upon which all the party nominations are printed. The + different party tickets are separated by perforations, so that the voter + simply tears out the party ticket he wishes to vote, marks it, and puts it + in the box. The rejected tickets he deposits in a large waste basket + provided for the discards. + </p> + <p> + While the party was being fenced in by legal definition, its machinery, + the intricate hierarchy of committees, was subjected to state scrutiny + with the avowed object of ridding the party of ring rule. The State + Central Committee is the key to the situation. To democratize this + committee is a task that has severely tested the ingenuity of the State, + for the inventive capacity of the professional politician is prodigious. + The devices to circumvent the politician are so numerous and various that + only a few types can be selected to illustrate how the State is carrying + out its determination. Illinois has provided perhaps the most democratic + method. In each congressional district, the voters, at the regular party + primaries, choose the member of the state committee for the district, who + serves for a term of two years. The law says that "no other person or + persons whomsoever" than those so chosen by the voters shall serve on the + committee, so that members by courtesy or by proxy, who might represent + the boss, are apparently shut off. The law stipulates the time within + which the committee must meet and organize. Under this plan, if the ring + controls the committee, the fault lies wholly with the majority of the + party; it is a self-imposed thraldom. + </p> + <p> + Iowa likewise stipulates that the Central Committee shall be composed of + one member from each congressional district. But the members are chosen in + a state convention, organized under strict and minute regulations imposed + by law. It permits considerable freedom to the committee, however, stating + that it "may organize at pleasure for political work as is usual and + customary with such committees." + </p> + <p> + In Wisconsin another plan was adopted in 1907. Here the candidates for the + various state offices and for both branches of the legislature and the + senators whose terms have not expired meet in the state capital at noon on + a day specified by law and elect by ballot a central committee consisting + of at least two members from each congressional district. A chairman is + chosen in the same manner. + </p> + <p> + Most States, however, leave some leeway in the choice of the state + committee, permitting their election usually by the regular primaries but + controlling their action in many details. The lesser committees—county, + city, district, judicial, senatorial, congressional, and others—are + even more rigorously controlled by law. + </p> + <p> + So the issuing of the party platform, the principles on which it must + stand or fall, has been touched by this process of ossification. Few + States retain the state convention in its original vigor. In all States + where primaries are held for state nominations, the emasculated and + subdued convention is permitted to write the party platform. But not so in + some States. Wisconsin permits the candidates and the hold-over members of + the Senate, assembled according to law in a state meeting, to issue the + platform. In other States, the Central Committee and the various + candidates for state office form a party council and frame the platform. + Oregon, in 1901, tried a novel method of providing platforms by + referendum. But the courts declared the law unconstitutional. So Oregon + now permits each candidate to write his own platform in not over one + hundred words and file it with his nominating petition, and to present a + statement of not over twelve words to be printed on the ballot. + </p> + <p> + The convention system provided many opportunities for the manipulator and + was inherently imperfect for nominating more than one or two candidates + for office. It has survived as the method of nominating candidates for + President of the United States because it is adapted to the wide + geographical range of the nation and because in the national convention + only a President and a Vice-President are nominated. In state and county + conventions, where often candidates for a dozen or more offices are to be + nominated, it was often subject to demoralizing bartering. + </p> + <p> + The larger the number of nominations to be made, the more complete was the + jobbery, and this was the death warrant of the local convention. These + evils were recognized as early as June 20, 1860, when the Republican + county convention of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, adopted the following + resolutions: + </p> + <p> + "Whereas, in nominating candidates for the several county offices, it + clearly is, or ought to be, the object to arrive as nearly as possible at + the wishes of the majority, or at least a plurality of the Republican + voters; and + </p> + <p> + "Whereas the present system of nominating by delegates, who virtually + represent territory rather than votes, and who almost necessarily are + wholly unacquainted with the wishes and feelings of their constituents in + regard to various candidates for office, is undemocratic, because the + people have no voice in it, and objectionable, because men are often + placed in nomination because of their location who are decidedly + unpopular, even in their own districts, and because it affords too great + an opportunity for scheming and designing men to accomplish their own + purposes; therefore + </p> + <p> + "Resolved, that we are in favor of submitting nominations directly to the + people—the Republican voters—and that delegate conventions for + nominating county officers be abolished, and we hereby request and + instruct the county committee to issue their call in 1861, in accordance + with the spirit of this resolution." + </p> + <p> + Upon the basis of this indictment of the county convention system, the + Republican voters of Crawford County, a rural community, whose largest + town is Meadville, the county seat, proceeded to nominate their candidates + by direct vote, under rules prepared by the county committee. These rules + have been but slightly changed. The informality of a hat or open table + drawer has been replaced by an official ballotbox, and an official ballot + has taken the place of the tickets furnished by each candidate. + </p> + <p> + The "Crawford County plan," as it was generally called, was adopted by + various localities in many States. In 1866 California and New York enacted + laws to protect primaries and nominating caucuses from fraud. In 1871 Ohio + and Pennsylvania enacted similar laws, followed by Missouri in 1875 and + New Jersey in 1878. By 1890 over a dozen States had passed laws attempting + to eliminate the grosser frauds attendant upon making nominations. In many + instances it was made optional with the party whether the direct plan + should supersede the delegate plan. Only in certain cities, however, was + the primary made mandatory in these States. By far the larger areas + retained the convention. + </p> + <p> + There is noticeable in these years a gradual increase in the amount of + legislation concerning the nominating machinery—prescribing the days + and hours for holding elections of delegates, the size of the + polling-place, the nature of the ballotbox, the poll-list, who might + participate in the choice of delegates, how the returns were to be made, + and so on. By the time, then, that the Australian ballot came, with its + profound changes, nearly all the States had attempted to remove the + glaring abuses of the nominating system; and several of them officially + recognized the direct primary. The State was reluctant to abolish the + convention system entirely; and the Crawford County plan long remained + merely optional. But in 1901 Minnesota enacted a state-wide, mandatory + primary law. Mississippi followed in 1902, Wisconsin in 1903, and Oregon + in 1904. This movement has swept the country. + </p> + <p> + Few States retain the nominating convention, and where it remains it is + shackled by legal restrictions. The boss, however, has devised adequate + means for controlling primaries, and a return to a modified convention + system is being earnestly discussed in many States to circumvent the + further ingenuity of the boss. A further step towards the state control of + parties was taken when laws began to busy themselves with the conduct of + the campaign. Corrupt Practices Acts began to assume bulk in the early + nineties, to limit the expenditure of candidates, and to enumerate the + objects for which campaign committees might legitimately spend money. + These are usually personal traveling expenses of the candidates, rental of + rooms for committees and halls for meetings, payment of musicians and + speakers and their traveling expenses, printing campaign material, postage + for distribution of letters, newspapers and printed matter, telephone and + telegraph charges, political advertising, employing challengers at the + polls, necessary clerk hire, and conveyances for bringing aged or infirm + voters to the polls. The maximum amount that can be spent by candidates is + fixed, and they are required to make under oath a detailed statement of + their expenses in both primary and general elections. The various + committees, also, must make detailed reports of the funds they handle, the + amount, the contributors, and the expenditures. Corporations are forbidden + to contribute, and the amount that candidates themselves may give is + limited in many States. These exactions are reinforced by stringent laws + against bribery. Persons found guilty of either receiving or soliciting a + bribe are generally disfranchised or declared ineligible for public office + for a term of years. Illinois, for the second offense, forever + disfranchises. + </p> + <p> + It is not surprising that these restrictions have led the State to face + the question whether it should not itself bear some of the expenses of the + campaign. It has, of course, already assumed an enormous burden formerly + borne entirely by the party. The cost of primary and general elections + nowadays is tremendous. A few Western States print a campaign pamphlet and + distribute it to every voter. The pamphlet contains usually the + photographs of the candidates, a brief biography, and a statement of + principles. + </p> + <p> + These are the principal encroachments made by the Government upon the + autonomy of the party. The details are endless. The election laws of New + York fill 330 printed pages. It is little wonder that American parties are + beginning to study the organization of European parties, such as the labor + parties and the social democratic parties, which have enlisted a rather + fervent party fealty. These are propagandist parties and require to be + active all the year round. So they demand annual dues of their members and + have permanent salaried officials and official party organs. Such a + permanent organization was suggested for the National Progressive party. + But the early disintegration of the party made impossible what would have + been an interesting experiment. After the election of 1916, Governor + Whitman of New York suggested that the Republican party choose a manager + and pay him $10,000 a year and have a lien on all his time and energy. The + plan was widely discussed and its severest critics were the politicians + who would suffer from it. The wide-spread comment with which it was + received revealed the change that has come over the popular idea of a + political party since the State began forty years ago to bring the party + under its control. + </p> + <p> + But flexibility is absolutely essential to a party system that adequately + serves a growing democracy. And under a two-party system, as ours is + probably bound to remain, the independent voter usually holds the balance + of power. He may be merely a disgruntled voter seeking for revenge, or an + overpleased voter seeking to maintain a profitable status quo, or he may + belong to that class of super-citizens from which mugwumps arise. In any + case, the majorities at elections are usually determined by him. And party + orthodoxy made by the State is almost as distasteful to him as the rigor + of the boss. He relishes neither the one nor the other. + </p> + <p> + In the larger cities the citizens' tickets and fusion movements are types + of independent activities. In some cities they are merely temporary + associations, formed for a single, thorough housecleaning. The + Philadelphia Committee of One Hundred, which was organized in 1880 to + fight the Gas Ring, is an example. It issued a Declaration of Principles, + demanding the promotion of public service rather than private greed, and + the prosecution of "those who have been guilty of election frauds, + maladministration of office, or misappropriation of public funds." + Announcing that it would endorse only candidates who signed this + declaration, the committee supported the Democratic candidates, and + nominated for Receiver of Taxes a candidate of its own, who became also + the Democratic nominee when the regular Democratic candidate withdrew. + Philadelphia was overwhelmingly Republican. But the committee's aid was + powerful enough to elect the Democratic candidate for mayor by 6000 + majority and the independent candidate for Receiver of Taxes by 20,000. + This gave the Committee access to the records of the doings of the Gas + Ring. In 1884, however, the candidate which it endorsed was defeated, and + it disbanded. + </p> + <p> + Similar in experience was the famous New York Committee of Seventy, + organized in 1894 after Dr. Parkhurst's lurid disclosures of police + connivance with every degrading vice. A call was issued by thirty-three + well-known citizens for a non-partizan mass meeting, and at this meeting a + committee of seventy was appointed "with full power to confer with other + anti-Tammany organizations, and to take such actions as may be necessary + to further the objects of this meeting as set forth in the call therefor, + and the address adopted by this meeting." The committee adopted a + platform, appointed an executive and a finance committee, and nominated a + full ticket, distributing the candidates among both parties. All other + anti-Tammany organizations endorsed this ticket, and it was elected by + large majorities. The committee dissolved after having secured certain + charter amendments for the city and seeing its roster of officers + inaugurated. + </p> + <p> + The Municipal Voters' League of Chicago is an important example of the + permanent type of citizens' organization. The league is composed of voters + in every ward, who, acting through committees and alert officers, + scrutinize every candidate for city office from the Mayor down. It does + not aim to nominate a ticket of its own, but to exercise such vigilance, + enforced by so effective an organization and such wide-reaching publicity, + that the various parties will, of their own volition, nominate men whom + the league can endorse. By thus putting on the hydraulic pressure of + organized public opinion, it has had a considerable influence on the + parties and a very stimulating effect on the citizenry. + </p> + <p> + Finally, there has developed in recent years the fusion movement, whereby + the opponents of boss rule in all parties unite and back an independent or + municipal ticket. The election of Mayor Mitchel of New York in 1913 was + thus accomplished. In Milwaukee, a fusion has been successful against the + Socialists. And in many lesser cities this has brought at least temporary + relief from the oppression of the local oligarchy. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI. THE EXPERT AT LAST + </h2> + <p> + The administrative weakness of a democracy, namely, the tendency towards a + government by job-hunters, was disclosed even in the early days of the + United States, when the official machinery was simple and the number of + offices few. Washington at once foresaw both the difficulties and the + duties that the appointing power imposed. Soon after his inauguration he + wrote to Rutledge: "I anticipate that one of the most difficult and + delicate parts of the duty of any office will be that which relates to + nominations for appointments." And he was most scrupulous and painstaking + in his appointments. Fitness for duty was paramount with him, though he + recognized geographical necessity and distributed the offices with that + precision which characterized all his acts. + </p> + <p> + John Adams made very few appointments. After his term had expired, he + wrote: "Washington appointed a multitude of Democrats and Jacobins of the + deepest die. I have been more cautious in this respect." + </p> + <p> + The test of partizan loyalty, however, was not applied generally until + after the election of Jefferson. The ludicrous apprehensions of the + Federalists as to what would follow upon his election were not allayed by + his declared intentions. "I have given," he wrote to Monroe, "and will + give only to Republicans under existing circumstances." Jefferson was too + good a politician to overlook his opportunity to annihilate the + Federalists. He hoped to absorb them in his own party, "to unite the names + of Federalists and Republicans." Moderate Federalists, who possessed + sufficient gifts of grace for conversion, he sedulously nursed. But he + removed all officers for whose removal any special reason could be + discovered. The "midnight appointments" of John Adams he refused to + acknowledge, and he paid no heed to John Marshall's dicta in Marbury + versus Madison. He was zealous in discovering plausible excuses for making + vacancies. The New York Evening Post described him as "gazing round, with + wild anxiety furiously inquiring, 'how are vacancies to be obtained?'" + Directly and indirectly, Jefferson effected, during his first term, 164 + changes in the offices at his disposal, a large number for those days. + This he did so craftily, with such delicate regard for geographical + sensitiveness and with such a nice balance between fitness for office and + the desire for office, that by the end of his second term he had not only + consolidated our first disciplined and eager political party, but had + quieted the storm against his policy of partizan proscription. + </p> + <p> + During the long regime of the Jeffersonian Republicans there were three + significant movements. In January, 1811, Nathaniel Macon introduced his + amendment to the Constitution providing that no member of Congress should + receive a civil appointment "under the authority of the United States + until the expiration of the presidential term in which such person shall + have served as senator or representative." An amendment was offered by + Josiah Quincy, making ineligible to appointment the relations by blood or + marriage of any senator or representative. Nepotism was considered the + curse of the civil service, and for twenty years similar amendments were + discussed at almost every session of Congress. John Quincy Adams said that + half of the members wanted office, and the other half wanted office for + their relatives. + </p> + <p> + In 1820 the Four Years' Act substituted a four-year tenure of office, in + place of a term at the pleasure of the President, for most of the federal + appointments. The principal argument urged in favor of the law was that + unsatisfactory civil servants could easily be dropped without reflection + on their character. Defalcations had been discovered to the amount of + nearly a million dollars, due mainly to carelessness and gross + inefficiency. It was further argued that any efficient incumbent need not + be disquieted, for he would be reappointed. The law, however, fulfilled + Jefferson's prophecy: it kept "in constant excitement all the hungry + cormorants for office." + </p> + <p> + What Jefferson began, Jackson consummated. The stage was now set for + Democracy. Public office had been marshaled as a force in party maneuver. + In his first annual message, Jackson announced his philosophy: + </p> + <p> + "There are perhaps few men who can for any great length of time enjoy + office and power without being more or less under the influence of + feelings unfavorable to the faithful discharge of their public duties.... + Office is considered as a species of property, and government rather as a + means of promoting individual interests than as an instrument created + solely for the service of the people. Corruption in some, and in others a + perversion of correct feelings and principles, divert government from its + legitimate ends and make it an engine for the support of the few at the + expense of the many. The duties of all public offices are, or at least + admit of being made, so plain, so simple that men of intelligence may + readily qualify themselves for their performance.... In a country where + offices are created solely for the benefit of the people, no one man has + any more intrinsic right to official station than another." + </p> + <p> + The Senate refused Jackson's request for an extension of the Four Years' + law to cover all positions in the civil service. It also refused to + confirm some of his appointments, notably that of Van Buren as minister to + Great Britain. The debate upon this appointment gave the spoilsman an + epigram. Clay with directness pointed to Van Buren as the introducer "of + the odious system of proscription for the exercise of the elective + franchise in the government of the United States." He continued: "I + understand it is the system on which the party in his own State, of which + he is the reputed head, constantly acts. He was among the first of the + secretaries to apply that system to the dismission of clerks of his + department... known to me to be highly meritorious... It is a detestable + system." + </p> + <p> + And Webster thundered: "I pronounce my rebuke as solemnly and as + decisively as I can upon this first instance in which an American minister + has been sent abroad as the representative of his party and not as the + representative of his country." + </p> + <p> + To these and other challenges, Senator Marcy of New York made his + well-remembered retort that "the politicians of the United States are not + so fastidious.... They see nothing wrong in the rule that to the victor + belong the spoils of the enemy." + </p> + <p> + Jackson, with all his bluster and the noise of his followers, made his + proscriptions relatively fewer than those of Jefferson. He removed only + 252 of about 612 presidential appointees. * It should, however, be + remembered that those who were not removed had assured Jackson's agents of + their loyalty to the new Democracy. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * This does not include deputy postmasters, who numbered + about 8000 and were not placed in the presidential list + until 1836. +</pre> + <p> + If Jackson did not inaugurate the spoils system, he at least gave it a + mission. It was to save the country from the curse of officialdom. His + successor, Van Buren, brought the system to a perfection that only the + experienced politician could achieve. Van Buren required of all appointees + partizan service; and his own nomination, at Baltimore, was made a + foregone conclusion by the host of federal job-holders who were delegates. + Van Buren simply introduced at Washington the methods of the Albany + Regency. + </p> + <p> + The Whigs blustered bravely against this proscription. But their own + President, General Harrison, "Old Tippecanoe," was helpless against the + saturnalia of office-seekers that engulfed him. Harrison, when he came to + power, removed about one-half of the officials in the service. And, + although the partizan color of the President changed with Harrison's + death, after a few weeks in office,—Tyler was merely a Whig of + convenience—there was no change in the President's attitude towards + the spoils system. + </p> + <p> + Presidential inaugurations became orgies of office-seekers, and the first + weeks of every new term were given over to distributing the jobs, ordinary + business having to wait. President Polk, who removed the usual quota, is + complimented by Webster for making "rather good selections from his own + friends." The practice, now firmly established, was continued by Taylor, + Pierce, and Buchanan. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln found himself surrounded by circumstances that made caution + necessary in every appointment. His party was new and composed of many + diverse elements. He had to transform their jealousies into enthusiasm, + for the approach of civil war demanded supreme loyalty and unity of + action. To this greater cause of saving the Union he bent every effort and + used every instrumentality at his command. No one before him had made so + complete a change in the official personnel of the capital as the change + which he was constrained to make. No one before him or since used the + appointing power with such consummate skill or displayed such rare tact + and knowledge of human nature in seeking the advice of those who deemed + their advice valuable. The war greatly increased the number of + appointments, and it also imposed obligations that made merit sometimes a + secondary consideration. With the statesman's vision, Lincoln recognized + both the use and the abuse of the patronage system. He declined to gratify + the office-seekers who thronged the capital at the beginning of his second + term; and they returned home disappointed. The twenty years following the + Civil War were years of agitation for reform. People were at last + recognizing the folly of using the multiplying public offices for party + spoils. The quarrel between Congress and President Johnson over removals, + and the Tenure of Office Act, focused popular attention on the + constitutional question of appointment and removal, and the recklessness + of the political manager during Grant's two terms disgusted the thoughtful + citizen. + </p> + <p> + The first attempts to apply efficiency to the civil service had been made + when pass examinations were used for sifting candidates for clerkships in + the Treasury Department in 1853, when such tests were prescribed by law + for the lowest grade of clerkships. The head of the department was given + complete control over the examinations, and they were not exacting. In + 1864 Senator Sumner introduced a bill "to provide for the greater + efficiency of the civil service." It was considered chimerical and + dropped. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, a steadfast and able champion of reform appeared in the House, + Thomas A. Jenckes, a prominent lawyer of Rhode Island. A bill which he + introduced in December, 1865, received no hearing. But in the following + year a select joint committee was charged to examine the whole question of + appointments, dismissals, and patronage. Mr. Jenckes presented an + elaborate report in May, 1868, explaining the civil service of other + countries. This report, which is the corner stone of American civil + service reform, provided the material for congressional debate and threw + the whole subject into the public arena. Jenckes in the House and Carl + Schurz in the Senate saw to it that ardent and convincing defense of + reform was not wanting. In compliance with President Grant's request for a + law to "govern not the tenure, but the manner of making all appointments," + a rider was attached to the appropriation bill in 1870, asking the + President "to prescribe such rules and regulations" as he saw fit, and "to + employ suitable persons to conduct" inquiries into the best method for + admitting persons into the civil service. A commission of which George + William Curtis was chairman made recommendations, but they were not + adopted and Curtis resigned. The New York Civil Service Reform Association + was organized in 1877; and the National League, organized in 1881, soon + had flourishing branches in most of the large cities. The battle was + largely between the President and Congress. Each succeeding President + signified his adherence to reform, but neutralized his words by + sanctioning vast changes in the service. Finally, under circumstances + already described, on January 16, 1883, the Civil Service Act was passed. + </p> + <p> + This law had a stimulating effect upon state and municipal civil service. + New York passed a law the same year, patterned after the federal act. + Massachusetts followed in 1884, and within a few years many of the States + had adopted some sort of civil service reform, and the large cities were + experimenting with the merit system. It was not, however, until the rapid + expansion of the functions of government and the consequent transformation + in the nature of public duties that civil service reform made notable + headway. When the Government assumed the duties of health officer, + forester, statistician, and numerous other highly specialized functions, + the presence of the scientific expert became imperative; and vast + undertakings, like the building of the Panama Canal and the enormous + irrigation projects of the West, could not be entrusted to the spoilsman + and his minions. + </p> + <p> + The war has accustomed us to the commandeering of utilities, of science, + and of skill upon a colossal scale. From this height of public devotion it + is improbable that we shall decline, after the national peril has passed, + into the depths of administrative incompetency which our Republic, and all + its parts, occupied for so many years. The need for an efficient and + highly complex State has been driven home to the consciousness of the + average citizen. And this foretokens the permanent enlistment of talent in + the public service to the end that democracy may provide that effective + nationalism imposed by the new era of world competition. + </p> + <p> + BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + </p> + <p> + There is no collected material of the literature of exposure. It is found + in the official reports of investigating committees; such as the Lexow, + Mazet, and Fassett committees in New York, and the report on campaign + contributions by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections (1913). + The muckraker has scattered such indiscriminate charges that great caution + is necessary to discover the truth. Only testimony taken under oath can be + relied upon. And for local exposes the official court records must be + sought. + </p> + <p> + The annual proceedings of the National Municipal League contain a great + deal of useful material on municipal politics. The reports of local + organizations, such as the New York Bureau of Municipal Research and the + Pittsburgh Voters' League, are invaluable, as are the reports of + occasional bodies, like the Philadelphia Committee of Fifty. + </p> + <p> + Personal touches can be gleaned from the autobiographies of such public + men as Platt, Foraker, Weed, La Follette, and in such biographies as + Croly's "M. A. Hanna." + </p> + <p> + On Municipal Conditions: + </p> + <p> + W. B. Munro, "The Government of American Cities" (1913). An authoritative + and concise account of the development of American city government. + Chapter VII deals with municipal politics. + </p> + <p> + J. J. Hamilton, "Dethronement of the City Boss" (1910). A description of + the operation of commission government. + </p> + <p> + E. S. Bradford, "Commission Government in American Cities" (1911). A + careful study of the commission plan. + </p> + <p> + H. Bruere, "New City Government" (1912). An interesting account of the new + municipal regime. + </p> + <p> + Lincoln Steffens, "The Shame of the Cities" and "The Struggle for + Self-Government" (1906). The Prince of the Muckrakers' contribution to the + literature of awakening. + </p> + <p> + On State Conditions: + </p> + <p> + There is an oppressive barrenness of material on this subject. + </p> + <p> + P. S. Reinsch, "American Legislatures and Legislative Methods" (1907). A + brilliant exposition of the legislatures' activities. + </p> + <p> + E. L. Godkin, "Unforeseen Tendencies in Democracy" contains a thoughtful + essay on "The Decline of Legislatures." + </p> + <p> + On Political Parties and Machines: + </p> + <p> + M. Ostrogorski, "Democracy and the Organization of Political Parties," 2 + vols. (1902). The second volume contains a comprehensive and able survey + of the American party system. It has been abridged into a single volume + edition called "Democracy and the Party System in the United States" + (1910). + </p> + <p> + James Bryce, "The American Commonwealth," 2 vols. Volume II contains a + noteworthy account of our political system. + </p> + <p> + Jesse Macy, "Party Organization and Machinery" (1912). A succinct account + of party machinery. + </p> + <p> + J. A. Woodburn, "Political Parties and Party Problems" (1906). A sane + account of our political task. + </p> + <p> + P. O. Ray, "An Introduction to Political Parties and Practical Politics" + (1913). Valuable for its copious references to current literature on + political subjects. + </p> + <p> + Theodore Roosevelt, "Essays on Practical Politics" (1888). Vigorous + description of machine methods. + </p> + <p> + G. M. Gregory, "The Corrupt Use of Money in Politics and Laws for its + Prevention" (1893). Written before the later exposes, it nevertheless + gives a clear view of the problem. + </p> + <p> + W. M. Ivins, "Machine Politics" (1897). In New York City—by a keen + observer. + </p> + <p> + George Vickers, "The Fall of Bossism" (1883). On the overthrow of the + Philadelphia Gas Ring. + </p> + <p> + Gustavus Myers, "History of Tammany Hall" (1901; revised 1917). The best + book on the subject. + </p> + <p> + E. C. Griffith, "The Rise and Development of the Gerrymander" (1907). + </p> + <p> + Historical: + </p> + <p> + H. J. Ford, "Rise and Growth of American Politics" (1898). One of the + earliest and one of the best accounts of the development of American + politics. + </p> + <p> + Alexander Johnston and J. A. Woodburn, "American Political History," 2 + vols. (1905). A brilliant recital of American party history. The most + satisfactory book on the subject. + </p> + <p> + W. M. Sloane, "Party Government in the United States" (1914). A concise + and convenient recital. Brings our party history to date. + </p> + <p> + J. B. McMaster, "With the Fathers" (1896). A volume of delightful + historical essays, including one on "The Political Depravity of the + Fathers." + </p> + <p> + On Nominations: + </p> + <p> + F. W. Dallinger, "Nominations for Elective Office in the United States" + (1897). The most thorough work on the subject, describing the development + of our nominating systems. + </p> + <p> + C. E. Merriam, "Primary Elections" (1908). A concise description of the + primary and its history. + </p> + <p> + R. S. Childs, "Short Ballot Principles" (1911). A splendid account by the + father of the short ballot movement. + </p> + <p> + C. E. Meyer, "Nominating Systems" (1902). Good on the caucus. + </p> + <p> + On the Presidency: + </p> + <p> + J. B. Bishop, "Our Political Drama" (1904). A readable account of national + conventions and presidential campaigns. + </p> + <p> + A. K. McClure, "Our Presidents and How We Make Them" (1903). + </p> + <p> + Edward Stanwood, "A History of the Presidency" (1898). Gives party + platforms and describes each presidential campaign. + </p> + <p> + On Congress: + </p> + <p> + G. H. Haynes, "The Election of United States Senators" (1906). + </p> + <p> + H. J. Ford, "The Cost of Our National Government" (1910). A fine account + of congressional bad housekeeping. + </p> + <p> + MARY C. Follett, "The Speaker of the House of Representatives" (1896). + </p> + <p> + Woodrow Wilson, "Congressional Government" (1885). Most interesting + reading in the light of the Wilson Administration. + </p> + <p> + L. G. McConachie, "Congressional Committees" (1898). + </p> + <p> + On Special Topics: + </p> + <p> + C. R. Fish, "Civil Service and the Patronage" (1905). The best work on the + subject. + </p> + <p> + J. D. Barnett, "The Operation of the Initiative, Referendum, and Recall in + Oregon" (1915). A helpful, intensive study of these important questions. + </p> + <p> + E. P. Oberholtzer, The Referendum in America (1912). The most satisfactory + and comprehensive work on the subject. Also discusses the initiative. + </p> + <p> + J. R. Commons, "Proportional Representation" (1907). The standard American + book on the subject. + </p> + <p> + R. C. Brooks, "Corruption in American Politics and Life" (1910). A survey + of our political pathology. + </p> + <p> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Boss and the Machine, by Samuel P. Orth + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOSS AND THE MACHINE *** + +***** This file should be named 3040-h.htm or 3040-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/4/3040/ + +Produced by The James J. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Boss and the Machine + +Author: Samuel P. Orth + +Editor: Allen Johnson + +Posting Date: January 17, 2009 [EBook #3040] +Release Date: January, 2002 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOSS AND THE MACHINE *** + + + + +Produced by The James J. Kelly Library of St. Gregory's +University, and Alev Akman + + + + + + +THE BOSS AND THE MACHINE, + +A CHRONICLE OF THE POLITICIANS AND PARTY ORGANIZATION + +By Samuel P. Orth + + + + +CONTENTS + + I. THE RISE OF THE PARTY + II. THE RISE OF THE MACHINE + III. THE TIDE OF MATERIALISM + IV. THE POLITICIAN AND THE CITY + V. TAMMANY HALL + VI. LESSER OLIGARCHIES + VII. LEGISLATIVE OMNIPOTENCE + VIII. THE NATIONAL HIERARCHY + IX. THE AWAKENING + X. PARTY REFORM + XI. THE EXPERT AT LAST + + BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + + + + +THE BOSS AND THE MACHINE + + + +CHAPTER I. THE RISE OF THE PARTY + +The party system is an essential instrument of Democracy. Wherever +government rests upon the popular will, there the party is the organ of +expression and the agency of the ultimate power. The party is, moreover, +a forerunner of Democracy, for parties have everywhere preceded free +government. Long before Democracy as now understood was anywhere +established, long before the American colonies became the United +States, England was divided between Tory and Whig. And it was only after +centuries of bitter political strife, during which a change of ministry +would not infrequently be accompanied by bloodshed or voluntary exile, +that England finally emerged with a government deriving its powers from +the consent of the governed. + +The functions of the party, both as a forerunner and as a necessary +organ of Democracy, are well exemplified in American experience. Before +the Revolution, Tory and Whig were party names used in the colonies to +designate in a rough way two ideals of political doctrine. The Tories +believed in the supremacy of the Executive, or the King; the Whigs in +the supremacy of Parliament. The Tories, by their rigorous and ruthless +acts giving effect to the will of an un-English King, soon drove the +Whigs in the colonies to revolt, and by the time of the Stamp Act (1765) +a well-knit party of colonial patriots was organized through committees +of correspondence and under the stimulus of local clubs called "Sons of +Liberty." Within a few years, these patriots became the Revolutionists, +and the Tories became the Loyalists. As always happens in a successful +revolution, the party of opposition vanished, and when the peace of +1783 finally put the stamp of reality upon the Declaration of 1776, the +patriot party had won its cause and had served its day. + +Immediately thereafter a new issue, and a very significant one, began to +divide the thought of the people. The Articles of Confederation, adopted +as a form of government by the States during a lull in the nationalistic +fervor, had utterly failed to perform the functions of a national +government. Financially the Confederation was a beggar at the doors of +the States; commercially it was impotent; politically it was bankrupt. +The new issue was the formation of a national government that should in +reality represent a federal nation, not a collection of touchy States. +Washington in his farewell letter to the American people at the close of +the war (1783) urged four considerations: a strong central government, +the payment of the national debt, a well-organized militia, and the +surrender by each State of certain local privileges for the good of the +whole. His "legacy," as this letter came to be called, thus bequeathed +to us Nationalism, fortified on the one hand by Honor and on the other +by Preparedness. + +The Confederation floundered in the slough of inadequacy for several +years, however, before the people were sufficiently impressed with the +necessity of a federal government. When, finally, through the adroit +maneuver of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, the Constitutional +Convention was called in 1787, the people were in a somewhat chastened +mood, and delegates were sent to the Convention from all the States +except Rhode Island. + +No sooner had the delegates convened and chosen George Washington as +presiding officer, than the two opposing sides of opinion were revealed, +the nationalist and the particularist, represented by the Federalists +and the Anti-Federalists, as they later termed themselves. The +Convention, however, was formed of the conservative leaders of the +States, and its completed work contained in a large measure, in spite +of the great compromises, the ideas of the Federalists. This achievement +was made possible by the absence from the Convention of the two types of +men who were to prove the greatest enemy of the new document when it was +presented for popular approval, namely, the office-holder or politician, +who feared that the establishment of a central government would deprive +him of his influence, and the popular demagogue, who viewed with +suspicion all evidence of organized authority. It was these two +types, joined by a third--the conscientious objector--who formed the +AntiFederalist party to oppose the adoption of the new Constitution. +Had this opposition been well-organized, it could unquestionably have +defeated the Constitution, even against its brilliant protagonists, +Hamilton, Madison, Jay, and a score of other masterly men. + +The unanimous choice of Washington for President gave the new Government +a non-partizan initiation. In every way Washington attempted to foster +the spirit of an undivided household. He warned his countrymen against +partizanship and sinister political societies. But he called around +his council board talents which represented incompatible ideals +of government. Thomas Jefferson, the first Secretary of State, and +Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, might for a +time unite their energies under the wise chieftainship of Washington, +but their political principles could never be merged. And when, +finally, Jefferson resigned, he became forthwith the leader of the +opposition--not to Washington, but to Federalism as interpreted by +Hamilton, John Adams, and Jay. + +The name Anti-Federalist lost its aptness after the inauguration of +the Government. Jefferson and his school were not opposed to a federal +government. They were opposed only to its pretensions, to its assumption +of centralized power. Their deep faith in popular control is revealed in +the name they assumed, Democratic-Republican. They were eager to limit +the federal power to the glorification of the States; the Federalists +were ambitious to expand the federal power at the expense of localism. +This is what Jefferson meant when he wrote to Washington as early as +1792, "The Republican party wish to preserve the Government in its +present form." Now this is a very definite and fundamental distinction. +It involves the political difference between government by the people +and government by the representatives of the people, and the practical +difference between a government by law and a government by mass-meeting. + +Jefferson was a master organizer. At letter-writing, the one means of +communication in those days, he was a Hercules. His pen never +wearied. He soon had a compact party. It included not only most of the +Anti-Federalists, but the small politicians, the tradesmen and artisans, +who had worked themselves into a ridiculous frenzy over the French +Revolution and who despised Washington for his noble neutrality. But +more than these, Jefferson won over a number of distinguished men who +had worked for the adoption of the Constitution, the ablest of whom was +James Madison, often called "the Father of the Constitution." + +The Jeffersonians, thus representing largely the debtor and farmer +class, led by men of conspicuous abilities, proceeded to batter down the +prestige of the Federalists. They declared themselves opposed to large +expenditures of public funds, to eager exploitation of government +ventures, to the Bank, and to the Navy, which they termed "the great +beast with the great belly." The Federalists included the commercial +and creditor class and that fine element in American life composed +of leading families with whom domination was an instinct, all led, +fortunately, by a few idealists of rare intellectual attainments. And, +with the political stupidity often characteristic of their class, they +stumbled from blunder to blunder. In 1800 Thomas Jefferson, who adroitly +coined the mistakes of his opponents into political currency for +himself, was elected President. He had received no more electoral votes +than Aaron Burr, that mysterious character in our early politics, but +the election was decided by the House of Representatives, where, after +seven days' balloting, several Federalists, choosing what to them was +the lesser of two evils, cast the deciding votes for Jefferson. When the +Jeffersonians came to power, they no longer opposed federal pretensions; +they now, by one of those strange veerings often found in American +politics, began to give a liberal interpretation to the Constitution, +while the Federalists with equal inconsistency became strict +constructionists. Even Jefferson was ready to sacrifice his theory of +strict construction in order to acquire the province of Louisiana. + +The Jeffersonians now made several concessions to the manufacturers, +and with their support linked to that of the agriculturists Jeffersonian +democracy flourished without any potent opposition. The second war with +England lent it a doubtful luster but the years immediately following +the war restored public confidence. Trade flourished on the sea. The +frontier was rapidly pushed to the Mississippi and beyond into the vast +empire which Jefferson had purchased. When everyone is busy, no one +cares for political issues, especially those based upon philosophical +differences. So Madison and Monroe succeeded to the political regency +which is known as the Virginia Dynasty. + +This complacent epoch culminated in Monroe's "Era of Good Feeling," +which proved to be only the hush before the tornado. The election of +1824 was indecisive, and the House of Representatives was for a second +time called upon to decide the national choice. The candidates were John +Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and William H. Crawford. Clay +threw his votes to Adams, who was elected, thereby arousing the wrath of +Jackson and of the stalwart and irreconcilable frontiersmen who hailed +him as their leader. The Adams term merely marked a transition from the +old order to the new, from Jeffersonian to Jacksonian democracy. Then +was the word Republican dropped from the party name, and Democrat became +an appellation of definite and practical significance. + +By this time many of the older States had removed the early restrictions +upon voting, and the new States carved out of the West had written +manhood suffrage into their constitutions. This new democracy flocked to +its imperator; and Jackson entered his capital in triumph, followed by a +motley crowd of frontiersmen in coonskin caps, farmers in butternut-dyed +homespun, and hungry henchmen eager for the spoils. For Jackson had let +it be known that he considered his election a mandate by the people to +fill the offices with his political adherents. + +So the Democrats began their new lease of life with an orgy of spoils. +"Anybody is good enough for any job" was the favorite watchword. +But underneath this turmoil of desire for office, significant party +differences were shaping themselves. Henry Clay, the alluring orator +and master of compromise, brought together a coalition of opposing +fragments. He and his following objected to Jackson's assumption of vast +executive prerogatives, and in a brilliant speech in the Senate Clay +espoused the name Whig. Having explained the origin of the term in +English and colonial politics, he cried: "And what is the present but +the same contest in another form? The partizans of the present Executive +sustain his favor in the most boundless extent. The Whigs are opposing +executive encroachment and a most alarming extension of executive power +and prerogative. They are contending for the rights of the people, for +free institutions, for the supremacy of the Constitution and the laws." + +There soon appeared three practical issues which forced the new +alignment. The first was the Bank. The charter of the United States Bank +was about to expire, and its friends sought a renewal. Jackson +believed the Bank an enemy of the Republic, as its officers were +anti-Jacksonians, and he promptly vetoed the bill extending the charter. +The second issue was the tariff. Protection was not new; but Clay +adroitly renamed it, calling it "the American system." It was popular in +the manufacturing towns and in portions of the agricultural communities, +but was bitterly opposed by the slave-owning States. + +A third issue dealt with internal improvements. All parts of the country +were feeling the need of better means of communication, especially +between the West and the East. Canals and turnpikes were projected in +every direction. Clay, whose imagination was fervid, advocated a vast +system of canals and roads financed by national aid. But the doctrine of +states-rights answered that the Federal Government had no power to enter +a State, even to spend money on improvements, without the consent of +that State. And, at all events, for Clay to espouse was for Jackson to +oppose. + +These were the more important immediate issues of the conflict between +Clay's Whigs and Jackson's Democrats, though it must be acknowledged +that the personalities of the leaders were quite as much an issue as any +of the policies which they espoused. The Whigs, however, proved unequal +to the task of unhorsing their foes; and, with two exceptions, +the Democrats elected every President from Jackson to Lincoln. The +exceptions were William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor, both of whom +were elected on their war records and both of whom died soon after their +inauguration. Tyler, who as Vice-President succeeded General Harrison, +soon estranged the Whigs, so that the Democratic triumph was in effect +continuous over a period of thirty years. + +Meanwhile, however, another issue was shaping the destiny of parties and +of the nation. It was an issue that politicians dodged and candidates +evaded, that all parties avoided, that publicists feared, and that +presidents and congressmen tried to hide under the tenuous fabric of +their compromises. But it was an issue that persisted in keeping alive +and that would not down, for it was an issue between right and wrong. +Three times the great Clay maneuvered to outflank his opponents over the +smoldering fires of the slavery issue, but he died before the repeal +of the Missouri Compromise gave the death-blow to his loosely gathered +coalition. Webster, too, and Calhoun, the other members of that +brilliant trinity which represented the genius of Constitutional +Unionism, of States Rights, and of Conciliation, passed away before the +issue was squarely faced by a new party organized for the purpose of +opposing the further expansion of slavery. + +This new organization, the Republican party, rapidly assumed form +and solidarity. It was composed of Northern Whigs, of anti-slavery +Democrats, and of members of several minor groups, such as the +Know-Nothing or American party, the Liberty party, and included as well +some of the despised Abolitionists. The vote for Fremont, its first +presidential candidate, in 1856, showed it to be a sectional party, +confined to the North. But the definite recognition of slavery as an +issue by an opposition party had a profound effect upon the Democrats. +Their Southern wing now promptly assumed an uncompromising attitude, +which, in 1860, split the party into factions. The Southern wing named +Breckinridge; the Northern wing named Stephen A. Douglas; while many +Democrats as well as Whigs took refuge in a third party, calling itself +the Constitutional Union, which named John Bell. This division cost the +Democrats the election, for, under the unique and inspiring leadership +of Abraham Lincoln, the Republicans rallied the anti-slavery forces of +the North and won. + +Slavery not only racked the parties and caused new alignments; it +racked and split the Union. It is one of the remarkable phenomena of +our political history that the Civil War did not destroy the Democratic +party, though the Southern chieftains of that party utterly lost their +cause. The reason is that the party never was as purely a Southern +as the Republican was a Northern party. Moreover, the arrogance and +blunders of the Republican leaders during the days of Reconstruction +helped to keep it alive. A baneful political heritage has been handed +down to us from the Civil War--the solid South. It overturns the +national balance of parties, perpetuates a pernicious sectionalism, +and deprives the South of that bipartizan rivalry which keeps open the +currents of political life. + +Since the Civil War the struggle between the two dominant parties has +been largely a struggle between the Ins and the Outs. The issues that +have divided them have been more apparent than real. The tariff, the +civil service, the trusts, and the long list of other "issues" do not +denote fundamental differences, but only variations of degree. Never +in any election during this long interval has there been definitely at +stake a great national principle, save for the currency issue of 1896 +and the colonial question following the War with Spain. The revolt of +the Progressives in 1912 had a character of its own; but neither of the +old parties squarely joined issue with the Progressives in the +contest which followed. The presidential campaign of 1916 afforded an +opportunity to place on trial before the people a great cause, for there +undoubtedly existed then in the country two great and opposing sides +of public opinion--one for and the other against war with Germany. Here +again, however, the issue was not joined but was adroitly evaded by both +the candidates. + +None the less there has been a difference between the two great parties. +The Republican party has been avowedly nationalistic, imperialistic, and +in favor of a vigorous constructive foreign policy. The Democratic party +has generally accepted the lukewarm international policy of Jefferson +and the exaltation of the locality and the plain individual as +championed by Jackson. Thus, though in a somewhat intangible and +variable form, the doctrinal distinctions between Hamilton and Jefferson +have survived. + +In the emergence of new issues, new parties are born. But it is one of +the singular characteristics of the American party system that third +parties are abortive. Their adherents serve mainly as evangelists, +crying their social and economic gospel in the political wilderness. If +the issues are vital, they are gradually absorbed by the older parties. + +Before the Civil War several sporadic parties were formed. The most +unique was the Anti-Masonic party. It flourished on the hysteria caused +by the abduction of William Morgan of Batavia, in western New York, in +1826. Morgan had written a book purporting to lay bare the secrets +of Freemasonry. His mysterious disappearance was laid at the doors of +leading Freemasons; and it was alleged that members of this order placed +their secret obligations above their duties as citizens and were hence +unfit for public office. The movement became impressive in Pennsylvania, +Vermont, Massachusetts, Ohio, and New York. It served to introduce +Seward and Fillmore into politics. Even a national party was organized, +and William Wirt, of Maryland, a distinguished lawyer, was nominated for +President. He received, however, only the electoral votes of Vermont. +The excitement soon cooled, and the party disappeared. + +The American or Know-Nothing party had for its slogan "America for +Americans," and was a considerable factor in certain localities, +especially in New York and the Middle States, from 1853 to 1856. The +Free Soil party, espousing the cause of slavery restriction, named +Martin Van Buren as its presidential candidate and polled enough votes +in the election of 1848 to defeat Cass, the Democratic candidate. It +did not survive the election of 1852, but its essential principle was +adopted by the Republican party. + +Since the Civil War, the currency question has twice given life to +third-party movements. The Greenbacks of 1876-1884 and the Populists +of the 90's were both of the West. Both carried on for a few years a +vigorous crusade, and both were absorbed by the older parties as +the currency question assumed concrete form and became a commanding +political issue. Since 1872, the Prohibitionists have named national +tickets. Their question, which was always dodged by the dominant +parties, is now rapidly nearing a solution. + +The one apparently unreconcilable element in our political life is the +socialistic or labor party. Never of great importance in any national +election, the various labor parties have been of considerable influence +in local politics. Because of its magnitude, the labor vote has always +been courted by Democrats and Republicans with equal ardor but with +varying success. + + + +CHAPTER II. THE RISE OF THE MACHINE + +Ideas or principles alone, however eloquently and insistently +proclaimed, will not make a party. There must be organization. Thus +we have two distinct practical phases of American party politics: one +regards the party as an agency of the electorate, a necessary organ of +democracy; the other, the party as an organization, an army determined +to achieve certain conquests. Every party has, therefore, two aspects, +each attracting a different kind of person: one kind allured by the +principles espoused; the other, by the opportunities of place and +personal gain in the organization. The one kind typifies the body of +voters; the other the dominant minority of the party. + +When one speaks, then, of a party in America, he embraces in that term: +first, the tenets or platform for which the party assumes to stand +(i.e., principles that may have been wrought out of experience, may have +been created by public opinion, or were perhaps merely made out of hand +by manipulators); secondly, the voters who profess attachment to these +principles; and thirdly, the political expert, the politician with his +organization or machine. Between the expert and the great following are +many gradations of party activity, from the occasional volunteer to the +chieftain who devotes all his time to "politics." + +It was discovered very early in American experience that without +organization issues would disintegrate and principles remain but +scintillating axioms. Thus necessity enlisted executive talent and +produced the politician, who, having once achieved an organization, +remained at his post to keep it intact between elections and used it for +purposes not always prompted by the public welfare. + +In colonial days, when the struggle began between Crown and Colonist, +the colonial patriots formed clubs to designate their candidates for +public office. In Massachusetts these clubs were known as "caucuses," a +word whose derivation is unknown, but which has now become fixed in our +political vocabulary. These early caucuses in Boston have been described +as follows: "Mr. Samuel Adams' father and twenty others, one or two from +the north end of the town, where all the ship business is carried on, +used to meet, make a caucus, and lay their plans for introducing certain +persons into places of trust and power. When they had settled it, they +separated, and used each their particular influence within his own +circle. He and his friends would furnish themselves with ballots, +including the names of the parties fixed upon, which they distributed +on the day of election. By acting in concert together with a careful and +extensive distribution of ballots they generally carried the elections +to their own mind." + +As the revolutionary propaganda increased in momentum, caucuses assumed +a more open character. They were a sort of informal town meeting, where +neighbors met and agreed on candidates and the means of electing them. +After the adoption of the Constitution, the same methods were continued, +though modified to suit the needs of the new party alignments. In this +informal manner, local and even congressional candidates were named. + +Washington was the unanimous choice of the nation. In the third +presidential election, John Adams was the tacitly accepted candidate +of the Federalists and Jefferson of the Democratic-Republicans, and no +formal nominations seem to have been made. But from 1800 to 1824 the +presidential candidates were designated by members of Congress in +caucus. It was by this means that the Virginia Dynasty fastened itself +upon the country. The congressional caucus, which was one of the most +arrogant and compact political machines that our politics has produced, +discredited itself by nominating William H. Crawford (1824), a machine +politician, whom the public never believed to be of presidential +caliber. In the bitter fight that placed John Quincy Adams in the White +House and made Jackson the eternal enemy of Clay, the congressional +caucus met its doom. For several years, presidential candidates were +nominated by various informal methods. In 1828 a number of state +legislatures formally nominated Jackson. In several States the party +members of the legislatures in caucus nominated presidential candidates. +DeWitt Clinton was so designated by the New York legislature in 1812 +and Henry Clay by the Kentucky legislature in 1822. Great mass meetings, +often garnished with barbecues, were held in many parts of the +country in 1824 for indorsing the informal nominations of the various +candidates. + +But none of these methods served the purpose. The President was a +national officer, backed by a national party, and chosen by a national +electorate. A national system of nominating the presidential candidates +was demanded. On September 26, 1831, 113 delegates of the Anti-Masonic +party, representing thirteen States, met in a national convention in +Baltimore. This was the first national nominating convention held in +America. + +In February, 1831, the Whig members of the Maryland legislature issued +a call for a national Whig convention. This was held in Baltimore the +following December. Eighteen States were represented by delegates, each +according to the number of presidential electoral votes it cast. Clay +was named for President. The first national Democratic convention met in +Baltimore on May 21, 1832, and nominated Jackson. + +Since that time, presidential candidates have been named in national +conventions. There have been surprisingly few changes in procedure since +the first convention. It opened with a temporary organization, examined +the credentials of delegates, and appointed a committee on permanent +organization, which reported a roster of permanent officers. It +appointed a committee on platform--then called an address to the people; +it listened to eulogistic nominating speeches, balloted for candidates, +and selected a committee to notify the nominees of their designation. +This is practically the order of procedure today. The national +convention is at once the supreme court and the supreme legislature of +the national party. It makes its own rules, designates its committees, +formulates their procedure and defines their power, writes the platform, +and appoints the national executive committee. + +Two rules that have played a significant part in these conventions +deserve special mention. The first Democratic convention, in order to +insure the nomination of Van Buren for Vice-President--the nomination of +Jackson for President was uncontested--adopted the rule that "two-thirds +of the whole number of the votes in the convention shall be necessary +to constitute a choice." This "two-thirds" rule, so undemocratic in its +nature, remains the practice of the Democratic party today. The +Whigs and Republicans always adhered to the majority rule. The early +Democratic conventions also adopted the practice of allowing the +majority of the delegates from any State to cast the vote of the entire +delegation from that State, a rule which is still adhered to by the +Democrats. But the Republicans have since 1876 adhered to the policy of +allowing each individual delegate to cast his vote as he chooses. + +The convention was by no means novel when accepted as a national organ +for a national party. As early as 1789 an informal convention was held +in the Philadelphia State House for nominating Federalist candidates for +the legislature. The practice spread to many Pennsylvania counties and +to other States, and soon this informality of self-appointed delegates +gave way to delegates appointed according to accepted rules. When the +legislative caucus as a means for nominating state officers fell into +disrepute, state nominating conventions took its place. In 1812 one of +the earliest movements for a state convention was started by Tammany +Hall, because it feared that the legislative caucus would nominate +DeWitt Clinton, its bitterest foe. The caucus, however, did not +name Clinton, and the convention was not assembled. The first state +nominating convention was held in Utica, New York, in 1824 by that +faction of the Democratic party calling itself the People's party. +The custom soon spread to every State, so that by 1835 it was firmly +established. County and city conventions also took the place of the +caucus for naming local candidates. + +But nominations are only the beginning of the contest, and obviously +caucuses and conventions cannot conduct campaigns. So from the beginning +these nominating bodies appointed campaign committees. With the increase +in population came the increased complexity of the committee system. By +1830 many of the States had perfected a series of state, district, and +county committees. + +There remained the necessity of knitting these committees into a +national unity. The national convention which nominated Clay in 1831 +appointed a "Central State Corresponding Committee" in each State where +none existed, and it recommended "to the several States to organize +subordinate corresponding committees in each county and town." This +was the beginning of what soon was to evolve into a complete national +hierarchy of committees. In 1848 the Democratic convention appointed a +permanent national committee, composed of one member from each State. +This committee was given the power to call the next national convention, +and from the start became the national executive body of the party. + +It is a common notion that the politician and his machine are of +comparatively recent origin. But the American politician arose +contemporaneously with the party, and with such singular fecundity of +ways and means that it is doubtful if his modern successors could teach +him anything. McMaster declares: "A very little study of long-forgotten +politics will suffice to show that in filibustering and gerrymandering, +in stealing governorships and legislatures, in using force at the polls, +in colonizing and in distributing patronage to whom patronage is due, in +all the frauds and tricks that go to make up the worst form of practical +politics, the men who founded our state and national governments were +always our equals, and often our masters." And this at a time when +only propertied persons could vote in any of the States and when only +professed Christians could either vote or hold office in two of them! + +While Washington was President, Tammany Hall, the first municipal +machine, began its career; and presently George Clinton, Governor of +New York, and his nephew, DeWitt Clinton, were busy organizing the first +state machine. The Clintons achieved their purpose through the agency +of a Council of Appointment, prescribed by the first Constitution of +the State, consisting of the Governor and four senators chosen by the +legislature. This council had the appointment of nearly all the civil +officers of the State from Secretary of State to justices of the peace +and auctioneers, making a total of 8287 military and 6663 civil offices. +As the emoluments of some of these offices were relatively high, the +disposal of such patronage was a plum-tree for the politician. The +Clintons had been Anti-Federalists and had opposed the adoption of the +Constitution. In 1801 DeWitt Clinton became a member of the Council of +Appointment and soon dictated its action. The head of every Federalist +office-holder fell. Sheriffs, county clerks, surrogates, recorders, +justices by the dozen, auctioneers by the score, were proscribed for the +benefit of the Clintons. De Witt was sent to the United States Senate in +1802, and at the age of thirty-three he found himself on the highroad +to political eminence. But he resigned almost at once to become Mayor of +New York City, a position he occupied for about ten years, years filled +with the most venomous fights between Burrites and Bucktails. Clinton +organized a compact machine in the city. A biased contemporary +description of this machine has come down to us. "You [Clinton] are +encircled by a mercenary band, who, while they offer adulation to your +system of error, are ready at the first favorable moment to forsake and +desert you. A portion of them are needy young men, who without +maturely investigating the consequence, have sacrificed principle to +self-aggrandizement. Others are mere parasites, that well know the +tenure on which they hold their offices, and will ever pay implicit +obedience to those who administer to their wants. Many of your followers +are among the most profligate of the community. They are the bane of +social and domestic happiness, senile and dependent panderers." + +In 1812 Clinton became a candidate for President and polled 89 electoral +votes against Madison's 128. Subsequently he became Governor of New +York on the Erie Canal issue; but his political cunning seems to have +forsaken him; and his perennial quarrels with every other faction in his +State made him the object of a constant fire of vituperation. He had, +however, taught all his enemies the value of spoils, and he adhered to +the end to the political action he early advised a friend to adopt: +"In a political warfare, the defensive side will eventually lose. The +meekness of Quakerism will do in religion but not in politics. I repeat +it, everything will answer to energy and decision." + +Martin Van Buren was an early disciple of Clinton. Though he broke with +his political chief in 1813, he had remained long enough in the Clinton +school to learn every trick; and he possessed such native talent for +intrigue, so smooth a manner, and such a wonderful memory for names, +that he soon found himself at the head of a much more perfect and +far-reaching machine than Clinton had ever dreamed of. The Empire +State has never produced the equal of Van Buren as a manipulator of +legislatures. No modern politician would wish to face publicity if +he resorted to the petty tricks that Van Buren used in legislative +politics. And when, in 1821, he was elected to the Senate of the United +States, he became one of the organizers of the first national machine. + +The state machine of Van Buren was long known as the "Albany Regency." +It included several very able politicians: William L. Marcy, who became +United States Senator in 1831; Silas Wright, elected Senator in 1833; +John A. Dix, who became Senator in 1845; Benjamin F. Butler, who was +United States Attorney-General under President Van Buren, besides a +score or more of prominent state officials. It had an influential organ +in the Albany Argus, lieutenants in every county, and captains in every +town. Its confidential agents kept the leaders constantly informed of +the political situation in every locality; and its discipline made +the wish of Van Buren and his colleagues a command. Federal and local +patronage and a sagacious distribution of state contracts sustained this +combination. When the practice of nominating by conventions began, the +Regency at once discerned the strategic value of controlling delegates, +and, until the break in the Democratic party in 1848, it literally +reigned in the State. + +With the disintegration of the Federalist party came the loss of +concentrated power by the colonial families of New England and New York. +The old aristocracy of the South was more fortunate in the maintenance +of its power. Jefferson's party was not only well disciplined; it gave +its confidence to a people still accustomed to class rule and in turn +was supported by them. In a strict sense the Virginia Dynasty was not +a machine like Van Buren's Albany Regency. It was the effect of the +concentrated influence of men of great ability rather than a definite +organization. The congressional caucus was the instrument through which +their influence was made practical. In 1816, however, a considerable +movement was started to end the Virginia monopoly. It spread to the +Jeffersonians of the North. William H. Crawford, of Georgia, and Daniel +Tompkins, of New York, came forward as competitors with Monroe for the +caucus nomination. The knowledge of this intrigue fostered the rising +revolt against the caucus. Twenty-two Republicans, many of whom were +known to be opposed to the caucus system, absented themselves. Monroe +was nominated by the narrow margin of eleven votes over Crawford. By the +time Monroe had served his second term the discrediting of the caucus +was made complete by the nomination of Crawford by a thinly attended +gathering of his adherents, who presumed to act for the party. The +Virginia Dynasty had no further favorites to foster, and a new political +force swept into power behind the dominating personality of Andrew +Jackson. + +The new Democracy, however, did not remove the aristocratic power of +the slaveholder; and from Jackson's day to Buchanan's this became an +increasing force in the party councils. The slavery question illustrates +how a compact group of capable and determined men, dominated by an +economic motive, can exercise for years in the political arena a +preponderating influence, even though they represent an actual minority +of the nation. This untoward condition was made possible by the +political sagacity and persistence of the party managers and by the +unwillingness of a large portion of the people to bring the real issue +to a head. + +Before the Civil War, then, party organization had become a fixed and +necessary incident in American politics. The war changed the face of our +national affairs. The changes wrought multiplied the opportunities of +the professional politician, and in these opportunities, as well as +in the transfused energies and ideals of the people, we must seek the +causes for those perversions of party and party machinery which have +characterized our modern epoch. + + + +CHAPTER III. THE TIDE OF MATERIALISM + +The Civil War, which shocked the country into a new national +consciousness and rearranged the elements of its economic life, also +brought about a new era in political activity and management. The United +States after Appomattox was a very different country from the United +States before Sumter was fired upon. The war was a continental upheaval, +like the Appalachian uplift in our geological history, producing sharp +and profound readjustments. + +Despite the fact that in 1864 Lincoln had been elected on a Union ticket +supported by War Democrats, the Republicans claimed the triumphs of +the war as their own. They emerged from the struggle with the enormous +prestige of a party triumphant and with "Saviors of the Union" inscribed +on their banners. + +The death of their wise and great leader opened the door to a violent +partizan orgy. President Andrew Johnson could not check the fury of the +radical reconstructionists; and a new political era began in a riot of +dogmatic and insolent dictatorship, which was intensified by the mob of +carpetbaggers, scalawags, and freedmen in the South, and not abated by +the lawless promptings of the Ku-Klux to regain patrician leadership in +the home of secession nor by the baneful resentment of the North. The +soldier was made a political asset. For a generation the "bloody shirt" +was waved before the eyes of the Northern voter; and the evils, both +grotesque and gruesome, of an unnatural reconstruction are not yet +forgotten in the South. + +A second opportunity of the politician was found in the rapid economic +expansion that followed the war. The feeling of security in the North +caused by the success of the Union arms buoyed an unbounded optimism +which made it easy to enlist capital in new enterprises, and the +protective tariff and liberal banking law stimulated industry. Exports +of raw material and food products stimulated mining, grazing, and +farming. European capital sought investments in American railroads, +mines, and industrial under-takings. In the decade following the war the +output of pig iron doubled, that of coal multiplied by five, and that +of steel by one hundred. Superior iron and copper, Pennsylvania coal and +oil, Nevada and California gold and silver, all yielded their enormous +values to this new call of enterprise. Inventions and manufactures of +all kinds flourished. During 1850-60 manufacturing establishments +had increased by fourteen per cent. During 1860-70 they increased +seventy-nine per cent. + +The Homestead Act of May 20, 1862, opened vast areas of public lands +to a new immigration. The flow of population was westward, and the West +called for communication with the East. The Union Pacific and Central +Pacific railways, the pioneer transcontinental lines, fostered on +generous grants of land, were the tokens of the new transportation +movement. Railroads were pushing forward everywhere with unheard-of +rapidity. Short lines were being merged into far-reaching systems. +In the early seventies the Pennsylvania system was organized and the +Vanderbilts acquired control of lines as far west as Chicago. Soon +the Baltimore and Ohio system extended its empire of trade to the +Mississippi. Half a dozen ambitious trans-Mississippi systems, +connecting with four new transcontinental projects, were put into +operation. + +Prosperity is always the opportunity of the politician. What is of +greatest significance to the student of politics is that prosperity at +this time was organized on a new basis. Before the war business had been +conducted largely by individuals or partnerships. The unit was small; +the amount of capital needed was limited. But now the unit was expanding +so rapidly, the need for capital was so lavish, the empire of trade so +extensive, that a new mechanism of ownership was necessary. This device, +of course, was the corporation. It had, indeed, existed as a trading +unit for many years. But the corporation before 1860 was comparatively +small and was generally based upon charters granted by special act of +the legislature. + +No other event has had so practical a bearing on our politics and our +economic and social life as the advent of the corporate device for +owning and manipulating private business. For it links the omnipotence +of the State to the limitations of private ownership; it thrusts +the interests of private business into every legislature that grants +charters or passes regulating acts; it diminishes, on the other hand, +that stimulus to honesty and correct dealing which a private individual +discerns to be his greatest asset in trade, for it replaces individual +responsibility with group responsibility and scatters ownership among so +large a number of persons that sinister manipulation is possible. + +But if the private corporation, through its interest in broad charter +privileges and liberal corporation laws and its devotion to the tariff +and to conservative financial policies, found it convenient to do +business with the politician and his organization, the quasi-public +corporations, especially the steam railroads and street railways, found +it almost essential to their existence. They received not only their +franchises but frequently large bonuses from the public treasury. The +Pacific roads alone were endowed with an empire of 145,000,000 acres of +public land. States, counties, and cities freely loaned their credit +and gave ample charters to new railway lines which were to stimulate +prosperity. + +City councils, legislatures, mayors, governors, Congress, and presidents +were drawn into the maelstrom of commercialism. It is not surprising +that side by side with the new business organization there grew up a +new political organization, and that the new business magnate was +accompanied by a new political magnate. The party machine and the party +boss were the natural product of the time, which was a time of gain and +greed. It was a sordid reaction, indeed, from the high principles that +sought victory on the field of battle and that found their noblest +embodiment in the character of Abraham Lincoln. + +The dominant and domineering party chose the leading soldier of the +North as its candidate for President. General Grant, elected as a +popular idol because of his military genius, possessed neither the +experience nor the skill to countermove the machinations of designing +politicians and their business allies. On the other hand, he soon +displayed an admiration for business success that placed him at once in +accord with the spirit of the hour. He exalted men who could make money +rather than men who could command ideas. He chose Alexander T. Stewart, +the New York merchant prince, one of the three richest men of his day, +for Secretary of the Treasury. The law, however, forbade the appointment +to this office of any one who should "directly or indirectly be +concerned or interested in carrying on the business of trade +or commerce," and Stewart was disqualified. Adolph E. Borie of +Philadelphia, whose qualifications were the possession of great wealth +and the friendship of the President, was named Secretary of the Navy. +Another personal friend, John A. Rawlins, was named Secretary of War. +A third friend, Elihu B. Washburne of Illinois, was made Secretary +of State. Washburne soon resigned, and Hamilton Fish of New York was +appointed in his place. Fish, together with General Jacob D. Cox +of Ohio, Secretary of the Interior, and Judge E. Rockwood Hoar of +Massachusetts, Attorney-General, formed a strong triumvirate of ability +and character in the Cabinet. But, while Grant displayed pleasure in the +companionship of these eminent men, they never possessed his complete +confidence. When the machinations for place and favor began, Hoar and +Cox were in the way. Hoar had offended the Senate in his recommendations +for federal circuit judges (the circuit court was then newly +established), and when the President named him for Justice of the +Supreme Court, Hoar was rejected. Senator Cameron, one of the chief +spoils politicians of the time, told Hoar frankly why: "What could you +expect for a man who had snubbed seventy Senators!" A few months later +(June, 1870), the President bluntly asked for Hoar's resignation, a +sacrifice to the gods of the Senate, to purchase their favor for the +Santo Domingo treaty. + +Cox resigned in the autumn. As Secretary of the Interior he had charge +of the Patent Office, Census Bureau, and Indian Service, all of them +requiring many appointments. He had attempted to introduce a sort of +civil service examination for applicants and had vehemently protested +against political assessments levied on clerks in his department. He +especially offended Senators Cameron and Chandler, party chieftains who +had the ear of the President. General Cox stated the matter plainly: +"My views of the necessity of reform in the civil service had brought +me more or less into collision with the plans of our active political +managers and my sense of duty has obliged me to oppose some of their +methods of action." These instances reveal how the party chieftains +insisted inexorably upon their demands. To them the public service was +principally a means to satisfy party ends, and the chief duty of the +President and his Cabinet was to satisfy the claims of party necessity. +General Cox said that distributing offices occupied "the larger part of +the time of the President and all his Cabinet." General Garfield wrote +(1877): "One-third of the working hours of Senators and Representatives +is hardly sufficient to meet the demands made upon them in reference to +appointments to office." + +By the side of the partizan motives stalked the desire for gain. There +were those to whom parties meant but the opportunity for sudden wealth. +The President's admiration for commercial success and his inability to +read the motives of sycophants multiplied their opportunities, and in +the eight years of his administration there was consummated the baneful +union of business and politics. + +During the second Grant campaign (1872), when Horace Greeley was making +his astounding run for President, the New York Sun hinted at gross and +wholesale briberies of Congressmen by Oakes Ames and his associates who +had built the Union Pacific Railroad, an enterprise which the United +States had generously aided with loans and gifts. + +Three committees of Congress, two in the House and one in the Senate +(the Poland Committee, the Wilson Committee, and the Senate Committee), +subsequently investigated the charges. Their investigations disclosed +the fact that Ames, then a member of the House of Representatives, +the principal stockholder in the Union Pacific, and the soul of the +enterprise, had organized, under an existing Pennsylvania charter, +a construction company called the Credit Mobilier, whose shares were +issued to Ames and his associates. To the Credit Mobilier were issued +the bonds and stock of the Union Pacific, which had been paid for "at +not more than thirty cents on the dollar in road-making." * As the United +States, in addition to princely gifts of land, had in effect guaranteed +the cost of construction by authorizing the issue of Government bonds, +dollar for dollar and side by side with the bonds of the road, the +motive of the magnificent shuffle, which gave the road into the hands of +a construction company, was clear. Now it was alleged that stock of the +Credit Mobilier, paying dividends of three hundred and forty per cent, +had been distributed by Ames among many of his fellow-Congressmen, in +order to forestall a threatened investigation. It was disclosed that +some of the members had refused point blank to have anything to do with +the stock; others had refused after deliberation; others had purchased +some of it outright; others, alas!, had "purchased" it, to be paid for +out of its own dividends. + + * Testimony before the Wilson Committee. + + +The majority of the members involved in the nasty affair were absolved +by the Poland Committee from "any corrupt motive or purpose." But Oakes +Ames of Massachusetts and James Brooks of New York were recommended for +expulsion from the House and Patterson of New Hampshire from the Senate. +The House, however, was content with censuring Ames and Brooks, and the +Senate permitted Patterson's term to expire, since only five days of it +remained. Whatever may have been the opinion of Congress, and whatever a +careful reading of the testimony discloses to an impartial mind at +this remote day, upon the voters of that time the revelations came as a +shock. Some of the most trusted Congressmen were drawn into the miasma +of suspicion, among them Garfield; Dawes; Scofield; Wilson, the newly +elected Vice-President; Colfax, the outgoing Vice-President. Colfax had +been a popular idol, with the Presidency in his vision; now bowed and +disgraced, he left the national capital never to return with a public +commission. + +In 1874 came the disclosures of the Whiskey Ring. They involved United +States Internal Revenue officers and distillers in the revenue district +of St. Louis and a number of officials at Washington. Benjamin H. +Bristow, on becoming Secretary of the Treasury in June of that year, +immediately scented corruption. He discovered that during 1871-74 only +about one-third of the whiskey shipped from St. Louis had paid the tax +and that the Government had been defrauded of nearly $3,000,000. "If a +distiller was honest," says James Ford Rhodes, the eminent historian, +"he was entrapped into some technical violation of the law by the +officials, who by virtue of their authority seized his distillery, +giving him the choice of bankruptcy or a partnership in their +operations; and generally he succumbed." + +McDonald, the supervisor of the St. Louis revenue district, was the +leader of the Whiskey Ring. He lavished gifts upon President Grant, who, +with an amazing indifference and innocence, accepted such favors from +all kinds of sources. Orville E. Babcock, the President's private +secretary, who possessed the complete confidence of the guileless +general, was soon enmeshed in the net of investigation. Grant at first +declared, "If Babcock is guilty, there is no man who wants him so much +proven guilty as I do, for it is the greatest piece of traitorism to me +that a man could possibly practice." When Babcock was indicted, however, +for complicity to defraud the Government, the President did not hesitate +to say on oath that he had never seen anything in Babcock's behavior +which indicated that he was in any way interested in the Whiskey Ring +and that he had always had "great confidence in his integrity and +efficiency." In other ways the President displayed his eagerness to +defend his private secretary. The jury acquitted Babcock, but the +public did not. He was compelled to resign under pressure of public +condemnation, and was afterwards indicted for conspiracy to rob a safe +of documents of an incriminating character. But Grant seems never +to have lost faith in him. Three of the men sent to prison for their +complicity in the whiskey fraud were pardoned after six months. +McDonald, the chieftain of the gang, served but one year of his term. + +The exposure of the Whiskey Ring was followed by an even more startling +humiliation. The House Committee on Expenditures in the War Department +recommended that General William W. Belknap, Secretary of War, be +impeached for "high crimes and misdemeanors while in office," and the +House unanimously adopted the recommendation. The evidence upon which +the committee based its drastic recommendation disclosed the most sordid +division of spoils between the Secretary and his wife and two rascals +who held in succession the valuable post of trader at Fort Sill in the +Indian Territory. + +The committee's report was read about three o'clock in the afternoon +of March 2, 1876. In the forenoon of the same day Belknap had sent +his resignation to the President, who had accepted it immediately. +The President and Belknap were personal friends. But the certainty of +Belknap's perfidy was not removed by the attitude of the President, nor +by the vote of the Senate on the article of impeachment--37 guilty, 25 +not guilty-for the evidence was too convincing. The public knew by this +time Grant's childlike failing in sticking to his friends; and 93 of the +25 Senators who voted not guilty had publicly declared they did so, not +because they believed him innocent, but because they believed they had +no jurisdiction over an official who had resigned. + +There were many minor indications of the harvest which gross materialism +was reaping in the political field. State and city governments were +surrendered to political brigands. In 1871 the Governor of Nebraska was +removed for embezzlement. Kansas was startled by revelations of brazen +bribery in her senatorial elections (1872-1873). General Schenck, +representing the United States at the Court of St. James, humiliated his +country by dabbling in a fraudulent mining scheme. + +In a speech before the Senate, then trying General Belknap, Senator +George F. Hoar, on May 6, 1876, summed up the greater abominations: + +"My own public life has been a very brief and insignificant one, +extending little beyond the duration of a single term of senatorial +office. But in that brief period I have seen five judges of a high court +of the United States driven from office by threats of impeachment for +corruption or maladministration. I have heard the taunt from friendliest +lips, that when the United States presented herself in the East to take +part with the civilized world in generous competition in the arts of +life, the only products of her institutions in which she surpassed all +others beyond question was her corruption. I have seen in the State +in the Union foremost in power and wealth four judges of her courts +impeached for corruption, and the political administration of her chief +city become a disgrace and a byword throughout the world. I have seen +the chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs in the House rise in +his place and demand the expulsion of four of his associates for making +sale of their official privilege of selecting the youths to be educated +at our great military schools. When the greatest railroad of the world, +binding together the continent and uniting the two great seas which +wash our shores, was finished, I have seen our national triumph and +exaltation turned to bitterness and shame by the unanimous reports of +three committees of Congress--two in the House and one here--that every +step of that mighty enterprise had been taken in fraud. I have heard in +highest places the shameless doctrine avowed by men grown old in public +office that the true way by which power should be gained in the Republic +is to bribe the people with the offices created for their service, and +the true end for which it should be used when gained is the promotion of +selfish ambition and the gratification of personal revenge. I have heard +that suspicions haunt the footsteps of the trusted companions of the +President." + +These startling facts did not shatter the prestige of the Republicans, +the "Saviors of the Union," nor humble their leaders. One of them, +Senator Foraker, says: * "The campaign (1876) on the part of the +Democrats gave emphasis to the reform idea and exploited Tilden as the +great reform governor of New York and the best fitted man in the country +to bring about reforms in the Government of the United States. No +reforms were needed: but a fact like that never interfered with a reform +campaign." The orthodoxy of the politician remained unshaken. Foraker's +reasons were the creed of thousands: "The Republican party had +prosecuted the war successfully; had reconstructed the States; had +rehabilitated our finances, and brought on specie redemption." The +memoirs of politicians and statesmen of this period, such as Cullom, +Foraker, Platt, even Hoar, are imbued with an inflexible faith in the +party and colored by the conviction that it is a function of Government +to aid business. Platt, for instance, alluding to Blaine's attitude as +Speaker, in the seventies, said: "What I liked about him was his frank +and persistent contention that the citizen who best loved his party +and was loyal to it, was loyal to and best loved his country." And many +years afterwards, when a new type of leader appeared representing a +new era of conviction, Platt was deeply concerned. His famous letter to +Roosevelt, when the Rough Rider was being mentioned for Governor of New +York (1899), shows the reluctance of the old man to see the signs of the +times: "The thing that really did bother me was this: I had heard from +a great many sources that you were a little loose on the relations +of capital and labor, on trusts and combinations, and indeed on the +numerous questions which have recently arisen in politics affecting the +security of earnings and the right of a man to run his own business in +his own way, with due respect of course to the Ten Commandments and the +Penal Code." + + * "Notes from a Busy Life", vol. I., 98. + + +The leaders of both the great parties firmly and honestly believed that +it was the duty of the Government to aid private enterprise, and that +by stimulating business everybody is helped. This article of faith, with +the doctrine of the sanctity of the party, was a natural product of the +conditions outlined in the beginning of this chapter--the war and the +remarkable economic expansion following the war. It was the cause of the +alliance between business and politics. It made the machine and the boss +the sinister and ever present shadows of legitimate organization and +leadership. + + + +CHAPTER IV. THE POLITICIAN AND THE CITY + +The gigantic national machine that was erected during Grant's +administration would have been ineffectual without local sources of +power. These sources of power were found in the cities, now thriving on +the new-born commerce and industry, increasing marvelously in numbers +and in size, and offering to the political manipulator opportunities +that have rarely been paralleled. * + + * Between 1860 and 1890 the number of cities of 8000 or more + inhabitants increased from 141 to 448, standing at 226 in + 1870. In 1865 less than 20% of our people lived in the + cities; in 1890, over 30%; in 1900, 40%; in 1910, 46.3%. By + 1890 there were six cities with more than half a million + inhabitants, fifteen with more than 200,000, and twenty- + eight with more than 100,000. In 1910 there were twenty- + eight cities with a population over 200,000, fifty cities + over 100,000, and ninety-eight over 50,000. It was no + uncommon occurrence for a city to double its population in a + decade. In ten years Birmingham gained 245%, Los Angeles, + 211%, Seattle, 194%, Spokane, 183%, Dallas, 116%, + Schenectady, 129%. + + +The governmental framework of the American city is based on the English +system as exemplified in the towns of Colonial America. Their charters +were received from the Crown and their business was conducted by a mayor +and a council composed of aldermen and councilmen. The mayor was usually +appointed; the council elected by a property-holding electorate. In +New England the glorified town meeting was an important agency of local +government. + +After the Revolution, mayors as well as councilmen were elected, and +the charters of the towns were granted by the legislature, not by the +executive, of the State. In colonial days charters had been granted +by the King. They had fixed for the city certain immunities and +well-defined spheres of autonomy. But when the legislatures were given +the power to grant charters, they reduced the charter to the level of +a statutory enactment, which could be amended or repealed by any +successive legislature, thereby opening up a convenient field for +political maneuvering. The courts have, moreover, construed these +charters strictly, holding the cities closely bound to those powers +which the legislatures conferred upon them. + +The task of governing the early American town was simple enough. In 1790 +New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and Charleston were the only +towns in the United States of over 8000 inhabitants; all together they +numbered scarcely 130,000. Their populations were homogeneous; their +wants were few; and they were still in that happy childhood when +every voter knew nearly every other voter and when everybody knew his +neighbor's business as well as his own, and perhaps better. + +Gradually the towns awoke to their newer needs and demanded public +service--lighting, street cleaning, fire protection, public education. +All these matters, however, could be easily looked after by the mayor +and the council committees. But when these towns began to spread rapidly +into cities, they quickly outgrew their colonial garments. Yet the +legislatures were loath to cast the old garments aside. One may say that +from 1840 to 1901, when the Galveston plan of commission government was +inaugurated, American municipal government was nothing but a series +of contests between a small body of alert citizens attempting to +fix responsibility on public officers and a few adroit politicians +attempting to elude responsibility; both sides appealing to an +electorate which was habitually somnolent but subject to intermittent +awakenings through spasms of righteousness. + +During this epoch no important city remained immune from ruthless +legislative interference. Year after year the legislature shifted +officers and responsibilities at the behest of the boss. "Ripper bills" +were passed, tearing up the entire administrative systems of important +municipalities. The city was made the plaything of the boss and the +machine. + +Throughout the constant shifts that our city governments have undergone +one may, however, discern three general plans of government. + +The first was the centering of power in the city council, whether +composed of two chambers--a board of aldermen and a common council--as +in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, or of one council, as in many +lesser cities. It soon became apparent that a large body, whose chief +function is legislation, is utterly unfit to look after administrative +details. Such a body, in order to do business, must act through +committees. Responsibility is scattered. Favoritism is possible in +letting contracts, in making appointments, in depositing city funds, in +making public improvements, in purchasing supplies and real estate, +and in a thousand other ways. So, by controlling the appointment +of committees, a shrewd manipulator could virtually control all the +municipal activities and make himself overlord of the city. + +The second plan of government attempted to make the mayor the +controlling force. It reduced the council to a legislative body and +exalted the mayor into a real executive with power to appoint and to +remove heads of departments, thereby making him responsible for the city +administration. Brooklyn under Mayor Seth Low was an encouraging example +of this type of government. But the type was rarely found in a pure +form. The politician succeeded either in electing a subservient mayor or +in curtailing the mayor's authority by having the heads of departments +elected or appointed by the council or made subject to the approval of +the council. If the council held the key to the city treasury, the boss +reigned, for councilmen from properly gerrymandered wards could usually +be trusted to execute his will. + +The third form of government was government by boards. Here it was +attempted to place the administration of various municipal activities in +the hands of independent boards. Thus a board had charge of the police, +another of the fire department, another of public works, and so on. +Often there were a dozen of these boards and not infrequently over +thirty in a single city, as in Philadelphia. Sometimes these boards were +elected by the people; sometimes they were appointed by the council; +sometimes they were appointed by the mayor; in one or two instances +they were appointed by the Governor. Often their powers were shared with +committees of the council; a committee on police, for instance, shared +with the Board of Police Commissioners the direction of police affairs. +Usually these boards were responsible to no one but the electorate +(and that remotely) and were entirely without coordination, a mere +agglomeration of independent creations generally with ill-defined +powers. + +Sometimes the laws provided that not all the members of the appointive +boards should "belong to the same political party" or "be of the same +political opinion in state and national issues." It was clearly the +intention to wipe out the partizan complexion of such boards. But +this device was no stumbling-block to the boss. Whatever might be the +"opinions" on national matters of the men appointed, they usually had +a perfect understanding with the appointing authorities as to local +matters. As late as 1898, a Democratic mayor of New York (Van Wyck) +summarily removed the two Republican members of the Board of Police +Commissioners and replaced them by Republicans after his own heart. In +truth, the bipartizan board fitted snugly into the dual party regime +that existed in many cities, whereby the county offices were apportioned +to one party, the city offices to the other, and the spoils to both. It +is doubtful if any device was ever more deceiving and less satisfactory +than the bipartizan board. + +The reader must not be led to think that any one of these plans of +municipal government prevailed at any one time. They all still exist, +contemporaneously with the newer commission plan and the city manager +plan. + +Hand in hand with these experiments in governmental mechanisms for the +growing cities went a rapidly increasing expenditure of public funds. +Streets had to be laid out, paved, and lighted; sewers extended; +firefighting facilities increased; schools built; parks, boulevards, +and playgrounds acquired, and scores of new activities undertaken by the +municipality. All these brought grist to the politician's mill. So did +his control of the police force and the police courts. And finally, with +the city reaching its eager streets far out into the country, came the +necessity for rapid transportation, which opened up for the municipal +politician a new El Dorado. + +Under our laws the right of a public service corporation to occupy the +public streets is based upon a franchise from the city. Before the days +of the referendum the franchise was granted by the city council, usually +as a monopoly, sometimes in perpetuity; and, until comparatively recent +years, the corporation paid nothing to the city for the rights it +acquired. + +When we reflect that within a few decades of the discovery of +electric power, every city, large and small, had its street-car and +electric-light service, and that most of these cities, through their +councils, gave away these monopoly rights for long periods of time, we +can imagine the princely aggregate of the gifts which public service +corporations have received at the hands of our municipal governments, +and the nature of the temptations these corporations were able to spread +before the greedy gaze of those whose gesture would seal the grant. + +But it was not only at the granting of the franchise that the boss +and his machine sought for spoils. A public service corporation, +being constantly asked for favors, is a continuing opportunity for the +political manipulator. Public service corporations could share their +patronage with the politician in exchange for favors. Through their +control of many jobs, and through their influence with banks, they could +show a wide assortment of favors to the politician in return for +his influence; for instance, in the matter of traffic regulations, +permission to tear up the streets, inspection laws, rate schedules, tax +assessments, coroners' reports, or juries. + +When the politician went to the voters, he adroitly concealed his +designs under the name of one of the national parties. Voters were asked +to vote for a Republican or a Democrat, not for a policy of municipal +administration or other local policies. The system of committees, +caucuses, conventions, built up in every city, was linked to the +national organization. A citizen of New York, for instance, was not +asked to vote for the Broadway Franchise, which raised such a scandal +in the eighties, but to vote for aldermen running on a national tariff +ticket! + +The electorate was somnolent and permitted the politician to have his +way. The multitudes of the city came principally from two sources, from +Europe and from the rural districts of our own country. Those who came +to the city from the country were prompted by industrial motives; they +sought wider opportunities; they soon became immersed in their tasks and +paid little attention to public questions. The foreign immigrants who +congested our cities were alien to American institutions. They formed +a heterogeneous population to whom a common ideal of government was +unknown and democracy a word without meaning. These foreigners were +easily influenced and easily led. Under the old naturalization laws, +they were herded into the courts just before election and admitted to +citizenship. In New York they were naturalized under the guidance of +wardheelers, not infrequently at the rate of one a minute! And, before +the days of registration laws, ballots were distributed to them and they +were led to the polls, as charity children are given excursion tickets +and are led to their annual summer's day picnic. + +The slipshod methods of naturalization have been revealed since the new +law (1906) has been in force. Tens of thousands of voters who thought +they were citizens found that their papers were only declarations of +intentions, or "first papers." Other tens of thousands had lost even +these papers and could not designate the courts that had issued them; +and other thousands found that the courts that had naturalized them were +without jurisdiction in the matter. + +It was not merely among these newcomers that the boss found his +opportunities for carrying elections. The dense city blocks were +convenient lodging places for "floaters." Just before elections, +the population of the downtown wards in the larger cities increased +surprisingly. The boss fully availed himself of the psychological and +social reactions of the city upon the individual, knowing instinctively +how much more easily men are corrupted when they are merged in the crowd +and have lost their sense of personal responsibility. + +It was in the city, then, that industrial politics found their natural +habitat. We shall now scrutinize more closely some of the developments +which arose out of such an environment. + + + +CHAPTER V. TAMMANY HALL + +Before the Revolutionary War numerous societies were organized to aid +the cause of Independence. These were sometimes called "Sons of Liberty" +and not infrequently "Sons of St. Tammany," after an Indian brave whom +tradition had shrouded in virtue. The name was probably adopted to +burlesque the royalist societies named after St. George, St. David, or +St. Andrew. After the war these societies vanished. But, in New York +City, William Mooney, an upholsterer, reorganized the local society +as "Tammany Society or Columbian Order," devoted ostensibly to +goodfellowship and charity. Its officers bore Indian titles and its +ceremonies were more or less borrowed from the red man, not merely +because of their unique and picturesque character, but to emphasize the +truly American and anti-British convictions of its members. The society +attracted that element of the town's population which delighted in the +crude ceremonials and the stimulating potions that always accompanied +them, mostly small shopkeepers and mechanics. It was among this class +that the spirit of discontent against the power of Federalism was +strongest--a spirit that has often become decisive in our political +fortunes. + +This was still the day of the "gentleman," of small clothes, silver +shoe-buckles, powdered wigs, and lace ruffles. Only taxpayers and +propertied persons could vote, and public office was still invested with +certain prerogatives and privileges. Democracy was little more than +a name. There was, however, a distinct division of sentiment, and the +drift towards democracy was accelerated by immigration. The newcomers +were largely of the humble classes, among whom the doctrines of +democratic discontent were welcome. + +Tammany soon became partizan. The Federalist members withdrew, probably +influenced by Washington's warning against secret political societies. +By 1798 it was a Republican club meeting in various taverns, finally +selecting Martling's "Long Room" for its nightly carousals. Soon after +this a new constitution was adopted which adroitly transformed the +society into a compact political machine, every member subscribing to +the oath that he would resist the encroachments of centralized power +over the State. + +Tradition has it that the transformer of Tammany into the first compact +and effective political machine was Aaron Burr. There is no direct +evidence that he wrote the new constitution. But there is collateral +evidence. Indeed, it would not have been Burrian had he left any written +evidence of his connection with the organization. For Burr was one of +those intriguers who revel in mystery, who always hide their designs, +and never bind themselves in writing without leaving a dozen loopholes +for escape. He was by this time a prominent figure in American +politics. His skill had been displayed in Albany, both in the passing of +legislation and in out-maneuvering Hamilton and having himself +elected United States Senator against the powerful combination of the +Livingstons and the Schuylers. He was plotting for the Presidency as the +campaign of 1800 approached, and Tammany was to be the fulcrum to lift +him to this conspicuous place. + +Under the ostensible leadership of Matthew L. Davis, Burr's chief +lieutenant, every ward of the city was carefully organized, a polling +list was made, scores of new members were pledged to Tammany, and during +the three days of voting (in New York State until 1840 elections +lasted three days), while Hamilton was making eloquent speeches for the +Federalists, Burr was secretly manipulating the wires of his machine. +Burr and Tammany won in New York City, though Burr failed to win the +Presidency. The political career of this remarkable organization, which +has survived over one hundred and twenty years of stormy history, was +now well launched. + +From that time to the present the history of Tammany Hall is a tale +of victories, followed by occasional disclosures of corruption and +favoritism; of quarrels with governors and presidents; of party fights +between "up-state" and "city"; of skulking when its sachems were +unwelcome in the White House; of periodical displays of patriotism for +cloaking its grosser crimes; of perennial charities for fastening itself +more firmly on the poorer populace which has always been the source of +its power; of colossal municipal enterprise for profit-sharing; and of +a continuous political efficiency due to sagacious leadership, a +remarkable adaptability to the necessities of the hour, and a patience +that outlasts every "reform." + +It early displayed all the traits that have made it successful. In 1801, +for the purpose of carrying city elections, it provided thirty-nine men +with money to purchase houses and lots in one ward, and seventy men +with money for the same purpose in another ward, thus manufacturing +freeholders for polling purposes. In 1806 Benjamin Romaine, a grand +sachem, was removed from the office of city controller by his own party +for acquiring land from the city without paying for it. In 1807 several +superintendents of city institutions were dismissed for frauds. The +inspector of bread, a sachem, resigned because his threat to extort +one-third of the fees from his subordinates had become public. Several +assessment collectors, all prominent in Tammany, were compelled to +reimburse the city for deficits in their accounts. One of the leading +aldermen used his influence to induce the city to sell land to his +brother-in-law at a low price, and then bade the city buy it back +for many times its value. Mooney, the founder of the society, now +superintendent of the almshouse, was caught in a characteristic fraud. +His salary was $1000 a year, with $500 for family expenses. But it was +discovered that his "expenses" amounted to $4000 a year, and that he had +credited to himself on the books $1000 worth of supplies and numerous +sums for "trifles for Mrs. Mooney." + +In September, 1826, the Grand Jury entered an indictment against Matthew +L. Davis and a number of other Tammany men for defrauding several banks +and insurance companies of over $2,000,000. This created a tremendous +sensation. Political influence was at once set in motion, and only the +minor defendants were sent to the penitentiary. + +In 1829 Samuel Swartwout, one of the Tammany leaders, was appointed +Collector of the Port of New York. His downfall came in 1838, and he +fled to Europe. His defalcations in the Custom House were found to be +over $1,222,700; and "to Swartwout" became a useful phrase until Tweed's +day. He was succeeded by Jesse Hoyt, another sachem and notorious +politician, against whom several judgments for default were recorded +in the Superior Court, which were satisfied very soon after his +appointment. At this time another Tammany chieftain, W. M. Price, United +States District Attorney for Southern New York, defaulted for $75,000. + +It was in 1851 that the council commonly known as "The Forty Thieves" +was elected. In it William M. Tweed served his apprenticeship. Some of +the maneuvers of this council and of other officials were divulged by +a Grand Jury in its presentment of February 23, 1853. The presentment +states: "It was clearly shown that enormous sums of money were spent +for the procurement of railroad grants in the city, and that towards the +decision and procurement of the Eighth Avenue railway grant, a sum +so large that would startle the most credulous was expended; but in +consequence of the voluntary absence of important witnesses, the Grand +Jury was left without direct testimony of the particular recipients of +the different amounts." + +These and other exposures brought on a number of amendments to the city +charter, surrounding with greater safeguards the sale or lease of city +property and the letting of contracts; and a reform council was elected. +Immediately upon the heels of this reform movement followed the shameful +regime of Fernando Wood, an able, crafty, unscrupulous politician, who +began by announcing himself a reformer, but who soon became a boss in +the most offensive sense of that term--not, however, in Tammany Hall, +for he was ousted from that organization after his reelection as mayor +in 1856. He immediately organized a machine of his own, Mozart Hall. The +intense struggle between the two machines cost the city a great sum, for +the taxpayers were mulcted to pay the bills. + +Through the anxious days of the Civil War, when the minds of thoughtful +citizens were occupied with national issues, the tide of reform ebbed +and flowed. A reform candidate was elected mayor in 1863, but Tammany +returned to power two years later by securing the election and then the +reelection of John T. Hoffman. Hoffman possessed considerable ability +and an attractive personality. His zeal for high office, however, made +him easily amenable to the manipulators. Tammany made him Governor and +planned to name him for President. Behind his popularity, which was +considerable, and screened by the greater excitements of the war, +reconstruction, and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, lurked the Ring, +whose exposures and confessions were soon to amaze everyone. + +The chief ringster was William M. Tweed, and his name will always +be associated in the public mind with political bossdom. This is his +immortality. He was a chairmaker by trade, a vulgar good fellow by +nature, a politician by circumstances, a boss by evolution, and a +grafter by choice. He became grand sachem of Tammany and chairman of the +general committee. This committee he ruled with blunt directness. When +he wanted a question carried, he failed to ask for the negative votes; +and soon he was called "the Boss," a title he never resented, and which +usage has since fixed in our politics. So he ruled Tammany with a high +hand; made nominations arbitrarily; bullied, bought, and traded; became +President of the Board of Supervisors, thus holding the key to the +city's financial policies; and was elected State Senator, thereby +directing the granting of legislative favors to his city and to his +corporations. + +In 1868 Tammany carried Hoffman into the Governor's chair, and in the +following year the Democrats carried the State legislature. Tweed now +had a new charter passed which virtually put New York City into his +pocket by placing the finances of the metropolis entirely in the hands +of a Board of Apportionment which he dominated. Of this Board, the +mayor of the city was the chairman, with the power to appoint the other +members. He promptly named Tweed, Connolly, and P. B. Sweeny. This was +the famous Ring. The mayor was A. Oakey Hall, dubbed "Elegant Oakey" by +his pals because of his fondness for clubs, society, puns, and poems; +but Nast called him "O. K. Haul." Sweeny, commonly known as "Pete," was +a lawyer of ability, and was generally believed to be the plotter of the +quartet. Nast transformed his middle initial B. into "Brains." Connolly +was just a coarse gangster. + +There was some reason for the Ring's faith in its invulnerability. It +controlled Governor and legislature, was formidable in the national +councils of the Democratic party, and its Governor was widely mentioned +for the presidential nomination. It possessed complete power over the +city council, the mayor, and many of the judges. It was in partnership +with Gould and Fiske of the Erie, then reaping great harvests in Wall +Street, and with street railway and other public service corporations. +Through untold largess it silenced rivalry from within and criticism +from without. And, when suspicion first raised its voice, it adroitly +invited a committee of prominent and wealthy citizens, headed by John +Jacob Astor, to examine the controller's accounts. After six hours +spent in the City Hall these respectable gentlemen signed an acquitment, +saying that "the affairs of the city under the charge of the controller +are administered in a correct and faithful manner." + +Thus intrenched, the Ring levied tribute on every municipal activity. +Everyone who had a charge against the city, either for work done or +materials furnished, was told to add to the amount of his bill, at first +10%, later 66%, and finally 85%. One man testified that he was told +to raise to $55,000 his claim of $5000. He got his $5000; the Ring got +$50,000. The building of the Court House, still known as "Tweed's Court +House," was estimated to cost $3,000,000, but it cost many times that +sum. The item "repairing fixtures" amounted to $1,149,874.50, before the +building was completed. Forty chairs and three tables cost $179,729.60; +thermometers cost $7500. G. S. Miller, a carpenter, received +$360,747.61, and a plasterer named Gray, $2,870,464.06 for nine months' +"work." The Times dubbed him the "Prince of Plasterers." "A plasterer +who can earn $138,187 in two days [December 20 and 21] and that in the +depths of winter, need not be poor." Carpets cost $350,000, most of the +Brussels and Axminster going to the New Metropolitan Hotel just opened +by Tweed's son. + +The Ring's hold upon the legislature was through bribery, not through +partizan adhesion. Tweed himself confessed that he gave one man in +Albany $600,000 for buying votes to pass his charter; and Samuel J. +Tilden estimated the total cost for this purpose at over one million +dollars. Tweed said he bought five Republican senators for $40,000 +apiece. The vote on the charter was 30 to 2 in the Senate, 116 to 5 in +the Assembly. Similar sums were spent in Albany in securing corporate +favors. The Viaduct Railway Bill is an example. This bill empowered a +company, practically owned by the Ring, to build a railway on or above +any street in the city. It provided that the city should subscribe for +$5,000,000 of the stock; and it exempted the company from taxation. +Collateral bills were introduced enabling the company to widen and grade +any streets, the favorite "job" of a Tammany grafter. Fortunately for +the city, exposure came before this monstrous scheme could be put in +motion. + +Newspapers in the city were heavily subsidized. Newspapers in Albany +were paid munificently for printing. One of the Albany papers received +$207,900 for one year's work which was worth less than $10,000. Half a +dozen reporters of the leading dailies were put on the city payroll at +from $2000 to $2500 a year for "services." + +The Himalayan size of these swindles and their monumental effrontery led +the New York Sun humorously to suggest the erection of a statue to +the principal Robber Baron, "in commemoration of his services to the +commonwealth." A letter was sent out asking for funds. There were a +great many men in New York, the Sun thought, who would not be unwilling +to refuse a contribution. But Tweed declined the honor. In its issue of +March 14, 1871, the Sun has this headline: + +"A GREAT MAN'S MODESTY" + +"THE HON. WILLIAM M. TWEED DECLINES THE SUN'S STATUE. CHARACTERISTIC +LETTER FROM THE GREAT NEW YORK PHILANTHROPIST. HE THINKS THAT VIRTUE +SHOULD BE ITS OWN REWARD. THE MOST REMARKABLE LETTER EVER WRITTEN BY THE +NOBLE BENEFACTOR OF THE PEOPLE." + +Another kind of memorial to his genius for absorbing the people's money +was awaiting this philanthropic buccaneer. Vulgar ostentation was the +outward badge of these civic burglaries. Tweed moved into a Fifth Avenue +mansion and gave his daughter a wedding at which she received $100,000 +worth of gifts; her wedding dress was a $5000 creation. At Greenwich he +built a country estate where the stables were framed of choice mahogany. +Sweeny hobnobbed with Jim Fiske of the Erie, the Tweed of Wall Street, +who went about town dressed in loud checks and lived with his harem in +his Opera House on Eighth Avenue. + +Thoughtful citizens saw these things going on and believed the city +was being robbed, but they could not prove it. There were two attacking +parties, however, who did not wait for proofs--Thomas Nast, the +brilliant cartoonist of Harper's Weekly, and the New York Times. The +incisive cartoons of Nast appealed to the imaginations of all classes; +even Tweed complained that his illiterate following could "look at the +damn pictures." The trenchant editorials of Louis L. Jennings in +the Times reached a thoughtful circle of readers. In one of these +editorials, February 24, 1871, before the exposure, he said: "There is +absolutely nothing--nothing in the city--which is beyond the reach of +the insatiable gang who have obtained possession of it. They can get a +grand jury dismissed at any time, and, as we have seen, the legislature +is completely at their disposal." + +Finally proof did come and, as is usual in such cases, it came from +the inside. James O'Brien, an ex-sheriff and the leader in a Democratic +"reform movement" calling itself "Young Democracy," secured the +appointment of one of his friends as clerk in the controller's office. +Transcripts of the accounts were made, and these O'Brien brought to +the Times, which began their publication, July 8, 1871. The Ring was +in consternation. It offered George Jones, the proprietor of the Times, +$5,000,000 for his silence and sent a well-known banker to Nast with an +invitation to go to Europe "to study art," with $100,000 for "expenses." + +"Do you think I could get $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 one year and was then released on a flimsy +technicality by the Court of Appeals. Civil suits were now brought, and, +unable to obtain the $3,000,000 bail demanded, the fallen boss was sent +to jail. He escaped to Cuba, and finally to Spain, but he was again +arrested, returned to New York on a man-of-war, and put into Ludlow +Street jail, where he died April 12, 1878, apparently without money or +friends. + +The exact amount of the plunder was never ascertained. An expert +accountant employed by the housecleaners estimated that for three years, +1868-71, the frauds totaled between $45,000,000 and $50,000,000. The +estimate of the aldermen's committee was $60,000,000. Tweed never gave +any figures; he probably had never counted his gains, but merely spent +them as they came. O'Rourke, one of the gang, estimated that the Ring +stole about $75,000,000 during 1865-71, and that, "counting vast issues +of fraudulent bonds," the looting "probably amounted to $200,000,000." + +The story of these disclosures circled the earth and still affects the +popular judgment of the American metropolis. It seemed as though Tammany +were forever discredited. But, to the despair of reformers, in 1874 +Tammany returned to power, electing its candidate for mayor by over 9000 +majority. The new boss who maneuvered this rapid resurrection was John +Kelly, a stone-mason, known among his Irish followers as "Honest John." +Besides the political probity which the occasion demanded, he possessed +a capacity for knowing men and sensing public opinion. This enabled him +to lift the prostrate organization. He persuaded such men as Samuel J. +Tilden, the distinguished lawyer, August Belmont, a leading financier, +Horatio Seymour, who had been governor, and Charles O'Conor, the famous +advocate, to become sachems under him. This was evidence of reform +from within. Cooperation with the Bar Association, the Taxpayers' +Association, and other similar organizations evidenced a desire of +reform from without. Kelly "bossed" the Hall until his death, June 1, +1886. + +He was succeeded by Richard Croker, a machinist, prizefighter, and +gang-leader. Croker began his official career as a court attendant under +the notorious Judge Barnard and later was an engineer in the service of +the city. These places he held by Tammany favor, and he was so useful +that in 1868 he was made alderman. A quarrel with Tweed lost him the +place, but a reconciliation soon landed him in the lucrative office of +Superintendent of Market Fees and Rents, under Connolly. In 1873 he was +elected coroner and ten years later was appointed fire commissioner. His +career as boss was marked by much political cleverness and caution and +by an equal degree of moral obtuseness. + +The triumph of Tammany in 1892 was followed by such ill-disguised +corruption that the citizens of New York were again roused from their +apathy. The investigations of the Fassett Committee of the State Senate +two years previously had shown how deep the tentacles of Tammany were +thrust into the administrative departments of the city. The Senate now +appointed another investigating committee, of which Clarence Lexow was +the chairman and John W. Goff the counsel. The Police Department came +under its special scrutiny. The disclosures revealed the connivance of +the police in stupendous election frauds. The President of the Police +Board himself had distributed at the polls the policemen who committed +these frauds. It was further revealed that vice and crime under police +protection had been capitalized on a great scale. It was worth money to +be a policeman. One police captain testified he had paid $15,000 for +his promotions; another paid $12,000. It cost $300 to be appointed +patrolman. Over six hundred policy-shops were open, each paying $1500 a +month for protection; pool rooms paid $300 a month; bawdy-houses, from +$25 to $50 per month per inmate. And their patrons paid whatever they +could be blackmailed out of; streetwalkers, whatever they could be +wheedled out of; saloons, $20 per month; pawnbrokers, thieves, and thugs +shared with the police their profits, as did corporations and others +seeking not only favors but their rights. The committee in its statement +to the Grand Jury (March, 1892) estimated that the annual plunder from +these sources was over $7,000,000. + +During the committee's sessions Croker was in Europe on important +business. But he found time to order the closing of disreputable +resorts, and, though he was only a private citizen and three thousand +miles away, his orders were promptly obeyed. + +Aroused by these disclosures and stimulated by the lashing sermons +of the Rev. Charles H. Parkhurst, the citizens of New York, in 1894, +elected a reform government, with William L. Strong as Mayor. His +administration set up for the metropolis a new standard of city +management. Colonel George E. Waring organized, for the first time in +the city's history, an efficient streetcleaning department. Theodore +Roosevelt was appointed Police Commissioner. These men and their +associates gave to New York a period of thrifty municipal housekeeping. + +But the city returned to its filth. After the incorporation of Greater +New York and the election of Robert A. Van Wyck as its mayor, the great +beast of Tammany arose and extended its eager claws over the vast area +of the new city. + +The Mazet Committee was appointed by the legislature in 1899 to +investigate rumors of renewed corruption. But the inquiry which followed +was not as penetrating nor as free from partizan bias as thoughtful +citizens wished. The principal exposure was of the Ice Trust, an attempt +to monopolize the city's ice supply, in which city officials were +stockholders, the mayor to the extent of 5000 shares, valued at +$500,000. It was shown, too, that Tammany leaders were stockholders in +corporations which received favors from the city. Governor Roosevelt, +however, refused to remove Mayor Van Wyck because the evidence against +him was insufficient. + +The most significant testimony before the Mazet Committee was that given +by Boss Croker himself. His last public office had been that of City +Chamberlain, 1889-90, at a salary of $25,000. Two years later he +purchased for $250,000 an interest in a stock-farm and paid over +$100,000 for some noted race-horses. He spent over half a million +dollars on the English racetrack in three years and was reputed a +millionaire, owning large blocks of city real estate. He told the +committee that he virtually determined all city nominations; and that +all candidates were assessed, even judicial candidates, from $10,000 +to $25,000 for their nominations. "We try to have a pretty effective +organization--that's what we are there for," he explained. "We are +giving the people pure organization government," even though the +organizing took "a lot of time" and was "very hard work." Tammany +members stood by one another and helped each other, not only in politics +but in business. "We want the whole business [city business] if we can +get it." If "we win, we expect everyone to stand by us." Then he uttered +what must have been to every citizen of understanding a self-evident +truth, "I am working for my pockets all the time." + +Soon afterwards Croker retired to his Irish castle, relinquishing the +leadership to Charles Murphy, the present boss. The growing alertness of +the voters, however, makes Murphy's task a more difficult one than that +of any of his predecessors. It is doubtful if the nature of the machine +has changed during all the years of its history. Tweed and Croker were +only natural products of the system. They typify the vulgar climax of +organized looting. + +In 1913 the Independent Democrats, Republicans, and Progressives +united in a fusion movement. They nominated and, after a most spirited +campaign, elected John Purroy Mitchel as mayor. He was a young man, not +yet forty, had held important city offices, and President Wilson had +appointed him Collector of the Port of New York. His experience, his +vigor, ability, and straight-dealing commended him to the friends of good +government, and they were not disappointed. The Mitchel regime set a +new record for clean and efficient municipal administration. Men of high +character and ability were enlisted in public service, and the Police +Department, under Commissioner Woods, achieved a new usefulness. +The decent citizens, not alone in the metropolis, but throughout the +country, believed with Theodore Roosevelt that Mr. Mitchel was "the +best mayor New York ever had." But neither the effectiveness of +his administration nor the combined efforts of the friends of good +government could save him from the designs of Tammany Hall when, in +1917, he was a candidate for reelection. Through a tactical blunder of +the Fusionists, a small Republican group was permitted to control the +party primaries and nominate a candidate of its own; the Socialists, +greatly augmented by various pacifist groups, made heavy inroads among +the foreign-born voters. And, while the whole power and finesse of +Tammany were assiduously undermining the mayor's strength, ethnic, +religious, partizan, and geographical prejudices combined to elect +the machine candidate, Judge Hylan, a comparatively unknown Brooklyn +magistrate. + +How could Tammany regain its power, and that usually within two +years, after such disclosures as we have seen? The main reason is the +scientific efficiency of the organization. The victory of Burr in New +York in 1800 was the first triumph of the first ward machine in America, +and Tammany has forgotten neither this victory nor the methods by which +it was achieved. The organization which was then set in motion has +simply been enlarged to keep easy pace with the city's growth. There +are, in fact, two organizations, Tammany Hall, the political machine, +and Tammany Society, the "Columbian Order" organized by Mooney, which +is ruled by sachems elected by the members. Both organizations, however, +are one in spirit. We need concern ourselves only with the organization +of Tammany Hall. + +The framework of Tammany Hall's machinery has always been the general +committee, still known, in the phraseology of Burr's day, as "the +Democratic-Republican General Committee." It is a very democratic body +composed of representatives from every assembly district, apportioned +according to the number of voters in the district. The present +apportionment is one committeeman for every fifteen votes. This makes a +committee of over 9000, an unwieldy number. It is justified, however, on +two very practical grounds: first, that it is large enough to keep close +to the voters; and second, that its assessment of ten dollars a member +brings in $90,000 a year to the war chest. This general committee holds +stated meetings and appoints subcommittees. The executive committee, +composed of the leaders of the assembly districts and the chairman and +treasurer of the county committee, is the real working body of the +great committee. It attends to all important routine matters, selects +candidates for office, and conducts their campaigns. It is customary for +the members of the general committee to designate the district leaders +for the executive committee, but they are elected by their own districts +respectively at the annual primary elections. The district leader is a +very important wheel in the machine. He not only leads his district +but represents it on the executive committee; and this brotherhood of +leaders forms the potent oligarchy of Tammany. Its sanction crowns the +high chieftain, the boss, who, in turn, must be constantly on the alert +that his throne is not undermined; that is to say, he and his district +leaders must "play politics" within their own bailiwicks to keep their +heads on their own shoulders. After their enfranchisement in New York +(1917) women were made eligible to the general and executive committees. +Thirty-seven were at once elected to the executive committee, and plans +were made to give them one-half of the representation on the general +committee. + +Each of the twenty-three assembly districts is in turn divided into +election districts of about 400 voters, each with a precinct captain who +is acquainted with every voter in his precinct and keeps track, as +far as possible, of his affairs. In every assembly district there are +headquarters and a club house, where the voters can go in the evening +and enjoy a smoke, a bottle, and a more or less quiet game. + +This organization is never dormant. And this is the key to its vitality. +There is no mystery about it. Tammany is as vigilant between elections +as it is on election day. It has always been solicitous for the poor and +the humble, who most need and best appreciate help and attention. Every +poor immigrant is welcomed, introduced to the district headquarters, +given work, or food, or shelter. Tammany is his practical friend; and in +return he is merely to become naturalized as quickly as possible under +the wardship of a Tammany captain and by the grace of a Tammany judge, +and then to vote the Tammany ticket. The new citizen's lessons in +political science are all flavored with highly practical notions. + +Tammany's machinery enables a house-to-house canvass to be made in one +day. But this machinery must be oiled. There are three sources of +the necessary lubricant: offices, jobs, the sale of favors; these are +dependent on winning the elections. From its very earliest days, +fraud at the polls has been a Tammany practice. As long as property +qualifications were required, money was furnished for buying houses +which could harbor a whole settlement of voters. It was not, however, +until the adoption of universal suffrage that wholesale frauds became +possible or useful; for with a limited suffrage it was necessary to sway +only a few score votes to carry an ordinary election. + +Fernando Wood set a new pace in this race for votes. It has been +estimated that in 1854 there "were about 40,000 shiftless, unprincipled +persons who lived by their wits and the labor of others. The trade of +a part of these was turning primary elections, packing nominating +conventions, repeating, and breaking up meetings." Wood also +systematized naturalization. A card bearing the following legend was the +open sesame to American citizenship: + + "Common Pleas: + Please naturalize the bearer. + N. Seagrist, Chairman." + +Seagrist was one of the men charged by an aldermanic committee "with +robbing the funeral pall of Henry Clay when his sacred person passed +through this city." + +When Hoffman was first elected mayor, over 15,000 persons were +registered who could not be found at the places indicated. The +naturalization machinery was then running at high speed. In 1868, from +25,000 to 30,000 foreigners were naturalized in New York in six weeks. +Of 156,288 votes cast in the city, 25,000 were afterwards shown to be +fraudulent. It was about this time that an official whose duty it was +to swear in the election inspectors, not finding a Bible at hand, used a +volume of Ollendorf's "New Method of Learning to Read, Write, and Speak +French." The courts sustained this substitution on the ground that it +could not possibly have vitiated the election! + +A new federal naturalization law and rigid election laws have made +wholesale frauds impossible; and the genius of Tammany is now attempting +to adjust itself to the new immigration, the new political spirit, and +the new communal vigilance. Its power is believed by some optimistic +observers to be waning. But the evidences are not wanting that its +vitality and internal discipline are still persistent. + + + +CHAPTER VI. LESSER OLIGARCHIES + +New York City is not unique in its experience with political bossdom. +Nearly every American city, in a greater or less degree, for longer or +shorter periods, has been dominated by oligarchies. + +Around Philadelphia, American sentiment has woven the memories of great +events. It still remains, of all our large cities, the most "American." +It has fewer aliens than any other, a larger percentage of home owners, +a larger number of small tradespeople and skilled artisans--the sort of +population which democracy exalts, and who in turn are presumed to be +the bulwark of democracy. These good citizens, busied with the anxieties +and excitements of their private concerns, discovered, in the decade +following the Civil War, that their city had slipped unawares into +the control of a compact oligarchy, the notorious Gas Ring. The city +government at this time was composed of thirty-two independent boards +and departments, responsible to the council, but responsible to the +council in name only and through the medium of a council committee. The +coordinating force, the political gravitation which impelled all these +diverse boards and council committees to act in unison, was the Gas +Department. This department was controlled by a few designing and +capable individuals under the captaincy of James McManes. They had +reduced to political servitude all the employees of the department, +numbering about two thousand. Then they had extended their sway over +other city departments, especially the police department. Through the +connivance of the police and control over the registration of voters, +they soon dominated the primaries and the nominating conventions. +They carried the banner of the Republican party, the dominant party in +Philadelphia and in the State, under which they more easily controlled +elections, for the people voted "regular." Then every one of the city's +servants was made to pay to the Gas Ring money as well as obeisance. +Tradespeople who sold supplies to the city, contractors who did its +work, saloon-keepers and dive-owners who wanted protection--all paid. +The city's debt increased at the rate of $3,000,000 a year, without +visible evidence of the application of money to the city's growing +needs. + +In 1883 the citizens finally aroused themselves and petitioned the +legislature for a new charter. They confessed: "Philadelphia is now +recognized as the worst paved and worst cleaned city in the civilized +world. The water supply is so bad that during many weeks of the last +winter it was not only distasteful and unwholesome for drinking, but +offensive for bathing purposes. The effort to clean the streets was +abandoned for months and no attempt was made to that end until some +public-spirited citizens, at their own expense, cleaned a number of the +principal thoroughfares.... The physical condition of the sewers" +is "dangerous to the health and most offensive to the comfort of our +people. Public work has been done so badly that structures have to be +renewed almost as soon as finished. Others have been in part constructed +at enormous expense and then permitted to fall to decay without +completion." This is a graphic and faithful description of the result +which follows government of the Ring, for the Ring, with the people's +money. The legislature in 1885 granted Philadelphia a new charter, +called the Bullitt Law, which went into effect in 1887, and which +greatly simplified the structure of the government and centered +responsibility in the mayor. It was then necessary for the Ring to +control primaries and win elections in order to keep the city within +its clutches. So began in Philadelphia the practice of fraudulent +registering and voting on a scale that has probably never been equaled +elsewhere in America. Names taken from tombstones in the cemeteries and +from the register of births found their way to the polling registers. +Dogs, cats, horses, anything living or dead, with a name, served the +purpose. + +The exposure of these frauds was undertaken in 1900 by the Municipal +League. In two wards, where the population had decreased one per cent +in ten years (1890-1900), it was found that the registered voters had +increased one hundred per cent. From one house sixty-two voters were +registered, of sundry occupations as follows: "Professors, bricklayers, +gentlemen, moulders, cashiers, barbers, ministers, bakers, doctors, +drivers, bartenders, plumbers, clerks, cooks, merchants, stevedores, +bookkeepers, waiters, florists, boilermakers, salesmen, soldiers, +electricians, printers, book agents, and restaurant keepers." One +hundred and twenty-two voters, according to the register, lived at +another house, including nine agents, nine machinists, nine gentlemen, +nine waiters, nine salesmen, four barbers, four bakers, fourteen clerks, +three laborers, two bartenders, a milkman, an optician, a piano-mover, a +window-cleaner, a nurse, and so on. + +On the day before the election the Municipal League sent registered +letters to all the registered voters of certain precincts. Sixty-three +per cent were returned, marked by the postman, "not at," "deceased," +"removed," "not known." Of forty-four letters addressed to names +registered from one four-story house, eighteen were returned. From +another house, supposed to be sheltering forty-eight voters, forty-one +were returned; from another, to which sixty-two were sent, sixty-one +came back. The league reported that "two hundred and fifty-two votes +were returned in a division that had less than one hundred legal voters +within its boundaries." Repeating and ballot-box stuffing were common. +Election officers would place fifty or more ballots in the box +before the polls opened or would hand out a handful of ballots to the +recognized repeaters. The high-water mark of boss rule was reached under +Mayor Ashbridge, "Stars-and-Stripes Sam," who had been elected in 1899. +The moderation of Martin, who had succeeded McManes as boss, was cast +aside; the mayor was himself a member of the Ring. When Ashbridge +retired, the Municipal League reported: "The four years of the Ashbridge +administration have passed into history leaving behind them a scar on +the fame and reputation of our city which will be a long time healing. +Never before, and let us hope never again, will there be such brazen +defiance of public opinion, such flagrant disregard of public interest, +such abuse of power and responsibility for private ends." + +Since that time the fortunes of the Philadelphia Ring have fluctuated. +Its hold upon the city, however, is not broken, but is still strong +enough to justify Owen Wister's observation: "Not a Dickens, only a +Zola, would have the face (and the stomach) to tell the whole truth +about Philadelphia." + +St. Louis was one of the first cities of America to possess the +much-coveted home rule. The Missouri State Constitution of 1875 granted +the city the power to frame its own charter, under certain limitations. +The new charter provided for a mayor elected for four years with the +power of appointing certain heads of departments; others, however, +were to be elected directly by the people. It provided for a Municipal +Assembly composed of two houses: the Council, with thirteen members, +elected at large for four years, and the House of Delegates, with +twenty-eight members, one from each ward, elected for two years. These +two houses were given coordinate powers; one was presumed to be a check +on the other. The Assembly fixed the tax rate, granted franchises, and +passed upon all public improvements. The Police Department was, however, +under the control of the mayor and four commissioners, the latter +appointed by the Governor. The city was usually Republican by about 8000 +majority; the State was safely Democratic. The city, until a few years +ago, had few tenements and a small floating population. + +Outwardly, all seemed well with the city until 1901, when the inside +workings of its government were revealed to the public gaze through +the vengeance of a disappointed franchise-seeker. The Suburban Railway +Company sought an extension of its franchises. It had approached the +man known as the dispenser of such favors, but, thinking his price +($145,000) too high, had sought to deal directly with the Municipal +Assembly. The price agreed upon for the House of Delegates was $75,000; +for the Council, $60,000. These sums were placed in safety vaults +controlled by a dual lock. The representative of the Company held one of +the keys; the representative of the Assembly, the other; so that neither +party could take the money without the presence of both. The Assembly +duly granted the franchises; but property owners along the line of the +proposed extension secured an injunction, which delayed the proceedings +until the term of the venal House of Delegates had expired. The +Assemblymen, having delivered the goods, demanded their pay. The +Company, held up by the courts, refused. Mutterings of the disappointed +conspirators reached the ear of an enterprising newspaper reporter. +Thereby the Circuit Attorney, Joseph W. Folk, struck the trail of the +gang. Both the president of the railway company and the "agent" of the +rogues of the Assembly turned state's evidence; the safe-deposit +boxes were opened, disclosing the packages containing one hundred and +thirty-five $1000 bills. + +This exposure led to others--the "Central Traction Conspiracy," the +"Lighting Deal," the "Garbage Deal." In the cleaning-up process, +thirty-nine persons were indicted, twenty-four for bribery and fifteen +for perjury. + +The evidence which Folk presented in the prosecution of these scoundrels +merely confirmed what had long been an unsavory rumor: that franchises +and contracts were bought and sold like merchandise; that the buyers +were men of eminence in the city's business affairs; and that the +sellers were the people's representatives in the Assembly. The Grand +Jury reported: "Our investigation, covering more or less fully a period +of ten years shows that, with few exceptions, no ordinance has been +passed wherein valuable privileges or franchises are granted until those +interested have paid the legislators the money demanded for action in +the particular case.... So long has this practice existed that such +members have come to regard the receipt of money for action on pending +measures as a legitimate perquisite of a legislator." + +These legislators, it appeared from the testimony, had formed a +water-tight ring or "combine" in 1899, for the purpose of systematizing +this traffic. A regular scale of prices was adopted: so much for an +excavation, so much per foot for a railway switch, so much for a street +pavement, so much for a grain elevator. Edward R. Butler was the master +under whose commands for many years this trafficking was reduced to +systematic perfection. He had come to St. Louis when a young man, had +opened a blacksmith shop, had built up a good trade in horseshoeing, and +also a pliant political following in his ward. His attempt to defeat the +home rule charter in 1876 had given him wider prominence, and he soon +became the boss of the Democratic machine. His energy, shrewdness, +liberality, and capacity for friendship gave him sway over both +Republican and Democratic votes in certain portions of the city. A +prominent St. Louis attorney says that for over twenty years "he named +candidates on both tickets, fixed, collected, and disbursed campaign +assessments, determined the results in elections, and in fine, +practically controlled the public affairs of St. Louis." He was the +agent usually sought by franchise-seekers, and he said that had the +Suburban Company dealt with him instead of with the members of the +Assembly, they might have avoided exposure. He was indicted four times +in the upheaval, twice for attempting to bribe the Board of Health +in the garbage deal--he was a stockholder in the company seeking the +contract--and twice for bribery in the lighting contract. + +Cincinnati inherited from the Civil War the domestic excitements and +political antagonisms of a border city. Its large German population gave +it a conservative political demeanor, slow to accept changes, loyal +to the Republican party as it was to the Union. This reduced partizan +opposition to a docile minority, willing to dicker for public spoils +with the intrenched majority. + +George B. Cox was for thirty years the boss of this city. Events had +prepared the way for him. Following closely upon the war, Tom Campbell, +a crafty criminal lawyer, was the local leader of the Republicans, and +John R. McLean, owner of the Cincinnati Enquirer, a very rich man, of +the Democrats. These two men were cronies: they bartered the votes +of their followers. For some years crime ran its repulsive course: +brawlers, thieves, cutthroats escaped conviction through the defensive +influence of the lawyer-boss. In 1880, Cox, who had served an +apprenticeship in his brother-in-law's gambling house, was elected +to the city council. Thence he was promoted to the decennial board of +equalization which appraised all real estate every ten years. There +followed a great decrease in the valuation of some of the choicest +holdings in the city. In 1884 there were riots in Cincinnati. After the +acquittal of two brutes who had murdered a man for a trifling sum of +money, exasperated citizens burned the criminal court house. The barter +in justice stopped, but the barter in offices and in votes continued. +The Blaine campaign then in progress was in great danger. Cox, already +a master of the political game, promised the Republican leaders that +if they would give him a campaign fund he would turn in a Republican +majority from Cincinnati. He did; and for many years thereafter the +returns from Hamilton County, in which Cincinnati is situated, brought +cheer to Republican State headquarters on election night. + +Cox was an unostentatious, silent man, giving one the impression +of sullenness, and almost entirely lacking in those qualities of +comradeship which one usually seeks in the "Boss" type. From a barren +little room over the "Mecca" saloon, with the help of a telephone, +he managed his machine. He never obtruded himself upon the public. +He always remained in the background. Nor did he ever take vast sums. +Moderation was the rule of his loot. + +By 1905 a movement set in to rid the city of machine rule. Cox saw this +movement growing in strength. So he imported boatloads of floaters from +Kentucky. These floaters registered "from dives, and doggeries, from +coal bins and water closets; no space was too small to harbor a man." +For once he threw prudence to the winds. Exposure followed; over 2800 +illegal voters were found. The newspapers, so long docile, now provided +the necessary publicity. A little paper, the Citizen's Bulletin, which +had started as a handbill of reform, when all the dailies seemed closed +to the facts, now grew into a sturdy weekly. And, to add the capstone +to Cox's undoing, William H. Taft, the most distinguished son of +Cincinnati, then Secretary of War in President Roosevelt's cabinet, in +a campaign speech in Akron, Ohio, advised the Republicans to repudiate +him. This confounded the "regulars," and Cox was partially beaten. The +reformers elected their candidate for mayor, but the boss retained his +hold on the county and the city council. And, in spite of all that was +done, Cox remained an influence in politics until his death, May 20, +1916. + +San Francisco has had a varied and impressive political experience. The +first legislature of California incorporated the mining town into the +city of San Francisco, April 15, 1850. Its government from the outset +was corrupt and inefficient. Lawlessness culminated in the murder of +the editor of the Bulletin, J. King of William, on May 14, 1856, and a +vigilance committee was organized to clean up the city, and watch the +ballot-box on election day. + +Soon the legislature was petitioned to change the charter. The petition +recites: "Without a change in the city government which shall diminish +the weight of taxation, the city will neither be able to discharge +the interest on debts already contracted, nor to meet the demands for +current disbursements.... The present condition of the streets and +public improvements of the city abundantly attest the total inefficiency +of the present system." + +The legislature passed the "Consolidation Act," and from 1856 to 1900 +county and city were governed as a political unit. At first the hopes +for more frugal government seemed to be fulfilled. But all encouraging +symptoms soon vanished. Partizan rule followed, encouraged by the +tinkering of the legislature, which imposed on the charter layer upon +layer of amendments, dictated by partizan craft, not by local needs. +The administrative departments were managed by Boards of Commissioners, +under the dictation of "Blind Boss Buckley," who governed his kingdom +for many years with the despotic benevolence characteristic of his kind. +The citizens saw their money squandered and their public improvements +lagging. It took twenty-five years to complete the City Hall, at a cost +of $5,500,000. An official of the Citizens' Non-partizan party, in 1895, +said: "There is no city in the Union with a quarter of a million people, +which would not be the better for a little judicious hanging." + +The repeated attempts made by citizens of San Francisco to get a new +charter finally succeeded, and in 1900 the city hopefully entered a new +epoch under a charter of its own making which contained several radical +changes. Executive responsibility was centered in the mayor, fortified +by a comprehensive civil service. The foundations were laid for +municipal ownership of public utilities, and the initiative and +referendum were adopted for all public franchises. The legislative power +was vested in a board of eighteen supervisors elected at large. + +No other American city so dramatically represents the futility of +basing political optimism on a mere plan. It was only a step from the +mediocrity enthroned by the first election under the new charter to the +gross inefficiency and corruption of a new ring, under a new boss. A +Grand Jury (called the "Andrews Jury") made a report indicating that +the administration was trafficking in favors sold to gamblers, +prize-fighters, criminals, and the whole gamut of the underworld; that +illegal profits were being reaped from illegal contracts, and that every +branch of the executive department was honeycombed with corruption. The +Grand Jury believed and said all this, but it lacked the legal proof +upon which Mayor Schmitz and his accomplices could be indicted. In spite +of this report, Schmitz was reelected in 1905 as the candidate of the +Labor-Union party. + +Now graft in San Francisco became simply universal. George Kennan, +summarizing the practices of the looters, says they "took toll +everywhere from everybody and in almost every imaginable way: they went +into partnership with dishonest contractors; sold privileges and permits +to business men; extorted money from restaurants and saloons; levied +assessments on municipal employees; shared the profits of houses of +prostitution; forced beer, whiskey, champagne, and cigars on restaurants +and saloons on commission; blackmailed gamblers, pool-sellers, and +promoters of prize-fights; sold franchises to wealthy corporations; +created such municipal bureaus as the commissary department and the +city commercial company in order to make robbery of the city more easy; +leased rooms and buildings for municipal offices at exorbitant +rates, and compelled the lessees to share profits; held up milkmen, +kite-advertisers, junk-dealers, and even street-sweepers; and took +bribes from everybody who wanted an illegal privilege and was willing +to pay for it. The motto of the administration seemed to be 'Encourage +dishonesty, and then let no dishonest dollar escape.'" + +The machinery through which this was effected was simple: the mayor had +vast appointing powers and by this means directly controlled all the +city departments. But the mayor was only an automaton. Back of him was +Abe Ruef, the Boss, an unscrupulous lawyer who had wormed his way into +the labor party, and manipulated the "leaders" like puppets. Ruef's game +also was elementary. He sold his omnipotence for cash, either under +the respectable cloak of "retainer" or under the more common device of +commissions and dividends, so that thugs retained him for their +freedom, contractors for the favors they expected, and public service +corporations for their franchises. + +Finally, through the persistence of a few private citizens, a Grand Jury +was summoned. Under the foremanship of B. P. Oliver it made a thorough +investigation. Francis J. Heney was employed as special prosecutor and +William J. Burns as detective. Heney and Burns formed an aggressive +team. The Ring proved as vulnerable as it was rotten. Over three hundred +indictments were returned, involving persons in every walk of life. Ruef +was sentenced to fourteen years in the penitentiary. Schmitz was freed +on a technicality, after being found guilty and sentenced to five years. +Most of the other indictments were not tried, the prosecutor's attention +having been diverted to the trail of the franchise-seekers, who have +thus far eluded conviction. + +Minneapolis, a city blending New England traditions with Scandinavian +thrift, illustrates, in its experiences with "Doc" Ames, the maneuvers +of the peripatetic boss. Ames was four times mayor of the city, but +never his own successor. Each succeeding experience with him grew more +lurid of indecency, until his third term was crystallized in Minneapolis +tradition as "the notorious Ames administration." Domestic scandal +made him a social outcast, political corruption a byword, and Ames +disappeared from public view for ten years. + +In 1900 a new primary law provided the opportunity to return him to +power for the fourth time. Ames, who had been a Democrat, now found it +convenient to become a Republican. The new law, like most of the early +primary laws, permitted members of one party to vote in the primaries +of the other party. So Ames's following, estimated at about fifteen +hundred, voted in the Republican primaries, and he became a regular +candidate of that party in a presidential year, when citizens felt the +special urge to vote for the party. + +Ames was the type of boss with whom discipline is secondary to personal +aggrandizement. He had a passion for popularity; was imposing of +presence; possessed considerable professional skill; and played +constantly for the support of the poor. The attacks upon him he turned +into political capital by saying that he was made a victim by the rich +because he championed the poor. Susceptible to flattery and fond of +display, he lacked the power to command. He had followers, not henchmen. +His following was composed of the lowly, who were duped by his phrases, +and of criminals, who knew his bent; and they followed him into any +party whither he found it convenient to go, Republican, Democratic, or +Populist. + +The charter of Minneapolis gave the mayor considerable appointing power. +He was virtually the dictator of the Police Department. This was the +great opportunity of Ames and his floating vote. His own brother, a weak +individual with a dubious record, was made Chief of Police. Within a few +weeks about one-half of the police force was discharged, and the +places filled with men who could be trusted by the gang. The number +of detectives was increased and an ex-gambler placed at their head. A +medical student from Ames's office was commissioned a special policeman +to gather loot from the women of the street. + +Through a telepathy of their own, the criminal classes all over the +country soon learned of the favorable conditions in Minneapolis, under +which every form of gambling and low vice flourished; and burglars, +pickpockets, safe-blowers, and harlots made their way thither. Mr. W. +A. Frisbie, the editor of a leading Minneapolis paper, described the +situation in the following words: "It is no exaggeration to say that in +this period fully 99% of the police department's efficiency was devoted +to the devising and enforcing of blackmail. Ordinary patrolmen on beats +feared to arrest known criminals for fear the prisoners would prove to +be 'protected'....The horde of detective favorites hung lazily about +police headquarters, waiting for some citizen to make complaint of +property stolen, only that they might enforce additional blackmail +against the thief, or possibly secure the booty for themselves. One +detective is now (1903) serving time in the state prison for retaining a +stolen diamond pin." + +The mayor thought he had a machine for grinding blackmail from every +criminal operation in his city, but he had only a gang, without +discipline or coordinating power, and weakened by jealousy and +suspicion. The wonder is that it lasted fifteen months. Then came +the "April Grand Jury," under the foremanship of a courageous and +resourceful business man. The regime of criminals crumbled; forty-nine +indictments, involving twelve persons, were returned. + +The Grand Jury, however, at first stood alone in its investigations. The +crowd of politicians and vultures were against it, and no appropriations +were granted for getting evidence. So its members paid expenses out of +their own pockets, and its foreman himself interviewed prisoners and +discovered the trail that led to the Ring's undoing. Ames's brother was +convicted on second trial and sentenced to six and a half years in the +penitentiary, while two of his accomplices received shorter terms. Mayor +Ames, under indictment and heavy bonds, fled to Indiana. + +The President of the City Council, a business man of education, tact, +and sincerity, became mayor, for an interim of four months; enough time, +as it proved, for him to return the city to its normal political life. + +These examples are sufficient to illustrate the organization and working +of the municipal machine. It must not be imagined by the reader that +these cities alone, and a few others made notorious by the magazine +muck-rakers, are the only American cities that have developed +oligarchies. In truth, not a single American city, great or small, has +entirely escaped, for a greater or lesser period, the sway of a coterie +of politicians. It has not always been a corrupt sway; but it has +rarely, if ever, given efficient administration. + +Happily there are not wanting signs that the general conditions which +have fostered the Ring are disappearing. The period of reform set in +about 1890, when people began to be interested in the study of municipal +government. It was not long afterwards that the first authoritative +books on the subject appeared. Then colleges began to give courses in +municipal government; editors began to realize the public's concern in +local questions and to discuss neighborhood politics as well as national +politics. By 1900 a new era broke--the era of the Grand Jury. Nothing so +hopeful in local politics had occurred in our history as the disclosures +which followed. They provoked the residuum of conscience in the +citizenry and the determination that honesty should rule in public +business and politics as well as in private transactions. The Grand Jury +inquisitions, however, demonstrated clearly that the criminal law was no +remedy for municipal misrule. The great majority of floaters and illegal +voters who were indicted never faced a trial jury. The results of the +prosecutions for bribery and grosser political crimes were scarcely more +encouraging. It is true that one Abe Ruef in a California penitentiary +is worth untold sermons, editorials, and platform admonitions, and +serves as a potent warning to all public malefactors. Yet the example is +soon forgotten; and the people return to their former political habits. + +But out of this decade of gang-hunting and its impressive experiences +with the shortcomings of our criminal laws came the new municipal era +which we have now fully entered, the era of enlightened administration. +This new era calls for a reconstruction of the city government. Its +principal feature is the rapid spread of the Galveston or Commission +form of government and of its modification, the City Manager plan, the +aim of which is to centralize governmental authority and to entice able +men into municipal office. And there are many other manifestations of +the new civic spirit. The mesmeric influence of national party names in +civic politics is waning; the rise of home rule for the city is severing +the unholy alliance between the legislature and the local Ring; the +power to grant franchises is being taken away from legislative bodies +and placed directly with the people; nominations are passing out of +the hands of cliques and are being made the gift of the voters through +petitions and primaries; efficient reforms in the taxing and budgetary +machinery have been instituted, and the development of the merit system +in the civil service is creating a class of municipal experts beyond the +reach of political gangsters. + +There have sprung up all sorts of collateral organizations to help +the officials: societies for municipal research, municipal reference +libraries, citizens' unions, municipal leagues, and municipal parties. +These are further supplemented by organizations which indirectly add to +the momentum of practical, enlightened municipal sentiment: boards +of commerce, associations of business and professional men of every +variety, women's clubs, men's clubs, children's clubs, recreation clubs, +social clubs, every one with its own peculiar vigilance upon some corner +of the city's affairs. So every important city is guarded by a network +of voluntary organizations. + +All these changes in city government, in municipal laws and political +mechanisms, and in the people's attitude toward their cities, have +tended to dignify municipal service. The city job has been lifted to a +higher plane. Lord Rosebery, the brilliant chairman of the first London +County Council, the governing body of the world's largest city, said +many years ago: "I wish that my voice could extend to every municipality +in the kingdom, and impress upon every man, however high his position, +however great his wealth, however consummate his talents may be, the +importance and nobility of municipal work." It is such a spirit as +this that has made the government of Glasgow a model of democratic +efficiency; and it is the beginnings of this spirit that the municipal +historian finds developing in the last twenty years of American life. It +is indeed difficult to see how our cities can slip back again into the +clutches of bosses and rings and repeat the shameful history of the last +decades of the nineteenth century. + + + +CHAPTER VII. LEGISLATIVE OMNIPOTENCE + +The American people, when they wrote their first state constitutions, +were filled with a profound distrust of executive authority, the +offspring of their experience with the arbitrary King George. So they +saw to it that the executive authority in their own government was +reduced to its lowest terms, and that the legislative authority, which +was presumed to represent the people, was exalted to legal omnipotence. +In the original States, the legislature appointed many of the judicial +and administrative officers; it was above the executive veto; it had +political supremacy; it determined the form of local governments and +divided the State into election precincts; it appointed the delegates to +the Continental Congress, towards which it displayed the attitude of +a sovereign. It was altogether the most important arm of the state +government; in fact it virtually was the state government. The Federal +Constitution created a government of specified powers, reserving to +the States all authority not expressly given to the central government. +Congress can legislate only on subjects permitted by the Constitution; +on the other hand, a state legislature can legislate on any subject not +expressly forbidden. The state legislature possesses authority over a +far wider range of subjects than Congress--subjects, moreover, which +press much nearer to the daily activities of the citizens, such as the +wide realm of private law, personal relations, local government, and +property. + +In the earlier days, men of first-class ability, such as Alexander +Hamilton, Samuel Adams, and James Madison, did not disdain membership in +the state legislatures. But the development of party spirit and machine +politics brought with it a great change. Then came the legislative +caucus; and party politics soon reigned in every capital. As the +legislature was ruled by the majority, the dominant party elected +presiding officers, designated committees, appointed subordinates, and +controlled lawmaking. The party was therefore in a position to pay its +political debts and bestow upon its supporters valuable favors. Further, +as the legislature apportioned the various electoral districts, the +dominant party could, by means of the gerrymander, entrench itself even +in unfriendly localities. And, to crown its political power, it elected +United States Senators. But, as the power of the party increased, +unfortunately the personnel of the legislature deteriorated. Able men, +as a rule, shunned a service that not only took them from their private +affairs for a number of months, but also involved them in partizan +rivalries and trickeries. Gradually the people came to lose confidence +in the legislative body and to put their trust more in the Executive or +else reserved governmental powers to themselves. It was about 1835 +that the decline of the legislature's powers set in, when new state +constitutions began to clip its prerogatives, one after another. + +The bulky constitutions now adopted by most of the States are +eloquent testimony to the complete collapse of the legislature as an +administrative body and to the people's general distrust of their chosen +representatives. The initiative, referendum, recall, and the withholding +of important subjects from the legislature's power, are among the +devices intended to free the people from the machinations of their +wilful representatives. + +Now, most of the evils which these heroic measures have sought to +remedy can be traced directly to the partizan ownership of the state +legislature. The boss controlling the members of the legislature could +not only dole out his favors to the privilege seekers; he could assuage +the greed of the municipal ring; and could, to a lesser degree, command +federal patronage by an entente cordiale with congressmen and senators; +and through his power in presidential conventions and elections he had a +direct connection with the presidential office itself. + +It was in the days before the legislature was prohibited from granting, +by special act, franchises and charters, when banks, turnpike companies, +railroads, and all sorts of corporations came asking for charters, +that the figure of the lobbyist first appeared. He acted as a middleman +between the seeker and the giver. The preeminent figure of this type in +state and legislative politics for several decades preceding the Civil +War was Thurlow Weed of New York. As an influencer of legislatures, +he stands easily first in ability and achievement. His great personal +attractions won him willing followers whom he knew how to use. He was +party manager, as well as lobbyist and boss in a real sense long before +that term was coined. His capacity for politics amounted to genius. He +never sought office; and his memory has been left singularly free +from taint. He became the editor of the Albany Journal and made it the +leading Whig "up-state" paper. His friend Seward, whom he had lifted +into the Governor's chair, passed on to the United States Senate; and +when Horace Greeley with the New York Tribune joined their forces, this +potent triumvirate ruled the Empire State. Greeley was its spokesman, +Seward its leader, but Weed was its designer. From his room No. 11 +in the old Astor House, he beckoned to forces that made or unmade +presidents, governors, ambassadors, congressmen, judges, and +legislators. + +With the tremendous increase of business after the Civil War, New York +City became the central office of the nation's business, and many of the +interests centered there found it wise to have permanent representatives +at Albany to scrutinize every bill that even remotely touched their +welfare, to promote legislation that was frankly in their favor, and +to prevent "strikes"--the bills designed for blackmail. After a time, +however, the number of "strikes" decreased, as well as the number of +lobbyists attending the session. The corporate interests had learned +efficiency. Instead of dealing with legislators individually, they +arranged with the boss the price of peace or of desirable legislation. +The boss transmitted his wishes to his puppets. This form of government +depends upon a machine that controls the legislature. In New York both +parties were moved by machines. "Tom" Platt was the "easy boss" of the +Republicans; and Tammany and its "up-state" affiliations controlled the +Democrats. "Right here," says Platt in his Autobiography (1910), "it +may be appropriate to say that I have had more or less to do with the +organization of the New York legislature since 1873." He had. For forty +years he practically named the Speaker and committees when his party +won, and he named the price when his party lost. All that an "interest" +had to do, under the new plan, was to "see the boss," and the powers of +government were delivered into its lap. + +Some of this legislative bargaining was revealed in the insurance +investigation of 1905, conducted by the Armstrong Committee with Charles +E. Hughes as counsel. Officers of the New York Life Insurance Company +testified that their company had given $50,000 to the Republican +campaign of 1904. An item of $235,000, innocently charged to "Home +office annex account," was traced to the hands of a notorious lobbyist +at Albany. Three insurance companies had paid regularly $50,000 each +to the Republican campaign fund. Boss Platt himself was compelled +reluctantly to relate how he had for fifteen years received ten one +thousand dollar bundles of greenbacks from the Equitable Life as +"consideration" for party goods delivered. John A. McCall, President of +the New York Life, said: "I don't care about the Republican side of it +or the Democratic side of it. It doesn't count at all with me. What is +best for the New York Life moves and actuates me." + +In another investigation Mr. H. O. Havemeyer of the Sugar Trust said: +"We have large interests in this State; we need police protection and +fire protection; we need everything that the city furnishes and gives, +and we have to support these things. Every individual and corporation +and firm--trust or whatever you call it--does these things and we do +them." No distinction is made, then, between the government that ought +to furnish this "protection" and the machine that sells it! + +No episode in recent political history shows better the relations of the +legislature to the political machine and the great power of invisible +government than the impeachment and removal of Governor William Sulzer +in 1913. Sulzer had been four times elected to the legislature. He +served as Speaker in 1893. He was sent to Congress by an East Side +district in New York City in 1895 and served continuously until his +nomination for Governor of New York in 1912. All these years he was +known as a Tammany man. During his campaign for Governor he made many +promises for reform, and after his election he issued a bombastic +declaration of independence. His words were discounted in the light of +his previous record. Immediately after his inauguration, however, +he began a house-cleaning. He set to work an economy and efficiency +commission; he removed a Tammany superintendent of prisons; made +unusually good appointments without paying any attention to the machine; +and urged upon the legislature vigorous and vital laws. + +But the Tammany party had a large working majority in both houses, and +the changed Sulzer was given no support. The crucial moment came when +an emasculated primary law was handed to him for his signature. An +effective primary law had been a leading campaign issue, all the parties +being pledged to such an enactment. The one which the Governor was now +requested to sign had been framed by the machine to suit its pleasure. +The Governor vetoed it. The legislature adjourned on the 3rd of May. +The Governor promptly reconvened it in extra session (June 7th) for the +purpose of passing an adequate primary law. Threats that had been made +against him by the machine now took form. An investigating committee, +appointed by the Senate to examine the Governor's record, largely by +chance happened upon "pay dirt," and early on the morning of the 13th of +August, after an all-night session, the Assembly passed a motion made by +its Tammany floor leader to impeach the Governor. + +The articles of impeachment charged: first, that the Governor had filed +a false report of his campaign expenses; second, that since he had made +such statement under oath he was guilty of perjury; third, that he had +bribed witnesses to withhold testimony from the investigating committee; +fourth, that he had used threats in suppression of evidence before the +same tribunal; fifth, that he had persuaded a witness from responding to +the committee's subpoena; sixth, that he had used campaign contributions +for private speculation in the stock market; seventh, that he had used +his power as Governor to influence the political action of certain +officials; lastly, that he had used this power for affecting the stock +market to his gain. + +Unfortunately for the Governor, the first, second, and sixth charges had +a background of facts, although the rest were ridiculous and trivial. By +a vote of 43 to 12 he was removed from the governorship. The proceeding +was not merely an impeachment of New York's Governor. It was an +impeachment of its government. Every citizen knew that if Sulzer had +obeyed Murphy, his shortcomings would never have been his undoing. + +The great commonwealth of Pennsylvania was for sixty years under +the domination of the House of Cameron and the House of Quay. Simon +Cameron's entry into public notoriety was symbolic of his whole career. +In 1838, he was one of a commission of two to disburse to the Winnebago +Indians at Prairie du Chien $100,000 in gold. But, instead of receiving +gold, the poor Indians received only a few thousand dollars in the notes +of a bank of which Cameron was the cashier. Cameron was for this reason +called "the Great Winnebago." He built a large fortune by canal and +railway contracts, and later by rolling-mills and furnaces. He was one +of the first men in American politics to purchase political power by the +lavish use of cash, and to use political power for the gratification of +financial greed. In 1857 he was elected to the United States Senate as a +Republican by a legislature in which the Democrats had a majority. +Three Democrats voted for him, and so bitter was the feeling against the +renegade trio that no hotel in Harrisburg would shelter them. + +In 1860 he was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. +President Lincoln made him Secretary of War. But his management was so +ill-savored that a committee of leading business men from the largest +cities of the country told the President that it was impossible to +transact business with such a man. These complaints coupled with +other considerations moved Lincoln to dismiss Cameron. He did so in +characteristic fashion. On January 11, 1862, he sent Cameron a curt note +saying that he proposed to appoint him minister to Russia. And +thither into exile Cameron went. A few months later, the House of +Representatives passed a resolution of censure, citing Cameron's +employment of irresponsible persons and his purchase of supplies +by private contract instead of competitive bidding. The resolution, +however, was later expunged from the records; and Cameron, on his return +from Russia, again entered the Senate under circumstances so suspicious +that only the political influence of the boss thwarted an action for +bribery. In 1877 he resigned, naming as his successor his son "Don," who +was promptly elected. + +In the meantime another personage had appeared on the scene. "Cameron +made the use of money an essential to success in politics, but Quay made +politics expensive beyond the most extravagant dreams." From the time +he arrived of age until his death, with the exception of three or four +years, Matthew S. Quay held public office. When the Civil War broke out, +he had been for some time prothonotary of Beaver County, and during the +war he served as Governor Curtin's private secretary. In 1865 he was +elected to the legislature. In 1877 he induced the legislature to +resurrect the discarded office of Recorder of Philadelphia, and for two +years he collected the annual fees of $40,000. In 1887 he was elected +to the United States Senate, in which he remained except for a brief +interval until his death. + +In 1899 came revelations of Quay's substantial interests in state +moneys. The suicide of the cashier of the People's Bank of Philadelphia, +which was largely owned by politicians and was a favorite depository +of state funds, led to an investigation of the bank's affairs, and +disclosed the fact that Quay and some of his associates had used state +funds for speculation. Quay's famous telegram to the cashier was found +among the dead official's papers, "If you can buy and carry a thousand +Met. for me I will shake the plum tree." + +Quay was indicted, but escaped trial by pleading the statute of +limitations as preventing the introduction of necessary evidence against +him. A great crowd of shouting henchmen accosted him as a hero when he +left the courtroom, and escorted him to his hotel. And the legislature +soon thereafter elected him to his third term in the Senate. + +Pittsburgh, as well as Philadelphia, had its machine which was carefully +geared to Quay's state machine. The connection was made clear by the +testimony of William Flinn, a contractor boss, before a committee of the +United States Senate. Flinn explained the reason for a written agreement +between Quay on the one hand and Flinn and one Brown in behalf of Chris +Magee, the Big Boss, on the other, for the division of the sovereignty +of western Pennsylvania. "Senator Quay told me," said Flinn, "that +he would not permit us to elect the Republican candidate for mayor +in Pittsburgh unless we adjust the politics to suit him." The people +evidently had nothing to say about it. + +The experiences of New York and Pennsylvania are by no means isolated; +they are illustrative. Very few States have escaped a legislative +scandal. In particular, Rhode Island, Delaware, Illinois, Colorado, +Montana, California, Ohio, Mississippi, Texas can give pertinent +testimony to the willingness of legislatures to prostitute their great +powers to the will of the boss or the machine. + + + +CHAPTER VIII. THE NATIONAL HIERARCHY + +American political maneuver culminates at Washington. The Presidency and +membership in the Senate and the House of Representatives are the great +stakes. By a venerable tradition, scrupulously followed, the judicial +department is kept beyond the reach of party greed. + +The framers of the Constitution believed that they had contrived a +method of electing the President and Vice-President which would preserve +the choice from partizan taint. Each State should choose a number of +electors "equal to the whole number of Senators and Representatives to +which the State may be entitled in the Congress." These electors were to +form an independent body, to meet in their respective States and "ballot +for two persons," and send the result of their balloting to the Capitol, +where the President of the Senate, in the presence of the Senate and the +House of Representatives, opened the certificates and counted the +votes. The one receiving the greatest number of votes was to be declared +elected President, the one receiving the next highest number of votes, +Vice-President. George Washington was the only President elected by such +an autonomous group. The election of John Adams was bitterly contested, +and the voters knew, when they were casting their ballots in 1796, +whether they were voting for a Federalist or a Jeffersonian. From that +day forward this greatest of political prizes has been awarded through +partizan competition. In 1804 the method of selecting the Vice-President +was changed by the twelfth constitutional amendment. The electors since +that time ballot for President and Vice-President. Whatever may be +the legal privileges of the members of the Electoral College, they are +considered, by the voters, as agents of the party upon whose tickets +their names appear, and to abuse this relationship would universally be +deemed an act of perfidy. + +The Constitution permits the legislatures of the States to determine how +the electors shall be chosen. In the earlier period, the legislatures +elected them; later they were elected by the people; sometimes they were +elected at large, but usually they were chosen by districts. And this +is now the general custom. Since the development of direct nominations, +there has been a strong movement towards the abolition of the Electoral +College and the election of the President by direct vote. + +The President is the most powerful official in our government and +in many respects he is the most powerful ruler in the world. He is +Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy. His is virtually the sole +responsibility in conducting international relations. He is at the +head of the civil administration and all the important administrative +departments are answerable to him. He possesses a vast power of +appointment through which he dispenses political favors. His wish is +potent in shaping legislation and his veto is rarely overridden. With +Congress he must be in daily contact; for the Senate has the power of +ratifying or discarding his appointments and of sanctioning or rejecting +his treaties with foreign countries; and the House of Representatives +originates all money bills and thus possesses a formidable check upon +executive usurpation. + +The Constitution originally reposed the choice of United States Senators +with the state legislatures. A great deal of virtue was to flow from +such an indirect election. The members of the legislature were presumed +to act with calm judgment and to choose only the wise and experienced +for the dignity of the toga. And until the period following the Civil +War the great majority of the States delighted to send their ablest +statesmen to the Senate. Upon its roll we find the names of many of our +illustrious orators and jurists. After the Civil War, when the spirit of +commercialism invaded every activity, men who were merely rich began to +aspire to senatorial honors. The debauch of the state legislatures +which was revealed in the closing year of the nineteenth century and +the opening days of the twentieth so revolted the people that the +seventeenth constitutional amendment was adopted (1913) providing for +the election of senators by direct vote. + +The House of Representatives was designed to be the "popular house." +Its election from small districts, by direct vote, every two years is +a guarantee of its popular character. From this characteristic it has +never departed. It is the People's House. It originates all revenue +measures. On its floor, in the rough and tumble of debate, partizan +motives are rarely absent. + +Upon this national tripod, the Presidency, the Senate, and the House, is +builded the vast national party machine. Every citizen is familiar +with the outer aspect of these great national parties as they strive in +placid times to create a real issue of the tariff, or imperialism, or +what not, so as to establish at least an ostensible difference between +them; or as they, in critical times, make the party name synonymous with +national security. The high-sounding platforms, the frenzied orators, +the parades, mass meetings, special trains, pamphlets, books, +editorials, lithographs, posters--all these paraphernalia are +conjured up in the voter's mind when he reads the words Democratic and +Republican. + +But, from the standpoint of the professional politician, all this that +the voter sees is a mask, the patriotic veneer to hide the machine, +that complex hierarchy of committees ranging from Washington to every +cross-roads in the Republic. The committee system, described in a former +chapter, was perfected by the Republican party during the days of the +Civil War, under the stress of national necessity. The great party +leaders were then in Congress. When the assassination of Lincoln placed +Andrew Johnson in power, the bitter quarrel between Congress and the +President firmly united the Republicans; and in order to carry the +mid-election in 1866, they organized a Congressional Campaign Committee +to conduct the canvass. This practice has been continued by both +parties, and in "off" years it plays a very prominent part in the party +campaign. Congress alone, however, was only half the conquest. It was +only through control of the Administration that access was gained to the +succulent herbage of federal pasturage and that vast political prestige +with the voter was achieved. + +The President is nominally the head of his party. In reality he may not +be; he may be only the President. That depends upon his personality, +his desires, his hold upon Congress and upon the people, and upon the +circumstances of the hour. During the Grant Administration, as already +described, there existed, in every sense of the term, a federal machine. +It held Congress, the Executive, and the vast federal patronage in its +power. All the federal office-holders, all the postmasters and their +assistants, revenue collectors, inspectors, clerks, marshals, deputies, +consuls, and ambassadors were a part of the organization, contributing +to its maintenance. We often hear today of the "Federal Crowd," a term +used to describe such appointees as still subsist on presidential and +senatorial favor. In Grant's time, this "crowd" was a genuine machine, +constructed, unlike some of its successors, from the center outward. But +the "boss" of this machine was not the President. It was controlled by +a group of leading Congressmen, who used their power for dictating +appointments and framing "desirable" legislation. Grant, in the +imagination of the people, symbolized the cause their sacrifices had +won; and thus his moral prestige became the cloak of the political +plotters. + +A number of the ablest men in the Republican party, however, stood +aloof; and by 1876 a movement against the manipulators had set in. Civil +service reform had become a real issue. Hayes, the "dark horse" who +was nominated in that year, declared, in accepting the nomination, that +"reform should be thorough, radical, and complete." He promised not to +be a candidate for a second term, thus avoiding the temptation, to which +almost every President has succumbed, of using the patronage to secure +his reelection. The party managers pretended not to hear these promises. +And when Hayes, after his inauguration, actually began to put them into +force, they set the whole machinery of the party against the President. +Matters came to a head when the President issued an order commanding +federal office-holders to refrain from political activity. This order +was generally defied, especially in New York City in the post-office +and customs rings. Two notorious offenders, Cornell and Arthur, were +dismissed from office by the President. But the Senate, influenced +by Roscoe Conkling's power, refused to confirm the President's new +appointees; and under the Tenure of Office Act, which had been passed to +tie President Johnson's hands, the offenders remained in office over a +year. The fight disciplined the President and the machine in about equal +proportions. The President became more amenable and the machine less +arbitrary. + +President Garfield attempted the impossible feat of obliging both the +politicians and the reformers. He was persuaded to make nominations to +federal offices in New York without consulting either of the senators +from that State, Conkling and Platt. Conkling appealed to the Senate +to reject the New York appointees sent in by the President. The Senate +failed to sustain him. Conkling and his colleague Platt resigned from +the Senate and appealed to the New York legislature, which also refused +to sustain them. + +While this absurd farce was going on, a more serious ferment was +brewing. On July 2, 1881, President Garfield was assassinated by a +disappointed office-seeker named Guiteau. The attention of the people +was suddenly turned from the ridiculous diversion of the Conkling +incident to the tragedy and its cause. They saw the chief office in +their gift a mere pawn in the game of place-seekers, the time and energy +of their President wasted in bickerings with congressmen over petty +appointments, and the machinery of their Government dominated by the +machinery of the party for ignoble or selfish ends. + +At last the advocates of reform found their opportunity. In 1883 the +Civil Service Act was passed, taking from the President about 14,000 +appointments. Since then nearly every President, towards the end of his +term, especially his second term, has added to the numbers, until +nearly two-thirds of the federal offices are now filled by examination. +President Cleveland during his second term made sweeping additions. +President Roosevelt found about 100,000 in the classified service and +left 200,000. President Taft, before his retirement, placed in the +classified service assistant postmasters and clerks in first and +second-class postoffices, about 42,000 rural delivery carriers, and over +20,000 skilled workers in the navy yards. + +The appointing power of the President, however, still remains the +principal point of his contact with the machine. He has, of course, +other means of showing partizan favors. Tariff laws, laws regulating +interstate commerce, reciprocity treaties, "pork barrels," pensions, +financial policies, are all pregnant with political possibilities. + +The second official unit in the national political hierarchy is the +House of Representatives, controlling the pursestrings, which have been +the deadly noose of many executive measures. The House is elected every +two years, so that it may ever be "near to the people"! This produces a +reflex not anticipated by the Fathers of the Constitution. It gives the +representative brief respite from the necessities of politics, and hence +little time for the necessities of the State. + +The House attained the zenith of its power when it arraigned President +Johnson at the bar of the Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors in +office. It had shackled his appointing power by the Tenure of Office +Act; it had forced its plan of reconstruction over his veto; and now it +led him, dogged and defiant, to a political trial. Within a few years +the character of the House changed. A new generation interested in the +issues of prosperity, rather than those of the war, entered public life. +The House grew unwieldy in size and its business increased alarmingly. +The minority, meanwhile, retained the power, through filibustering, to +hold up the business of the country. + +It was under such conditions that Speaker Reed, in 1890, crowned himself +"Czar" by compelling a quorum. This he did by counting as actually +present all members whom the clerk reported as "present but not voting." +The minority fought desperately for its last privilege and even took a +case to the Supreme Court to test the constitutionality of a law passed +by a Reed-made quorum. The court concurred with the sensible opinion +of the country that "when the quorum is present, it is there for the +purpose of doing business," an opinion that was completely vindicated +when the Democratic minority became a majority and adopted the rule for +its own advantage. + +By this ruling, the Speakership was lifted to a new eminence. The +party caucus, which nominated the Speaker, and to which momentous party +questions were referred, gave solidarity to the party. But the influence +of the Speaker, through his power of appointing committees, of referring +bills, of recognizing members who wished to participate in debate, +insured that discipline and centralized authority which makes mass +action effective. The power of the Speaker was further enlarged by the +creation of the Rules Committee, composed of the Speaker and two members +from each party designated by him. This committee formed a triumvirate +(the minority members were merely formal members) which set the limits +of debate, proposed special rules for such occasions as the committee +thought proper, and virtually determined the destiny of bills. So it +came about, as Bryce remarks, that the choice of the Speaker was "a +political event of the highest significance." + +It was under the regency of Speaker Cannon that the power of the +Speaker's office attained its climax. The Republicans had a large +majority in the House and the old war-horses felt like colts. They +assumed their leadership, however, with that obliviousness to youth +which usually characterizes old age. The gifted and attractive Reed had +ruled often by aphorism and wit, but the unimaginative Cannon ruled by +the gavel alone; and in the course of time he and his clique of veterans +forgot entirely the difference between power and leadership. + +Even party regularity could not long endure such tyranny. It was not +against party organization that the insurgents finally raised +their lances, but against the arbitrary use of the machinery of the +organization by a small group of intrenched "standpatters." The revolt +began during the debate on the Payne-Aldrich tariff, and in the campaign +of 1908 "Cannonism" was denounced from the stump in every part of the +country. By March, 1910, the insurgents were able, with the aid of the +Democrats, to amend the rules, increasing the Committee on Rules to +ten to be elected by the House and making the Speaker ineligible for +membership. When the Democrats secured control of the House in the +following year, the rules were revised, and the selection of all +committees is now determined by a Committee on Committees chosen in +party caucus. This change shifts arbitrary power from the shoulders of +the Speaker to the shoulders of the party chieftains. The power of the +Speaker has been lessened but by no means destroyed. He is still the +party chanticleer. + +The political power of the House, however, cannot be calculated without +admitting to the equation the Senate, the third official unit, and, +indeed, the most powerful factor in the national hierarchy. The Senate +shares equally with the House the responsibility of lawmaking, and +shares with the President the responsibility of appointments and of +treaty-making. It has been the scene of many memorable contests with the +President for political control. The senators are elder statesmen, who +have passed through the refining fires of experience, either in law, +business, or politics. A senator is elected for six years; so that +he has a period of rest between elections, in which he may forget his +constituents in the ardor of his duties. + +Within the last few decades a great change has come over the Senate, +over its membership, its attitude towards public questions, and +its relation to the electorate. This has been brought about through +disclosures tending to show the relations on the part of some senators +towards "big business." As early as the Granger revelations of railway +machinations in politics, in the seventies, a popular distrust of the +Senate became pronounced. No suggestion of corruption was implied, but +certain senators were known as "railway senators," and were believed +to use their partizan influence in their friends' behalf. This feeling +increased from year to year, until what was long suspected came suddenly +to light, through an entirely unexpected agency. William Randolph +Hearst, a newspaper owner who had in vain attempted to secure a +nomination for President by the Democrats and to get himself elected +Governor of New York, had organized and financed a party of his own, the +Independence League. While speaking in behalf of his party, in the fall +of 1908, he read extracts from letters written by an official of +the Standard Oil Company to various senators. The letters, it later +appeared, had been purloined from the Company's files by a faithless +employee. They caused a tremendous sensation. The public mind had become +so sensitive that the mere fact that an intimacy existed between the +most notorious of trusts and some few United States senators--the +correspondents called each other "Dear John," "Dear Senator," etc.--was +sufficient to arouse the general wrath. The letters disclosed a keen +interest on the part of the corporation in the details of legislation, +and the public promptly took the Standard Oil Company as a type. +They believed, without demanding tangible proof, that other great +corporations were, in some sinister manner, influencing legislation. +Railroads, insurance companies, great banking concerns, vast industrial +corporations, were associated in the public mind as "the Interests." And +the United States Senate was deemed the stronghold of the interests. A +saturnalia of senatorial muckraking now laid bare the "oligarchy," +as the small group of powerful veteran Senators who controlled +the senatorial machinery was called. It was disclosed that the +centralization of leadership in the Senate coincided with the +centralization of power in the Democratic and Republican national +machines. In 1911 and 1912 a "money trust" investigation was conducted +by the Senate and a comfortable entente was revealed between a group +of bankers, insurance companies, manufacturers, and other interests, +carried on through an elaborate system of interlocking directorates. +Finally, in 1912, the Senate ordered its Committee on Privileges and +Elections to investigate campaign contributions paid to the national +campaign committees in 1904, 1908, and 1912. The testimony taken +before this committee supplied the country with authentic data of the +interrelations of Big Business and Big Politics. + +The revolt against "Cannonism" in the House had its counterpart in the +Senate. By the time the Aldrich tariff bill came to a vote (1909), +about ten Republican senators rebelled. The revolt gathered momentum and +culminated in 1912 in the organization of the National Progressive party +with Theodore Roosevelt as its candidate for President and Hiram Johnson +of California for Vice-President. The majority of the Progressives +returned to the Republican fold in 1916. But the rupture was not healed, +and the Democrats reelected Woodrow Wilson. + + + +CHAPTER IX. THE AWAKENING + +In the early days a ballot was simply a piece of paper with the names of +the candidates written or printed on it. As party organizations became +more ambitious, the party printed its own ballots, and "scratching" +was done by pasting gummed stickers, with the names of the substitutes +printed on them, over the regular ballot, or by simply striking out a +name and writing another one in its place. It was customary to print the +different party tickets on different colored paper, so that the judges +in charge of the ballot boxes could tell how the men voted. When later +laws required all ballots to be printed on white paper and of the same +size, the parties used paper of different texture. Election officials +could then tell by the "feel" which ticket was voted. Finally paper of +the same color and quality was enjoined by some States. But it was not +until the State itself undertook to print the ballots that uniformity +was secured. + +In the meantime the peddling of tickets was a regular occupation on +election day. Canvassers invaded homes and places of business, and even +surrounded the voting place. It was the custom in many parts of the +country for the voters to prepare the ballots before reaching the voting +place and carry them in the vest pocket, with a margin showing. This +was a sort of signal that the voter's mind had been made up and that +he should be let alone, yet even with this signal showing, in hotly +contested elections the voter ran a noisy gauntlet of eager solicitors, +harassing him on his way to vote as cab drivers assail the traveler +when he alights from the train. This free and easy method, tolerable in +sparsely settled pioneer districts, failed miserably in the cities. It +was necessary to pass rigorous laws against vote buying and selling, and +to clear the polling-place of all partizan soliciting. Penal provisions +were enacted against intimidation, violence, repeating, false swearing +when challenged, ballot-box stuffing, and the more patent forms of +partizan vices. In order to stop the practice of "repeating," New York +early passed laws requiring voters to be duly registered. But the early +laws were defective, and the rolls were easily padded. In most of the +cities poll lists were made by the party workers, and the name of each +voter was checked off as he voted. It was still impossible for the voter +to keep secret his ballot. The buyer of votes could tell whether he got +what he paid for; the employer, so disposed, could bully those dependent +on him into voting as he wished, and the way was open to all manner +of tricks in the printing of ballots with misleading emblems, or with +certain names omitted, or with a mixture of candidates from various +parties--tricks that were later forbidden by law but were none the less +common. + +Rather suddenly a great change came over election day. In 1888 +Kentucky adopted the Australian ballot for the city of Louisville, +and Massachusetts adopted it for all state and local elections. The +Massachusetts statute provided that before an election each political +party should certify its nominees to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. +The State then printed the ballots. All the nominees of all the parties +were printed on one sheet. Each office was placed in a separate column, +the candidates in alphabetical order, with the names of the parties +following. Blank spaces were left for those who wished to vote for +others than the regular nominees. This form of ballot prevented "voting +straight" with a single mark. The voter, in the seclusion of a booth at +the polling-place, had to pick his party's candidates from the numerous +columns. + +Indiana, in 1889, adopted a similar statute but the ballot had certain +modifications to suit the needs of party orthodoxy. Here the columns +represented parties, not offices. Each party had a column. Each column +was headed by the party name and its device, so that those who could not +read could vote for the Rooster or the Eagle or the Fountain. There was +a circle placed under the device, and by making his mark in this circle +the voter voted straight. + +Within eight years thirty-eight States and two Territories had adopted +the Australian or blanket ballot in some modified form. It was but a +step to the state control of the election machinery. Some state officer, +usually the Secretary of State, was designated to see that the election +laws were enforced. In New York a State Commissioner of Elections was +appointed. The appointment of local inspectors and judges remained for +a time in the hands of the parties. But soon in several States even this +power was taken from them, and the trend now is towards appointing all +election officers by the central authority. These officers also have +complete charge of the registration of voters. In some States, like New +York, registration has become a rather solemn procedure, requiring the +answering of many questions and the signing of the voter's name, all +under the threat of perjury if a wilful misrepresentation is made. + +So passed out of the control of the party the preparation of the ballot +and the use of the ballot on election day. Innumerable rules have been +laid down by the State for the conduct of elections. The distribution +of the ballots, their custody before election, the order of electional +procedure, the counting of the ballots, the making of returns, the +custody of the ballot-boxes, and all other necessary details, are +regulated by law under official state supervision. The parties are +allowed watchers at the polls, but these have no official standing. + +If a Revolutionary Father could visit his old haunts on election day, he +would be astonished at the sober decorum. In his time elections lasted +three days, days filled with harangue, with drinking, betting, raillery, +and occasional encounters. Even those whose memory goes back to the +Civil War can contrast the ballot peddling, the soliciting, the crowded +noisy polling-places, with the calm and quiet with which men deposit +their ballots today. For now every ballot is numbered and no one is +permitted to take a single copy from the room. Every voter must prepare +his ballot in the booth. And every polling-place is an island of +immunity in the sea of political excitement. + +While the people were thus assuming control of the ballot, they were +proceeding to gain control of their legislatures. In 1890 Massachusetts +enacted one of the first anti-lobby laws. It has served as a model for +many other States. It provided that the sergeant-at-arms should keep +dockets in which were enrolled the names of all persons employed as +counsel or agents before legislative committees. Each counsel or +agent was further compelled to state the length of his engagement, the +subjects or bills for which he was employed, and the name and address of +his employer. + +The first session after the passage of this law, many of the +professional lobbyists refused to enroll, and the most notorious ones +were seen no more in the State House. The regular counsel of railroads, +insurance companies, and other interests signed the proper docket and +appeared for their clients in open committee meetings. + +The law made it the duty of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to report +to the law officers of the State, for prosecution, all those who failed +to comply with the act. Sixty-seven such delinquents were reported the +first year. The Grand Jury refused to indict them, but the number of +recalcitrants has gradually diminished. + +The experience of Massachusetts is not unique. Other States passed more +or less rigorous anti-lobby laws, and today, in no state Capitol, will +the visitor see the disgusting sights that were usual thirty years +ago--arrogant and coarse professional "agents" mingling on the floor +of the legislature with members, even suggesting procedure to +presiding officers, and not infrequently commandeering a majority. Such +influences, where they persist, have been driven under cover. + +With the decline of the professional lobbyist came the rise of the +volunteer lobbyist. Important bills are now considered in formal +committee hearings which are well advertised so that interested parties +may be present. Publicity and information have taken the place of +secrecy in legislative procedure. The gathering of expert testimony by +special legislative commissions of inquiry is now a frequent practice +in respect to subjects of wide social import, such as workmen's +compensation, widows' pensions, and factory conditions. + +A number of States have resorted to the initiative and referendum +as applied to ordinary legislation. By means of this method a small +percentage of the voters, from eight to ten per cent, may initiate +proposals and impose upon the voters the function of legislation. South +Dakota, in 1898, made constitutional provision for direct legislation. +Utah followed in 1900, Oregon in 1902, Nevada in 1904, Montana in 1906, +and Oklahoma in 1907. East of the Mississippi, several States have +adopted a modified form of the initiative and referendum. In Oregon, +where this device of direct government has been most assiduously +applied, the voters in 1908 voted upon nineteen different bills and +constitutional amendments; in 1910 the number increased to thirty-two; +in 1912, to thirty-seven; in 1914 it fell to twenty-nine. The vote cast +for these measures rarely exceeded eighty per cent of those voting at +the election and frequently fell below sixty. + +The electorate that attempts to rid itself of the evils of the state +legislature by these heroic methods assumes a heavy responsibility. When +the burden of direct legislation is added to the task of choosing from +the long list of elective officers which is placed before the voter at +every local and state election, it is not surprising that there should +set in a reaction in favor of simplified government. The mere separation +of state and local elections does not solve the problem. It somewhat +minimizes the chances of partizan influence over the voter in local +elections; but the voter is still confronted with the long lists of +candidates for elective offices. Ballots not infrequently contain two +hundred names, sometimes even three hundred or more, covering candidates +of four or five parties for scores of offices. These blanket ballots are +sometimes three feet long. After an election in Chicago in 1916, one of +the leading dailies expressed sympathy "for the voter emerging from the +polling-booth, clutching a handful of papers, one of them about half as +large as a bed sheet." Probably most voters were able to express a real +preference among the national candidates. It is almost equally certain +that most voters were not able to express a real preference among +important local administrative officials. A huge ballot, all printed +over with names, supplemented by a series of smaller ballots, can never +be a manageable instrument even for an electorate as intelligent as +ours. + +Simplification is the prophetic watchword in state government today. For +cities, the City Manager and the Commission have offered salvation. A +few officers only are elected and these are held strictly responsible, +sometimes under the constant threat of the recall, for the entire +administration. Over four hundred cities have adopted the form of +government by Commission. But nothing has been done to simplify our +state governments, which are surrounded by a maze of heterogeneous and +undirected boards and authorities. Every time the legislature found +itself confronted by a new function to be cared for, it simply created +a new board. New York has a hodgepodge of over 116 such authorities; +Minnesota, 75; Illinois, 100. Iowa in 1913 and Illinois and Minnesota in +1914, indeed, perfected elaborate proposals for simplifying their state +governments. But these suggestions remain dormant. And the New York +State Constitutional Convention in 1915 prepared a new Constitution for +the State, with the same end in view, but their work was not accepted +by the people. It may be said, however, that in our attempt to +rid ourselves of boss rule we have swung through the arc of direct +government and are now on the returning curve toward representative +government, a more intensified representative government that makes +evasion of responsibility and duty impossible by fixing it upon one or +two men. + + + +CHAPTER X. PARTY REFORM + +The State, at first, had paid little attention to the party, which was +regarded as a purely voluntary aggregation of like-minded citizens. +Evidently the State could not dictate that you should be a Democrat or +a Republican or force you to be an Independent. With the adoption of the +Australian ballot, however, came the legal recognition of the party; for +as soon as the State recognized the party's designated nominees in the +preparation of the official ballot, it recognized the party. It was +then discovered that, unless some restrictions were imposed, groups of +interested persons in the old parties would manage the nominations of +both to their mutual satisfaction. Thus a handful of Democrats would +visit Republican caucuses or primaries and a handful of Republicans +would return the favor to the Democrats. In other words, the bosses of +both parties would cooperate in order to secure nominations satisfactory +to themselves. Massachusetts began the reform by defining a party as a +group of persons who had cast a certain percentage of the votes at the +preceding election. This definition has been widely accepted; and the +number of votes has been variously fixed at from two to twenty-five per +cent. Other States have followed the New York plan of fixing definitely +the number of voters necessary to form a party. In New York no fewer +than 10,000 voters can secure recognition as a state party, exception +being made in favor of municipal or purely local parties. But merely +fixing the numerical minimum of the party was not enough. The State took +another step forward in depriving the manipulator of his liberty when it +undertook to determine who was entitled to membership in the party and +privileged to take part in its nominations and other party procedure. +Otherwise the virile minority in each party would control both the +membership and the nominations. + +An Oregon statute declares: "Every political party and every volunteer +political organization has the same right to be protected from the +interference of persons who are not identified with it, as its known and +publicly avowed members, that the government of the State has to protect +itself from the interference of persons who are not known and registered +as its electors. It is as great a wrong to the people, as well as to +members of a political party, for anyone who is not known to be one +of its members to vote or take any part at any election, or other +proceedings of such political party, as it is for one who is not a +qualified and registered elector to vote at any state election or to +take part in the business of the State." It is a far reach from the +democratic laissez faire of Jackson's day to this state dogmatism which +threatens the independent or detached voter with ultimate extinction. + +A variety of methods have been adopted for initiating the citizen into +party membership. In the Southern States, where the dual party system +does not exist, the legislature has left the matter in the hands of +the duly appointed party officials. They can, with canonical rigor, +determine the party standing of voters at the primaries. But where +there is party competition, such a generous endowment of power would be +dangerous. + +Many States permit the voter to make his declaration of party allegiance +when he goes to the primary. He asks for the ticket of the party whose +nominees he wishes to help select. He is then handed the party's ballot, +which he marks and places in the ballot-box of that party. Now, if he is +challenged, he must declare upon oath that he is a member of that party, +that he has generally supported its tickets and its principles, and that +at the coming election he intends to support at least a majority of its +nominees. In this method little freedom is left to the voter who wishes +to participate as an independent both in the primaries and in the +general election. + +The New York plan is more rigorous. Here, in all cities, the voter +enrolls his name on his party's lists when he goes to register for +the coming election. He receives a ballot upon which are the following +words: "I am in general sympathy with the principles of the party which +I have designated by my mark hereunder; it is my intention to support +generally at the next general election, state and national, the nominees +of such party for state and national offices; and I have not enrolled +with or participated in any primary election or convention of any other +party since the first day of last year." On this enrollment blank he +indicates the party of his choice, and the election officials deposit +all the ballots, after sealing them in envelopes, in a special box. At a +time designated by law, these seals are broken and the party enrollment +is compiled from them. These party enrollment books are public +records. Everyone who cares may consult the lists. The advantages of +secrecy--such as they are--are thus not secured. + +It remained for Wisconsin, the experimenting State, to find a way of +insuring secrecy. Here, when the voter goes to the primary, he is handed +a large ballot, upon which all the party nominations are printed. The +different party tickets are separated by perforations, so that the voter +simply tears out the party ticket he wishes to vote, marks it, and puts +it in the box. The rejected tickets he deposits in a large waste basket +provided for the discards. + +While the party was being fenced in by legal definition, its machinery, +the intricate hierarchy of committees, was subjected to state scrutiny +with the avowed object of ridding the party of ring rule. The State +Central Committee is the key to the situation. To democratize this +committee is a task that has severely tested the ingenuity of the State, +for the inventive capacity of the professional politician is prodigious. +The devices to circumvent the politician are so numerous and various +that only a few types can be selected to illustrate how the State is +carrying out its determination. Illinois has provided perhaps the most +democratic method. In each congressional district, the voters, at the +regular party primaries, choose the member of the state committee for +the district, who serves for a term of two years. The law says that "no +other person or persons whomsoever" than those so chosen by the voters +shall serve on the committee, so that members by courtesy or by +proxy, who might represent the boss, are apparently shut off. The law +stipulates the time within which the committee must meet and organize. +Under this plan, if the ring controls the committee, the fault lies +wholly with the majority of the party; it is a self-imposed thraldom. + +Iowa likewise stipulates that the Central Committee shall be composed of +one member from each congressional district. But the members are chosen +in a state convention, organized under strict and minute regulations +imposed by law. It permits considerable freedom to the committee, +however, stating that it "may organize at pleasure for political work as +is usual and customary with such committees." + +In Wisconsin another plan was adopted in 1907. Here the candidates for +the various state offices and for both branches of the legislature and +the senators whose terms have not expired meet in the state capital at +noon on a day specified by law and elect by ballot a central committee +consisting of at least two members from each congressional district. A +chairman is chosen in the same manner. + +Most States, however, leave some leeway in the choice of the state +committee, permitting their election usually by the regular +primaries but controlling their action in many details. The lesser +committees--county, city, district, judicial, senatorial, congressional, +and others--are even more rigorously controlled by law. + +So the issuing of the party platform, the principles on which it must +stand or fall, has been touched by this process of ossification. Few +States retain the state convention in its original vigor. In all States +where primaries are held for state nominations, the emasculated and +subdued convention is permitted to write the party platform. But not +so in some States. Wisconsin permits the candidates and the hold-over +members of the Senate, assembled according to law in a state meeting, +to issue the platform. In other States, the Central Committee and the +various candidates for state office form a party council and frame the +platform. Oregon, in 1901, tried a novel method of providing platforms +by referendum. But the courts declared the law unconstitutional. So +Oregon now permits each candidate to write his own platform in not +over one hundred words and file it with his nominating petition, and +to present a statement of not over twelve words to be printed on the +ballot. + +The convention system provided many opportunities for the manipulator +and was inherently imperfect for nominating more than one or two +candidates for office. It has survived as the method of nominating +candidates for President of the United States because it is adapted to +the wide geographical range of the nation and because in the national +convention only a President and a Vice-President are nominated. In +state and county conventions, where often candidates for a dozen or +more offices are to be nominated, it was often subject to demoralizing +bartering. + +The larger the number of nominations to be made, the more complete was +the jobbery, and this was the death warrant of the local convention. +These evils were recognized as early as June 20, 1860, when the +Republican county convention of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, adopted +the following resolutions: + +"Whereas, in nominating candidates for the several county offices, it +clearly is, or ought to be, the object to arrive as nearly as possible +at the wishes of the majority, or at least a plurality of the Republican +voters; and + +"Whereas the present system of nominating by delegates, who virtually +represent territory rather than votes, and who almost necessarily are +wholly unacquainted with the wishes and feelings of their constituents +in regard to various candidates for office, is undemocratic, because +the people have no voice in it, and objectionable, because men are +often placed in nomination because of their location who are decidedly +unpopular, even in their own districts, and because it affords too great +an opportunity for scheming and designing men to accomplish their own +purposes; therefore + +"Resolved, that we are in favor of submitting nominations directly to +the people--the Republican voters--and that delegate conventions for +nominating county officers be abolished, and we hereby request and +instruct the county committee to issue their call in 1861, in accordance +with the spirit of this resolution." + +Upon the basis of this indictment of the county convention system, the +Republican voters of Crawford County, a rural community, whose largest +town is Meadville, the county seat, proceeded to nominate their +candidates by direct vote, under rules prepared by the county committee. +These rules have been but slightly changed. The informality of a hat +or open table drawer has been replaced by an official ballotbox, and +an official ballot has taken the place of the tickets furnished by each +candidate. + +The "Crawford County plan," as it was generally called, was adopted +by various localities in many States. In 1866 California and New York +enacted laws to protect primaries and nominating caucuses from fraud. In +1871 Ohio and Pennsylvania enacted similar laws, followed by Missouri in +1875 and New Jersey in 1878. By 1890 over a dozen States had passed +laws attempting to eliminate the grosser frauds attendant upon making +nominations. In many instances it was made optional with the party +whether the direct plan should supersede the delegate plan. Only in +certain cities, however, was the primary made mandatory in these States. +By far the larger areas retained the convention. + +There is noticeable in these years a gradual increase in the amount of +legislation concerning the nominating machinery--prescribing the +days and hours for holding elections of delegates, the size of the +polling-place, the nature of the ballotbox, the poll-list, who might +participate in the choice of delegates, how the returns were to be made, +and so on. By the time, then, that the Australian ballot came, with +its profound changes, nearly all the States had attempted to remove the +glaring abuses of the nominating system; and several of them officially +recognized the direct primary. The State was reluctant to abolish the +convention system entirely; and the Crawford County plan long remained +merely optional. But in 1901 Minnesota enacted a state-wide, mandatory +primary law. Mississippi followed in 1902, Wisconsin in 1903, and Oregon +in 1904. This movement has swept the country. + +Few States retain the nominating convention, and where it remains it is +shackled by legal restrictions. The boss, however, has devised adequate +means for controlling primaries, and a return to a modified convention +system is being earnestly discussed in many States to circumvent the +further ingenuity of the boss. A further step towards the state control +of parties was taken when laws began to busy themselves with the conduct +of the campaign. Corrupt Practices Acts began to assume bulk in the +early nineties, to limit the expenditure of candidates, and to enumerate +the objects for which campaign committees might legitimately spend +money. These are usually personal traveling expenses of the candidates, +rental of rooms for committees and halls for meetings, payment of +musicians and speakers and their traveling expenses, printing campaign +material, postage for distribution of letters, newspapers and printed +matter, telephone and telegraph charges, political advertising, +employing challengers at the polls, necessary clerk hire, and +conveyances for bringing aged or infirm voters to the polls. The maximum +amount that can be spent by candidates is fixed, and they are required +to make under oath a detailed statement of their expenses in both +primary and general elections. The various committees, also, must make +detailed reports of the funds they handle, the amount, the contributors, +and the expenditures. Corporations are forbidden to contribute, and the +amount that candidates themselves may give is limited in many States. +These exactions are reinforced by stringent laws against bribery. +Persons found guilty of either receiving or soliciting a bribe are +generally disfranchised or declared ineligible for public office for a +term of years. Illinois, for the second offense, forever disfranchises. + +It is not surprising that these restrictions have led the State to face +the question whether it should not itself bear some of the expenses +of the campaign. It has, of course, already assumed an enormous burden +formerly borne entirely by the party. The cost of primary and general +elections nowadays is tremendous. A few Western States print a campaign +pamphlet and distribute it to every voter. The pamphlet contains usually +the photographs of the candidates, a brief biography, and a statement of +principles. + +These are the principal encroachments made by the Government upon the +autonomy of the party. The details are endless. The election laws of New +York fill 330 printed pages. It is little wonder that American parties +are beginning to study the organization of European parties, such as the +labor parties and the social democratic parties, which have enlisted a +rather fervent party fealty. These are propagandist parties and require +to be active all the year round. So they demand annual dues of their +members and have permanent salaried officials and official party organs. +Such a permanent organization was suggested for the National Progressive +party. But the early disintegration of the party made impossible what +would have been an interesting experiment. After the election of 1916, +Governor Whitman of New York suggested that the Republican party choose +a manager and pay him $10,000 a year and have a lien on all his time and +energy. The plan was widely discussed and its severest critics were the +politicians who would suffer from it. The wide-spread comment with which +it was received revealed the change that has come over the popular idea +of a political party since the State began forty years ago to bring the +party under its control. + +But flexibility is absolutely essential to a party system that +adequately serves a growing democracy. And under a two-party system, as +ours is probably bound to remain, the independent voter usually holds +the balance of power. He may be merely a disgruntled voter seeking for +revenge, or an overpleased voter seeking to maintain a profitable +status quo, or he may belong to that class of super-citizens from which +mugwumps arise. In any case, the majorities at elections are usually +determined by him. And party orthodoxy made by the State is almost as +distasteful to him as the rigor of the boss. He relishes neither the one +nor the other. + +In the larger cities the citizens' tickets and fusion movements +are types of independent activities. In some cities they are merely +temporary associations, formed for a single, thorough housecleaning. The +Philadelphia Committee of One Hundred, which was organized in 1880 +to fight the Gas Ring, is an example. It issued a Declaration of +Principles, demanding the promotion of public service rather than +private greed, and the prosecution of "those who have been guilty of +election frauds, maladministration of office, or misappropriation of +public funds." Announcing that it would endorse only candidates +who signed this declaration, the committee supported the Democratic +candidates, and nominated for Receiver of Taxes a candidate of its +own, who became also the Democratic nominee when the regular Democratic +candidate withdrew. Philadelphia was overwhelmingly Republican. But the +committee's aid was powerful enough to elect the Democratic candidate +for mayor by 6000 majority and the independent candidate for Receiver +of Taxes by 20,000. This gave the Committee access to the records of +the doings of the Gas Ring. In 1884, however, the candidate which it +endorsed was defeated, and it disbanded. + +Similar in experience was the famous New York Committee of Seventy, +organized in 1894 after Dr. Parkhurst's lurid disclosures of police +connivance with every degrading vice. A call was issued by thirty-three +well-known citizens for a non-partizan mass meeting, and at this meeting +a committee of seventy was appointed "with full power to confer with +other anti-Tammany organizations, and to take such actions as may be +necessary to further the objects of this meeting as set forth in the +call therefor, and the address adopted by this meeting." The committee +adopted a platform, appointed an executive and a finance committee, and +nominated a full ticket, distributing the candidates among both parties. +All other anti-Tammany organizations endorsed this ticket, and it +was elected by large majorities. The committee dissolved after having +secured certain charter amendments for the city and seeing its roster of +officers inaugurated. + +The Municipal Voters' League of Chicago is an important example of the +permanent type of citizens' organization. The league is composed of +voters in every ward, who, acting through committees and alert officers, +scrutinize every candidate for city office from the Mayor down. It does +not aim to nominate a ticket of its own, but to exercise such vigilance, +enforced by so effective an organization and such wide-reaching +publicity, that the various parties will, of their own volition, +nominate men whom the league can endorse. By thus putting on +the hydraulic pressure of organized public opinion, it has had a +considerable influence on the parties and a very stimulating effect on +the citizenry. + +Finally, there has developed in recent years the fusion movement, +whereby the opponents of boss rule in all parties unite and back an +independent or municipal ticket. The election of Mayor Mitchel of New +York in 1913 was thus accomplished. In Milwaukee, a fusion has been +successful against the Socialists. And in many lesser cities this has +brought at least temporary relief from the oppression of the local +oligarchy. + + + +CHAPTER XI. THE EXPERT AT LAST + +The administrative weakness of a democracy, namely, the tendency towards +a government by job-hunters, was disclosed even in the early days of the +United States, when the official machinery was simple and the number of +offices few. Washington at once foresaw both the difficulties and the +duties that the appointing power imposed. Soon after his inauguration +he wrote to Rutledge: "I anticipate that one of the most difficult and +delicate parts of the duty of any office will be that which relates +to nominations for appointments." And he was most scrupulous and +painstaking in his appointments. Fitness for duty was paramount with +him, though he recognized geographical necessity and distributed the +offices with that precision which characterized all his acts. + +John Adams made very few appointments. After his term had expired, he +wrote: "Washington appointed a multitude of Democrats and Jacobins of +the deepest die. I have been more cautious in this respect." + +The test of partizan loyalty, however, was not applied generally until +after the election of Jefferson. The ludicrous apprehensions of the +Federalists as to what would follow upon his election were not allayed +by his declared intentions. "I have given," he wrote to Monroe, "and +will give only to Republicans under existing circumstances." Jefferson +was too good a politician to overlook his opportunity to annihilate the +Federalists. He hoped to absorb them in his own party, "to unite +the names of Federalists and Republicans." Moderate Federalists, who +possessed sufficient gifts of grace for conversion, he sedulously +nursed. But he removed all officers for whose removal any special +reason could be discovered. The "midnight appointments" of John Adams he +refused to acknowledge, and he paid no heed to John Marshall's dicta in +Marbury versus Madison. He was zealous in discovering plausible excuses +for making vacancies. The New York Evening Post described him as "gazing +round, with wild anxiety furiously inquiring, 'how are vacancies to +be obtained?'" Directly and indirectly, Jefferson effected, during his +first term, 164 changes in the offices at his disposal, a large number +for those days. This he did so craftily, with such delicate regard for +geographical sensitiveness and with such a nice balance between fitness +for office and the desire for office, that by the end of his second term +he had not only consolidated our first disciplined and eager political +party, but had quieted the storm against his policy of partizan +proscription. + +During the long regime of the Jeffersonian Republicans there were three +significant movements. In January, 1811, Nathaniel Macon introduced +his amendment to the Constitution providing that no member of Congress +should receive a civil appointment "under the authority of the United +States until the expiration of the presidential term in which such +person shall have served as senator or representative." An amendment was +offered by Josiah Quincy, making ineligible to appointment the relations +by blood or marriage of any senator or representative. Nepotism was +considered the curse of the civil service, and for twenty years similar +amendments were discussed at almost every session of Congress. John +Quincy Adams said that half of the members wanted office, and the other +half wanted office for their relatives. + +In 1820 the Four Years' Act substituted a four-year tenure of office, +in place of a term at the pleasure of the President, for most of the +federal appointments. The principal argument urged in favor of the law +was that unsatisfactory civil servants could easily be dropped without +reflection on their character. Defalcations had been discovered to the +amount of nearly a million dollars, due mainly to carelessness and gross +inefficiency. It was further argued that any efficient incumbent need +not be disquieted, for he would be reappointed. The law, however, +fulfilled Jefferson's prophecy: it kept "in constant excitement all the +hungry cormorants for office." + +What Jefferson began, Jackson consummated. The stage was now set +for Democracy. Public office had been marshaled as a force in party +maneuver. In his first annual message, Jackson announced his philosophy: + +"There are perhaps few men who can for any great length of time enjoy +office and power without being more or less under the influence +of feelings unfavorable to the faithful discharge of their public +duties.... Office is considered as a species of property, and government +rather as a means of promoting individual interests than as an +instrument created solely for the service of the people. Corruption in +some, and in others a perversion of correct feelings and principles, +divert government from its legitimate ends and make it an engine for the +support of the few at the expense of the many. The duties of all public +offices are, or at least admit of being made, so plain, so simple +that men of intelligence may readily qualify themselves for their +performance.... In a country where offices are created solely for +the benefit of the people, no one man has any more intrinsic right to +official station than another." + +The Senate refused Jackson's request for an extension of the Four Years' +law to cover all positions in the civil service. It also refused to +confirm some of his appointments, notably that of Van Buren as minister +to Great Britain. The debate upon this appointment gave the spoilsman an +epigram. Clay with directness pointed to Van Buren as the introducer +"of the odious system of proscription for the exercise of the elective +franchise in the government of the United States." He continued: "I +understand it is the system on which the party in his own State, of +which he is the reputed head, constantly acts. He was among the first of +the secretaries to apply that system to the dismission of clerks of his +department... known to me to be highly meritorious... It is a detestable +system." + +And Webster thundered: "I pronounce my rebuke as solemnly and as +decisively as I can upon this first instance in which an American +minister has been sent abroad as the representative of his party and not +as the representative of his country." + +To these and other challenges, Senator Marcy of New York made his +well-remembered retort that "the politicians of the United States are +not so fastidious.... They see nothing wrong in the rule that to the +victor belong the spoils of the enemy." + +Jackson, with all his bluster and the noise of his followers, made his +proscriptions relatively fewer than those of Jefferson. He removed +only 252 of about 612 presidential appointees. * It should, however, be +remembered that those who were not removed had assured Jackson's agents +of their loyalty to the new Democracy. + + * This does not include deputy postmasters, who numbered + about 8000 and were not placed in the presidential list + until 1836. + + +If Jackson did not inaugurate the spoils system, he at least gave it a +mission. It was to save the country from the curse of officialdom. His +successor, Van Buren, brought the system to a perfection that only +the experienced politician could achieve. Van Buren required of all +appointees partizan service; and his own nomination, at Baltimore, was +made a foregone conclusion by the host of federal job-holders who were +delegates. Van Buren simply introduced at Washington the methods of the +Albany Regency. + +The Whigs blustered bravely against this proscription. But their own +President, General Harrison, "Old Tippecanoe," was helpless against the +saturnalia of office-seekers that engulfed him. Harrison, when he came +to power, removed about one-half of the officials in the service. And, +although the partizan color of the President changed with Harrison's +death, after a few weeks in office,--Tyler was merely a Whig of +convenience--there was no change in the President's attitude towards the +spoils system. + +Presidential inaugurations became orgies of office-seekers, and the +first weeks of every new term were given over to distributing the jobs, +ordinary business having to wait. President Polk, who removed the usual +quota, is complimented by Webster for making "rather good selections +from his own friends." The practice, now firmly established, was +continued by Taylor, Pierce, and Buchanan. + +Lincoln found himself surrounded by circumstances that made caution +necessary in every appointment. His party was new and composed of many +diverse elements. He had to transform their jealousies into enthusiasm, +for the approach of civil war demanded supreme loyalty and unity of +action. To this greater cause of saving the Union he bent every effort +and used every instrumentality at his command. No one before him had +made so complete a change in the official personnel of the capital as +the change which he was constrained to make. No one before him or since +used the appointing power with such consummate skill or displayed such +rare tact and knowledge of human nature in seeking the advice of those +who deemed their advice valuable. The war greatly increased the number +of appointments, and it also imposed obligations that made merit +sometimes a secondary consideration. With the statesman's vision, +Lincoln recognized both the use and the abuse of the patronage system. +He declined to gratify the office-seekers who thronged the capital at +the beginning of his second term; and they returned home disappointed. +The twenty years following the Civil War were years of agitation +for reform. People were at last recognizing the folly of using the +multiplying public offices for party spoils. The quarrel between +Congress and President Johnson over removals, and the Tenure of Office +Act, focused popular attention on the constitutional question of +appointment and removal, and the recklessness of the political manager +during Grant's two terms disgusted the thoughtful citizen. + +The first attempts to apply efficiency to the civil service had been +made when pass examinations were used for sifting candidates for +clerkships in the Treasury Department in 1853, when such tests were +prescribed by law for the lowest grade of clerkships. The head of the +department was given complete control over the examinations, and they +were not exacting. In 1864 Senator Sumner introduced a bill "to provide +for the greater efficiency of the civil service." It was considered +chimerical and dropped. + +Meanwhile, a steadfast and able champion of reform appeared in the +House, Thomas A. Jenckes, a prominent lawyer of Rhode Island. A bill +which he introduced in December, 1865, received no hearing. But in the +following year a select joint committee was charged to examine the +whole question of appointments, dismissals, and patronage. Mr. Jenckes +presented an elaborate report in May, 1868, explaining the civil service +of other countries. This report, which is the corner stone of American +civil service reform, provided the material for congressional debate and +threw the whole subject into the public arena. Jenckes in the House and +Carl Schurz in the Senate saw to it that ardent and convincing defense +of reform was not wanting. In compliance with President Grant's request +for a law to "govern not the tenure, but the manner of making all +appointments," a rider was attached to the appropriation bill in 1870, +asking the President "to prescribe such rules and regulations" as he saw +fit, and "to employ suitable persons to conduct" inquiries into the best +method for admitting persons into the civil service. A commission of +which George William Curtis was chairman made recommendations, but they +were not adopted and Curtis resigned. The New York Civil Service Reform +Association was organized in 1877; and the National League, organized +in 1881, soon had flourishing branches in most of the large cities. The +battle was largely between the President and Congress. Each succeeding +President signified his adherence to reform, but neutralized his words +by sanctioning vast changes in the service. Finally, under circumstances +already described, on January 16, 1883, the Civil Service Act was +passed. + +This law had a stimulating effect upon state and municipal civil +service. New York passed a law the same year, patterned after the +federal act. Massachusetts followed in 1884, and within a few years many +of the States had adopted some sort of civil service reform, and the +large cities were experimenting with the merit system. It was not, +however, until the rapid expansion of the functions of government and +the consequent transformation in the nature of public duties that civil +service reform made notable headway. When the Government assumed the +duties of health officer, forester, statistician, and numerous other +highly specialized functions, the presence of the scientific expert +became imperative; and vast undertakings, like the building of the +Panama Canal and the enormous irrigation projects of the West, could not +be entrusted to the spoilsman and his minions. + +The war has accustomed us to the commandeering of utilities, of science, +and of skill upon a colossal scale. From this height of public devotion +it is improbable that we shall decline, after the national peril +has passed, into the depths of administrative incompetency which our +Republic, and all its parts, occupied for so many years. The need for +an efficient and highly complex State has been driven home to the +consciousness of the average citizen. And this foretokens the permanent +enlistment of talent in the public service to the end that democracy +may provide that effective nationalism imposed by the new era of world +competition. + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + +There is no collected material of the literature of exposure. It is +found in the official reports of investigating committees; such as the +Lexow, Mazet, and Fassett committees in New York, and the report +on campaign contributions by the Senate Committee on Privileges and +Elections (1913). The muckraker has scattered such indiscriminate +charges that great caution is necessary to discover the truth. Only +testimony taken under oath can be relied upon. And for local exposes the +official court records must be sought. + +The annual proceedings of the National Municipal League contain a great +deal of useful material on municipal politics. The reports of local +organizations, such as the New York Bureau of Municipal Research and +the Pittsburgh Voters' League, are invaluable, as are the reports of +occasional bodies, like the Philadelphia Committee of Fifty. + +Personal touches can be gleaned from the autobiographies of such public +men as Platt, Foraker, Weed, La Follette, and in such biographies as +Croly's "M. A. Hanna." + +On Municipal Conditions: + +W. B. Munro, "The Government of American Cities" (1913). An +authoritative and concise account of the development of American city +government. Chapter VII deals with municipal politics. + +J. J. Hamilton, "Dethronement of the City Boss" (1910). A description of +the operation of commission government. + +E. S. Bradford, "Commission Government in American Cities" (1911). A +careful study of the commission plan. + +H. Bruere, "New City Government" (1912). An interesting account of the +new municipal regime. + +Lincoln Steffens, "The Shame of the Cities" and "The Struggle for +Self-Government" (1906). The Prince of the Muckrakers' contribution to +the literature of awakening. + +On State Conditions: + +There is an oppressive barrenness of material on this subject. + +P. S. Reinsch, "American Legislatures and Legislative Methods" (1907). A +brilliant exposition of the legislatures' activities. + +E. L. Godkin, "Unforeseen Tendencies in Democracy" contains a thoughtful +essay on "The Decline of Legislatures." + +On Political Parties and Machines: + +M. Ostrogorski, "Democracy and the Organization of Political Parties," 2 +vols. (1902). The second volume contains a comprehensive and able survey +of the American party system. It has been abridged into a single volume +edition called "Democracy and the Party System in the United States" +(1910). + +James Bryce, "The American Commonwealth," 2 vols. Volume II contains a +noteworthy account of our political system. + +Jesse Macy, "Party Organization and Machinery" (1912). A succinct +account of party machinery. + +J. A. Woodburn, "Political Parties and Party Problems" (1906). A sane +account of our political task. + +P. O. Ray, "An Introduction to Political Parties and Practical Politics" +(1913). Valuable for its copious references to current literature on +political subjects. + +Theodore Roosevelt, "Essays on Practical Politics" (1888). Vigorous +description of machine methods. + +G. M. Gregory, "The Corrupt Use of Money in Politics and Laws for its +Prevention" (1893). Written before the later exposes, it nevertheless +gives a clear view of the problem. + +W. M. Ivins, "Machine Politics" (1897). In New York City--by a keen +observer. + +George Vickers, "The Fall of Bossism" (1883). On the overthrow of the +Philadelphia Gas Ring. + +Gustavus Myers, "History of Tammany Hall" (1901; revised 1917). The best +book on the subject. + +E. C. Griffith, "The Rise and Development of the Gerrymander" (1907). + +Historical: + +H. J. Ford, "Rise and Growth of American Politics" (1898). One of the +earliest and one of the best accounts of the development of American +politics. + +Alexander Johnston and J. A. Woodburn, "American Political History," 2 +vols. (1905). A brilliant recital of American party history. The most +satisfactory book on the subject. + +W. M. Sloane, "Party Government in the United States" (1914). A concise +and convenient recital. Brings our party history to date. + +J. B. McMaster, "With the Fathers" (1896). A volume of delightful +historical essays, including one on "The Political Depravity of the +Fathers." + +On Nominations: + +F. W. Dallinger, "Nominations for Elective Office in the United +States" (1897). The most thorough work on the subject, describing the +development of our nominating systems. + +C. E. Merriam, "Primary Elections" (1908). A concise description of the +primary and its history. + +R. S. Childs, "Short Ballot Principles" (1911). A splendid account by +the father of the short ballot movement. + +C. E. Meyer, "Nominating Systems" (1902). Good on the caucus. + +On the Presidency: + +J. B. Bishop, "Our Political Drama" (1904). A readable account of +national conventions and presidential campaigns. + +A. K. McClure, "Our Presidents and How We Make Them" (1903). + +Edward Stanwood, "A History of the Presidency" (1898). Gives party +platforms and describes each presidential campaign. + +On Congress: + +G. H. Haynes, "The Election of United States Senators" (1906). + +H. J. Ford, "The Cost of Our National Government" (1910). A fine account +of congressional bad housekeeping. + +MARY C. Follett, "The Speaker of the House of Representatives" (1896). + +Woodrow Wilson, "Congressional Government" (1885). Most interesting +reading in the light of the Wilson Administration. + +L. G. McConachie, "Congressional Committees" (1898). + +On Special Topics: + +C. R. Fish, "Civil Service and the Patronage" (1905). The best work on +the subject. + +J. D. Barnett, "The Operation of the Initiative, Referendum, and +Recall in Oregon" (1915). A helpful, intensive study of these important +questions. + +E. P. Oberholtzer, The Referendum in America (1912). The most +satisfactory and comprehensive work on the subject. Also discusses the +initiative. + +J. R. Commons, "Proportional Representation" (1907). The standard +American book on the subject. + +R. C. Brooks, "Corruption in American Politics and Life" (1910). A +survey of our political pathology. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Boss and the Machine, by Samuel P. 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If you + don't derive profits, no royalty is due. Royalties are + payable to "Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation" + the 60 days following each date you prepare (or were + legally required to prepare) your annual (or equivalent + periodic) tax return. Please contact us beforehand to + let us know your plans and to work out the details. + +WHAT IF YOU *WANT* TO SEND MONEY EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO? +The Project gratefully accepts contributions of money, time, +public domain etexts, and royalty free copyright licenses. +If you are interested in contributing scanning equipment or +software or other items, please contact Michael Hart at: +hart@pobox.com + +*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.07.00*END* + + + + +Title: The Boss and the Machine, A Chronicle of the Politicians +and Party Organization + +Author: Samuel P. Orth + +THIS BOOK, VOLUME 43 IN THE CHRONICLES OF AMERICA SERIES, ALLEN +JOHNSON, EDITOR, WAS DONATED TO PROJECT GUTENBERG BY THE JAMES +J. KELLY LIBRARY OF ST. GREGORY'S UNIVERSITY; THANKS TO ALEV +AKMAN. + + + + +THE BOSS AND THE MACHINE, A CHRONICLE OF THE POLITICIANS +AND PARTY ORGANIZATION +BY SAMUEL P. ORTH + +NEW HAVEN: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS + +TORONTO: GLASGOW, BROOK & CO. +LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD +OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS + +1919 + +CONTENTS + +I. THE RISE OF THE PARTY +II. THE RISE OF THE MACHINE +III. THE TIDE OF MATERIALISM +IV. THE POLITICIAN AND THE CITY +V. TAMMANY HALL +VI. LESSER OLIGARCHIES +VII. LEGISLATIVE OMNIPOTENCE +VIII. THE NATIONAL HIERARCHY +IX. THE AWAKENING +X. PARTY REFORM +XI. THE EXPERT AT LAST + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + +THE BOSS AND THE MACHINE + +CHAPTER I. THE RISE OF THE PARTY + +The party system is an essential instrument of Democracy. +Wherever government rests upon the popular will, there the party +is the organ of expression and the agency of the ultimate power. +The party is, moreover, a forerunner of Democracy, for parties +have everywhere preceded free government. Long before Democracy +as now understood was anywhere established, long before the +American colonies became the United States, England was divided +between Tory and Whig. And it was only after centuries of bitter +political strife, during which a change of ministry would not +infrequently be accompanied by bloodshed or voluntary exile, that +England finally emerged with a government deriving its powers +from the consent of the governed. + +The functions of the party, both as a forerunner and as a +necessary organ of Democracy, are well exemplified in American +experience. Before the Revolution, Tory and Whig were party names +used in the colonies to designate in a rough way two ideals of +political doctrine. The Tories believed in the supremacy of the +Executive, or the King; the Whigs in the supremacy of Parliament. +The Tories, by their rigorous and ruthless acts giving effect to +the will of an un-English King, soon drove the Whigs in the +colonies to revolt, and by the time of the Stamp Act (1765) a +well-knit party of colonial patriots was organized through +committees of correspondence and under the stimulus of local +clubs called "Sons of Liberty." Within a few years, these +patriots became the Revolutionists, and the Tories became the +Loyalists. As always happens in a successful revolution, the +party of opposition vanished, and when the peace of 1783 finally +put the stamp of reality upon the Declaration of 1776, the +patriot party had won its cause and had served its day. + +Immediately thereafter a new issue, and a very significant one, +began to divide the thought of the people. The Articles of +Confederation, adopted as a form of government by the States +during a lull in the nationalistic fervor, had utterly failed to +perform the functions of a national government. Financially the +Confederation was a beggar at the doors of the States; +commercially it was impotent; politically it was bankrupt. The +new issue was the formation of a national government that should +in reality represent a federal nation, not a collection of touchy +States. Washington in his farewell letter to the American people +at the close of the war (1783) urged four considerations: a +strong central government, the payment of the national debt, a +well-organized militia, and the surrender by each State of +certain local privileges for the good of the whole. His "legacy," +as this letter came to be called, thus bequeathed to us +Nationalism, fortified on the one hand by Honor and on the other +by Preparedness. + +The Confederation floundered in the slough of inadequacy for +several years, however, before the people were sufficiently +impressed with the necessity of a federal government. When, +finally, through the adroit maneuver of Alexander Hamilton and +James Madison, the Constitutional Convention was called in 1787, +the people were in a somewhat chastened mood, and delegates were +sent to the Convention from all the States except Rhode Island. + +No sooner had the delegates convened and chosen George Washington +as presiding officer, than the two opposing sides of opinion were +revealed, the nationalist and the particularist, represented by +the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, as they later termed +themselves. The Convention, however, was formed of the +conservative leaders of the States, and its completed work +contained in a large measure, in spite of the great compromises, +the ideas of the Federalists. This achievement was made possible +by the absence from the Convention of the two types of men who +were to prove the greatest enemy of the new document when it was +presented for popular approval, namely, the office-holder or +politician, who feared that the establishment of a central +government would deprive him of his influence, and the popular +demagogue, who viewed with suspicion all evidence of organized +authority. It was these two types, joined by a third--the +conscientious objector--who formed the AntiFederalist party to +oppose the adoption of the new Constitution. Had this opposition +been well-organized, it could unquestionably have defeated the +Constitution, even against its brilliant protagonists, Hamilton, +Madison, Jay, and a score of other masterly men. + +The unanimous choice of Washington for President gave the new +Government a non-partizan initiation. In every way Washington +attempted to foster the spirit of an undivided household. He +warned his countrymen against partizanship and sinister political +societies. But he called around his council board talents which +represented incompatible ideals of government. Thomas Jefferson, +the first Secretary of State, and Alexander Hamilton, the first +Secretary of the Treasury, might for a time unite their energies +under the wise chieftainship of Washington, but their political +principles could never be merged. And when, finally, Jefferson +resigned, he became forthwith the leader of the opposition--not +to Washington, but to Federalism as interpreted by Hamilton, John +Adams, and Jay. + +The name Anti-Federalist lost its aptness after the inauguration +of the Government. Jefferson and his school were not opposed to a +federal government. They were opposed only to its pretensions, to +its assumption of centralized power. Their deep faith in popular +control is revealed in the name they assumed, +Democratic-Republican. They were eager to limit the federal power +to the glorification of the States; the Federalists were +ambitious to expand the federal power at the expense of localism. +This is what Jefferson meant when he wrote to Washington as early +as 1792, "The Republican party wish to preserve the Government in +its present form." Now this is a very definite and fundamental +distinction. It involves the political difference between +government by the people and government by the representatives of +the people, and the practical difference between a government by +law and a government by mass-meeting. + +Jefferson was a master organizer. At letter-writing, the one +means of communication in those days, he was a Hercules. His pen +never wearied. He soon had a compact party. It included not only +most of the Anti-Federalists, but the small politicians, the +tradesmen and artisans, who had worked themselves into a +ridiculous frenzy over the French Revolution and who despised +Washington for his noble neutrality. But more than these, +Jefferson won over a number of distinguished men who had worked +for the adoption of the Constitution, the ablest of whom was +James Madison, often called "the Father of the Constitution." + +The Jeffersonians, thus representing largely the debtor and +farmer class, led by men of conspicuous abilities, proceeded to +batter down the prestige of the Federalists. They declared +themselves opposed to large expenditures of public funds, to +eager exploitation of government ventures, to the Bank, and to +the Navy, which they termed "the great beast with the great +belly." The Federalists included the commercial and creditor +class and that fine element in American life composed of leading +families with whom domination was an instinct, all led, +fortunately, by a few idealists of rare intellectual attainments. +And, with the political stupidity often characteristic of their +class, they stumbled from blunder to blunder. In 1800 Thomas +Jefferson, who adroitly coined the mistakes of his opponents into +political currency for himself, was elected President. He had +received no more electoral votes than Aaron Burr, that mysterious +character in our early politics, but the election was decided by +the House of Representatives, where, after seven days' balloting, +several Federalists, choosing what to them was the lesser of two +evils, cast the deciding votes for Jefferson. When the +Jeffersonians came to power, they no longer opposed federal +pretensions; they now, by one of those strange veerings often +found in American politics, began to give a liberal +interpretation to the Constitution, while the Federalists with +equal inconsistency became strict constructionists. Even +Jefferson was ready to sacrifice his theory of strict +construction in order to acquire the province of Louisiana. + +The Jeffersonians now made several concessions to the +manufacturers, and with their support linked to that of the +agriculturists Jeffersonian democracy flourished without any +potent opposition. The second war with England lent it a doubtful +luster but the years immediately following the war restored +public confidence. Trade flourished on the sea. The frontier was +rapidly pushed to the Mississippi and beyond into the vast empire +which Jefferson had purchased. When everyone is busy, no one +cares for political issues, especially those based upon +philosophical differences. So Madison and Monroe succeeded to the +political regency which is known as the Virginia Dynasty. + +This complacent epoch culminated in Monroe's "Era of Good +Feeling," which proved to be only the hush before the tornado. +The election of 1824 was indecisive, and the House of +Representatives was for a second time called upon to decide the +national choice. The candidates were John Quincy Adams, Andrew +Jackson, Henry Clay, and William H. Crawford. Clay threw his +votes to Adams, who was elected, thereby arousing the wrath of +Jackson and of the stalwart and irreconcilable frontiersmen who +hailed him as their leader. The Adams term merely marked a +transition from the old order to the new, from Jeffersonian to +Jacksonian democracy. Then was the word Republican dropped from +the party name, and Democrat became an appellation of definite +and practical significance. + +By this time many of the older States had removed the early +restrictions upon voting, and the new States carved out of the +West had written manhood suffrage into their constitutions. This +new democracy flocked to its imperator; and Jackson entered his +capital in triumph, followed by a motley crowd of frontiersmen in +coonskin caps, farmers in butternut-dyed homespun, and hungry +henchmen eager for the spoils. For Jackson had let it be known +that he considered his election a mandate by the people to fill +the offices with his political adherents. + +So the Democrats began their new lease of life with an orgy of +spoils. "Anybody is good enough for any job" was the favorite +watchword. But underneath this turmoil of desire for office, +significant party differences were shaping themselves. Henry +Clay, the alluring orator and master of compromise, brought +together a coalition of opposing fragments. He and his following +objected to Jackson's assumption of vast executive prerogatives, +and in a brilliant speech in the Senate Clay espoused the name +Whig. Having explained the origin of the term in English and +colonial politics, he cried: "And what is the present but the +same contest in another form? The partizans of the present +Executive sustain his favor in the most boundless extent. The +Whigs are opposing executive encroachment and a most alarming +extension of executive power and prerogative. They are contending +for the rights of the people, for free institutions, for the +supremacy of the Constitution and the laws." + +There soon appeared three practical issues which forced the new +alignment. The first was the Bank. The charter of the United +States Bank was about to expire, and its friends sought a +renewal. Jackson believed the Bank an enemy of the Republic, as +its officers were anti-Jacksonians, and he promptly vetoed the +bill extending the charter. The second issue was the tariff. +Protection was not new; but Clay adroitly renamed it, calling it +"the American system." It was popular in the manufacturing towns +and in portions of the agricultural communities, but was bitterly +opposed by the slave-owning States. + +A third issue dealt with internal improvements. All parts of the +country were feeling the need of better means of communication, +especially between the West and the East. Canals and turnpikes +were projected in every direction. Clay, whose imagination was +fervid, advocated a vast system of canals and roads financed by +national aid. But the doctrine of states-rights answered that the +Federal Government had no power to enter a State, even to spend +money on improvements, without the consent of that State. And, at +all events, for Clay to espouse was for Jackson to oppose. + +These were the more important immediate issues of the conflict +between Clay's Whigs and Jackson's Democrats, though it must be +acknowledged that the personalities of the leaders were quite as +much an issue as any of the policies which they espoused. The +Whigs, however, proved unequal to the task of unhorsing their +foes; and, with two exceptions, the Democrats elected every +President from Jackson to Lincoln. The exceptions were William +Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor, both of whom were elected on +their war records and both of whom died soon after their +inauguration. Tyler, who as Vice-President succeeded General +Harrison, soon estranged the Whigs, so that the Democratic +triumph was in effect continuous over a period of thirty years. + +Meanwhile, however, another issue was shaping the destiny of +parties and of the nation. It was an issue that politicians +dodged and candidates evaded, that all parties avoided, that +publicists feared, and that presidents and congressmen tried to +hide under the tenuous fabric of their compromises promises. But +it was an issue that persisted in keeping alive and that would +not down, for it was an issue between right and wrong. Three +times the great Clay maneuvered to outflank his opponents over +the smoldering fires of the slaver issue, but he died before the +repeal of the Missouri Compromise gave the death-blow to his +loosely gathered coalition. Webster, too, and Calhoun, the other +members of that brilliant trinity which represented the genius of +Constitutional Unionism, of States Rights, and of Conciliation, +passed away before the issue was squarely faced by a new party +organized for the purpose of opposing the further expansion of +slavery. + +This new organization, the Republican party, rapidly assumed form +and solidarity. It was composed of Northern Whigs, of +anti-slavery Democrats, and of members of several minor groups, +such as the Know-Nothing or American party, the Liberty party, +and included as well some of the despised Abolitionists. The vote +for Fremont, its first presidential candidate, in 1866, showed it +to be a sectional party, confined to the North. But the definite +recognition of slavery as an issue by an opposition party had a +profound effect upon the Democrats. Their Southern wing now +promptly assumed an uncompromising attitude, which, in 1860, +split the party into factions. The Southern wing named +Breckinridge; the Northern wing named Stephen A. Douglas; while +many Democrats as well as Whigs took refuge in a third party, +calling itself the Constitutional Union, which named John Bell. +This division cost the Democrats the election, for, under the +unique and inspiring leadership of Abraham Lincoln, the +Republicans rallied the anti-slavery forces of the North and won. + +Slavery not only racked the parties and caused new alignments; it +racked and split the Union. It is one of the remarkable phenomena +of our political history that the Civil War did not destroy the +Democratic party, though the Southern chieftains of that party +utterly lost their cause. The reason is that the party never was +as purely a Southern as the Republican was a Northern party. +Moreover, the arrogance and blunders of the Republican leaders +during the days of Reconstruction helped to keep it alive. A +baneful political heritage has been handed down to us from the +Civil War--the solid South. It overturns the national balance of +parties, perpetuates a pernicious sectionalism, and deprives the +South of that bipartizan rivalry which keeps open the currents of +political life. + +Since the Civil War the struggle between the two dominant parties +has been largely a struggle between the Ins and the Outs. The +issues that have divided them have been more apparent than real. +The tariff, the civil service, the trusts, and the long list of +other "issues" do not denote fundamental differences, but only +variations of degree. Never in any election during this long +interval has there been definitely at stake a great national +principle, save for the currency issue of 1896 and the colonial +question following the War with Spain. The revolt of the +Progressives in 1912 had a character of its own; but neither of +the old parties squarely joined issue with the Progressives in +the contest which followed. The presidential campaign of 1916 +afforded an opportunity to place on trial before the people a +great cause, for there undoubtedly existed then in the country +two great and opposing sides of public opinion--one for and the +other against war with Germany. Here again, however, the issue +was not joined but was adroitly evaded by both the candidates. + +None the less there has been a difference between the two great +parties. The Republican party has been avowedly nationalistic, +imperialistic, and in favor of a vigorous constructive foreign +policy. The Democratic party has generally accepted the lukewarm +international policy of Jefferson and the exaltation of the +locality and the plain individual as championed by Jackson. Thus, +though in a somewhat intangible and variable form, the doctrinal +distinctions between Hamilton and Jefferson have survived. + +In the emergence of new issues, new parties are born. But it is +one of the singular characteristics of the American party system +that third parties are abortive. Their adherents serve mainly as +evangelists, crying their social and economic gospel in the +political wilderness. If the issues are vital, they are gradually +absorbed by the older parties. + +Before the Civil War several sporadic parties were formed. The +most unique was the Anti-Masonic party. It flourished on the +hysteria caused by the abduction of William Morgan of Batavia, in +western New York, in 1826. Morgan had written a book purporting +to lay bare the secrets of Freemasonry. His mysterious +disappearance was laid at the doors of leading Freemasons; and it +was alleged that members of this order placed their secret +obligations above their duties as citizens and were hence unfit +for public office. The movement became impressive in +Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, Ohio, and New York. It +served to introduce Seward and Fillmore into politics. Even a +national party was organized, and William Wirt, of Maryland, a +distinguished lawyer, was nominated for President. He received, +however, only the electoral votes of Vermont. The excitement soon +cooled, and the party disappeared. + +The American or Know-Nothing party had for its slogan "America +for Americans," and was a considerable factor in certain +localities, especially in New York and the Middle States, from +1853 to 1856. The Free Soil party, espousing the cause of slavery +restriction, named Martin Van Buren as its presidential candidate +and polled enough votes in the election of 1848 to defeat Cass, +the Democratic candidate. It did not survive the election of +1852, but its essential principle was adopted by the Republican +party. + +Since the Civil War, the currency question has twice given life +to third-party movements. The Greenbacks of 1876-1884 and the +Populists of the 90's were both of the West. Both carried on for +a few years a vigorous crusade, and both were absorbed by the +older parties as the currency question assumed concrete form and +became g commanding political issue. Since 1872, the +Prohibitionists have named national tickets. Their question, +which was always dodged by the dominant parties, is now rapidly +nearing a solution. + +The one apparently unreconcilable element in our political life +is the socialistic or labor party. Never of great importance in +any national election, the various labor parties have been of +considerable influence in local politics. Because of its +magnitude, the labor vote has always been courted by Democrats +and Republicans with equal ardor but with varying success. + + + +CHAPTER II. THE RISE OF THE MACHINE + +Ideas or principles alone, however eloquently and insistently +proclaimed, will not make a party. There must be organization. +Thus we have two distinct practical phases of American party +politics: one regards the party as an agency of the electorate, a +necessary organ of democracy; the other, the party as an +organization, an army determined to achieve certain conquests. +Every party has, therefore, two aspects, each attracting a +different kind of person: one kind allured by the principles +espoused; the other, by the opportunities of place and personal +gain in the organization. The one kind typifies the body of +voters; the other the dominant minority of the party. + +When one speaks, then, of a party in America, he embraces in that +term: first, the tenets or platform for which the party assumes +to stand (i.e., principles that may have been wrought out of +experience, may have been created by public opinion, or were +perhaps merely made out of hand by manipulators); secondly, the +voters who profess attachment to these principles; and thirdly, +the political expert, the politician with his organization or +machine. Between the expert and the great following are many +gradations of party activity, from the occasional volunteer to +the chieftain who devotes all his time to "politics." + +It was discovered very early in American experience that without +organization issues would disintegrate and principles remain but +scintillating axioms. Thus necessity enlisted executive talent +and produced the politician, who, having once achieved an +organization, remained at his post to keep it intact between +elections and used it for purposes not always prompted by the +public welfare. + +In colonial days, when the struggle began between Crown and +Colonist, the colonial patriots formed clubs to designate their +candidates for public office. In Massachusetts these clubs were +known as "caucuses," a word whose derivation is unknown, but +which has now become fixed in our political vocabulary. These +early caucuses in Boston have been described as follows: "Mr. +Samuel Adams' father and twenty others, one or two from the north +end of the town, where all the ship business is carried on, used +to meet, make a caucus, and lay their plans for introducing +certain persons into places of trust and power. When they had +settled it, they separated, and used each their particular +influence within his own circle. He and his friends would furnish +themselves with ballots, including the names of the parties fixed +upon, which they distributed on the day of election. By acting in +concert together with a careful and extensive distribution of +ballots they generally carried the elections to their own mind." + +As the revolutionary propaganda increased in momentum, caucuses +assumed a more open character. They were a sort of informal town +meeting, where neighbors met and agreed on candidates and the +means of electing them. After the adoption of the Constitution, +the same methods were continued, though modified to suit the +needs of the new party alignments. In this informal manner, local +and even congressional candidates were named. + +Washington was the unanimous choice of the nation In the third +presidential election, John Adams was the tacitly accepted +candidate of the Federalists and Jefferson of the +Democratic-Republicans, and no formal nominations seem to have +been made. But from 1800 to 1824 the presidential candidates were +designated by members of Congress in caucus. It was by this means +that the Virginia Dynasty fastened itself upon the country. The +congressional caucus, which was one of the most arrogant and +compact political machines that our politics has produced, +discredited itself by nominating William H. Crawford (1824), a +machine politician, whom the public never believed to be of +presidential caliber. In the bitter fight that placed John Quincy +Adams in the White House and made Jackson the eternal enemy of +Clay, the congressional caucus met its doom. For several years, +presidential candidates were nominated by various informal +methods. In 1828 a number of state legislatures formally +nominated Jackson. In several States the party members of the +legislatures in caucus nominated presidential candidates. DeWitt +Clinton was so designated by the New York legislature in 1812 and +Henry Clay by the Kentucky legislature in 1822. Great mass +meetings, often garnished with barbecues, were held in many parts +of the country in 1824 for indorsing the informal nominations of +the various candidates. + +But none of these methods served the purpose. The President was a +national officer, backed by a national party, and chosen by a +national electorate. A national system of nominating the +presidential candidates was demanded. On September 26, 1881, 113 +delegates of the Anti-Masonic party, representing thirteen +States, met in a national convention in Baltimore. This was the +first national nominating convention held in America. + +In February, 1831, the Whig members of the Maryland legislature +issued a call for a national Whig convention. This was held in +Baltimore the following December. Eighteen States were +represented by delegates, each according to the number Of +presidential electoral votes it cast. Clay was named for +President. The first national Democratic convention met in +Baltimore on May 21, 1882, and nominated Jackson. + +Since that time, presidential candidates have been named in +national conventions. There have been surprisingly few changes in +procedure since the first convention. It opened with a temporary +organization, examined the credentials of delegates, and +appointed a committee on permanent organization, which reported a +roster of permanent officers. It appointed a committee on +platform--then called an address to the people; it listened to +eulogistic nominating speeches, balloted for candidates, and +selected a committee to notify the nominees of their designation. +This is practically the order of procedure today. The national +convention is at once the supreme court and the supreme +legislature of the national party. It makes its own rules, +designates its committees, formulates their procedure and defines +their power, writes the platform, and appoints the national +executive committee. + +Two rules that have played a significant part in these +conventions deserve special mention. The first Democratic +convention, in order to insure the nomination of Van Buren for +Vice-President--the nomination of Jackson for President was +uncontested--adopted the rule that "two-thirds of the whole +number of the votes in the convention shall be necessary to +constitute a choice." This "two-thirds" rule, so undemocratic in +its nature, remains the practice of the Democratic party today. +The Whigs and Republicans always adhered to the majority rule. +The early Democratic conventions also adopted the practice of +allowing the majority of the delegates from any State to cast the +vote of the entire delegation from that State, a rule which is +still adhered to by the Democrats. But the Republicans have since +1876 adhered to the policy of allowing each individual delegate +to cast his vote as he chooses. + +The convention was by no means novel when accepted as a national +organ for a national party. As early as 1789 an informal +convention was held in the Philadelphia State House for +nominating Federalist candidates for the legislature. The +practice spread to many Pennsylvania counties and to other +States, and soon this informality of self-appointed delegates +gave way to delegates appointed according to accepted rules. When +the legislative caucus as a means for nominating state officers +fell into disrepute, state nominating conventions took its place. +In 1812 one of the earliest movements for a state convention was +started by Tammany Hall, because it feared that the legislative +caucus would nominate DeWitt Clinton, its bitterest foe. The +caucus, however, did not name Clinton, and the convention was not +assembled. The first state nominating convention was held in +Utica, New York, in 1824 by that faction of the Democratic party +calling itself the People's party. The custom soon spread to +every State, so that by 1835 it was firmly established. County +and city conventions also took the place of the caucus for naming +local candidates. + +But nominations are only the beginning of the contest, and +obviously caucuses and conventions cannot conduct campaigns. So +from the beginning these nominating bodies appointed campaign +committees. With the increase in population came the increased +complexity of the committee system. By 1830 many of the States +had perfected a series of state, district, and county committees. + +There remained the necessity of knitting these committees into a +national unity. The national convention which nominated Clay in +1831 appointed a "Central State Corresponding Committee" in each +State where none existed, and it recommended "to the several +States to organize subordinate corresponding committees in each +county and town." This was the beginning of what soon was to +evolve into a complete national hierarchy of committees. In 1848 +the Democratic convention appointed a permanent national +committee, composed of one member from each State. This committee +was given the power to call the next national convention, and +from the start became the national executive body of the party. + +It is a common notion that the politician and his machine are of +comparatively recent origin. But the American politician arose +contemporaneously with the party, and with such singular +fecundity of ways and means that it is doubtful if his modern +successors could teach him anything. McMaster declares: "A very +little study of long-forgotten politics will suffice to show that +in filibustering and gerrymandering, in stealing governorships +and legislatures, in using force at the polls, in colonizing and +in distributing patronage to whom patronage is due, in all the +frauds and tricks that go to make up the worst form of practical +politics, the men who founded our state and national governments +were always our equals, and often our masters." And this at a +time when only propertied persons could vote in any of the States +and when only professed Christians could either vote or hold +office in two of them! + +While Washington was President, Tammany Hall, the first municipal +machine, began its career; and presently George Clinton, Governor +of New York, and his nephew, DeWitt Clinton, were busy organizing +the first state machine. The Clintons achieved their purpose +through the agency of a Council of Appointment, prescribed by the +first Constitution of the State, consisting of the Governor and +four senators chosen by the legislature. This council had the +appointment of nearly all the civil officers of the State from +Secretary of State to justices of the peace and auctioneers, +making a total of 8287 military and 6663 civil offices. As the +emoluments of some of these offices were relatively high, the +disposal of such patronage was a plum-tree for the politician. +The Clintons had been Anti-Federalists and had opposed the +adoption of the Constitution. In 1801 DeWitt Clinton became a +member of the Council of Appointment and soon dictated its +action. The head of every Federalist office-holder fell. +Sheriffs, county clerks, surrogates, recorders, justices by the +dozen, auctioneers by the score, were proscribed for the benefit +of the Clintons. De Witt was sent to the United States Senate in +1802, and at the age of thirty-three he found himself on the +highroad to political eminence. But he resigned almost at once to +become Mayor of New York City, a position he occupied for about +ten years, years filled with the most venomous fights between +Burrites and Bucktails. Clinton organized a compact machine in +the city. A biased contemporary description of this machine has +come down to us. "You [Clinton] are encircled by a mercenary +band, who, while they offer adulation to your system of error, +are ready at the first favorable moment to forsake and desert +you. A portion of them are needy young men, who without maturely +investigating the consequence, have sacrificed principle to +self-aggrandizement. Others are mere parasites, that well know +the tenure on which they hold their offices, and will ever pay +implicit obedience to those who administer to their wants. Many +of your followers are among the most profligate of the community. +They are the bane of social and domestic happiness, senile and +dependent panderers." + +In 1812 Clinton became a candidate for President and polled 89 +electoral votes against Madison's 128. Subsequently he became +Governor of New York on the Erie Canal issue; but his political +cunning seems to have forsaken him; and his perennial quarrels +with every other faction in his State made him the object of a +constant fire of vituperation. He had, however, taught all his +enemies ''the value of spoils, and he adhered to the end to the +political action he early advised a friend to adopt: "In a +political warfare, the defensive side will eventually lose. The +meekness of Quakerism will do in religion but not in politics. I +repeat it, everything will answer to energy and decision." + +Martin Van Buren was an early disciple of Clinton. Though he +broke with his political chief in 1813, he had remained long +enough in the Clinton school to learn every trick; and he +possessed such native talent for intrigue, so smooth a manner, +and such a wonderful memory for names, that he soon found himself +at the head of a much more perfect and far-reaching machine than +Clinton had ever dreamed of. The Empire State has never produced +the equal of Van Buren as a manipulator of legislatures. No +modern politician would wish to face publicity if he resorted to +the petty tricks that Van Buren used in legislative politics. And +when, in 1891, he was elected to the Senate of the United States, +he became one of the organizers of the first national machine. + +The state machine of Van Buren was long known as the "Albany +Regency." It included several very able politicians: William L. +Marcy, who became United States Senator in 1831; Silas Wright, +elected Senator in 1833; John A. Dix, who became Senator in 1845; +Benjamin F. Butler, who was United States Attorney-General under +President Van Buren, besides a score or more of prominent state +officials. It had an influential organ in the Albany Argus, +lieutenants in every county, and captains in every town. Its +confidential agents kept the leaders constantly informed of the +political situation in every locality; and its discipline made +the wish of Van Buren and his colleagues a command. Federal and +local patronage and a sagacious distribution of state contracts +sustained this combination. When the practice of nominating by +conventions began, the Regency at once discerned the strategic +value of controlling delegates, and, until the break in the +Democratic party in 1848, it literally reigned in the State. + +With the disintegration of the Federalist party came the loss of +concentrated power by the colonial families of New England and +New York. The old aristocracy of the South was more fortunate in +the maintenance of its power. Jefferson's party was not only well +disciplined; it gave its confidence to a people still accustomed +to class rule and in turn was supported by them. In a strict +sense the Virginia Dynasty was not a machine like Van Buren's +Albany Regency. It was the effect of the concentrated influence +of men of great ability rather than a definite organization. The +congressional caucus was the instrument through which their +influence was made practical. In 1816, however, a considerable +movement was started to end the Virginia monopoly. It spread to +the Jeffersonians of the North. William H. Crawford, of Georgia, +and Daniel Tompkins, of New York, came forward as competitors +with Monroe for the caucus nomination. The knowledge of this +intrigue fostered the rising revolt against the caucus. +Twenty-two Republicans, many of whom were known to be opposed to +the caucus system, absented themselves. Monroe was nominated by +the narrow margin of eleven votes over Crawford. By the time +Monroe had served his second term the discrediting of the caucus +was made complete by the nomination of Crawford by a thinly +attended gathering of his adherents, who presumed to act for the +party. The Virginia Dynasty had no further favorites to foster, +and a new political force swept into power behind the dominating +personality of Andrew Jackson. + +The new Democracy, however, did not remove the aristocratic power +of the slaveholder; and from Jackson's day to Buchanan's this +became an increasing force in the party councils. The slavery +question illustrates how a compact group of capable and +determined men, dominated by an economic motive, can exercise for +years in the political arena a preponderating influence, even +though they represent an actual minority of the nation. This +untoward condition was made possible by the political sagacity +and persistence of the party managers and by the unwillingness of +a large portion of the people to bring the real issue to a head. + +Before the Civil War, then, party organization had become a fixed +and necessary incident in American politics. The war changed the +face of our national affairs. The changes wrought multiplied the +opportunities of the professional politician, and in these +opportunities, as well as in the transfused energies and ideals +of the people, we must seek the causes for those perversions of +party and party machinery which have characterized our modern +epoch. + + + +CHAPTER III. THE TIDE OF MATERIALISM + +The Civil War, which shocked the country into a new national +consciousness and rearranged the elements of its economic life, +also brought about a new era in political activity and +management. The United States after Appomattox was a very +different country from the United States before Sumter was fired +upon. The war was a continental upheaval, like the Appalachian +uplift in our geological history, producing sharp and profound +readjustments. + +Despite the fact that in 1864 Lincoln had been elected on a Union +ticket supported by War Democrats, the Republicans claimed the +triumphs of the war as their own. They emerged from the struggle +with the enormous prestige of a party triumphant and with +"Saviors of the Union" inscribed on their banners. + +The death of their wise and great leader opened the door to a +violent partizan orgy. President Andrew Johnson could not check +the fury of the radical reconstructionists; and a new political +era began in a riot of dogmatic and insolent dictatorship, which +was intensified by the mob of carpetbaggers, scalawags, and +freedmen in the South, and not abated by the lawless promptings +of the Ku-Klux to regain patrician leadership in the home of +secession nor by the baneful resentment of the North. The soldier +was made a political asset. For a generation the "bloody shirt" +was waved before the eyes of the Northern voter; and the evils, +both grotesque and gruesome, of an unnatural reconstruction are +not yet forgotten in the South. + +A second opportunity of the politician was found in the rapid +economic expansion that followed the war. The feeling of security +in the North caused by the success of the Union arms buoyed an +unbounded optimism which made it easy to enlist capital in new +enterprises, and the protective tariff and liberal banking law +stimulated industry. Exports of raw material and food products +stimulated mining, grazing, and farming. European capital sought +investments in American railroads, mines, and industrial under- +takings. In the decade following the war the output of pig iron +doubled, that of coal multiplied by five, and that of steel by +one hundred. Superior iron and copper, Pennsylvania coal and oil, +Nevada and California gold and silver, all yielded their enormous +values to this new call of enterprise. Inventions and +manufactures of all kinds flourished. During 1850-60 +manufacturing establishments had increased by fourteen per cent. +During 1860-70 they increased seventy-nine per cent. + +The Homestead Act of May 20, 1862, opened vast areas of public +lands to a new immigration. The flow of population was westward, +and the West called for communication with the East. The Union +Pacific and Central Pacific railways, the pioneer +transcontinental lines, fostered on generous grants of land, were +the tokens of the new transportation movement. Railroads were +pushing forward everywhere with unheard-of rapidity. Short lines +were being merged into far-reaching systems. In the early +seventies the Pennsylvania system was organized and the +Vanderbilts acquired control of lines as far west as Chicago. +Soon the Baltimore and Ohio system extended its empire of trade +to the Mississippi. Half a dozen ambitious trans-Mississippi +systems, connecting with four new transcontinental projects, were +put into operation. + +Prosperity is always the opportunity of the politician. What is +of greatest significance to the student of politics is that +prosperity at this time was organized on a new basis. Before the +war business had been conducted largely by individuals or +partnerships. The unit was small; the amount of capital needed +was limited. But now the unit was expanding so rapidly, the need +for capital was so lavish, the empire of trade so extensive, that +a new mechanism of ownership was necessary. This device, of +course, was the corporation. It had, indeed, existed as a trading +unit for many years. But the corporation before 1860 was +comparatively small and was generally based upon charters granted +by special act of the legislature. + +No other event has had so practical a bearing on our politics and +our economic and social life as the advent of the corporate +device for owning and manipulating private business. For it links +the omnipotence of the State to the limitations of private +ownership; it thrusts the interests of private business into +every legislature that grants charters or passes regulating acts; +it diminishes, on the other hand, that stimulus to honesty and +correct dealing which a private individual discerns to be his +greatest asset in trade, for it replaces individual +responsibility with group responsibility and scatters ownership +among so large a number of persons that sinister manipulation is +possible. + +But if the private corporation, through its interest in broad +charter privileges and liberal corporation laws and its devotion +to the tariff and to conservative financial policies, found it +convenient to do business with the politician and his +organization, the quasi-public corporations, especially the steam +railroads and street railways, found it almost essential to their +existence. They received not only their franchises but frequently +large bonuses from the public treasury. The Pacific roads alone +were endowed with an empire of 145,000,000 acres of public land. +States, counties, and cities freely loaned their credit and gave +ample charters to new railway lines which were to stimulate +prosperity. + +City councils, legislatures, mayors, governors, Congress, and +presidents were drawn into the maelstrom of commercialism. It is +not surprising that side by side with the new business +organization there grew up a new political organization, and that +the new business magnate was accompanied by a new political +magnate. The party machine and the party boss were the natural +product of the time, which was a time of gain and greed. It was a +sordid reaction, indeed, from the high principles that sought +victory on the field of battle and that found their noblest +embodiment in the character of Abraham Lincoln. + +The dominant and domineering party chose the leading soldier of +the North as its candidate for President. General Grant, elected +as a popular idol because of his military genius, possessed +neither the experience nor the skill to countermove the +machinations of designing politicians and their business allies. +On the other hand, he soon displayed an admiration for business +success that placed him at once in accord with the spirit of the +hour. He exalted men who could make money rather than men who +could command ideas. He chose Alexander T. Stewart, the New York +merchant prince, one of the three richest men of his day, for +Secretary of the Treasury. The law, however, forbade the +appointment to this office of any one who should "directly or +indirectly be concerned or interested in carrying on the business +of trade or commerce," and Stewart was disqualified. Adolph E. +Borie of Philadelphia, whose qualifications were the possession +of great wealth and the friendship of the President, was named +Secretary of the Navy. Another personal friend, John A. Rawlins, +was named Secretary of War. A third friend, Elihu B. Washburne of +Illinois, was made Secretary of State. Washburne soon resigned, +and Hamilton Fish of New York was appointed in his place. Fish, +together with General Jacob D. Cox of Ohio, Secretary of the +Interior, and Judge E. Rockwood Hoar of Massachusetts, +Attorney-General, formed a strong triumvirate of ability and +character in the Cabinet. But, while Grant displayed pleasure in +the companionship of these eminent men, they never possessed his +complete confidence. When the machinations for place and favor +began, Hoar and Cox were in the way. Hoar had offended the Senate +in his recommendations for federal circuit judges (the circuit +court was then newly established), and when the President named +him for Justice of the Supreme Court, Hoar was rejected. Senator +Cameron, one of the chief spoils politicians of the time, told +Hoar frankly why: "What could you expect for a man who had +snubbed seventy Senators!" A few months later (June, 1870), the +President bluntly asked for Hoar's resignation, a sacrifice to +the gods of the Senate, to purchase their favor for the Santo +Domingo treaty. + +Cox resigned in the autumn. As Secretary of the Interior he had +charge of the Patent Office, Census Bureau, and Indian Service, +all of them requiring many appointments. He had attempted to +introduce a sort of civil service examination for applicants and +had vehemently protested against political assessments levied on +clerks in his department. He especially offended Senators Cameron +and Chandler, party chieftains who had the ear of the President. +General Cox stated the matter plainly: "My views of the necessity +of reform in the civil service had brought me more or less into +collision with the plans of our active political managers and my +sense of duty has obliged me to oppose some of their methods of +action." These instances reveal how the party chieftains insisted +inexorably upon their demands. To them the public service was +principally a means to satisfy party ends, and the chief duty of +the President and his Cabinet was to satisfy the claims of party +necessity. General Cox said that distributing offices occupied +"the larger part of the time of the President and all his +Cabinet." General Garfield wrote (1877): "One-third of the +working hours of Senators and Representatives is hardly +sufficient to meet the demands made upon them in reference to +appointments to office." + +By the side of the partizan motives stalked the desire for gain. +There were those to whom parties meant but the opportunity for +sudden wealth. The President's admiration for commercial success +and his inability to read the motives of sycophants multiplied +their opportunities, and in the eight years of his administration +there was consummated the baneful union of business and politics. + +During the second Grant campaign (1872), when Horace Greeley was +making his astounding run for President, the New York Sun hinted +at gross and wholesale briberies of Congressmen by Oakes Ames and +his associates who had built the Union Pacific Railroad, an +enterprise which the United States had generously aided with +loans and gifts. + +Three committees of Congress, two in the House and one in the +Senate (the Poland Committee, the Wilson Committee, and the +Senate Committee), subsequently investigated the charges. Their +investigations disclosed the fact that Ames, then a member of the +House of Representatives, the principal stockholder in the Union +Pacific, and the soul of the enterprise, had organized, under an +existing Pennsylvania charter, a construction company called the +Credit Mobilier, whose shares were issued to Ames and his +associates. To the Credit Mobilier were issued the bonds and +stock of the Union Pacific, which had been paid for "at not more +than thirty cents on the dollar in road-making."* As the United +States, in addition to princely gifts of land, had in effect +guaranteed the cost of construction by authorizing the issue of +Government bonds, dollar for dollar and side by side with the +bonds of the road, the motive of the magnificent shuffle, which +gave the road into the hands of a construction company, was +clear. Now it was alleged that stock of the Credit Mobilier, +paying dividends of three hundred and forty per cent, had been +distributed by Ames among many of his fellow-Congressmen, in +order to forestall a threatened investigation. It was disclosed +that some of the members had refused point blank to have anything +to do with the stock; others had refused after deliberation; +others had purchased some of it outright; others, alas!, had +"purchased" it, to be paid for out of its own dividends. + +* Testimony before the Wilson Committee. + + +The majority of the members involved in the nasty affair were +absolved by the Poland Committee from "any corrupt motive or +purpose." But Oakes Ames of Massachusetts and James Brooks of New +York were recommended for expulsion from the House and Patterson +of New Hampshire from the Senate. The House, however, was content +with censuring Ames and Brooks, and the Senate permitted +Patterson's term to expire, since only five days of it remained. +Whatever may have been the opinion of Congress, and whatever a +careful reading of the testimony discloses to an impartial mind +at this remote day, upon the voters of that time the revelations +came as a shock. Some of the most trusted Congressmen were drawn +into the miasma of suspicion, among them Garfield; Dawes; +Scofield; Wilson, the newly elected Vice-President; Colfax, the +outgoing Vice-President. Colfax had been a popular idol, with the +Presidency in his vision; now bowed and disgraced, he left the +national capital never to return with a public commission. + +In 1874 came the disclosures of the Whiskey Ring. They involved +United States Internal Revenue officers and distillers in the +revenue district of St. Louis and a number of officials at +Washington. Benjamin H. Bristow, on becoming Secretary of the +Treasury in June of that year, immediately scented corruption. He +discovered that during 1871-74 only about one-third of the +whiskey shipped from St. Louis had paid the tax and that the +Government had been defrauded of nearly $3,000,000. "If a +distiller was honest," says James Ford Rhodes, the eminent +historian, "he was entrapped into some technical violation of the +law by the officials, who by virtue of their authority seized his +distillery, giving him the choice of bankruptcy or a partnership +in their operations; and generally he succumbed." + +McDonald, the supervisor of the St. Louis revenue district, was +the leader of the Whiskey Ring. He lavished gifts upon President +Grant, who, with an amazing indifference and innocence, accepted +such favors from all kinds of sources. Orville E. Babcock, the +President's private secretary, who possessed the complete +confidence of the guileless general, was soon enmeshed in the net +of investigation. Grant at first declared, "If Babcock is guilty, +there is no man who wants him so much proven guilty as I do, for +it is the greatest piece of traitorism to me that a man could +possibly practice." When Babcock was indicted, however, for +complicity to defraud the Government, the President did not +hesitate to say on oath that he had never seen anything in +Babcock's behavior which indicated that he was in any way +interested in the Whiskey Ring and that he had always had "great +confidence in his integrity and efficiency." In other ways the +President displayed his eagerness to defend his private +secretary. The jury acquitted Babcock, but the public did not. He +was compelled to resign under pressure of public condemnation, +and was afterwards indicted for conspiracy to rob a safe of +documents of an incriminating character. But Grant seems never to +have lost faith in him. Three of the men sent to prison for their +complicity in the whiskey fraud were pardoned after six months. +McDonald, the chieftain of the gang, served but one year of his +term. + +The exposure of the Whiskey Ring was followed by an even more +startling humiliation. The House Committee on Expenditures in the +War Department recommended that General William W. Belknap, +Secretary of War, be impeached for "high crimes and misdemeanors +while in office," and the House unanimously adopted the +recommendation. The evidence upon which the committee based its +drastic recommendation disclosed the most sordid division of +spoils between the Secretary and his wife and two rascals who +held in succession the valuable post of trader at Fort Sill in +the Indian Territory. + +The committee's report was read about three o'clock in the +afternoon of March 2, 1876. In the forenoon of the same day +Belknap had sent his resignation to the President, who had +accepted it immediately. The President and Belknap were personal +friends. But the certainty of Belknap's perfidy was not removed +by the attitude of the President, nor by the vote of the Senate +on the article of impeachment--37 guilty, 25 not guilty-for the +evidence was too convincing. The public knew by this time Grant's +childlike failing in sticking to his friends; and 93 of the 25 +Senators who voted not guilty had publicly declared they did so, +not because they believed him innocent, but because they believed +they had no jurisdiction over an official who had resigned. + +There were many minor indications of the harvest which gross +materialism was reaping in the political field. State and city +governments were surrendered to political brigands. In 1871 the +Governor of Nebraska was removed for embezzlement. Kansas was +startled by revelations of brazen bribery in her senatorial +elections (1872-1873). General Schenck, representing the United +States at the Court of St. James, humiliated his country by +dabbling in a fraudulent mining scheme. + +In a speech before the Senate, then trying General Belknap, +Senator George F. Hoar, on May 6, 1876, summed up the greater +abominations: + +"My own public life has been a very brief and insignificant one, +extending little beyond the duration of a single term of +senatorial office. But in that brief period I have seen five +judges of a high court of the United States driven from office by +threats of impeachment for corruption or maladministration. I +have heard the taunt from friendliest lips, that when the United +States presented herself in the East to take part with the +civilized world in generous competition in the arts of life, the +only products of her institutions in which she surpassed all +others beyond question was her corruption. I have seen in the +State in the Union foremost in power and wealth four judges of +her courts impeached for corruption, and the political +administration of her chief city become a disgrace and a byword +throughout the world. I have seen the chairman of the Committee +on Military Affairs in the House rise in his place and demand the +expulsion of four of his associates for making sale of their +official privilege of selecting the youths to be educated at our +great military schools. When the greatest railroad of the world, +binding together the continent and uniting the two great seas +which wash our shores, was finished, I have seen our national +triumph and exaltation turned to bitterness and shame by the +unanimous reports of three committees of Congress--two in the +House and one here--that every step of that mighty enterprise had +been taken in fraud. I have heard in highest places the shameless +doctrine avowed by men grown old in public office that the true +way by which power should be gained in the Republic is to bribe +the people with the offices created for their service, and the +true end for which it should be used when gained is the promotion +of selfish ambition and the gratification of personal revenge. I +have heard that suspicions haunt the footsteps of the trusted +companions of the President." + +These startling facts did not shatter the prestige of the +Republicans, the "Saviors of the Union," nor humble their +leaders. One of them, Senator Foraker, says*: "The campaign +(1876) on the part of the Democrats gave emphasis to the reform +idea and exploited Tilden as the great reform governor of New +York and the best fitted man in the country to bring about +reforms in the Government of the United States. No reforms were +needed: but a fact like that never interfered with a reform +campaign." The orthodoxy of the politician remained unshaken. +Foraker's reasons were the creed of thousands: "The Republican +party had prosecuted the war successfully; had reconstructed the +States; had rehabilitated our finances, and brought on specie +redemption." The memoirs of politicians and statesmen of this +period, such as Cullom, Foraker, Platt, even Hoar, are imbued +with an inflexible faith in the party and colored by the +conviction that it is a function of Government to aid business. +Platt, for instance, alluding to Blaine's attitude as Speaker, in +the seventies, said: "What I liked about him was his frank and +persistent contention that the citizen who best loved his party +and was loyal to it, was loyal to and best loved his country." +And many years afterwards, when a new type of leader appeared +representing a new era of conviction, Platt was deeply concerned. +His famous letter to Roosevelt, when the Rough Rider was being +mentioned for Governor of New York (1899), shows the reluctance +of the old man to see the signs of the times: "The thing that +really did bother me was this: I had heard from a great many +sources that you were a little loose on the relations of capital +and labor, on trusts and combinations, and indeed on the numerous +questions which have recently arisen in politics affecting the +security of earnings and the right of a man to run his own +business in his own way, with due respect of course to the Ten +Commandments and the Penal Code." + +* "Notes from a Busy Life", vol. I., 98. + + +The leaders of both the great parties firmly and honestly +believed that it was the duty of the Government to aid private +enterprise, and that by stimulating business everybody is helped. +This article of faith, with the doctrine of the sanctity of the +party, was a natural product of the conditions outlined in the +beginning of this chapter--the war and the remarkable economic +expansion following the war. It was the cause of the alliance +between business and politics. It made the machine and the boss +the sinister and ever present shadows of legitimate organization +and leadership. + + + +CHAPTER IV. THE POLITICIAN AND THE CITY + +The gigantic national machine that was erected during Grant's +administration would have been ineffectual without local sources +of power. These sources of power were found in the cities, now +thriving on the new-born commerce and industry, increasing +marvelously in numbers and in size, and offering to the political +manipulator opportunities that have rarely been paralleled.* + +* Between 1860 and 1890 the number of cities of 8000 or more +inhabitants increased from 141 to 448, standing at 226 in 1870. +In 1865 less than 20% of our people lived in the cities; in 1890, +over 30%; in 1900, 40%; in 1910, 46.3%. By 1890 there were six +cities with more than half a million inhabitants, fifteen with +more than 200,000, and twenty-eight with more than 100,000. In +1910 there were twenty-eight cities with a population over +200,000, fifty cities over 100,000, and ninety-eight over 50,000. +It was no uncommon occurrence for a city to double its population +in a decade. In ten years Birmingham gained 245%, Los Angeles, +211%, Seattle, 194%, Spokane, 183%, Dallas, 116%, Schenectady, +129%. + + +The governmental framework of the American city is based on the +English system as exemplified in the towns of Colonial America. +Their charters were received from the Crown and their business +was conducted by a mayor and a council composed of aldermen and +councilmen. The mayor was usually appointed; the council elected +by a property-holding electorate. In New England the glorified +town meeting was an important agency of local government. + +After the Revolution, mayors as well as councilmen were elected, +and the charters of the towns were granted by the legislature, +not by the executive, of the State. In colonial days charters had +been granted by the King. They had fixed for the city certain +immunities and well-defined spheres of autonomy. But when the +legislatures were given the power to grant charters, they reduced +the charter to the level of a statutory enactment, which could be +amended or repealed by any successive legislature, thereby +opening up a convenient field for political maneuvering. The +courts have, moreover, construed these charters strictly, holding +the cities closely bound to those powers which the legislatures +conferred upon them. + +The task of governing the early American town was simple enough. +In 1790 New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and Charleston +were the only towns in the United States of over 8000 +inhabitants; all together they numbered scarcely 130,000. Their +populations were homogeneous; their wants were few; and they were +still in that happy childhood when every voter knew nearly every +other voter and when everybody knew his neighbor's business as +well as his own, and perhaps better. + +Gradually the towns awoke to their newer needs and demanded +public service--lighting, street cleaning, fire protection, +public education. All these matters, however, could be easily +looked after by the mayor and the council committees. But when +these towns began to spread rapidly into cities, they quickly +outgrew their colonial garments. Yet the legislatures were loath +to cast the old garments aside. One may say that from 1840 to +1901, when the Galveston plan of commission government was +inaugurated, American municipal government was nothing but a +series of contests between a small body of alert citizens +attempting to fix responsibility on public officers and a few +adroit politicians attempting to elude responsibility; both sides +appealing to an electorate which was habitually somnolent but +subject to intermittent awakenings through spasms of +righteousness. + +During this epoch no important city remained immune from ruthless +legislative interference. Year after year the legislature shifted +officers and responsibilities at the behest of the boss. "Ripper +bills" were passed, tearing up the entire administrative systems +of important municipalities. The city was made the plaything of +the boss and the machine. + +Throughout the constant shifts that our city governments have +undergone one may, however, discern three general plans of +government. + +The first was the centering of power in the city council, whether +composed of two chambers--a board of aldermen and a common +council--as in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, or of one +council, as in many lesser cities. It soon became apparent that a +large body, whose chief function is legislation, is utterly unfit +to look after administrative details. Such a body, in order to do +business, must act through committees. Responsibility is +scattered. Favoritism is possible in letting contracts, in making +appointments, in depositing city funds, in making public +improvements, in purchasing supplies and real estate, and in a +thousand other ways. So, by controlling the appointment of +committees, a shrewd manipulator could virtually control all the +municipal activities and make himself overlord of the city. + +The second plan of government attempted to make the mayor the +controlling force. It reduced the council to a legislative body +and exalted the mayor into a real executive with power to appoint +and to remove heads of departments, thereby making him +responsible for the city administration. Brooklyn under Mayor +Seth Low was an encouraging example of this type of government. +But the type was rarely found in a pure form. The politician +succeeded either in electing a subservient mayor or in curtailing +the mayor's authority by having the heads of departments elected +or appointed by the council or made subject to the approval of +the council. If the council held the key to the city treasury, +the boss reigned, for councilmen from properly gerrymandered +wards could usually be trusted to execute his will. + +The third form of government was government by boards. Here it +was attempted to place the administration of various municipal +activities in the hands of independent boards. Thus a board had +charge of the police, another of the fire department, another of +public works, and so on. Often there were a dozen of these boards +and not infrequently over thirty in a single city, as in +Philadelphia. Sometimes these boards were elected by the people; +sometimes they were appointed by the council; sometimes they were +appointed by the mayor; in one or two instances they were +appointed by the Governor. Often their powers were shared with +committees of the council; a committee on police, for instance, +shared with the Board of Police Commissioners the direction of +police affairs. Usually these boards were responsible to no one +but the electorate (and that remotely) and were entirely without +coordination, a mere agglomeration of independent creations +generally with ill-defined powers. + +Sometimes the laws provided that not all the members of the +appointive boards should "belong to the same political party" or +"be of the same political opinion in state and national issues." +It was clearly the intention to wipe out the partizan complexion +of such boards. But this device was no stumbling-block to the +boss. Whatever might be the "opinions" on national matters of the +men appointed, they usually had a perfect understanding with the +appointing authorities as to local matters. As late as 1898, a +Democratic mayor of New York (Van Wyck) summarily removed the two +Republican members of the Board of Police Commissioners and +replaced them by Republicans after his own heart. In truth, the +bipartizan board fitted snugly into the dual party regime that +existed in many cities, whereby the county offices were +apportioned to one party, the city offices to the other, and the +spoils to both. It is doubtful if any device was ever more +deceiving and less satisfactory than the bipartizan board. + +The reader must not be led to think that any one of these plans +of municipal government prevailed at any one time. They all still +exist, contemporaneously with the newer commission plan and the +city manager plan. + +Hand in hand with these experiments in governmental mechanisms +for the growing cities went a rapidly increasing expenditure of +public funds. Streets had to be laid out, paved, and lighted; +sewers extended; firefighting facilities increased; schools +built; parks, boulevards, and playgrounds acquired, and scores of +new activities undertaken by the municipality. All these brought +grist to the politician's mill. So did his control of the police +force and the police courts. And finally, with the city reaching +its eager streets far out into the country, came the necessity +for rapid transportation, which opened up for the municipal +politician a new El Dorado. + +Under our laws the right of a public service corporation to +occupy the public streets is based upon a franchise from the +city. Before the days of the referendum the franchise was granted +by the city council, usually as a monopoly, sometimes in +perpetuity; and, until comparatively recent years, the +corporation paid nothing to the city for the rights it acquired. + +When we reflect that within a few decades of the discovery of +electric power, every city, large and small, had its street-car +and electric-light service, and that most of these cities, +through their councils, gave away these monopoly rights for long +periods of time, we can imagine the princely aggregate of the +gifts which public service corporations have received at the +hands of our municipal governments, and the nature of the +temptations these corporations were able to spread before the +greedy gaze of those whose gesture would seal the grant. + +But it was not only at the granting of the franchise that the +boss and his machine sought for spoils. A public service +corporation, being constantly asked for favors, is a continuing +opportunity for the political manipulator. Public service +corporations could share their patronage with the politician in +exchange for favors. Through their control of many jobs, and +through their influence with banks, they could show a wide +assortment of favors to the politician in return for his +influence; for instance, in the matter of traffic regulations, +permission to tear up the streets, inspection laws, rate +schedules, tax assessments, coroners' reports, or juries. + +When the politician went to the voters, he adroitly concealed his +designs under the name of one of the national parties. Voters +were asked to vote for a Republican or a Democrat, not for a +policy of municipal administration or other local policies. The +system of committees, caucuses, conventions, built up in every +city, was linked to the national organization. A citizen of New +York, for instance, was not asked to vote for the Broadway +Franchise, which raised such a scandal in the eighties, but to +vote for aldermen running on a national tariff ticket! + +The electorate was somnolent and permitted the politician to have +his way. The multitudes of the city came principally from two +sources, from Europe and from the rural districts of our own +country. Those who came to the city from the country were +prompted by industrial motives; they sought wider opportunities; +they soon became immersed in their tasks and paid little +attention to public questions. The foreign immigrants who +congested our cities were alien to American institutions. They +formed a heterogeneous population to whom a common ideal of +government was unknown and democracy a word without meaning. +These foreigners were easily influenced and easily led. Under the +old naturalization laws, they were herded into the courts just +before election and admitted to citizenship. In New York they +were naturalized under the guidance of wardheelers, not +infrequently at the rate of one a minute! And, before the days of +registration laws, ballots were distributed to them and they were +led to the polls, as charity children are given excursion tickets +and are led to their annual summer's day picnic. + +The slipshod methods of naturalization have been revealed since +the new law (1906) has been in force. Tens of thousands of voters +who thought they were citizens found that their papers were only +declarations of intentions, or "first papers." Other tens of +thousands had lost even these papers and could not designate the +courts that had issued them; and other thousands found that the +courts that had naturalized them were without jurisdiction in the +matter. + +It was not merely among these newcomers that the boss found his +opportunities for carrying elections. The dense city blocks were +convenient lodging places for "floaters." Just before elections, +the population of the downtown wards in the larger cities +increased surprisingly. The boss fully availed himself of the +psychological and social reactions of the city upon the +individual, knowing instinctively how much more easily men are +corrupted when they are merged in the crowd and have lost their +sense of personal responsibility. + +It was in the city, then, that industrial politics found their +natural habitat. We shall now scrutinize more closely some of the +developments which arose out of such an environment. + + + +CHAPTER V. TAMMANY HALL + +Before the Revolutionary War numerous societies were organized to +aid the cause of Independence. These were sometimes called "Sons +of Liberty" and not infrequently "Sons of St. Tammany," after an +Indian brave whom tradition had shrouded in virtue. The name was +probably adopted to burlesque the royalist societies named after +St. George, St. David, or St. Andrew. After the war these +societies vanished. But, in New York City, William Mooney, an +upholsterer, reorganized the local society as "Tammany Society or +Columbian Order," devoted ostensibly to goodfellowship and +charity. Its officers bore Indian titles and its ceremonies were +more or less borrowed from the red man, not merely because of +their unique and picturesque character, but to emphasize the +truly American and anti-British convictions of its members. The +society attracted that element of the town's population which +delighted in the crude ceremonials and the stimulating potions +that always accompanied them, mostly small shopkeepers and +mechanics. It was among this class that the spirit of discontent +against the power of Federalism was strongest--a spirit that has +often become decisive in our political fortunes. + +This was still the day of the "gentleman," of small clothes, +silver shoe-buckles, powdered wigs, and lace ruffles. Only +taxpayers and propertied persons could vote, and public office +was still invested with certain prerogatives and privileges. +Democracy was little more than a name. There was, however, a +distinct division of sentiment, and the drift towards democracy +was accelerated by immigration. The newcomers were largely of the +humble classes, among whom the doctrines of democratic discontent +were welcome. + +Tammany soon became partizan. The Federalist members withdrew, +probably influenced by Washington's warning against secret +political societies. By 1798 it was a Republican club meeting in +various taverns, finally selecting Martling's "Long Room" for its +nightly carousals. Soon after this a new constitution was adopted +which adroitly transformed the society into a compact political +machine, every member subscribing to the oath that he would +resist the encroachments of centralized power over the State. + +Tradition has it that the transformer of Tammany into the first +compact and effective political machine was Aaron Burr. There is +no direct evidence that he wrote the new constitution. But there +is collateral evidence. Indeed, it would not have been Burrian +had he left any written evidence of his connection with the +organization. For Burr was one of those intriguers who revel in +mystery, who always hide their designs, and never bind themselves +in writing without leaving a dozen loopholes for escape. He was +by this time a prominent figure in American politics. His skill +had been displayed in Albany, both in the passing of legislation +and in out-maneuvering Hamilton and having himself elected United +States Senator against the powerful combination of the +Livingstons and the Schuylers. He was plotting for the Presidency +as the campaign of 1800 approached, and Tammany was to be the +fulcrum to lift him to this conspicuous place. + +Under the ostensible leadership of Matthew L. Davis, Burr's chief +lieutenant, every ward of the city was carefully organized, a +polling list was made, scores of new members were pledged to +Tammany, and during the three days of voting (in New York State +until 1840 elections lasted three days), while Hamilton was +making eloquent speeches for the Federalists, Burr was secretly +manipulating the wires of his machine. Burr and Tammany won in +New York City, though Burr failed to win the Presidency. The +political career of this remarkable organization, which has +survived over one hundred and twenty years of stormy history, was +now well launched. + +>From that time to the present the history of Tammany Hall is a +tale of victories, followed by occasional disclosures of +corruption and favoritism; of quarrels with governors and +presidents; of party fights between "up-state" and "city"; of +skulking when its sachems were unwelcome in the White House; of +periodical displays of patriotism for cloaking its grosser +crimes; of perennial charities for fastening itself more firmly +on the poorer populace which has always been the source of its +power; of colossal municipal enterprise for profit-sharing; and +of a continuous political efficiency due to sagacious leadership, +a remarkable adaptability to the necessities of the hour, and a +patience that outlasts every "reform." + +It early displayed all the traits that have made it successful. +In 1801, for the purpose of carrying city elections, it provided +thirty-nine men with money to purchase houses and lots in one +ward, and seventy men with money for the same purpose in another +ward, thus manufacturing freeholders for polling purposes. In +1806 Benjamin Romaine, a grand sachem, was removed from the +office of city controller by his own party for acquiring land +from the city without paying for it. In 1807 several +superintendents of city institutions were dismissed for frauds. +The inspector of bread, a sachem, resigned because his threat to +extort one-third of the fees from his subordinates had become +public. Several assessment collectors, all prominent in Tammany, +were compelled to reimburse the city for deficits in their +accounts. One of the leading aldermen used his influence to +induce the city to sell land to his brother-in-law at a low +price, and then bade the city buy it back for many times its +value. Mooney, the founder of the society, now superintendent of +the almshouse, was caught in a characteristic fraud. His salary +was $1000 a year, with $500 for family expenses. But it was +discovered that his "expenses" amounted to $4000 a year, and that +he had credited to himself on the books $1000 worth of supplies +and numerous sums for "trifles for Mrs. Mooney." + +In September, 1826, the Grand Jury entered an indictment against +Matthew L. Davis and a number of other Tammany men for defrauding +several banks and insurance companies of over $2,000,000. This +created a tremendous sensation. Political influence was at once +set in motion, and only the minor defendants were sent to the +penitentiary. + +In 1829 Samuel Swartwout, one of the Tammany leaders, was +appointed Collector of the Port of New York. His downfall came in +1838, and he fled to Europe. His defalcations in the Custom House +were found to be over $1,222,700; and "to Swartwout" became a +useful phrase until Tweed's day. He was succeeded by Jesse Hoyt, +another sachem and notorious politician, against whom several +judgments for default were recorded in the Superior Court, which +were satisfied very soon after his appointment. At this time +another Tammany chieftain, W. M. Price, United States District +Attorney for Southern New York, defaulted for $75,000. + +It was in 1851 that the council commonly mown as "The Forty +Thieves" was elected. In it William M. Tweed served his +apprenticeship. Some of the maneuvers of this council and of +other officials were divulged by a Grand Jury in its presentment +of February 23, 1853. The presentment states: "It was clearly +shown that enormous sums of money were spent for the procurement +of railroad grants in the city, and that towards the decision and +procurement of the Eighth Avenue railway grant, a sum so large +that would startle the most credulous was expended; but in +consequence of the voluntary absence of important witnesses, the +Grand Jury was left without direct testimony of the particular +recipients of the different amounts." + +These and other exposures brought on a number of amendments to +the city charter, surrounding with greater safeguards the sale or +lease of city property and the letting of contracts; and a reform +council was elected. Immediately upon the heels of this reform +movement followed the shameful regime of Fernando Wood, an able, +crafty, unscrupulous politician, who began by announcing himself +a reformer, but who soon became a boss in the most offensive +sense of that term--not; however, in Tammany Hall, for he was +ousted from that organization after his reelection as mayor in +1856. He immediately organized a machine of his own, Mozart Hall. +The intense struggle between the two machines cost the city a +great sum, for the taxpayers were mulcted to pay the bills. + +Through the anxious days of the Civil War, when the minds of +thoughtful citizens were occupied with national issues, the tide +of reform ebbed and flowed. A reform candidate was elected mayor +in 1863, but Tammany returned to power two years later by +securing the election and then the reelection of John T. Hoffman. +Hoffman possessed considerable ability and an attractive +personality. His zeal for high office, however, made him easily +amenable to the manipulators. Tammany made him Governor and +planned to name him for President. Behind his popularity, which +was considerable, and screened by the greater excitements of the +war, reconstruction, and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, +lurked the Ring, whose exposures and confessions were soon to +amaze everyone. + +The chief ringster was William M. Tweed, and his name will always +be associated in the public mind with political bossdom. This is +his immortality. He was a chairmaker by trade, a vulgar good +fellow by nature, a politician by circumstances, a boss by +evolution, and a grafter by choice. He became grand sachem of +Tammany and chairman of the general committee. This committee he +ruled with blunt directness. When he wanted a question carried, +he failed to ask for the negative votes; and soon he was called +"the Boss," a title he never resented, and which usage has since +fixed in our politics. So he ruled Tammany with a high hand; made +nominations arbitrarily; bullied, bought, and traded; became +President of the Board of Supervisors, thus holding the key to +the city's financial policies; and was elected State Senator, +thereby directing the granting of legislative favors to his city +and to his corporations. + +In 1868 Tammany carried Hoffman into the Governor's chair, and in +the following year the Democrats carried the State legislature. +Tweed now had a new charter passed which virtually put New York +City into his pocket by placing the finances of the metropolis +entirely in the hands of a Board of Apportionment which he +dominated. Of this Board, the mayor of the city was the chairman, +with the power to appoint the other members. He promptly named +Tweed, Connolly, and P. B. Sweeny. This was the famous Ring. The +mayor was A. Oakey Hall, dubbed "Elegant Oakey" by his pals +because of his fondness for clubs, society, puns, and poems; but +Nast called him "O. K. Haul." Sweeny, commonly known as "Pete," +was a lawyer of ability, and was generally believed to be the +plotter of the quartet. Nast transformed his middle initial B. +into "Brains." Connolly was just a coarse gangster. + +There was some reason for the Ring's faith in its +invulnerability. It controlled Governor and legislature, was +formidable in the national councils of the Democratic party, and +its Governor was widely mentioned for the presidential +nomination. It possessed complete power over the city council, +the mayor, and many of the judges. It was in partnership with +Gould and Fiske of the Erie, then reaping great harvests in Wall +Street, and with street railway and other public service +corporations. Through untold largess it silenced rivalry from +within and criticism from without. And, when suspicion first +raised its voice, it adroitly invited a committee of prominent +and wealthy citizens, headed by John Jacob Astor, to examine the +controller's accounts. After six hours spent in the City Hall +these respectable gentlemen signed an acquitment, saying that +"the affairs of the city under the charge of the controller are +administered in a correct and faithful manner." + +Thus intrenched, the Ring levied tribute on every municipal +activity. Everyone who had a charge against the city, either for +work done or materials furnished, was told to add to the amount +of his bill, at first 10%, later 66%, and finally 85%. One man +testified that he was told to raise to $55,000 his claim of +$5000. He got his $5000; the Ring got $50,000. The building of +the Court House, still known as "Tweed's Court House," was +estimated to cost $3,000,000, but it cost many times that sum. +The item "repairing fixtures" amounted to $1,149,874.50, before +the building was completed. Forty chairs and three tables cost +$179,729.60; thermometers cost $7500. G. S. Miller, a carpenter, +received $360,747.61, and a plasterer named Gray, $2,870,464.06 +for nine months' "work." The Times dubbed him the "Prince of +Plasterers." "A plasterer who can earn $138,187 in two days +[December 20 and 21] and that in the depths of winter, need not +be poor." Carpets cost $350,000, most of the Brussels and +Axminster going to the New Metropolitan Hotel just opened by +Tweed's son. + +The Ring's hold upon the legislature was through bribery, not +through partizan adhesion. Tweed himself confessed that he gave +one man in Albany $600,000 for buying votes to pass his charter; +and Samuel J. Tilden estimated the total cost for this purpose at +over one million dollars. Tweed said he bought five Republican +senators for $40,000 apiece. The vote on the charter was 30 to 2 +in the Senate, 116 to 5 in the Assembly. Similar sums were spent +in Albany in securing corporate favors. The Viaduct Railway Bill +is an example. This bill empowered a company, practically owned +by the Ring, to build a railway on or above any street in the +city. It provided that the city should subscribe for $5,000,000 +of the stock; and it exempted the company from taxation. +Collateral bills were introduced enabling the company to widen +and grade any streets, the favorite "job" of a Tammany grafter. +Fortunately for the city, exposure came before this monstrous +scheme could be put in motion. + +Newspapers in the city were heavily subsidized. Newspapers in +Albany were paid munificently for printing. One of the Albany +papers received $207,900 for one year's work which was worth less +than $10,000. Half a dozen reporters of the leading dailies were +put on the city payroll at from $2000 to $2500 a year for +"services." + +The Himalayan size of these swindles and their monumental +effrontery led the New York Sun humorously to suggest the +erection of a statue to the principal Robber Baron, "in +commemoration of his services to the commonwealth." A letter was +sent out asking for funds. There were a great many men in New +York, the Sun thought, who would not be unwilling to refuse a +contribution. But Tweed declined the honor. In its issue of March +14, 1871, the Sun has this headline: + +"A GREAT MAN'S MODESTY" + +"THE HON. WILLIAM M. TWEED DECLINES THE SUN'S STATUE. +CHARACTERISTIC LETTER FROM THE GREAT NEW YORK PHILANTHROPIST. HE +THINKS THAT VIRTUE SHOULD BE ITS OWN REWARD. THE MOST REMARKABLE +LETTER EVER WRITTEN BY THE NOBLE BENEFACTOR OF THE PEOPLE." + +Another kind of memorial to his genius for absorbing the people's +money was awaiting this philanthropic buccaneer. Vulgar +ostentation was the outward badge of these civic burglaries. +Tweed moved into a Fifth Avenue mansion and gave his daughter a +wedding at which she received $100,000 worth of gifts; her +wedding dress was a $5000 creation. At Greenwich he built a +country estate where the stables were framed of choice mahogany. +Sweeny hobnobbed with Jim Fiske of the Erie, the Tweed of Wall +Street, who went about town dressed in loud checks and lived with +his harem in his Opera House on Eighth Avenue. + +Thoughtful citizens saw these things going on and believed the +city was being robbed, but they could not prove it. There were +two attacking parties, however, who did not wait for proofs-- +Thomas Nast, the brilliant cartoonist of Harper's Weekly, and the +New York Times. The incisive cartoons of Nast appealed to the +imaginations of all classes; even Tweed complained that his +illiterate following could "look at the damn pictures." The +trenchant editorials of Louis L. Jennings in the Times reached a +thoughtful circle of readers. In one of these editorials, +February 24, 1871, before the exposure, he said: "There is +absolutely nothing--nothing in the city--which is beyond the +reach of the insatiable gang who have obtained possession of it. +They can get a grand jury dismissed at any time, and, as we have +seen, the legislature is completely at their disposal." + +Finally proof did come and, as is usual in such cases, it came +from the inside. James O'Brien, an ex-sheriff and the leader in a +Democratic "reform movement" calling itself "Young Democracy," +secured the appointment of one of his friends as clerk in the +controller's office. Transcripts of the accounts were made, and +these O'Brien brought to the Times, which began their +publication, July 8, 1871. The Ring was in consternation. It +offered Gorge Jones, the proprietor of the Times, $5,000,000 for +his silence and sent a well-known banker to Nast with an +invitation to go to Europe "to study art," with $100,000 for +"expenses." + +"Do you think I could get $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 one +year and was then released on a flimsy technicality by the Court +of Appeals. Civil suits were now brought, and, unable to obtain +the $3,000,000 bail demanded, the fallen boss was sent to jail. +He escaped to Cuba, and finally to Spain, but he was again +arrested, returned to New York on a man-of-war, and put into +Ludlow Street jail, where he died April 12, 1878, apparently +without money or friends. + +The exact amount of the plunder was never ascertained. An expert +accountant employed by the housecleaners estimated that for three +years, 1868-71, the frauds totaled between $45,000,000 and +$50,000,000. The estimate of the aldermen's committee was +$60,000,000. Tweed never gave any figures; he probably had never +counted his gains, but merely spent them as they came. O'Rourke, +one of the gang, estimated that the Ring stole about $75,000,000 +during 1865-71, and that, "counting vast issues of fraudulent +bonds," the looting "probably amounted to $200,000,000." + +The story of these disclosures circled the earth and still +affects the popular judgment of the American metropolis. It +seemed as though Tammany were forever discredited. But, to the +despair of reformers, in 1874 Tammany returned to power, electing +its candidate for mayor by over 9000 majority. The new boss who +maneuvered this rapid resurrection was John Kelly, a stone-mason, +known among his Irish followers as "Honest John." Besides the +political probity which the occasion demanded, he possessed a +capacity for knowing men and sensing public opinion. This enabled +him to lift the prostrate organization. He persuaded such men as +Samuel J. Tilden, the distinguished lawyer, August Belmont, a +leading financier, Horatio Seymour, who had been governor, and +Charles O'Conor, the famous advocate, to become sachems under +him. This was evidence of reform from within. Cooperation with +the Bar Association, the Taxpayers' Association, and other +similar organizations evidenced a desire of reform from without. +Kelly "bossed" the Hall until his death, June 1, 1886. + +He was succeeded by Richard Croker, a machinist, prizefighter, +and gang-leader. Croker began his official career as a court +attendant under the notorious Judge Barnard and later was an +engineer in the service of the city. These places he held by +Tammany favor, and he was so useful that in 1868 he was made +alderman. A quarrel with Tweed lost him the place, but a +reconciliation soon landed him in the lucrative office of +Superintendent of Market Fees and Rents, under Connolly. In 1873 +he was elected coroner and ten years later was appointed fire +commissioner. His career as boss was marked by much political +cleverness and caution and by an equal degree of moral +obtuseness. + +The triumph of Tammany in 1892 was followed by such ill-disguised +corruption that the citizens of New York were again roused from +their apathy. The investigations of the Fassett Committee of the +State Senate two years previously had shown how deep the +tentacles of Tammany were thrust into the administrative +departments of the city. The Senate now appointed another +investigating committee, of which Clarence Lexow was the chairman +and John W. Goff the counsel. The Police Department came under +its special scrutiny. The disclosures revealed the connivance of +the police in stupendous election frauds. The President of the +Police Board himself had distributed at the polls the policemen +who committed these frauds. It was further revealed that vice and +crime under police protection had been capitalized on a great +scale. It was worth money to be a policeman. One police captain +testified he had paid $15,000 for his promotions; another paid +$12,000. It cost $300 to be appointed patrolman. Over six hundred +policy-shops were open, each paying $1500 a month for protection; +pool rooms paid $300 a month; bawdy-houses, from $25 to $50 per +month per inmate. And their patrons paid whatever they could be +blackmailed out of; streetwalkers, whatever they could be +wheedled out of; saloons, $20 per month; pawnbrokers, thieves, +and thugs shared with the police their profits, as did +corporations and others seeking not only favors but their rights. +The committee in its statement to the Grand Jury (March, 1892) +estimated that the annual plunder from these sources was over +$7,000,000. + +During the committee's sessions Croker was in Europe on important +business. But he found time to order the closing of disreputable +resorts, and, though he was only a private citizen and three +thousand miles away, his orders were promptly obeyed. + +Aroused by these disclosures and stimulated by the lashing +sermons of the Rev. Charles H. Parkhurst, the citizens of New +York, in 1894, elected a reform government, with William L. +Strong as Mayor. His administration set up for the metropolis a +new standard of city management. Colonel George E. Waring +organized, for the first time in the city's history, an efficient +streetcleaning department. Theodore Roosevelt was appointed +Police Commissioner. These men and their associates gave to New +York a period of thrifty municipal housekeeping. + +But the city returned to its filth. After the incorporation of +Greater New York and the election of Robert A. Van Wyck as its +mayor, the great beast of Tammany arose and extended its eager +claws over the vast area of the new city. + +The Mazet Committee was appointed by the legislature in 1899 to +investigate rumors of renewed corruption. But the inquiry which +followed was not as penetrating nor as free from partizan bias as +thoughtful citizens wished. The principal exposure was of the Lee +Trust, an attempt to monopolize the city's ice supply, in which +city officials were stockholders, the mayor to the extent of 5000 +shares, valued at $500,000. It was shown, too, that Tammany +leaders were stockholders in corporations which received favors +from the city. Governor Roosevelt, however, refused to remove +Mayor Van Wyck because the evidence against him was insufficient. + +The most significant testimony before the Mazet Committee was +that given by Boss Croker himself. His last public office had +been that of City Chamberlain, 1889-90, at a salary of $25,000. +Two years later he purchased for $250,000 an interest in a +stock-farm and paid over $100,000 for some noted race-horses. He +spent over half a million dollars on the English racetrack in +three years and was reputed a millionaire, owning large blocks of +city real estate. He told the committee that he virtually +determined all city nominations; and that all candidates were +assessed, even judicial candidates, from $10,000 to $25,000 for +their nominations. "We try to have a pretty effective +organization--that's what we are there for," he explained. "We +are giving the people pure organization government," even though +the organizing took "a lot of time" and was "very hard work." +Tammany members stood by one another and helped each other, not +only in politics but in business. "We want the whole business +[city business] if we can get it." If "we win, we expect everyone +to stand by us." Then he uttered what must have been to every +citizen of understanding a self-evident truth, "I am working for +my pockets all the time." + +Soon afterwards Croker retired to his Irish castle, relinquishing +the leadership to Charles Murphy, the present boss. The growing +alertness of the voters, however, makes Murphy's task a more +difficult one than that of any of his predecessors. It is +doubtful if the nature of the machine has changed during all the +years of its history. Tweed and Croker were only natural products +of the system. They typify the vulgar climax of organized +looting. + +In 1913 the Independent Democrats, Republicans, and Progressives +united in a fusion movement. They nominated and, after a most +spirited campaign, elected John Purroy Mitchel as mayor. He was a +young man, not yet forty, had held important city offices, and +President Wilson had appointed him Collector of the Port of New +York. His experience, his vigor, ability, and straightdealing +commended him to the friends of good government, and they were +not disappointed. The Mitchel regime set a new record for clean +and efficient municipal administration. Men of high character and +ability were enlisted in public service, and the Police +Department, under Commissioner Woods, achieved a new usefulness. +The decent citizens, not alone in the metropolis, but throughout +the country, believed with Theodore Roosevelt that Mr. Mitchel +was "the best mayor. New York ever had." But neither the +effectiveness of his administration nor the combined efforts of +the friends of good government could save him from the designs of +Tammany Hall when, in 1917, he was a candidate for reelection. +Through a tactical blunder of the Fusionists, a small Republican +group was permitted to control the party primaries and nominate a +candidate of its own; the Socialists, greatly augmented by +various pacifist groups, made heavy inroads among the +foreign-born voters. And, while the whole power and finesse of +Tammany were assiduously undermining the mayor's strength, +ethnic, religious, partizan, and geographical prejudices combined +to elect the machine candidate, Judge Hylan, a comparatively +unknown Brooklyn magistrate. + +How could Tammany regain its power, and that usually within two +years, after such disclosures as we have seen? The main reason is +the scientific efficiency of the organization. The victory of +Burr in New York in 1800 was the first triumph of the first ward +machine in America, and Tammany has forgotten neither this +victory nor the methods by which it was achieved. The +organization which was then set in motion has simply been +enlarged to keep easy pace with the city's growth. There are, in +fact, two organizations, Tammany Hall, the political machine, and +Tammany Society, the "Columbian Order" organized by Mooney, which +is ruled by sachems elected by the members. Both organizations, +however, are one in spirit. We need concern ourselves only with +the organization of Tammany Hall. + +The framework of Tammany Hall's machinery has always been the +general committee, still known, in the phraseology of Burr's day, +as "the Democratic-Republican General Committee." It is a very +democratic body composed of representatives from every assembly +district, apportioned according to the number of voters in the +district. The present apportionment is one committeeman for every +fifteen votes. This makes a committee of over 9000, an unwieldy +number. It is justified, however, on two very practical grounds: +first, that it is large enough to keep close to the voters; and +second, that its assessment of ten dollars a member brings in +$90,000 a year to the war chest. This general committee holds +stated meetings and appoints subcommittees. The executive +committee, composed of the leaders of the assembly districts and +the chairman and treasurer of the county committee, is the real +working body of the great committee. It attends to all important +routine matters, selects candidates for office, and conducts +their campaigns. It is customary for the members of the general +committee to designate the district leaders for the executive +committee, but they are elected by their own districts +respectively at the annual primary elections. The district leader +is a very important wheel in the machine. He not only leads his +district but represents it on the executive committee; and this +brotherhood of leaders forms the potent oligarchy of Tammany. Its +sanction crowns the high chieftain, the boss, who, in turn, must +be constantly on the alert that his throne is not undermined; +that is to say, he and his district leaders must "play politics" +within their own bailiwicks to keep their heads on their own +shoulders. After their enfranchisement in New York (1917) women +were made eligible to the general and executive committees. +Thirty-seven were at once elected to the executive committee, and +plans were made to give them one-half of the representation on +the general committee. + +Each of the twenty-three assembly districts is in turn divided +into election districts of about 400 voters, each with a +precinct captain who is acquainted with every voter in his +precinct and keeps track, as far as possible, of his affairs. In +every assembly district there are headquarters and a club house, +where the voters can go in the evening and enjoy a smoke, a +bottle, and a more or less quiet game. + +This organization is never dormant. And this is the key to its +vitality. There is no mystery about it. Tammany is as vigilant +between elections as it is on election day. It has always been +solicitous for the poor and the humble, who most need and best +appreciate help and attention. Every poor immigrant is welcomed, +introduced to the district headquarters, given work, or food, or +shelter. Tammany is his practical friend; and in return he is +merely to become naturalized as quickly as possible under the +wardship of a Tammany captain and by the grace of a Tammany +judge, and then to vote the Tammany ticket. The new citizen's +lessons in political science are all flavored with highly +practical notions. + +Tammany's machinery enables a house-to-house canvass to be made +in one day. But this machinery must be oiled. There are three +sources of the necessary lubricant: offices, jobs, the sale of +favors; these are dependent on winning the elections. From its +very earliest days, fraud at the polls has been a Tammany +practice. As long as property qualifications were required, money +was furnished for buying houses which could harbor a whole +settlement of voters. It was not, however, until the adoption of +universal suffrage that wholesale frauds became possible or +useful; for with a limited suffrage it was necessary to sway only +a few score votes to carry an ordinary election. + +Fernando Wood set a new pace in this race for votes. It has been +estimated that in 1854 there "were about 40,000 shiftless, +unprincipled persons who lived by their wits and the labor of +others. The trade of a part of these was turning primary +elections, packing nominating conventions, repeating, and +breaking up meetings." Wood also systematized naturalization. A +card bearing the following legend was the open sesame to American +citizenship: + +"Common Pleas: + Please naturalize the bearer. + N. Seagrist, Chairman." + +Seagrist was one of the men charged by an aldermanic committee +"with robbing the funeral pall of Henry Clay when his sacred +person passed through this city." + +When Hoffman was first elected mayor, over 15,000 persons were +registered who could not be found at the places indicated. The +naturalization machinery was then running at high speed. In 1868, +from 25,000 to 30,000 foreigners were naturalized in New York in +six weeks. Of 156,288 votes cast in the city, 25,000 were +afterwards shown to be fraudulent. It was about this time that an +official whose duty it was to swear in the election inspectors, +not finding a Bible at hand, used a volume of Ollendorf's "New +Method of Learning to Read, Write, and Speak French." The courts +sustained this substitution on the ground that it could not +possibly have vitiated the election! + +A new federal naturalization law and rigid election laws have +made wholesale frauds impossible; and the genius of Tammany is +now attempting to adjust itself to the new immigration, the new +political spirit, and the new communal vigilance. Its power is +believed by some optimistic observers to be waning. But the +evidences are not wanting that its vitality and internal +discipline are still persistent. + + + +CHAPTER VI. LESSER OLIGARCHIES + +New York City is not unique in its experience with political +bossdom. Nearly every American city, in a greater or less degree, +for longer or shorter periods, has been dominated by oligarchies. + +Around Philadelphia, American sentiment has woven the memories of +great events. It still remains, of all our large cities, the most +"American." It has fewer aliens than any other, a larger +percentage of home owners, a larger number of small tradespeople +and skilled artisans--the sort of population which democracy +exalts, and who in turn are presumed to be the bulwark of +democracy. These good citizens, busied with the anxieties and +excitements of their private concerns, discovered, in the decade +following the Civil War, that their city had slipped unawares +into the control of a compact oligarchy, the notorious Gas Ring. +The city government at this time was composed of thirty-two +independent boards and departments, responsible to the council, +but responsible to the council in name only and through the +medium of a council committee. The coordinating force, the +political gravitation which impelled all these diverse boards and +council committees to act in unison, was the Gas Department. This +department was controlled by a few designing and capable +individuals under the captaincy of James McManes. They had +reduced to political servitude all the employees of the +department, numbering about two thousand. Then they had extended +their sway over other city departments, especially the police +department. Through the connivance of the police and control over +the registration of voters, they soon dominated the primaries and +the nominating conventions. They carried the banner of the +Republican party, the dominant party in Philadelphia and in the +State, under which they more easily controlled elections, for the +people voted "regular." Then every one of the city's servants was +made to pay to the Gas Ring money as well as obeisance. +Tradespeople who sold supplies to the city, contractors who did +its work, saloon-keepers and dive-owners who wanted +protection--all paid. The city's debt increased at the rate of +$3,000,000 a year, without visible evidence of the application of +money to the city's growing needs. + +In 1883 the citizens finally aroused themselves and petitioned +the legislature for a new charter. They confessed: "Philadelphia +is now recognized as the worst paved and worst cleaned city in +the civilized world. The water supply is so bad that during many +weeks of the last winter it was not only distasteful and +unwholesome for drinking, but offensive for bathing purposes. The +effort to clean the streets was abandoned for months and no +attempt was made to that end until some public-spirited citizens, +at their own expense, cleaned a number of the principal +thoroughfares . . . . The physical condition of the sewers" is +"dangerous to the health and most offensive to the comfort of our +people. Public work has been done so badly that structures have +to be renewed almost as soon as finished. Others have been in +part constructed at enormous expense and then permitted to fall +to decay without completion." This is a graphic and faithful +description of the result which follows government of the Ring, +for the Ring, with the people's money. The legislature in 1885 +granted Philadelphia a new charter, called the Bullitt Law, which +went into effect in 1887, and which greatly simplified the +structure of the government and centered responsibility in the +mayor. It was then necessary for the Ring to control primaries +and win elections in order to keep the city within its clutches. +So began in Philadelphia the practice of fraudulent registering +and voting on a scale that has probably never been equaled +elsewhere in America. Names taken from tombstones in the +cemeteries and from the register of births found their way to the +polling registers. Dogs, cats, horses, anything living or dead, +with a name, served the purpose. + +The exposure of these frauds was undertaken in 1900 by the +Municipal League. In two wards, where the population had +decreased one per cent in ten years (1890-1900), it was found +that the registered voters had increased one hundred per cent. +>From one house sixty-two voters were registered, of sundry +occupations as follows: "Professors, bricklayers, gentlemen, +moulders, cashiers, barbers, ministers, bakers, doctors, drivers, +bartenders, plumbers, clerks, cooks, merchants, stevedores, +bookkeepers, waiters, florists, boilermakers, salesmen, soldiers, +electricians, printers, book agents, and restaurant keepers." One +hundred and twenty-two voters, according to the register, lived +at another house, including nine agents, nine machinists, nine +gentlemen, nine waiters, nine salesmen, four barbers, four +bakers, fourteen clerks, three laborers, two bartenders, a +milkman, an optician, a piano-mover, a window-cleaner, a nurse, +and so on. + +On the day before the election the Municipal League sent +registered letters to all the registered voters of certain +precincts. Sixty-three per cent were returned, marked by the +postman, "not at," "deceased," "removed," "not known." Of +forty-four letters addressed to names registered from one +four-story house, eighteen were returned. From another house, +supposed to be sheltering forty-eight voters, forty-one were +returned; from another, to which sixty-two were sent, sixty-one +came back. The league reported that "two hundred and fifty-two +votes were returned in a division that had less than one hundred +legal voters within its boundaries." Repeating and ballot-box +stuffing were common. Election officers would place fifty or more +ballots in the box before the polls opened or would hand out a +handful of ballots to the recognized repeaters. The high-water +mark of boss rule was reached under Mayor Ashbridge, +"Stars-and-Stripes Sam," who had been elected in 1899. The +moderation of Martin, who had succeeded McManes as boss, was cast +aside; the mayor was himself a member of the Ring. When Ashbridge +retired, the Municipal League reported: "The four years of the +Ashbridge administration have passed into history leaving behind +them a scar on the fame and reputation of our city which will be +a long time healing. Never before, and let us hope never again, +will there be such brazen defiance of public opinion, such +flagrant disregard of public interest, such abuse of power and +responsibility for private ends." + +Since that time the fortunes of the Philadelphia Ring have +fluctuated. Its hold upon the city, however, is not broken, but +is still strong enough to justify Owen Wister's observation: "Not +a Dickens, only a Zola, would have the face (and the stomach) to +tell the whole truth about Philadelphia." + +St. Louis was one of the first cities of America to possess the +much-coveted home rule. The Missouri State Constitution of 1875 +granted the city the power to frame its own charter, under +certain limitations. The new charter provided for a mayor elected +for four years with the power of appointing certain heads of +departments; others, however, were to be elected directly by the +people. It provided for a Municipal Assembly composed of two +houses: the Council, with thirteen members, elected at large for +four years, and the House of Delegates, with twenty-eight +members, one from each ward, elected for two years. These two +houses were given coordinate powers; one was presumed to be a +check on the other. The Assembly fixed the tax rate, granted +franchises, and passed upon all public improvements. The Police +Department was, however, under the control of the mayor and four +commissioners, the latter appointed by the Governor. The city was +usually Republican by about 8000 majority; the State was safely +Democratic. The city, until a few years ago, had few tenements +and a small floating population. + +Outwardly, all seemed well with the city until 1901, when the +inside workings of its government were revealed to the public +gaze through the vengeance of a disappointed franchise-seeker. +The Suburban Railway Company sought an extension of its +franchises. It had approached the man known as the dispenser of +such favors, but, thinking his price ($145,000) too high, had +sought to deal directly with the Municipal Assembly. The price +agreed upon for the House of Delegates was $75,000; for the +Council, $60,000. These sums were placed in safety vaults +controlled by a dual lock. The representative of the Company held +one of the keys; the representative of the Assembly, the other; +so that neither party could take the money without the presence +of both. The Assembly duly granted the franchises; but property +owners along the line of the proposed extension secured an +injunction, which delayed the proceedings until the term of the +venal House of Delegates had expired. The Assemblymen, having +delivered the goods, demanded their pay. The Company, held up by +the courts, refused. Mutterings of the disappointed conspirators +reached the ear of an enterprising newspaper reporter. Thereby +the Circuit Attorney, Joseph W. Folk, struck the trail of the +gang. Both the president of the railway company and the "agent" +of the rogues of the Assembly turned state's evidence; the +safe-deposit boxes were opened, disclosing the packages +containing one hundred and thirty-five $1000 bills. + +This exposure led to others--the "Central Traction Conspiracy," +the "Lighting Deal," the "Garbage Deal." In the cleaning-up +process, thirty-nine persons were indicted, twenty-four for +bribery and fifteen for perjury. + +The evidence which Folk presented in the prosecution of these +scoundrels merely confirmed what had long been an unsavory rumor: +that franchises and contracts were bought and sold like +merchandise; that the buyers were men of eminence in the city's +business affairs; and that the sellers were the people's +representatives in the Assembly. The Grand Jury reported: "Our +investigation, covering more or less fully a period of ten years +shows that, with few exceptions, no ordinance has been passed +wherein valuable privileges or franchises are granted until those +interested have paid the legislators the money demanded for +action in the particular case . . . . So long has this practice +existed that such members have come to regard the receipt of +money for action on pending measures as a legitimate perquisite +of a legislator." + +These legislators, it appeared from the testimony, had formed a +water-tight ring or "combine" in 1899, for the purpose of +systematizing this traffic. A regular scale of prices was +adopted: so much for an excavation, so much per foot for a +railway switch, so much for a street pavement, so much for a +grain elevator. Edward R. Butler was the master under whose +commands for many years this trafficking was reduced to +systematic perfection. He had come to St. Louis when a young man, +had opened a blacksmith shop, had built up a good trade in +horseshoeing, and also a pliant political following in his ward. +His attempt to defeat the home rule charter in 1876 had given him +wider prominence, and he soon became the boss of the Democratic +machine. His energy, shrewdness, liberality, and capacity for +friendship gave him sway over both Republican and Democratic +votes in certain portions of the city. A prominent St. Louis +attorney says that for over twenty years "he named candidates on +both tickets, fixed, collected, and disbursed campaign +assessments, determined the results in elections, and in fine, +practically controlled the public affairs of St. Louis." He was +the agent usually sought by franchise-seekers, and he said that +had the Suburban Company dealt with him instead of with the +members of the Assembly, they might have avoided exposure. He was +indicted four times in the upheaval, twice for attempting to +bribe the Board of Health in the garbage deal--he was a +stockholder in the company seeking the contract--and twice for +bribery in the lighting contract. + +Cincinnati inherited from the Civil War the domestic excitements +and political antagonisms of a border city. Its large German +population gave it a conservative political demeanor, slow to +accept changes, loyal to the Republican party as it was to the +Union. This reduced partizan opposition to a docile minority, +willing to dicker for public spoils with the intrenched majority. + +George B. Cox was for thirty years the boss of this city. Events +had prepared the way for him. Following closely upon the war, Tom +Campbell, a crafty criminal lawyer, was the local leader of the +Republicans, and John R. McLean, owner of the Cincinnati +Enquirer, a very rich man, of the Democrats. These two men were +cronies: they bartered the votes of their followers. For some +years crime ran its repulsive course: brawlers, thieves, +cutthroats escaped conviction through the defensive influence of +the lawyer-boss. In 1880, Cox, who had served an apprenticeship +in his brother-in-law's gambling house, was elected to the city +council. Thence he was promoted to the decennial board of +equalization which appraised all real estate every ten years. +There followed a great decrease in the valuation of some of the +choicest holdings in the city. In 1884 there were riots in +Cincinnati. After the acquittal of two brutes who had murdered a +man for a trifling sum of money, exasperated citizens burned the +criminal court house. The barter in justice stopped, but the +barter in offices and in votes continued. The Blaine campaign +then in progress was in great danger. Cox, already a master of +the political game, promised the Republican leaders that if they +would give him a campaign fund he would turn in a Republican +majority from Cincinnati. He did; and for many years thereafter +the returns from Hamilton County, in which Cincinnati is +situated, brought cheer to Republican State headquarters on +election night. + +Cox was an unostentatious, silent man, giving one the impression +of sullenness, and almost entirely lacking in those qualities of +comradeship which one usually seeks in the "Boss" type. From a +barren little room over the "Mecca" saloon, with the help of a +telephone, he managed his machine. He never obtruded himself upon +the public. He always remained in the background. Nor did he ever +take vast sums. Moderation was the rule of his loot. + +By 1905 a movement set in to rid the city of machine rule. Cox +saw this movement growing in strength. So he imported boatloads +of floaters from Kentucky. These floaters registered "from dives, +and doggeries, from coal bins and water closet; no space was too +small to harbor a man." For once he threw prudence to the winds. +Exposure followed; over 2800 illegal voters were found. The +newspapers, so long docile, now provided the necessary publicity. +A little paper, the Citizen's Bulletin, which had started as a +handbill of reform, when all the dailies seemed closed to the +facts, now grew into a sturdy weekly. And, to add the capstone to +Cox's undoing, William H. Taft, the most distinguished son of +Cincinnati, then Secretary of War in President Roosevelt's +cabinet, in a campaign speech in Akron, Ohio, advised the +Republicans to repudiate him. This confounded the "regulars," and +Cox was partially beaten. The reformers elected their candidate +for mayor, but the boss retained his hold on the county and the +city council. And, in spite of all that was done, Cox remained an +influence in politics until his death, May 20, 1916. + +San Francisco has had a varied and impressive political +experience. The first legislature of California incorporated the +mining town into the city of San Francisco, April 15, 1850. Its +government from the outset was corrupt and inefficient. +Lawlessness culminated in the murder of the editor of the +Bulletin, J. King of William, on May 14, 1856, and a vigilance +committee was organized to clean up the city, and watch the +ballot-box on election day. + +Soon the legislature was petitioned to change the charter. The +petition recites: "Without a change in the city government which +shall diminish the weight of taxation, the city will neither be +able to discharge the interest on debts already contracted, nor +to meet the demands for current disbursements . . . . The present +condition of the streets and public improvements of the city +abundantly attest the total inefficiency of the present system." + +The legislature passed the "Consolidation Act," and from 1856 to +1900 county and city were governed as a political unit. At first +the hopes for more frugal government seemed to be fulfilled. But +all encouraging symptoms soon vanished. Partizan rule followed, +encouraged by the tinkering of the legislature, which imposed on +the charter layer upon layer of amendments, dictated by partizan +craft, not by local needs. The administrative departments were +managed by Boards of Commissioners, under the dictation of "Blind +Boss Buckley," who governed his kingdom for many years with the +despotic benevolence characteristic of his kind. The citizens saw +their money squandered and their public improvements lagging. It +took twenty-five years to complete the City Hall, at a cost of +$5,500,000. An official of the Citizens' Non-partizan party, in +1895, said: "There is no city in the Union with a quarter of a +million people, which would not be the better for a little +judicious hanging." + +The repeated attempts made by citizens of San Francisco to get a +new charter finally succeeded, and in 1900 the city hopefully +entered a new epoch under a charter of its own making which +contained several radical changes. Executive responsibility was +centered in the mayor, fortified by a comprehensive civil +service. The foundations were laid for municipal ownership of +public utilities, and the initiative and referendum were adopted +for all public franchises. The legislative power was vested in a +board of eighteen supervisors elected at large. + +No other American city so dramatically represents the futility of +basing political optimism on a mere plan. It was only a step from +the mediocrity enthroned by the first election under the new +charter to the gross inefficiency and corruption of a new ring, +under a new boss. A Grand Jury (called the "Andrews Jury") made a +report indicating that the administration was trafficking in +favors sold to gamblers, prize-fighters, criminals, and the whole +gamut of the underworld; that illegal profits were being reaped +from illegal contracts, and that every branch of the executive +department was honeycombed with corruption. The Grand Jury +believed and said all this, but it lacked the legal proof upon +which Mayor Schmitz and his accomplices could be indicted. In +spite of this report, Schmitz was reelected in 1905 as the +candidate of the Labor-Union party. + +Now graft in San Francisco became simply universal. George +Kennan, summarizing the practices of the looters, says they "took +toll everywhere from everybody and in almost every imaginable +way: they went into partnership with dishonest contractors; sold +privileges and permits to business men; extorted money from +restaurants and saloons; levied assessments on municipal +employees; shared the profits of houses of prostitution; forced +beer, whiskey, champagne, and cigars on restaurants and saloons +on commission; blackmailed gamblers, pool-sellers, and promoters +of prize-fights; sold franchises to wealthy corporations; created +such municipal bureaus as the commissary department and the city +commercial company in order to make robbery of the city more +easy; leased rooms and buildings for municipal offices at +exorbitant rates, and compelled the lessees to share profits; +held up milkmen, kite-advertisers, junk-dealers, and even +street-sweepers; and took bribes from everybody who wanted an +illegal privilege and was willing to pay for it. The motto of the +administration seemed to be 'Encourage dishonesty, and then let +no dishonest dollar escape.'" + +The machinery through which this was effected was simple: the +mayor had vast appointing powers and by this means directly +controlled all the city departments. But the mayor was only an +automaton. Back of him was Abe Ruef, the Boss, an unscrupulous +lawyer who had wormed his way into the labor party, and +manipulated the "leaders" like puppets. Ruef's game also was +elementary. He sold his omnipotence for cash, either under the +respectable cloak of "retainer" or under the more common device +of commissions and dividends, so that thugs retained him for +their freedom, contractors for the favors they expected, and +public service corporations for their franchises. + +Finally, through the persistence of a few private citizens, a +Grand Jury was summoned. Under the foremanship of B. P. Oliver it +made a thorough investigation. Francis J. Heney was employed as +special prosecutor and William J. Burns as detective. Heney and +Burns formed an aggressive team. The Ring proved as vulnerable as +it was rotten. Over three hundred indictments were returned, +involving persons in every walk of life. Ruef was sentenced to +fourteen years in the penitentiary. Schmitz was freed on a +technicality, after being found guilty and sentenced to five +years. Most of the other indictments were not tried, the +prosecutor's attention having been diverted to the trail of the +franchise-seekers, who have thus far eluded conviction. + +Minneapolis, a city blending New England traditions with +Scandinavian thrift, illustrates, in its experiences with "Doe" +Ames, the maneuvers of the peripatetic boss. Ames was four times +mayor of the city, but never his own successor. Each succeeding +experience with him grew more lurid of indecency, until his third +term was crystallized in Minneapolis tradition as "the notorious +Ames administration." Domestic scandal made him a social outcast, +political corruption a byword, and Ames disappeared from public +view for ten years. + +In 1900 a new primary law provided the opportunity to return him +to power for the fourth time. Ames, who had been a Democrat, now +found it convenient to become a Republican. The new law, like +most of the early primary laws, permitted members of one party to +vote in the primaries of the other party. So Ames's following, +estimated at about fifteen hundred, voted in the Republican +primaries, and he became a regular candidate of that party in a +presidential year, when citizens felt the special urge to vote +for the party. + +Ames was the type of boss with whom discipline is secondary to +personal aggrandizement. He had a passion for popularity; was +imposing of presence; possessed considerable professional skill; +and played constantly for the support of the poor. The attacks +upon him he turned into political capital by saying that he was +made a victim by the rich because he championed the poor. +Susceptible to flattery and fond of display, he lacked the power +to command. He had followers, not henchmen. His following was +composed of the lowly, who were duped by his phrases, and of +criminals, who knew his bent; and they followed him into any +party whither he found it convenient to go, Republican, +Democratic, or Populist. + +The charter of Minneapolis gave the mayor considerable appointing +power. He was virtually the dictator of the Police Department. +This was the great opportunity of Ames and his floating vote. His +own brother, a weak individual with a dubious record, was made +Chief of Police. Within a few weeks about one-half of the police +force was discharged, and the places filled with men who could be +trusted by the gang. The number of detectives was increased and +an ex-gambler placed at their head. A medical student from Ames's +office was commissioned a special policeman to gather loot from +the women of the street. + +Through a telepathy of their own, the criminal classes all over +the country soon learned of the favorable conditions in +Minneapolis, under which every form of gambling and low vice +flourished; and burglars, pickpockets, safe-blowers, and harlots +made their way thither. Mr. W. A. Frisbie, the editor of a +leading Minneapolis paper, described the situation in the +following words: "It is no exaggeration to say that in this +period fully 99% of the police department's efficiency was +devoted to the devising and enforcing of blackmail. Ordinary +patrolmen on beats feared to arrest known criminals for fear the +prisoners would prove to be 'protected'. . . .The horde of +detective favorites hung lazily about police headquarters, +waiting for some citizen to make complaint of property stolen, +only that they might enforce additional blackmail against the +thief, or possibly secure the booty for themselves. One detective +is now [1903] serving time in the state prison for retaining a +stolen diamond pin." + +The mayor thought he had a machine for grinding blackmail from +every criminal operation in his city, but he had only a gang, +without discipline or coordinating power, and weakened by +jealousy and suspicion. The wonder is that it lasted fifteen +months. Then came the "April Grand Jury," under the foremanship +of a courageous and resourceful business man. The regime of +criminals crumbled; forty-nine indictments, involving twelve +persons, were returned. + +The Grand Jury, however, at first stood alone in its +investigations. The crowd of politicians and vultures were +against it, and no appropriations were granted for getting +evidence. So its members paid expenses out of their own pockets, +and its foreman himself interviewed prisoners and discovered the +trail that led to the Ring's undoing. Ames's brother was +convicted on second trial and sentenced to six and a half years +in the penitentiary, while two of his accomplices received +shorter terms. Mayor Ames, under indictment and heavy bonds, fled +to Indiana. + +The President of the City Council, a business man of education, +tact, and sincerity, became mayor, for an interim of four months; +enough time, as it proved, for him to return the city to its +normal political life. + +These examples are sufficient to illustrate the organization and +working of the municipal machine. It must not be imagined by the +reader that these cities alone, and a few others made notorious +by the magazine muck-rakers, are the only American cities that +have developed oligarchies. In truth, not a single American city, +great or small, has entirely escaped, for a greater or lesser +period, the sway of a coterie of politicians. It has not always +been a corrupt sway; but it has rarely, if ever, given efficient +administration. + +Happily there are not wanting signs that the general conditions +which have fostered the Ring are disappearing. The period of +reform set in about 1890, when people began to be interested in +the study of municipal government. It was not long afterwards +that the first authoritative books on the subject appeared. Then +colleges began to give courses in municipal government; editors +began to realize the public's concern in local questions and to +discuss neighborhood politics as well as national politics. By +1900 a new era broke--the era of the Grand Jury. Nothing so +hopeful in local politics had occurred in our history as the +disclosures which followed. They provoked the residuum of +conscience in the citizenry and the determination that honesty +should rule in public business and politics as well as in private +transactions. The Grand Jury inquisitions, however, demonstrated +clearly that the criminal law was no remedy for municipal +misrule. The great majority of floaters and illegal voters who +were indicted never faced a trial jury. The results of the +prosecutions for bribery and grosser political crimes were +scarcely more encouraging. It is true that one Abe Ruef in a +California penitentiary is worth untold sermons, editorials, and +platform admonitions, and serves as a potent warning to all +public malefactors. Yet the example is soon forgotten; and the +people return to their former political habits. + +But out of this decade of gang-hunting and its impressive +experiences with the shortcomings of our criminal laws came the +new municipal era which we have now fully entered, the era of +enlightened administration. This new era calls for a +reconstruction of the city government. Its principal feature is +the rapid spread of the Galveston or Commission form of +government and of its modification, the City Manager plan, the +aim of which is to centralize governmental authority and to +entice able men into municipal office. And there are many other +manifestations of the new civic spirit. The mesmeric influence of +national party names in civic politics is waning; the rise of +home rule for the city is severing the unholy alliance between +the legislature and the local Ring; the power to grant franchises +is being taken away from legislative bodies and placed directly +with the people; nominations are passing out of the hands of +cliques and are being made the gift of the voters through +petitions and primaries; efficient reforms in the taxing and +budgetary machinery have been instituted, and the development of +the merit system in the civil service is creating a class of +municipal experts beyond the reach of political gangsters. + +There have sprung up all sorts of collateral organizations to +help the officials: societies for municipal research, municipal +reference libraries, citizens' unions, municipal leagues, and +municipal parties. These are further supplemented by +organizations which indirectly add to the momentum of practical, +enlightened municipal sentiment: boards of commerce, associations +of business and professional men of every variety, women's clubs, +men's clubs, children's clubs, recreation clubs, social clubs, +every one with its own peculiar vigilance upon some corner of the +city's affairs. So every important city is guarded by a network +of voluntary organizations. + +All these changes in city government, in municipal laws and +political mechanisms, and in the people's attitude toward their +cities, have tended to dignify municipal service. The city job +has been lifted to a higher plane. Lord Rosebery, the brilliant +chairman of the first London County Council, the governing body +of the world's largest city, said many years ago: "I wish that my +voice could extend to every municipality in the kingdom, and +impress upon every man, however high his position, however great +his wealth, however consummate his talents may be, the importance +and nobility of municipal work." It is such a spirit as this that +has made the government of Glasgow a model of democratic +efficiency; and it is the beginnings of this spirit that the +municipal historian finds developing in the last twenty years of +American life. It is indeed difficult to see how our cities can +slip back again into the clutches of bosses and rings and repeat +the shameful history of the last decades of the nineteenth +century. + + + +CHAPTER VII. LEGISLATIVE OMNIPOTENCE + +The American people, when they wrote their first state +constitutions, were filled with a profound distrust of executive +authority, the offspring of their experience with the arbitrary +King George. So they saw to it that the executive authority in +their own government was reduced to its lowest terms, and that +the legislative authority, which was presumed to represent the +people, was exalted to legal omnipotence. In the original States, +the legislature appointed many of the judicial and administrative +officers; it was above the executive veto; it had political +supremacy; it determined the form of local governments and +divided the State into election precincts; it appointed the +delegates to the Continental Congress, towards which it displayed +the attitude of a sovereign. It was altogether the most important +arm of the state government; in fact it virtually was the state +government. The Federal Constitution created a government of +specified powers, reserving to the States all authority not +expressly given to the central government. Congress can legislate +only on subjects permitted by the Constitution; on the other +hand, a state legislature can legislate on any subject not +expressly forbidden. The state legislature possesses authority +over a far wider range of subjects than Congress--subjects, +moreover, which press much nearer to the daily activities of the +citizens, such as the wide realm of private law, personal +relations, local government, and property. + +In the earlier days, men of first-class ability, such as +Alexander Hamilton, Samuel Adams, and James Madison, did not +disdain membership in the state legislatures. But the development +of party spirit and machine politics brought with it a great +change. Then came the legislative caucus; and party politics soon +reigned in every capital. As the legislature was ruled by the +majority, the dominant party elected presiding officers, +designated committees, appointed subordinates, and controlled +lawmaking. The party was therefore in a position to pay its +political debts and bestow upon its supporters valuable favors. +Further, as the legislature apportioned the various electoral +districts, the dominant party could, by means of the gerrymander, +entrench itself even in unfriendly localities. And, to crown its +political power, it elected United States Senators. But, as the +power of the party increased, unfortunately the personnel of the +legislature deteriorated. Able men, as a rule, shunned a service +that not only took them from their private affairs for a number +of months, but also involved them in partizan rivalries and +trickeries. Gradually the people came to lose confidence in the +legislative body and to put their trust more in the Executive or +else reserved governmental powers to themselves. It was about +1835 that the decline of the legislature's powers set in, when +new state constitutions began to clip its prerogatives, one after +another. + +The bulky constitutions now adopted by most of the States are +eloquent testimony to the complete collapse of the legislature as +an administrative body and to the people's general distrust of +their chosen representatives. The initiative, referendum, recall, +and the withholding of important subjects from the legislature's +power, are among the devices intended to free the people from the +machinations of their wilful representatives. + +Now, most of the evils which these heroic measures have sought to +remedy can be traced directly to the partizan ownership of the +state legislature. The boss controlling the members of the +legislature could not only dole out his favors to the privilege +seekers; he could assuage the greed of the municipal ring; and +could, to a lesser degree, command federal patronage by an +entente cordiale with congressmen and senators; and through his +power in presidential conventions and elections he had a direct +connection with the presidential office itself. + +It was in the days before the legislature was prohibited from +granting, by special act, franchises and charters, when banks, +turnpike companies, railroads, and all sorts of corporations came +asking for charters, that the figure of the lobbyist first +appeared. He acted as a middleman between the seeker and the +giver. The preeminent figure of this type in state and +legislative politics for several decades preceding the Civil War +was Thurlow Weed of New York. As an influencer of legislatures, +he stands easily first in ability and achievement. His great +personal attractions won him willing followers whom he knew how +to use. He was party manager, as well as lobbyist and boss in a +real sense long before that term was coined. His capacity for +politics amounted to genius. He never sought office; and his +memory has been left singularly free from taint. He became the +editor of the Albany Journal and made it the leading Whig +"up-state" paper. His friend Seward, whom he had lifted into the +Governor's chair, passed on to the United States Senate; and when +Horace Greeley with the New York Tribune joined their forces, +this potent triumvirate ruled the Empire State. Greeley was its +spokesman, Seward its leader, but Weed was its designer. From his +room No. 11 in the old Astor House, he beckoned to forces that +made or unmade presidents, governors, ambassadors, congressmen, +judges, and legislators. + +With the tremendous increase of business after the Civil War, New +York City became the central office of the nation's business, and +many of the interests centered there found it wise to have +permanent representatives at Albany to scrutinize every bill that +even remotely touched their welfare, to promote legislation that +was frankly in their favor, and to prevent "strikes"--the bills +designed for blackmail. After a time, however, the number of +"strikes" decreased, as well as the number of lobbyists attending +the session. The corporate interests had learned efficiency. +Instead of dealing with legislators individually, they arranged +with the boss the price of peace or of desirable legislation. The +boss transmitted his wishes to his puppets. This form of +government depends upon a machine that controls the legislature. +In New York both parties were moved by machines. "Tom" Platt was +the "easy boss" of the Republicans; and Tammany and its. +"up-state" affiliations controlled the Democrats. "Right here," +says Platt in his Autobiography (1910), "it may be appropriate to +say that I have had more or less to do with the organization of +the New York legislature since 1873." He had. For forty years he +practically named the Speaker and committees when his party won, +and he named the price when his party lost. All that an +"interest" had to do, under the new plan, was to "see the boss," +and the powers of government were delivered into its lap. + +Some of this legislative bargaining was revealed in the insurance +investigation of 1905, conducted by the Armstrong Committee with +Charles E. Hughes as counsel. Officers of the New York Life +Insurance Company testified that their company had given $50,000 +to the Republican campaign of 1904. An item of $235,000, +innocently charged to "Home office annex account," was traced to +the hands of a notorious lobbyist at Albany. Three insurance +companies had paid regularly $50,000 each to the Republican +campaign fund. Boss Platt himself was compelled reluctantly to +relate how he had for fifteen years received ten one thousand +dollar bundles of greenbacks from the Equitable Life as +"consideration" for party goods delivered. John A. McCall, +President of the New York Life, said: "I don't care about the +Republican side of it or the Democratic side of it. It doesn't +count at all with me. What is best for the New York Life moves +and actuates me." + +In another investigation Mr. H. O. Havemeyer of the Sugar Trust +said: "We have large interests in this State; we need police +protection and fire protection; we need everything that the city +furnishes and gives, and we have to support these things. Every +individual and corporation and firm--trust or whatever you call +it--does these things and we do them." No distinction is made, +then, between the government that ought to furnish this +"protection" and the machine that sells it! + +No episode in recent political history shows better the relations +of the legislature to the political machine and the great power +of invisible government than the impeachment and removal of +Governor William Sulzer in 1913. Sulzer had been four times +elected to the legislature. He served as Speaker in 1893. He was +sent to Congress by an East Side district in New York City in +1895 and served continuously until his nomination for Governor of +New York in 1912. All these years he was known as a Tammany man. +During his campaign for Governor he made many promises for +reform, and after his election he issued a bombastic declaration +of independence. His words were discounted in the light of his +previous record. Immediately after his inauguration, however, he +began a house-cleaning. He set to work an economy and efficiency +commission; he removed a Tammany superintendent of prisons; made +unusually good appointments without paying any attention to the +machine; and urged upon the legislature vigorous and vital laws. + +But the Tammany party had a large working majority in both +houses, and the changed Sulzer was given no support. The crucial +moment came when an emasculated primary law was handed to him for +his signature. An effective primary law had been a leading +campaign issue, all the parties being pledged to such an +enactment. The one which the Governor was now requested to sign +had been framed by the machine to suit its pleasure. The Governor +vetoed it. The legislature adjourned on the 3rd of May. The +Governor promptly reconvened it in extra session (June 7th) for +the purpose of passing an adequate primary law. Threats that had +been made against him by the machine now took form. An +investigating committee, appointed by the Senate to examine the +Governor's record, largely by chance happened upon "pay dirt," +and early on the morning of the 13th of August, after an +all-night session, the Assembly passed a motion made by its +Tammany floor leader to impeach the Governor. + +The articles of impeachment charged: first, that the Governor had +filed a false report of his campaign expenses; second, that since +he had made such statement under oath he was guilty of perjury; +third, that he had bribed witnesses to withhold testimony from +the investigating committee; fourth, that he had used threats in +suppression of evidence before the same tribunal; fifth, that he +had persuaded a witness from responding to the committee's +subpoena; sixth, that he had used campaign contributions for +private speculation in the stock market; seventh, that he had +used his power as Governor to influence the political action of +certain officials; lastly, that he had used this power for +affecting the stock market to his gain. + +Unfortunately for the Governor, the first, second, and sixth +charges had a background of facts, although the rest were +ridiculous and trivial. By a vote of 43 to 12 he was removed from +the governorship. The proceeding was not merely an impeachment of +New York's Governor. It was an impeachment of its government. +Every citizen knew that if Sulzer had obeyed Murphy, his +shortcomings would never have been his undoing. + +The great commonwealth of Pennsylvania was for sixty years under +the domination of the House of Cameron and the House of Quay. +Simon Cameron's entry into public notoriety was symbolic of his +whole career. In 1838, he was one of a commission of two to +disburse to the Winnebago Indians at Prairie du Chien $100,000 in +gold. But, instead of receiving gold, the poor Indians received +only a few thousand dollars in the notes of a bank of which +Cameron was the cashier. Cameron was for this reason called "the +Great Winnebago." He built a large fortune by canal and railway +contracts, and later by rolling-mills and furnaces. He was one +of the first men in American politics to purchase political power +by the lavish use of cash, and to use political power for the +gratification of financial greed. In 1857 he was elected to the +United States Senate as a Republican by a legislature in which +the Democrats had a majority. Three Democrats voted for him, and +so bitter was the feeling against the renegade trio that no hotel +in Harrisburg would shelter them. + +In 1860 he was a candidate for the Republican presidential +nomination. President Lincoln made him Secretary of War. But his +management was so ill-savored that a committee of leading +business men from the largest cities of the country told the +President that it was impossible to transact business with such a +man. These complaints coupled with other considerations moved +Lincoln to dismiss Cameron. He did so in characteristic fashion. +On January 11, 1862, he sent Cameron a curt note saying that he +proposed to appoint him minister to Russia. And thither into +exile Cameron went. A few months later, the House of +Representatives passed a resolution of censure, citing Cameron's +employment of irresponsible persons and his purchase of supplies +by private contract instead of competitive bidding. The +resolution, however, was later expunged from the records; and +Cameron, on his return from Russia, again entered the Senate +under circumstances so suspicious that only the political +influence of the boss thwarted an action for bribery. In 1877 he +resigned, naming as his successor his son "Don," who was promptly +elected. + +In the meantime another personage had appeared on the scene. +"Cameron made the use of money an essential to success in +politics, but Quay made politics expensive beyond the most +extravagant dreams." From the time he arrived of age until his +death, with the exception of three or four years, Matthew S. Quay +held public office. When the Civil War broke out, he had been for +some time prothonotary of Beaver County, and during the war he +served as Governor Curtin's private secretary. In 1865 he was +elected to the legislature. In 1877 he induced the legislature to +resurrect the discarded office of Recorder of Philadelphia, and +for two years he collected the annual fees of $40,000. In 1887 he +was elected to the United States Senate, in which he remained +except for a brief interval until his death. + +In 1899 came revelations of Quay's substantial interests in state +moneys. The suicide of the cashier of the People's Bank of +Philadelphia, which was largely owned by politicians and was a +favorite depository of state funds, led to an investigation of +the bank's affairs, and disclosed the fact that Quay and some of +his associates had used state funds for speculation. Quay's +famous telegram to the cashier was found among the dead +official's papers, "If you can buy and carry a thousand Met. for +me I will shake the plum tree." + +Quay was indicted, but escaped trial by pleading the statute of +limitations as preventing the introduction of necessary evidence +against him. A great crowd of shouting henchmen accosted him as a +hero when he left the courtroom, and escorted him to his hotel. +And the legislature soon thereafter elected him to his third term +in the Senate. + +Pittsburgh, as well as Philadelphia, had its machine which was +carefully geared to Quay's state machine. The connection was made +clear by the testimony of William Flinn, a contractor boss, +before a committee of the United States Senate. Flinn explained +the reason for a written agreement between Quay on the one hand +and Flinn and one Brown in behalf of Chris Magee, the Big Boss, +on the other, for the division of the sovereignty of western +Pennsylvania. "Senator Quay told me," said Flinn, "that he would +not permit us to elect the Republican candidate for mayor in +Pittsburghh unless we adjust the politics to suit him." The +people evidently had nothing to say about it. + +The experiences of New York and Pennsylvania are by no means +isolated; they are illustrative. Very few States have escaped a +legislative scandal. In particular, Rhode Island, Delaware, +Illinois, Colorado, Montana, California, Ohio, Mississippi, Texas +can give pertinent testimony to the willingness of legislatures +to prostitute their great powers to the will of the boss or the +machine. + + + +CHAPTER VIII. THE NATIONAL HIERARCHY + +American political maneuver culminates at Washington. The +Presidency and membership in the Senate and the House of +Representatives are the great stakes. By a venerable tradition, +scrupulously followed, the judicial department is kept beyond the +reach of party greed. + +The framers of the Constitution believed that they had contrived +a method of electing the President and Vice-President which would +preserve the choice from partizan taint. Each State should choose +a number of electors "equal to the whole number of Senators and +Representatives to which the State maybe entitled in the +Congress." These electors were to form an independent body, to +meet in their respective States and "ballot for two persons," and +send the result of their balloting to the Capitol, where the +President of the Senate, in the presence of the Senate and the +House of Representatives, opened the certificates and counted the +votes. The one receiving the greatest number of votes was to be +declared elected President, the one receiving the next highest +number of votes, Vice-President. George Washington was the only +President elected by such an autonomous group. The election of +John Adams was bitterly contested, and the voters knew, when they +were casting their ballots in 1796, whether they were voting for +a Federalist or a Jeffersonian. From that day forward this +greatest of political prizes has been awarded through partizan +competition. In 1804 the method of selecting the Vice-President +was changed by the twelfth constitutional amendment. The electors +since that time ballot for President and Vice-President. Whatever +may be the legal privileges of the members of the Electoral +College, they are considered, by the voters, as agents of the +party upon whose tickets their names appear, and to abuse this +relationship would universally be deemed an act of perfidy. + +The Constitution permits the legislatures of the States to +determine how the electors shall be chosen. In the earlier +period, the legislatures elected them; later they were elected by +the people; sometimes they were elected at large, but usually +they were chosen by districts. And this is now the general +custom. Since the development of direct nominations, there has +been a strong movement towards the abolition of the Electoral +College and the election of the President by direct vote. + +The President is the most powerful official in our government and +in many respects he is the most powerful ruler in the world. He +is Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy. His is virtually the +sole responsibility in conducting international relations. He is +at the head of the civil administration and all the important +administrative departments are answerable to him. He possesses a +vast power of appointment through which he dispenses political +favors. His wish is potent in shaping legislation and his veto is +rarely overridden. With Congress he must be in daily contact; for +the Senate has the power of ratifying or discarding his +appointments and of sanctioning or rejecting his treaties with +foreign countries; and the House of Representatives originates +all money bills and thus possesses a formidable check upon +executive usurpation. + +The Constitution originally reposed the choice of United States +Senators with the state legislatures. A great deal of virtue was +to flow from such an indirect election. The members of the +legislature were presumed to act with calm judgment and to choose +only the wise and experienced for the dignity of the toga. And +until the period following the Civil War the great majority of +the States delighted to send their ablest statesmen to the +Senate. Upon its roll we find the names of many of our +illustrious orators and jurists. After the Civil War, when the +spirit of commercialism invaded every activity, men who were +merely rich began to aspire to senatorial honors. The debauch of +the state legislatures which was revealed in the closing year of +the nineteenth century and the opening days of the twentieth so +revolted the people that the seventeenth constitutional amendment +was adopted (1913) providing for the election of senators by +direct vote. + +The House of Representatives was designed to be the" popular +house." Its election from small districts, by direct vote, every +two years is a guarantee of its popular character. From this +characteristic it has never departed. It is the People's House. +It originates all revenue measures. On its floor, in the rough +and tumble of debate, partizan motives are rarely absent. + +Upon this national tripod, the Presidency, the Senate, and the +House, is builded the vast national party machine. Every citizen +is familiar with the outer aspect of these great national parties +as they strive in placid times to create a real issue of the +tariff, or imperialism, or what not, so as to establish at least +an ostensible difference between them; or as they, in critical +times, make the party name synonymous with national security. The +high-sounding platforms, the frenzied orators, the parades, mass +meetings, special trains, pamphlets, books, editorials, +lithographs, poster--all these paraphernalia are conjured up in +the voter's mind when he reads the words Democratic and +Republican. + +But, from the standpoint of the professional politician, all this +that the voter sees is a mask, the patriotic veneer to hide the +machine, that complex hierarchy of committees ranging from +Washington to every cross-roads in the Republic. The committee +system, described in a former chapter, was perfected by the +Republican party during the days of the Civil War, under the +stress of national necessity. The great party leaders were then +in Congress. When the assassination of Lincoln placed Andrew +Johnson in power, the bitter quarrel between Congress and the +President firmly united the Republicans; and in order to carry +the mid-election in 1866, they organized a Congressional Campaign +Committee to conduct the canvass. This practice has been +continued by both parties, and in "off" years it plays a very +prominent part in the party campaign. Congress alone, however, +was only half the conquest. It was only through control of the +Administration that access was gained to the succulent herbage of +federal pasturage and that vast political prestige with the voter +was achieved. + +The President is nominally the head of his party. In reality he +may not be; he may be only the President. That depends upon his +personality, his desires, his hold upon Congress and upon the +people, and upon the circumstances of the hour. During the Grant +Administration, as already described, there existed, in every +sense of the term, a federal machine. It held Congress, the +Executive, and the vast federal patronage in its power. All the +federal office-holders, all the postmasters and their assistants, +revenue collectors, inspectors, clerks, marshals, deputies, +consuls, and ambassadors were a part of the organization, +contributing to its maintenance. We often hear today of the +"Federal Crowd," a term used to describe such appointees as still +subsist on presidential and senatorial favor. In Grant's time, +this "crowd" was a genuine machine, constructed, unlike some of +its successors, from the center outward. But the "boss" of this +machine was not the President. It was controlled by a group of +leading Congressmen, who used their power for dictating +appointments and framing "desirable" legislation. Grant, in the +imagination of the people, symbolized the cause their sacrifices +had won; and thus his moral prestige became the cloak of the +political plotters. + +A number of the ablest men in the Republican party, however, +stood aloof; and by 1876 a movement against the manipulators had +set in. Civil service reform had become a real issue. Hayes, the +"dark horse" who was nominated in that year, declared, in +accepting the nomination, that "reform should be thorough, +radical, and complete." He promised not to be a candidate for a +second term, thus avoiding the temptation, to which almost every +President has succumbed, of using the patronage to secure his +reelection. The party managers pretended not to hear these +promises. And when Hayes, after his inauguration, actually began +to put them into force, they set the whole machinery of the party +against the President. Matters came to a head when the President +issued an order commanding federal office-holders to refrain from +political activity. This order was generally defied, especially +in New York City in the post-office and customs rings. Two +notorious offenders, Cornell and Arthur, were dismissed from +office by the President. But the Senate, influenced by Roscoe +Conkling's power, refused to confirm the President's new +appointees; and under the Tenure of Office Act, which had been +passed to tie President Johnson's hands, the offenders remained +in office over a year. The fight disciplined the President and +the machine in about equal proportions. The President became more +amenable and the machine less arbitrary. + +President Garfield attempted the impossible feat of obliging both +the politicians and the reformers. He was persuaded to make +nominations to federal offices in New York without consulting +either of the senators from that State, Conkling and Platt. +Conkling appealed to the Senate to reject the New York appointees +sent in by the President. The Senate failed to sustain him. +Conkling and his colleague Platt resigned from the Senate and +appealed to the New York legislature, which also refused to +sustain them. + +While this absurd farce was going on, a more serious ferment was +brewing. On July 2, 1881, President Garfield was assassinated by +a disappointed office-seeker named Guiteau. The attention of the +people was suddenly turned from the ridiculous diversion of the +Conkling incident to the tragedy and its cause. They saw the +chief office in their gift a mere pawn in the game of +place-seekers, the time and energy of their President wasted in +bickerings with congressmen over petty appointments, and the +machinery of their Government dominated by the machinery of the +party for ignoble or selfish ends. + +At last the advocates of reform found their opportunity. In 1883 +the Civil Service Act was passed, taking from the President about +14,000 appointments. Since then nearly every President, towards +the end of his term, especially his second term, has added to the +numbers, until nearly two-thirds of the federal offices are now +filled by examination. President Cleveland during his second term +made sweeping additions. President Roosevelt found about 100,000 +in the classified service and left 200,000. President Taft, +before his retirement, placed in the classified service assistant +postmasters and clerks in first and second-class postoffices, +about 42,000 rural delivery carriers, and over 20,000 skilled +workers in the navy yards. + +The appointing power of the President, however, still remains the +principal point of his contact with the machine. He has, of +course, other means of showing partizan favors. Tariff laws, laws +regulating interstate commerce, reciprocity treaties, "pork +barrels," pensions, financial policies, are all pregnant with +political possibilities. + +The second official unit in the national political hierarchy is +the House of Representatives, controlling the pursestrings, which +have been the deadly noose of many executive measures. The House +is elected every two years, so that it may ever be "near to the +people"! This produces a reflex not anticipated by the Fathers of +the Constitution. It gives the representative brief respite from +the necessities of politics, and hence little time for the +necessities of the State. + +The House attained the zenith of its power when it arraigned +President Johnson at the bar of the Senate for high crimes and +misdemeanors in office. It had shackled his appointing power by +the Tenure of Office Act; it had forced its plan of +reconstruction over his veto; and now it led him, dogged and +defiant, to a political trial. Within a few years the character +of the House changed. A new generation interested in the issues +of prosperity, rather than those of the war, entered public life. +The House grew unwieldy in size and its business increased +alarmingly. The minority, meanwhile, retained the power, through +filibustering, to hold up the business of the country. + +It was under such conditions that Speaker Reed, in 1890, crowned +himself "Czar" by compelling a quorum. This he did by counting as +actually present all members whom the clerk reported as "present +but not voting." The minority fought desperately for its last +privilege and even took a case to the Supreme Court to test the +constitutionality of a law passed by a Reed-made quorum. The +court concurred with the sensible opinion of the country that +"when the quorum is present, it is there for the purpose of doing +business," an opinion that was completely vindicated when the +Democratic minority became a majority and adopted the rule for +its own advantage. + +By this ruling, the Speakership was lifted to a new eminence. The +party caucus, which nominated the Speaker, and to which momentous +party questions were referred, gave solidarity to the party. But +the influence of the Speaker, through his power of appointing +committees, of referring bills, of recognizing members who wished +to participate in debate, insured that discipline and centralized +authority which makes mass action effective. The power of the +Speaker was further enlarged by the creation of the Rules +Committee, composed of the Speaker and two members from each +party designated by him. This committee formed a triumvirate (the +minority members were merely formal members) which set the limits +of debate, proposed special rules for such occasions as the +committee thought proper, and virtually determined the destiny of +bills. So it came about, as Bryce remarks, that the choice of the +Speaker was "a political event of the highest significance." + +It was under the regency of Speaker Cannon that the power of the +Speaker's office attained its climax. The Republicans had a large +majority in the House and the old war-horses felt like colts. +They assumed their leadership, however, with that obliviousness +to youth which usually characterizes old age. The gifted and +attractive Reed had ruled often by aphorism and wit, but the +unimaginative Cannon ruled by the gavel alone; and in the course +of time he and his clique of veterans forgot entirely the +difference between power and leadership. + +Even party regularity could not long endure such tyranny. It was +not against party organization that the insurgents finally raised +their lances, but against the arbitrary use of the machinery of +the organization by a small group of intrenched "standpatters." +The revolt began during the debate on the Payne-Aldrich tariff, +and in the campaign of 1908 "Cannonism" was denounced from the +stump in every part of the country. By March, 1910, the +insurgents were able, with the aid of the Democrats, to amend the +rules, increasing the Committee on Rules to ten to be elected by +the House and making the Speaker ineligible for membership. When +the Democrats secured control of the House in the following year, +the rules were revised, and the selection of all committees is +now determined by a Committee on Committees chosen in party +caucus. This change shifts arbitrary power from the shoulders of +the Speaker to the shoulders of the party chieftains. The power +of the Speaker has been lessened but by no means destroyed. He is +still the party chanticleer. + +The political power of the House, however, cannot be calculated +without admitting to the equation the Senate, the third official +unit, and, indeed, the most powerful factor in the national +hierarchy. The Senate shares equally with the House the +responsibility of lawmaking, and shares with the President the +responsibility of appointments and of treaty-making. It has been +the scene of many memorable contests with the President for +political control. The senators are elder statesmen, who have +passed through the refining fires of experience, either in law, +business, or politics. A senator is elected for six years; so +that he has a period of rest between elections, in which he may +forget his constituents in the ardor of his duties. + +Within the last few decades a great change has come over the +Senate, over its membership, its attitude towards public +questions, and its relation to the electorate. This has been +brought about through disclosures tending to show the relations +on the part of some senators towards "big business." As early as +the Granger revelations of railway machinations in politics, in +the seventies, a popular distrust of the Senate became +pronounced. No suggestion of corruption was implied, but certain +senators were known as "railway senators," and were believed to +use their partizan influence in their friends' behalf. This +feeling increased from year to year, until what was long +suspected came suddenly to light, through an entirely unexpected +agency. William Randolph Hearst, a newspaper owner who had in +vain attempted to secure a nomination for President by the +Democrats and to get himself elected Governor of New York, had +organized and financed a party of his own, the Independence +League. While speaking in behalf of his party, in the fall of +1908, he read extracts from letters written by an official of the +Standard Oil Company to various senators. The letters, it later +appeared, had been purloined from the Company's files by a +faithless employee. They caused a tremendous sensation. The +public mind had become so sensitive that the mere fact that an +intimacy existed between the most notorious of trusts and some +few United States senators--the correspondents called each other +"Dear John," "Dear Senator," etc.--was sufficient to arouse the +general wrath. The letters disclosed a keen interest on the part +of the corporation in the details of legislation, and the public +promptly took the Standard Oil Company as a type. They believed, +without demanding tangible proof, that other great corporations +were, in some sinister manner, influencing legislation. +Railroads, insurance companies, great banking concerns, vast +industrial corporations, were associated in the public mind as +"the Interests." And the United States Senate was deemed the +stronghold of the interests. A saturnalia of senatorial +muckraking now laid bare the "oligarchy," as the small group of +powerful veteran Senators who controlled the senatorial machinery +was called. It was disclosed that the centralization of +leadership in the Senate coincided with the centralization of +power in the Democratic and Republican national machines. In 1911 +and 1912 a "money trust" investigation was conducted by the +Senate and a comfortable entente was revealed between a group of +bankers, insurance companies, manufacturers, and other interests, +carried on through an elaborate system of interlocking +directorates. Finally, in 1912, the Senate ordered its Committee +on Privileges and Elections to investigate campaign contributions +paid to the national campaign committees in 1904, 1908, and 1912. +The testimony taken before this committee supplied the country +with authentic data of the interrelations of Big Business and Big +Politics. + +The revolt against "Cannonism" in the House had its counterpart +in the Senate. By the time the Aldrich tariff bill came to a vote +(1909), about ten Republican senators rebelled. The revolt +gathered momentum and culminated in 1912 in the organization of +the National Progressive party with Theodore Roosevelt as its +candidate for President and Hiram Johnson of California for Vice- +President. The majority of the Progressives returned to the +Republican fold in 1916. But the rupture was not healed, and the +Democrats reelected Woodrow Wilson. + + + +CHAPTER IX. THE AWAKENING + +In the early days a ballot was simply a piece of paper with the +names of the candidates written or printed on it. As party +organizations became more ambitious, the party printed its own +ballots, and "scratching" was done by pasting gummed stickers, +with the names of the substitutes printed on them, over the +regular ballot, or by simply striking out a name and writing +another one in its place. It was customary to print the different +party tickets on different colored paper, so that the judges in +charge of the ballot boxes could tell how the men voted. When +later laws required all ballots to be printed on white paper and +of the same size, the parties used paper of different texture. +Election officials could then tell by the "feel" which ticket was +voted. Finally paper of the same color and quality was enjoined +by some States. But it was not until the State itself undertook +to print the ballots that uniformity was secured. + +In the meantime the peddling of tickets was a regular occupation +on election day. Canvassers invaded homes and places of business, +and even surrounded the voting place. It was the custom in many +parts of the country for the voters to prepare the ballots before +reaching the voting place and carry them in the vest pocket, with +a margin showing. This was a sort of signal that the voter's mind +had been made up and that he should be let alone, yet even with +this signal showing, in hotly contested elections the voter ran a +noisy gauntlet of eager solicitors, harassing him on his way to +vote as cab drivers assail the traveler when he alights from the +train. This free and easy method, tolerable in sparsely settled +pioneer districts, failed miserably in the cities. It was +necessary to pass rigorous laws against vote buying and selling, +and to clear the polling-place of all partizan soliciting. Penal +provisions were enacted against intimidation, violence, +repeating, false swearing when challenged, ballot-box stuffing, +and the more patent forms of partizan vices. In order to stop the +practice of "repeating," New York early passed laws requiring +voters to be duly registered. But the early laws were defective, +and the rolls were easily padded. In most of the cities poll +lists were made by the party workers, and the name of each voter +was checked off as he voted. It was still impossible for the +voter to keep secret his ballot. The buyer of votes could tell +whether he got what he paid for; the employer, so disposed, could +bully those dependent on him into voting as he wished, and the +way was open to all manner of tricks in the printing of ballots +with misleading emblems, or with certain names omitted, or with a +mixture of candidates from various parties--tricks that were +later forbidden by law but were none the less common. + +Rather suddenly a great change came over election day. In 1888 +Kentucky adopted the Australian ballot for the city of +Louisville, and Massachusetts adopted it for all state and local +elections. The Massachusetts statute provided that before an +election each political party should certify its nominees to the +Secretary of the Commonwealth. The State then printed the +ballots. All the nominees of all the parties were printed on one +sheet. Each office was placed in a separate column, the +candidates in alphabetical order, with the names of the parties +following. Blank spaces were left for those who wished to vote +for others than the regular nominees. This form of ballot +prevented "voting straight" with a single mark. The voter, in the +seclusion of a booth at the polling-place, had to pick his +party's candidates from the numerous columns. + +Indiana, in 1889, adopted a similar statute but the ballot had +certain modifications to suit the needs of party orthodoxy. Here +the columns represented parties, not offices. Each party had a +column. Each column was headed by the party name and its device, +so that those who could not read could vote for the Rooster or +the Eagle or the Fountain. There was a circle placed under the +device, and by making his mark in this circle the voter voted +straight. + +Within eight years thirty-eight States and two Territories had +adopted the Australian or blanket ballot in some modified form. +It was but a step to the state control of the election machinery. +Some state officer, usually the Secretary of State, was +designated to see that the election laws were enforced. In New +York a State Commissioner of Elections was appointed. The +appointment of local inspectors and judges remained for a time in +the hands of the parties. But soon in several States even this +power was taken from them, and the trend now is towards +appointing all election officers by the central authority. These +officers also have complete charge of the registration of voters. +In some States, like New York, registration has become a rather +solemn procedure, requiring the answering of many questions and +the signing of the voter's name, all under the threat of perjury +if a wilful misrepresentation is made. + +So passed out of the control of the party the preparation of the +ballot and the use of the ballot on election day. Innumerable +rules have been laid down by the State for the conduct of +elections. The distribution of the ballots, their custody before +election, the order of electional procedure, the counting of the +ballots, the making of returns, the custody of the ballot-boxes, +and all other necessary details, are regulated by law under +official state supervision. The parties are allowed watchers at +the polls, but these have no official standing. + +If a Revolutionary Father could visit his old haunts on election +day, he would be astonished at the sober decorum. In his time +elections lasted three days, days filled with harangue, with +drinking, betting, raillery, and occasional encounters. Even +those whose memory goes back to the Civil War can contrast the +ballot peddling, the soliciting, the crowded noisy +polling-places, with the calm and quiet with which men deposit +their ballots today. For now every ballot is numbered and no one +is permitted to take a single copy from the room. Every voter +must prepare his ballot in the booth. And every polling-place is +an island of immunity in the sea of political excitement. + +While the people were thus assuming control of the ballot, they +were proceeding to gain control of their legislatures. In 1890 +Massachusetts enacted one of the first anti-lobby laws. It has +served as a model for many other States. It provided that the +sergeant-at-arms should keep dockets in which were enrolled the +names of all persons employed as counsel or agents before +legislative committees. Each counsel or agent was further +compelled to state the length of his engagement, the subjects or +bills for which he was employed, and the name and address of his +employer. + +The first session after the passage of this law, many of the +professional lobbyists refused to enroll, and the most notorious +ones were seen no more in the State House. The regular counsel of +railroads, insurance companies, and other interests signed the +proper docket and appeared for their clients in open committee +meetings. + +The law made it the duty of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to +report to the law officers of the State, for prosecution, all +those who failed to comply with the act. Sixty-seven such +delinquents were reported the first year. The Grand Jury refused +to indict them, but the number of recalcitrants has gradually +diminished. + +The experience of Massachusetts is not unique. Other States +passed more or less rigorous anti-lobby laws, and today, in no +state Capitol, will the visitor see the disgusting sights that +were usual thirty years ago--arrogant and coarse professional +"agents" mingling on the floor of the legislature with members, +even suggesting procedure to presiding officers, and not +infrequently commandeering a majority. Such influences, where +they persist, have been driven under cover. + +With the decline of the professional lobbyist came the rise of +the volunteer lobbyist. Important bills are now considered in +formal committee hearings which are well advertised so that +interested parties may be present. Publicity and information have +taken the place of secrecy in legislative procedure. The +gathering of expert testimony by special legislative commissions +of inquiry is now a frequent practice in respect to subjects of +wide social import, such as workmen's compensation, widows' +pensions, and factory conditions. + +A number of States have resorted to the initiative and referendum +as applied to ordinary legislation. By means of this method a +small percentage of the voters, from eight to ten per cent, may +initiate proposals and impose upon the voters the function of +legislation. South Dakota, in 1898, made constitutional provision +for direct legislation. Utah followed in 1900, Oregon in 1902, +Nevada in 1904, Montana in 1906, and Oklahoma in 1907. East of +the Mississippi, several States have adopted a modified form of +the initiative and referendum. In Oregon, where this device of +direct government has been most assiduously applied, the voters +in 1908 voted upon nineteen different bills and constitutional +amendments; in 1910 the number increased to thirty-two; in 1912, +to thirty-seven; in 1914 it fell to twenty-nine. The vote cast +for these measures rarely exceeded eighty per cent of those +voting at the election and frequently fell below sixty. + +The electorate that attempts to rid itself of the evils of the +state legislature by these heroic methods assumes a heavy +responsibility. When the burden of direct legislation is added to +the task of choosing from the long list of elective officers +which is placed before the voter at every local and state +election, it is not surprising that there should set in a +reaction in favor of simplified government. The mere separation +of state and local elections does not solve the problem. It +somewhat minimizes the chances of partizan influence over the +voter in local elections; but the voter is still confronted with +the long lists of candidates for elective offices. Ballots not +infrequently contain two hundred names, sometimes even three +hundred or more, covering candidates of four or five parties for +scores of offices. These blanket ballots are sometimes three feet +long. After an election in Chicago in 1916, one of the leading +dailies expressed sympathy "for the voter emerging from the +polling-booth, clutching a handful of papers, one of them about +half as large as a bed sheet." Probably most voters were able to +express a real preference among the national candidates. It is +almost equally certain that most voters were not able to express +a real preference among important local administrative officials. +A huge ballot, all printed over with names, supplemented by a +series of smaller ballots, can never be a manageable instrument +even for an electorate as intelligent as ours. + +Simplification is the prophetic watchword in state government +today. For cities, the City Manager and the Commission have +offered salvation. A few officers only are elected and these are +held strictly responsible, sometimes under the constant threat of +the recall, for the entire administration. Over four hundred +cities have adopted the form of government by Commission. But +nothing has been done to simplify our state governments, which +are surrounded by a maze of heterogeneous and undirected boards +and authorities. Every time the legislature found itself +confronted by a new function to be cared for, it simply created a +new board. New York has a hodgepodge of over 116 such +authorities; Minnesota, 75; Illinois, 100. Iowa in 1913 and +Illinois and Minnesota in 1914, indeed, perfected elaborate +proposals for simplifying their state governments. But these +suggestions remain dormant. And the New York State Constitutional +Convention in 1915 prepared a new Constitution for the State, +with the same end in view, but their work was not accepted by the +people. It may be said, however, that in our attempt to rid +ourselves of boss rule we have swung through the arc of direct +government and are now on the returning curve toward +representative government, a more intensified representative +government that makes evasion of responsibility and duty +impossible by fixing it upon one or two men. + + + +CHAPTER X. PARTY REFORM + +The State, at first, had paid little attention to the party, +which was regarded as a purely voluntary aggregation of +like-minded citizens. Evidently the State could not dictate that +you should be a Democrat or a Republican or force you to be an +Independent. With the adoption of the Australian ballot, however, +came the legal recognition of the party; for as soon as the State +recognized the party's designated nominees in the preparation of +the official ballot, it recognized the party. It was then +discovered that, unless some restrictions were imposed, groups of +interested persons in the old parties would manage the +nominations of both to their mutual satisfaction. Thus a handful +of Democrats would visit Republican caucuses or primaries and a +handful of Republicans would return the favor to the Democrats. +In other words, the bosses of both parties would cooperate in +order to secure nominations satisfactory to themselves. +Massachusetts began the reform by defining a party as a group of +persons who had cast a certain percentage of the votes at the +preceding election. This definition has been widely accepted; and +the number of votes has been variously fixed at from two to +twenty-five per cent. Other States have followed the New York +plan of fixing definitely the number of voters necessary to form +a party. In New York no fewer than 10,000 voters can secure +recognition as a state party, exception being made in favor of +municipal or purely local parties. But merely fixing the +numerical minimum of the party was not enough. The State took +another step forward in depriving the manipulator of his liberty +when it undertook to determine who was entitled to membership in +the party and privileged to take part in its nominations and +other party procedure. Otherwise the virile minority in each +party would control both the membership and the nominations. + +An Oregon statute declares: "Every political party and every +volunteer political organization has the same right to be +protected from the interference of persons who are not identified +with it, as its known and publicly avowed members, that the +government of the State has to protect itself from the +interference of persons who are not known and registered as its +electors. It is as great a wrong to the people, as well as to +members of a political party, for anyone who is not known to be +one of its members to vote or take any part at any election, or +other proceedings of such political party, as it is for one who +is not a qualified and registered elector to vote at any state +election or to take part in the business of the State." It is a +far reach from the democratic laissez faire of Jackson's day to +this state dogmatism which threatens the independent or detached +voter with ultimate extinction. + +A variety of methods have been adopted for initiating the citizen +into party membership. In the Southern States, where the dual +party system does not exist, the legislature has left the matter +in the hands of the duly appointed party officials. They can, +with canonical rigor, determine the party standing of voters at +the primaries. But where there is party competition, such a +generous endowment of power would be dangerous. + +Many States permit the voter to make his declaration of party +allegiance when he goes to the primary. He asks for the ticket of +the party whose nominees he wishes to help select. He is then +handed the party's ballot, which he marks and places in the +ballot-box of that party. Now, if he is challenged, he must +declare upon oath that he is a member of that party, that he has +generally supported its tickets and its principles, and that at +the coming election he intends to support at least a majority of +its nominees. In this method little freedom is left to the voter +who wishes to participate as an independent both in the primaries +and in the general election. + +The New York plan is more rigorous. Here, in all cities, the +voter enrolls his name on his party's lists when he goes to +register for the coming election. He receives a ballot upon which +are the following words: "I am in general sympathy with the +principles of the party which I have designated by my mark +hereunder; it is my intention to support generally at the next +general election, state and national, the nominees of such party +for state and national offices; and I have not enrolled with or +participated in any primary election or convention of any other +party since the first day of last year." On this enrollment blank +he indicates the party of his choice, and the election officials +deposit all the ballots, after sealing them in envelopes, in a +special box. At a time designated by law, these seals are broken +and the party enrollment is compiled from them. These party +enrollment books are public records. Everyone who cares may +consult the lists. The advantages of secrecy--such as they +are--are thus not secured. + +It remained for Wisconsin, the experimenting State, to find a way +of insuring secrecy. Here, when the voter goes to the primary, he +is handed a large ballot, upon which all the party nominations +are printed. The different party tickets are separated by +perforations, so that the voter simply tears out the party ticket +he wishes to vote, marks it, and puts it in the box. The rejected +tickets he deposits in a large waste basket provided for the +discards. + +While the party was being fenced in by legal definition, its +machinery, the intricate hierarchy of committees, was subjected +to state scrutiny with the avowed object of ridding the party of +ring rule. The State Central Committee is the key to the +situation. To democratize this committee is a task that has +severely tested the ingenuity of the State, for the inventive +capacity of the professional politician is prodigious. The +devices to circumvent the politician are so numerous and various +that only a few types can be selected to illustrate how the State +is carrying out its determination. Illinois has provided perhaps +the most democratic method. In each congressional district, the +voters, at the regular party primaries, choose the member of the +state committee for the district, who serves for a term of two +years. The law says that "no other person or persons whomsoever" +than those so chosen by the voters shall serve on the committee, +so that members by courtesy or by proxy, who might represent the +boss, are apparently shut off. The law stipulates the time within +which the committee must meet and organize. Under this plan, if +the ring controls the committee, the fault lies wholly with the +majority of the party; it is a self-imposed thraldom. + +Iowa likewise stipulates that the Central Committee shall be +composed of one member from each congressional district. But the +members are chosen in a state convention, organized under strict +and minute regulations imposed by law. It permits considerable +freedom to the committee, however, stating that it "may organize +at pleasure for political work as is usual and customary with +such committees." + +In Wisconsin another plan was adopted in 1907. Here the +candidates for the various state offices and for both branches of +the legislature and the senators whose terms have not expired +meet in the state capital at noon on a day specified by law and +elect by ballot a central committee consisting of at least two +members from each congressional district. A chairman is chosen in +the same manner. + +Most States, however, leave some leeway in the choice of the +state committee, permitting their election usually by the regular +primaries but controlling their action in many details. The +lesser committees--county, city, district, judicial, senatorial, +congressional, and others--are even more rigorously controlled by +law. + +So the issuing of the party platform, the principles on which it +must stand or fall, has been touched by this process of +ossification. Few States retain the state convention in its +original vigor. In all States where primaries are held for state +nominations, the emasculated and subdued convention is permitted +to write the party platform. But not so in some States. Wisconsin +permits the candidates and the hold-over members of the Senate, +assembled according to law in a state meeting, to issue the +platform. In other States, the Central Committee and the various +candidates for state office form a party council and frame the +platform. Oregon, in 1901, tried a novel method of providing +platforms by referendum. But the courts declared the law +unconstitutional. So Oregon now permits each candidate to write +his own platform in not over one hundred words and file it with +his nominating petition, and to present a statement of not over +twelve words to be printed on the ballot. + +The convention system provided many opportunities for the +manipulator and was inherently imperfect for nominating more than +one or two candidates for office. It has survived as the method +of nominating candidates for President of the United States +because it is adapted to the wide geographical range of the +nation and because in the national convention only a President +and a Vice-President are nominated. In state and county +conventions, where often candidates for a dozen or more offices +are to be nominated, it was often subject to demoralizing +bartering. + +The larger the number of nominations to be made, the more +complete was the jobbery, and this was the death warrant of the +local convention. These evils were recognized as early as June +20, 1860, when the Republican county convention of Crawford +County, Pennsylvania, adopted the following resolutions: + +"Whereas, in nominating candidates for the several county +offices, it clearly is, or ought to be, the object to arrive as +nearly as possible at the wishes of the majority, or at least a +plurality of the Republican voters; and + +Whereas the present system of nominating by delegates, who +virtually represent territory rather than votes, and who almost +necessarily are wholly unacquainted with the wishes and feelings +of their constituents in regard to various candidates for office, +is undemocratic, because the people have no voice in it, and +objectionable, because men are often placed in nomination because +of their location who are decidedly unpopular, even in their own +districts, and because it affords too great an opportunity for +scheming and designing men to accomplish their own purposes; +therefore + +Resolved, that we are in favor of submitting nominations directly +to the people--the Republican voters--and that delegate +conventions for nominating county officers be abolished, and we +hereby request and instruct the county committee to issue their +call in 1861, in accordance with the spirit of this resolution." + +Upon the basis of this indictment of the county convention +system, the Republican voters of Crawford County, a rural +community, whose largest town is Meadville, the county seat, +proceeded to nominate their candidates by direct vote, under +rules prepared by the county committee. These rules have been but +slightly changed. The informality of a hat or open table drawer +has been replaced by an official ballotbox, and an official +ballot has taken the place of the tickets furnished by each +candidate. + +The "Crawford County plan," as it was generally called, was +adopted by various localities in many States. In 1866 California +and New York enacted laws to protect primaries and nominating +caucuses from fraud. In 1871 Ohio and Pennsylvania enacted +similar laws, followed by Missouri in 1875 and New Jersey in +1878. By 1890 over a dozen States had passed laws attempting to +eliminate the grosser frauds attendant upon making nominations. +In many instances it was made optional with the party whether the +direct plan should supersede the delegate plan. Only in certain +cities, however, was the primary made mandatory in these States. +By far the larger areas retained the convention. + +There is noticeable in these years a gradual increase in the +amount of legislation concerning the nominating machinery-- +prescribing the days and hours for holding elections of +delegates, the size of the polling-place, the nature of the +ballotbox, the poll-list, who might participate in the choice of +delegates, how the returns were to be made, and so on. By the +time, then, that the Australian ballot came, with its profound +changes, nearly all the States had attempted to remove the +glaring abuses of the nominating system; and several of them +officially recognized the direct primary. The State was reluctant +to abolish the convention system entirely; and the Crawford +County plan long remained merely optional. But in 1901 Minnesota +enacted a state-wide, mandatory primary law. Mississippi followed +in 1902, Wisconsin in 1903, and Oregon in 1904. This movement has +swept the country. + +Few States retain the nominating convention, and where it remains +it is shackled by legal restrictions. The boss, however, has +devised adequate means for controlling primaries, and a return to +a modified convention system is being earnestly discussed in many +States to circumvent the further ingenuity of the boss. A further +step towards the state control of parties was taken when laws +began to busy themselves with the conduct of the campaign. +Corrupt Practices Acts began to assume bulk in the early +nineties, to limit the expenditure of candidates, and to +enumerate the objects for which campaign committees might +legitimately spend money. These are usually personal traveling +expenses of the candidates, rental of rooms for committees and +halls for meetings, payment of musicians and speakers and their +traveling expenses, printing campaign material, postage for +distribution of letters, newspapers and printed matter, telephone +and telegraph charges, political advertising, employing +challengers at the polls, necessary clerk hire, and conveyances +for bringing aged or infirm voters to the polls. The maximum +amount that can be spent by candidates is fixed, and they are +required to make under oath a detailed statement of their +expenses in both primary and general elections. The various +committees, also, must make detailed reports of the funds they +handle, the amount, the contributors, and the expenditures. +Corporations are forbidden to contribute, and the amount that +candidates themselves may give is limited in many States. These +exactions are reinforced by stringent laws against bribery. +Persons found guilty of either receiving or soliciting a bribe +are generally disfranchised or declared ineligible for public +office for a term of years. Illinois, for the second offense, +forever disfranchises. + +It is not surprising that these restrictions have led the State +to face the question whether it should not itself bear some of +the expenses of the campaign. It has, of course, already assumed +an enormous burden formerly borne entirely by the party. The cost +of primary and general elections nowadays is tremendous. A few +Western States print a campaign pamphlet and distribute it to +every voter. The pamphlet contains usually the photographs of the +candidates, a brief biography, and a statement of principles. + +These are the principal encroachments made by the Government upon +the autonomy of the party. The details are endless. The election +laws of New York fill 330 printed pages. It is little wonder that +American parties are beginning to study the organization of +European parties, such as the labor parties and the social +democratic parties, which have enlisted a rather fervent party +fealty. These are propagandist parties and require to be active +all the year round. So they demand annual dues of their members +and have permanent salaried officials and official party organs. +Such a permanent organization was suggested for the National +Progressive party. But the early disintegration of the party made +impossible what would have been an interesting experiment. After +the election of 1916, Governor Whitman of New York suggested that +the Republican party choose a manager and pay him $10,000 a year +and have a lien on all his time and energy. The plan was widely +discussed and its severest critics were the politicians who would +suffer from it. The wide-spread comment with which it was +received revealed the change that has come over the popular idea +of a political party since the State began forty years ago to +bring the party under its control. + +But flexibility is absolutely essential to a party system that +adequately serves a growing democracy. And under a two-party +system, as ours is probably bound to remain, the independent +voter usually holds the balance of power. He may be merely a +disgruntled voter seeking for revenge, or an overpleased voter +seeking to maintain a profitable status quo, or he may belong to +that class of super-citizens from which mugwumps arise. In any +case, the majorities at elections are usually determined by him. +And party orthodoxy made by the State is almost as distasteful to +him as the rigor of the boss. He relishes neither the one nor the +other. + +In the larger cities the citizens' tickets and fusion movements +are types of independent activities. In some cities they are +merely temporary associations, formed for a single, thorough +housecleaning. The Philadelphia Committee of One Hundred, which +was organized in 1880 to fight the Gas Ring, is an example. It +issued a Declaration of Principles, demanding the promotion of +public service rather than private greed, and the prosecution of +"those who have been guilty of election frauds, maladministration +of office, or misappropriation of public funds." Announcing that +it would endorse only candidates who signed this declaration, the +committee supported the Democratic candidates, and nominated for +Receiver of Taxes a candidate of its own, who became also the +Democratic nominee when the regular Democratic candidate +withdrew. Philadelphia was overwhelmingly Republican. But the +committee's aid was powerful enough to elect the Democratic +candidate for mayor by 6000 majority and the independent +candidate for Receiver of Taxes by 20,000. This gave the +Committee access to the records of the doings of the Gas Ring. In +1884, however, the candidate which it endorsed was defeated, and +it disbanded. + +Similar in experience was the famous New York Committee of +Seventy, organized in 1894 after Dr. Parkhurst's lurid +disclosures of police connivance with every degrading vice. A +call was issued by thirty-three well-known citizens for a +non-partizan mass meeting, and at this meeting a committee of +seventy was appointed "with full power to confer with other +anti-Tammany organizations, and to take such actions as may be +necessary to further the objects of this meeting as set forth in +the call therefor, and the address adopted by this meeting." The +committee adopted a platform, appointed an executive and a +finance committee, and nominated a full ticket, distributing the +candidates among both parties. All other anti-Tammany +organizations endorsed this ticket, and it was elected by large +majorities. The committee dissolved after having secured certain +charter amendments for the city and seeing its roster of officers +inaugurated. + +The Municipal Voters' League of Chicago is an important example +of the permanent type of citizens' organization. The league is +composed of voters in every ward, who, acting through committees +and alert officers, scrutinize every candidate for city office +from the Mayor down. It does not aim to nominate a ticket of its +own, but to exercise such vigilance, enforced by so effective an +organization and such wide-reaching publicity, that the various +parties will, of their own volition, nominate men whom the league +can endorse. By thus putting on the hydraulic pressure of +organized public opinion, it has had a considerable influence on +the parties and a very stimulating effect on the citizenry. + +Finally, there has developed in recent years the fusion movement, +whereby the opponents of boss rule in all parties unite and back +an independent or municipal ticket. The election of Mayor Mitchel +of New York in 1913 was thus accomplished. In Milwaukee, a fusion +has been successful against the Socialists. And in many lesser +cities this has brought at least temporary relief from the +oppression of the local oligarchy. + + + +CHAPTER XI. THE EXPERT AT LAST + +The administrative weakness of a democracy, namely, the tendency +towards a government by job-hunters, was disclosed even in the +early days of the United States, when the official machinery was +simple and the number of offices few. Washington at once foresaw +both the difficulties and the duties that the appointing power +imposed. Soon after his inauguration he wrote to Rutledge: "I +anticipate that one of the most difficult and delicate parts of +the duty of any office will be that which relates to nominations +for appointments." And he was most scrupulous and painstaking in +his appointments. Fitness for duty was paramount with him, though +he recognized geographical necessity and distributed the offices +with that precision which characterized all his acts. + +John Adams made very few appointments. After his term had +expired, he wrote: "Washington appointed a multitude of Democrats +and Jacobins of the deepest die. I have been more cautious in +this respect." + +The test of partizan loyalty, however, was not applied generally +until after the election of Jefferson. The ludicrous +apprehensions of the Federalists as to what would follow upon his +election were not allayed by his declared intentions. "I have +given," he wrote to Monroe, "and will give only to Republicans +under existing circumstances." Jefferson was too good a +politician to overlook his opportunity to annihilate the +Federalists. He hoped to absorb them in his own party, "to unite +the names of Federalists and Republicans." Moderate Federalists, +who possessed sufficient gifts of grace for conversion, he +sedulously nursed. But he removed all officers for whose removal +any special reason could be discovered. The "midnight +appointments" of John Adams he refused to acknowledge, and he +paid no heed to John Marshall's dicta in Marbury versus Madison. +He was zealous in discovering plausible excuses for making +vacancies. The New York Evening Post described him as "gazing +round, with wild anxiety furiously inquiring, 'how are vacancies +to be obtained?'" Directly and indirectly, Jefferson effected, +during his first term, 164 changes in the offices at his +disposal, a large number for those days. This he did so craftily, +with such delicate regard for geographical sensitiveness and with +such a nice balance between fitness for office and the desire for +office, that by the end of his second term he had not only +consolidated our first disciplined and eager political party, but +had quieted the storm against his policy of partizan +proscription. + +During the long regime of the Jeffersonian Republicans there were +three significant movements. In January, 1811, Nathaniel Macon +introduced his amendment to the Constitution providing that no +member of Congress should receive a civil appointment "under the +authority of the United States until the expiration of the +presidential term in which such person shall have served as +senator or representative." An amendment was offered by Josiah +Quincy, making ineligible to appointment the relations by blood +or marriage of any senator or representative. Nepotism was +considered the curse of the civil service, and for twenty years +similar amendments were discussed at almost every session of +Congress. John Quincy Adams said that half of the members wanted +office, and the other half wanted office for their relatives. + +In 1820 the Four Years' Act substituted a four-year tenure of +office, in place of a term at the pleasure of the President, for +most of the federal appointments. The principal argument urged in +favor of the law was that unsatisfactory civil servants could +easily be dropped without reflection on their character. +Defalcations had been discovered to the amount of nearly a +million dollars, due mainly to carelessness and gross +inefficiency. It was further argued that any efficient incumbent +need not be disquieted, for he would be reappointed. The law, +however, fulfilled Jefferson's prophecy: it kept "in constant +excitement all the hungry cormorants for office." + +What Jefferson began, Jackson consummated. The stage was now set +for Democracy. Public office had been marshaled as a force in +party maneuver. In his first annual message, Jackson announced +his philosophy: + +"There are perhaps few men who can for any great length of time +enjoy office and power without being more or less under the +influence of feelings unfavorable to the faithful discharge of +their public duties .... Office is considered as a species of +property, and government rather as a means of promoting +individual interests than as an instrument created solely for the +service of the people. Corruption in some, and in others a +perversion of correct feelings and principles, divert government +from its legitimate ends and make it an engine for the support of +the few at the expense of the many. The duties of all public +offices are, or at least admit of being made, so plain, so simple +that men of intelligence may readily qualify themselves for their +performance . . . . In a country where offices are created solely +for the benefit of the people, no one man has any more intrinsic +right to official station than another." + +The Senate refused Jackson's request for an extension of the Four +Years' law to cover all positions in the civil service. It also +refused to confirm some of his appointments, notably that of Van +Buren as minister to Great Britain. The debate upon this +appointment gave the spoilsman an epigram. Clay with directness +pointed to Van Buren as the introducer "of the odious system of +proscription for the exercise of the elective franchise in the +government of the United States." He continued: "I understand it +is the system on which the party in his own State, of which he is +the reputed head, constantly acts. He was among the first of the +secretaries to apply that system to the dismission of clerks of +his department . . . known to me to be highly meritorious . . . +It is a detestable system." + +And Webster thundered: "I pronounce my rebuke as solemnly and as +decisively as I can upon this first instance in which an American +minister has been sent abroad as the representative of his party +and not as the representative of his country." + +To these and other challenges, Senator Marcy of New York made his +well-remembered retort that "the politicians of the United States +are not so fastidious . . . . They see nothing wrong in the rule +that to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy." + +Jackson, with all his bluster and the noise of his followers, +made his proscriptions relatively fewer than those of Jefferson. +He removed only 252 of about 612 presidential appointees.* It +should, however, be remembered that those who were not removed +had assured Jackson's agents of their loyalty to the new +Democracy. + +* This does not include deputy postmasters, who numbered about +8000 and were not placed in the presidential list until 1836. + + +If Jackson did not inaugurate the spoils system, he at least gave +it a mission. It was to save the country from the curse of +officialdom. His successor , Van Buren, brought the system to a +perfection that only the experienced politician could achieve. +Van Buren required of all appointees partizan service; and his +own nomination, at Baltimore, was made a foregone conclusion by +the host of federal job-holders who were delegates. Van Buren +simply introduced at Washington the methods of the Albany +Regency. + +The Whigs blustered bravely against this proscription. But their +own President, General Harrison, "Old Tippecanoe," was helpless +against the saturnalia of office-seekers that engulfed him. +Harrison, when he came to power, removed about one-half of the +officials in the service. And, although the partizan color of the +President changed with Harrison's death, after a few weeks in +office,--Tyler was merely a Whig of convenience--there was no +change in the President's attitude towards the spoils system. + +Presidential inaugurations became orgies of office-seekers, and +the first weeks of every new term were given over to distributing +the jobs, ordinary business having to wait. President Polk, who +removed the usual quota, is complimented by Webster for making +"rather good selections from his own friends." The practice, now +firmly established, was continued by Taylor, Pierce, and +Buchanan. + +Lincoln found himself surrounded by circumstances that made +caution necessary in every appointment. His party was new and +composed of many diverse elements. He had to transform their +jealousies into enthusiasm, for the approach of civil war +demanded supreme loyalty and unity of action. To this greater +cause of saving the Union he bent every effort and used every +instrumentality at his command. No one before him had made so +complete a change in the official personnel of the capital as the +change which he was constrained to make. No one before him or +since used the appointing power with such consummate skill or +displayed such rare tact and knowledge of human nature in seeking +the advice of those who deemed their advice valuable. The war +greatly increased the number of appointments, and it also imposed +obligations that made merit sometimes a secondary consideration. +With the statesman's vision, Lincoln recognized both the use and +the abuse of the patronage system. He declined to gratify the +office-seekers who thronged the capital at the beginning of his +second term; and they returned home disappointed. The twenty +years following the Civil War were years of agitation for reform. +People were at last recognizing the folly of using the +multiplying public offices for party spoils. The quarrel between +Congress and President Johnson over removals, and the Tenure of +Office Act, focused popular attention on the constitutional +question of appointment and removal, and the recklessness of the +political manager during Grant's two terms disgusted the +thoughtful citizen. + +The first attempts to apply efficiency to the civil service had +been made when pass examinations were used for sifting candidates +for clerkships in the Treasury Department in 1853, when such +tests were prescribed by law for the lowest grade of clerkships. +The head of the department was given complete control over the +examinations, and they were not exacting. In 1864 Senator Sumner +introduced a bill "to provide for the greater efficiency of the +civil service." It was considered chimerical and dropped. + +Meanwhile, a steadfast and able champion of reform appeared in +the House, Thomas A. Jenckes, a prominent lawyer of Rhode Island. +A bill which he introduced in December, 1865, received no +hearing. But in the following year a select joint committee was +charged to examine the whole question of appointments, +dismissals, and patronage. Mr. Jenckes presented an elaborate +report in May, 1868, explaining the civil service of other +countries. This report, which is the corner stone of American +civil service reform, provided the material for congressional +debate and threw the whole subject into the public arena. Jenckes +in the House and Carl Schurz in the Senate saw to it that ardent +and convincing defense of reform was not wanting. In compliance +with President Grant's request for a law to "govern not the +tenure, but the manner of making all appointments," a rider was +attached to the appropriation bill in 1870, asking the President +"to prescribe such rules and regulations" as he saw fit, and "to +employ suitable persons to conduct" inquiries into the best +method for admitting persons into the civil service. A commission +of which George William Curtis was chairman made recommendations, +but they were not adopted and Curtis resigned. The New York Civil +Service Reform Association was organized in 1877; and the +National League, organized in 1881, soon had flourishing branches +in most of the large cities. The battle was largely between the +President and Congress. Each succeeding President signified his +adherence to reform, but neutralized his words by sanctioning +vast changes in the service. Finally, under circumstances already +described, on January 16, 1883, the Civil Service Act was passed. + +This law had a stimulating effect upon state and municipal civil +service. New York passed a law the same year, patterned after the +federal act. Massachusetts followed in 1884, and within a few +years many of the States had adopted some sort of civil service +reform, and the large cities were experimenting with the merit +system. It was not, however, until the rapid expansion of the +functions of government and the consequent transformation in the +nature of public duties that civil service reform made notable +headway. When the Government assumed the duties of health +officer, forester, statistician, and numerous other highly +specialized functions, the presence of the scientific expert +became imperative; and vast undertakings, like the building of +the Panama Canal and the enormous irrigation projects of the +West, could not be entrusted to the spoilsman and his minions. + +The war has accustomed us to the commandeering of utilities, of +science, and of skill upon a colossal scale. From this height of +public devotion it is improbable that we shall decline, after the +national peril has passed, into the depths of administrative +incompetency which our Republic, and all its parts, occupied for +so many years. The need for an efficient and highly complex State +has been driven home to the consciousness of the average citizen. +And this foretokens the permanent enlistment of talent in the +public service to the end that democracy may provide that +effective nationalism imposed by the new era of world +competition. + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + +There is no collected material of the literature of exposure. It +is found in the official reports of investigating committees; +such as the Lexow, Mazet, and Fassett committees in New York, and +the report on campaign contributions by the Senate Committee on +Privileges and Elections (1913). The muckraker has scattered such +indiscriminate charges that great caution is necessary to +discover the truth. Only testimony taken under oath can be relied +upon. And for local exposes the official court records must be +sought. + +The annual proceedings of the National Municipal League contain a +great deal of useful material on municipal politics. The reports +of local organizations, such as the New York Bureau of Municipal +Research and the Pittsburgh Voters' League, are invaluable, as +are the reports of occasional bodies, like the Philadelphia +Committee of Fifty. + +Personal touches can be gleaned from the autobiographies of such +public men as Platt, Foraker, Weed, La Follette, and in such +biographies as Croly's "M. A. Hanna." + +On Municipal Conditions: + +W. B. Munro, "The Government of American Cities" (1913). An +authoritative and concise account of the development of American +city government. Chapter VII deals with municipal politics. + +J. J. Hamilton, "Dethronement of the City Boss" (1910). A +description of the operation of commission government. + +E. S. Bradford, "Commission Government in American Cities" +(1911). A careful study of the commission plan. + +H. Bruere, "New City Government" (1912). An interesting account +of the new municipal regime. + +Lincoln Steffens, "The Shame of the Cities" and "The Struggle for +Self-Government" (1906). The Prince of the Muckrakers' +contribution to the literature of awakening. + +On State Conditions: + +There is an oppressive barrenness of material on this subject. + +P. S. Reinsch, "American Legislatures and Legislative Methods " +(1907). A brilliant exposition of the legislatures' activities. + +E. L. Godkin, "Unforeseen Tendencies in Democracy" contains a +thoughtful essay on "The Decline of Legislatures." + +On Political Parties and Machines: + +M. Ostrogorski, "Democracy and the Organization of Political +Parties," 2 vols. (1902). The second volume contains a +comprehensive and able survey of the American party system. It +has been abridged into a single volume edition called "Democracy +and the Party System in the United States" (1910). + +James Bryce, "The American Commonwealth," 2 vols. Volume II +contains a noteworthy account of our political system. + +Jesse Macy, "Party Organization and Machinery" (1912). A succinct +account of party machinery. + +J. A. Woodburn, "Political Parties and Party Problems "(1906). A +sane account of our political task. + +P. O. Ray, "An Introduction to Political Parties and Practical +Politics " (1913). Valuable for its copious references to current +literature on political subjects. + +Theodore Roosevelt, "Essays on Practical Politics" (1888). +Vigorous description of machine methods. + +G. M. Gregory, "The Corrupt Use of Money in Politics and Laws for +its Prevention" (1893). Written before the later exposes, it +nevertheless gives a clear view of the problem. + +W. M. Ivins, "Machine Politics" (1897). In New York City--by a +keen observer. + +George Vickers, "The Fall of Bossism" (1883). On the overthrow of +the Philadelphia Gas Ring. + +Gustavus Myers, "History of Tammany Hall" (1901; revised 1917). +The best book on the subject. + +E. C. Griffith, "The Ripe and Development of the Gerrymander" +(1907). + +Historical: + +H. J. Ford, "Rise and Growth of American Politics" (1898). One of +the earliest and one of the best accounts of the development of +American politics. + +Alexander Johnston and J. A. Woodburn, "American Political +History," 2 vols. (1905). A brilliant recital of American party +history. The most satisfactory book on the subject. + +W. M. Sloane, "Party Government in the United States" (1914). A +concise and convenient recital. Brings our party history to date. + +J. B. McMaster, "With the Fathers" (1896). A volume of delightful +historical essays, including one on "The Political Depravity of +the Fathers." + +On Nominations: + +F. W. Dallinger, "Nominations for Elective Office in the United +States" (1897). The most thorough work on the subject, describing +the development of our nominating systems. + +C. E. Merriam, "Primary Elections" (1908). A concise description +of the primary and its history. + +R. S. Childs, "Short Ballot Principles" (1911). A splendid +account by the father of the short ballot movement. + +C. E. Meyer, "Nominating Systems" (1902). Good on the caucus. + +On the Presidency: + +J. B. Bishop, "Our Political Drama" (1904). A readable account of +national conventions and presidential campaigns. + +A. K. McClure, "Our Presidents and How We Make Them "(1903). + +Edward Stanwood, "A History of the Presidency" (1898) . Gives +party platforms and describes each presidential campaign. + +On Congress: + +G. H. Haynes, "The Election of United States Senators" (1906). + +H. J. Ford, "The Cost of Our National Government" (1910). A fine +account of congressional bad housekeeping. + +MARY C. Follett, "The Speaker of the House of Representatives" +(1896). + +Woodrow Wilson, "Congressional Government" (1885). Most +interesting reading in the light of the Wilson Administration. + +L. G. McConachie, "Congressional Committees" (1898). + +On Special Topics: + +C. R. Fish, "Civil Service and the Patronage" (1905). The best +work on the subject. + +J. D. Barnett, "The Operation of the Initiative, Referendum, and +Recall in Oregon" (1915). A helpful, intensive study of these +important questions. + +E. P. Oberholtzer, The Referendum in America (1912). The most +satisfactory and comprehensive work on the subject. Also +discusses the initiative. + +J. R. Commons, "Proportional Representation" (1907). The standard +American book on the subject. + +R. C. Brooks, "Corruption in American Politics and Life "(1910). +A survey of our political pathology. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg etext of The Boss and the Machine. + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of The Boss and the Machine +by Samuel P. Orth + diff --git a/old/bossm10.zip b/old/bossm10.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..bcdc252 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/bossm10.zip diff --git a/old/bossm11.txt b/old/bossm11.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f36719c --- /dev/null +++ b/old/bossm11.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4500 @@ +Project Gutenberg Etext The Boss and the Machine, by Samual P. Orth +[#2 in our series by Samuel P. 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GREGORY'S UNIVERSITY; THANKS TO ALEV AKMAN. + + + + + +THE BOSS AND THE MACHINE, A CHRONICLE OF THE POLITICIANS +AND PARTY ORGANIZATION + +BY SAMUEL P. ORTH + + + + +CONTENTS + +I. THE RISE OF THE PARTY +II. THE RISE OF THE MACHINE +III. THE TIDE OF MATERIALISM +IV. THE POLITICIAN AND THE CITY +V. TAMMANY HALL +VI. LESSER OLIGARCHIES +VII. LEGISLATIVE OMNIPOTENCE +VIII. THE NATIONAL HIERARCHY +IX. THE AWAKENING +X. PARTY REFORM +XI. THE EXPERT AT LAST + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + +THE BOSS AND THE MACHINE + +CHAPTER I. THE RISE OF THE PARTY + +The party system is an essential instrument of Democracy. +Wherever government rests upon the popular will, there the party +is the organ of expression and the agency of the ultimate power. +The party is, moreover, a forerunner of Democracy, for parties +have everywhere preceded free government. Long before Democracy +as now understood was anywhere established, long before the +American colonies became the United States, England was divided +between Tory and Whig. And it was only after centuries of bitter +political strife, during which a change of ministry would not +infrequently be accompanied by bloodshed or voluntary exile, that +England finally emerged with a government deriving its powers +from the consent of the governed. + +The functions of the party, both as a forerunner and as a +necessary organ of Democracy, are well exemplified in American +experience. Before the Revolution, Tory and Whig were party names +used in the colonies to designate in a rough way two ideals of +political doctrine. The Tories believed in the supremacy of the +Executive, or the King; the Whigs in the supremacy of Parliament. +The Tories, by their rigorous and ruthless acts giving effect to +the will of an un-English King, soon drove the Whigs in the +colonies to revolt, and by the time of the Stamp Act (1765) a +well-knit party of colonial patriots was organized through +committees of correspondence and under the stimulus of local +clubs called "Sons of Liberty." Within a few years, these +patriots became the Revolutionists, and the Tories became the +Loyalists. As always happens in a successful revolution, the +party of opposition vanished, and when the peace of 1783 finally +put the stamp of reality upon the Declaration of 1776, the +patriot party had won its cause and had served its day. + +Immediately thereafter a new issue, and a very significant one, +began to divide the thought of the people. The Articles of +Confederation, adopted as a form of government by the States +during a lull in the nationalistic fervor, had utterly failed to +perform the functions of a national government. Financially the +Confederation was a beggar at the doors of the States; +commercially it was impotent; politically it was bankrupt. The +new issue was the formation of a national government that should +in reality represent a federal nation, not a collection of touchy +States. Washington in his farewell letter to the American people +at the close of the war (1783) urged four considerations: a +strong central government, the payment of the national debt, a +well-organized militia, and the surrender by each State of +certain local privileges for the good of the whole. His "legacy," +as this letter came to be called, thus bequeathed to us +Nationalism, fortified on the one hand by Honor and on the other +by Preparedness. + +The Confederation floundered in the slough of inadequacy for +several years, however, before the people were sufficiently +impressed with the necessity of a federal government. When, +finally, through the adroit maneuver of Alexander Hamilton and +James Madison, the Constitutional Convention was called in 1787, +the people were in a somewhat chastened mood, and delegates were +sent to the Convention from all the States except Rhode Island. + +No sooner had the delegates convened and chosen George Washington +as presiding officer, than the two opposing sides of opinion were +revealed, the nationalist and the particularist, represented by +the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, as they later termed +themselves. The Convention, however, was formed of the +conservative leaders of the States, and its completed work +contained in a large measure, in spite of the great compromises, +the ideas of the Federalists. This achievement was made possible +by the absence from the Convention of the two types of men who +were to prove the greatest enemy of the new document when it was +presented for popular approval, namely, the office-holder or +politician, who feared that the establishment of a central +government would deprive him of his influence, and the popular +demagogue, who viewed with suspicion all evidence of organized +authority. It was these two types, joined by a third--the +conscientious objector--who formed the AntiFederalist party to +oppose the adoption of the new Constitution. Had this opposition +been well-organized, it could unquestionably have defeated the +Constitution, even against its brilliant protagonists, Hamilton, +Madison, Jay, and a score of other masterly men. + +The unanimous choice of Washington for President gave the new +Government a non-partizan initiation. In every way Washington +attempted to foster the spirit of an undivided household. He +warned his countrymen against partizanship and sinister political +societies. But he called around his council board talents which +represented incompatible ideals of government. Thomas Jefferson, +the first Secretary of State, and Alexander Hamilton, the first +Secretary of the Treasury, might for a time unite their energies +under the wise chieftainship of Washington, but their political +principles could never be merged. And when, finally, Jefferson +resigned, he became forthwith the leader of the opposition--not +to Washington, but to Federalism as interpreted by Hamilton, John +Adams, and Jay. + +The name Anti-Federalist lost its aptness after the inauguration +of the Government. Jefferson and his school were not opposed to a +federal government. They were opposed only to its pretensions, to +its assumption of centralized power. Their deep faith in popular +control is revealed in the name they assumed, +Democratic-Republican. They were eager to limit the federal power +to the glorification of the States; the Federalists were +ambitious to expand the federal power at the expense of localism. +This is what Jefferson meant when he wrote to Washington as early +as 1792, "The Republican party wish to preserve the Government in +its present form." Now this is a very definite and fundamental +distinction. It involves the political difference between +government by the people and government by the representatives of +the people, and the practical difference between a government by +law and a government by mass-meeting. + +Jefferson was a master organizer. At letter-writing, the one +means of communication in those days, he was a Hercules. His pen +never wearied. He soon had a compact party. It included not only +most of the Anti-Federalists, but the small politicians, the +tradesmen and artisans, who had worked themselves into a +ridiculous frenzy over the French Revolution and who despised +Washington for his noble neutrality. But more than these, +Jefferson won over a number of distinguished men who had worked +for the adoption of the Constitution, the ablest of whom was +James Madison, often called "the Father of the Constitution." + +The Jeffersonians, thus representing largely the debtor and +farmer class, led by men of conspicuous abilities, proceeded to +batter down the prestige of the Federalists. They declared +themselves opposed to large expenditures of public funds, to +eager exploitation of government ventures, to the Bank, and to +the Navy, which they termed "the great beast with the great +belly." The Federalists included the commercial and creditor +class and that fine element in American life composed of leading +families with whom domination was an instinct, all led, +fortunately, by a few idealists of rare intellectual attainments. +And, with the political stupidity often characteristic of their +class, they stumbled from blunder to blunder. In 1800 Thomas +Jefferson, who adroitly coined the mistakes of his opponents into +political currency for himself, was elected President. He had +received no more electoral votes than Aaron Burr, that mysterious +character in our early politics, but the election was decided by +the House of Representatives, where, after seven days' balloting, +several Federalists, choosing what to them was the lesser of two +evils, cast the deciding votes for Jefferson. When the +Jeffersonians came to power, they no longer opposed federal +pretensions; they now, by one of those strange veerings often +found in American politics, began to give a liberal +interpretation to the Constitution, while the Federalists with +equal inconsistency became strict constructionists. Even +Jefferson was ready to sacrifice his theory of strict +construction in order to acquire the province of Louisiana. + +The Jeffersonians now made several concessions to the +manufacturers, and with their support linked to that of the +agriculturists Jeffersonian democracy flourished without any +potent opposition. The second war with England lent it a doubtful +luster but the years immediately following the war restored +public confidence. Trade flourished on the sea. The frontier was +rapidly pushed to the Mississippi and beyond into the vast empire +which Jefferson had purchased. When everyone is busy, no one +cares for political issues, especially those based upon +philosophical differences. So Madison and Monroe succeeded to the +political regency which is known as the Virginia Dynasty. + +This complacent epoch culminated in Monroe's "Era of Good +Feeling," which proved to be only the hush before the tornado. +The election of 1824 was indecisive, and the House of +Representatives was for a second time called upon to decide the +national choice. The candidates were John Quincy Adams, Andrew +Jackson, Henry Clay, and William H. Crawford. Clay threw his +votes to Adams, who was elected, thereby arousing the wrath of +Jackson and of the stalwart and irreconcilable frontiersmen who +hailed him as their leader. The Adams term merely marked a +transition from the old order to the new, from Jeffersonian to +Jacksonian democracy. Then was the word Republican dropped from +the party name, and Democrat became an appellation of definite +and practical significance. + +By this time many of the older States had removed the early +restrictions upon voting, and the new States carved out of the +West had written manhood suffrage into their constitutions. This +new democracy flocked to its imperator; and Jackson entered his +capital in triumph, followed by a motley crowd of frontiersmen in +coonskin caps, farmers in butternut-dyed homespun, and hungry +henchmen eager for the spoils. For Jackson had let it be known +that he considered his election a mandate by the people to fill +the offices with his political adherents. + +So the Democrats began their new lease of life with an orgy of +spoils. "Anybody is good enough for any job" was the favorite +watchword. But underneath this turmoil of desire for office, +significant party differences were shaping themselves. Henry +Clay, the alluring orator and master of compromise, brought +together a coalition of opposing fragments. He and his following +objected to Jackson's assumption of vast executive prerogatives, +and in a brilliant speech in the Senate Clay espoused the name +Whig. Having explained the origin of the term in English and +colonial politics, he cried: "And what is the present but the +same contest in another form? The partizans of the present +Executive sustain his favor in the most boundless extent. The +Whigs are opposing executive encroachment and a most alarming +extension of executive power and prerogative. They are contending +for the rights of the people, for free institutions, for the +supremacy of the Constitution and the laws." + +There soon appeared three practical issues which forced the new +alignment. The first was the Bank. The charter of the United +States Bank was about to expire, and its friends sought a +renewal. Jackson believed the Bank an enemy of the Republic, as +its officers were anti-Jacksonians, and he promptly vetoed the +bill extending the charter. The second issue was the tariff. +Protection was not new; but Clay adroitly renamed it, calling it +"the American system." It was popular in the manufacturing towns +and in portions of the agricultural communities, but was bitterly +opposed by the slave-owning States. + +A third issue dealt with internal improvements. All parts of the +country were feeling the need of better means of communication, +especially between the West and the East. Canals and turnpikes +were projected in every direction. Clay, whose imagination was +fervid, advocated a vast system of canals and roads financed by +national aid. But the doctrine of states-rights answered that the +Federal Government had no power to enter a State, even to spend +money on improvements, without the consent of that State. And, at +all events, for Clay to espouse was for Jackson to oppose. + +These were the more important immediate issues of the conflict +between Clay's Whigs and Jackson's Democrats, though it must be +acknowledged that the personalities of the leaders were quite as +much an issue as any of the policies which they espoused. The +Whigs, however, proved unequal to the task of unhorsing their +foes; and, with two exceptions, the Democrats elected every +President from Jackson to Lincoln. The exceptions were William +Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor, both of whom were elected on +their war records and both of whom died soon after their +inauguration. Tyler, who as Vice-President succeeded General +Harrison, soon estranged the Whigs, so that the Democratic +triumph was in effect continuous over a period of thirty years. + +Meanwhile, however, another issue was shaping the destiny of +parties and of the nation. It was an issue that politicians +dodged and candidates evaded, that all parties avoided, that +publicists feared, and that presidents and congressmen tried to +hide under the tenuous fabric of their compromises. But +it was an issue that persisted in keeping alive and that would +not down, for it was an issue between right and wrong. Three +times the great Clay maneuvered to outflank his opponents over +the smoldering fires of the slavery issue, but he died before the +repeal of the Missouri Compromise gave the death-blow to his +loosely gathered coalition. Webster, too, and Calhoun, the other +members of that brilliant trinity which represented the genius of +Constitutional Unionism, of States Rights, and of Conciliation, +passed away before the issue was squarely faced by a new party +organized for the purpose of opposing the further expansion of +slavery. + +This new organization, the Republican party, rapidly assumed form +and solidarity. It was composed of Northern Whigs, of +anti-slavery Democrats, and of members of several minor groups, +such as the Know-Nothing or American party, the Liberty party, +and included as well some of the despised Abolitionists. The vote +for Fremont, its first presidential candidate, in 1856, showed it +to be a sectional party, confined to the North. But the definite +recognition of slavery as an issue by an opposition party had a +profound effect upon the Democrats. Their Southern wing now +promptly assumed an uncompromising attitude, which, in 1860, +split the party into factions. The Southern wing named +Breckinridge; the Northern wing named Stephen A. Douglas; while +many Democrats as well as Whigs took refuge in a third party, +calling itself the Constitutional Union, which named John Bell. +This division cost the Democrats the election, for, under the +unique and inspiring leadership of Abraham Lincoln, the +Republicans rallied the anti-slavery forces of the North and won. + +Slavery not only racked the parties and caused new alignments; it +racked and split the Union. It is one of the remarkable phenomena +of our political history that the Civil War did not destroy the +Democratic party, though the Southern chieftains of that party +utterly lost their cause. The reason is that the party never was +as purely a Southern as the Republican was a Northern party. +Moreover, the arrogance and blunders of the Republican leaders +during the days of Reconstruction helped to keep it alive. A +baneful political heritage has been handed down to us from the +Civil War--the solid South. It overturns the national balance of +parties, perpetuates a pernicious sectionalism, and deprives the +South of that bipartizan rivalry which keeps open the currents of +political life. + +Since the Civil War the struggle between the two dominant parties +has been largely a struggle between the Ins and the Outs. The +issues that have divided them have been more apparent than real. +The tariff, the civil service, the trusts, and the long list of +other "issues" do not denote fundamental differences, but only +variations of degree. Never in any election during this long +interval has there been definitely at stake a great national +principle, save for the currency issue of 1896 and the colonial +question following the War with Spain. The revolt of the +Progressives in 1912 had a character of its own; but neither of +the old parties squarely joined issue with the Progressives in +the contest which followed. The presidential campaign of 1916 +afforded an opportunity to place on trial before the people a +great cause, for there undoubtedly existed then in the country +two great and opposing sides of public opinion--one for and the +other against war with Germany. Here again, however, the issue +was not joined but was adroitly evaded by both the candidates. + +None the less there has been a difference between the two great +parties. The Republican party has been avowedly nationalistic, +imperialistic, and in favor of a vigorous constructive foreign +policy. The Democratic party has generally accepted the lukewarm +international policy of Jefferson and the exaltation of the +locality and the plain individual as championed by Jackson. Thus, +though in a somewhat intangible and variable form, the doctrinal +distinctions between Hamilton and Jefferson have survived. + +In the emergence of new issues, new parties are born. But it is +one of the singular characteristics of the American party system +that third parties are abortive. Their adherents serve mainly as +evangelists, crying their social and economic gospel in the +political wilderness. If the issues are vital, they are gradually +absorbed by the older parties. + +Before the Civil War several sporadic parties were formed. The +most unique was the Anti-Masonic party. It flourished on the +hysteria caused by the abduction of William Morgan of Batavia, in +western New York, in 1826. Morgan had written a book purporting +to lay bare the secrets of Freemasonry. His mysterious +disappearance was laid at the doors of leading Freemasons; and it +was alleged that members of this order placed their secret +obligations above their duties as citizens and were hence unfit +for public office. The movement became impressive in +Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, Ohio, and New York. It +served to introduce Seward and Fillmore into politics. Even a +national party was organized, and William Wirt, of Maryland, a +distinguished lawyer, was nominated for President. He received, +however, only the electoral votes of Vermont. The excitement soon +cooled, and the party disappeared. + +The American or Know-Nothing party had for its slogan "America +for Americans," and was a considerable factor in certain +localities, especially in New York and the Middle States, from +1853 to 1856. The Free Soil party, espousing the cause of slavery +restriction, named Martin Van Buren as its presidential candidate +and polled enough votes in the election of 1848 to defeat Cass, +the Democratic candidate. It did not survive the election of +1852, but its essential principle was adopted by the Republican +party. + +Since the Civil War, the currency question has twice given life +to third-party movements. The Greenbacks of 1876-1884 and the +Populists of the 90's were both of the West. Both carried on for +a few years a vigorous crusade, and both were absorbed by the +older parties as the currency question assumed concrete form and +became a commanding political issue. Since 1872, the +Prohibitionists have named national tickets. Their question, +which was always dodged by the dominant parties, is now rapidly +nearing a solution. + +The one apparently unreconcilable element in our political life +is the socialistic or labor party. Never of great importance in +any national election, the various labor parties have been of +considerable influence in local politics. Because of its +magnitude, the labor vote has always been courted by Democrats +and Republicans with equal ardor but with varying success. + + + +CHAPTER II. THE RISE OF THE MACHINE + +Ideas or principles alone, however eloquently and insistently +proclaimed, will not make a party. There must be organization. +Thus we have two distinct practical phases of American party +politics: one regards the party as an agency of the electorate, a +necessary organ of democracy; the other, the party as an +organization, an army determined to achieve certain conquests. +Every party has, therefore, two aspects, each attracting a +different kind of person: one kind allured by the principles +espoused; the other, by the opportunities of place and personal +gain in the organization. The one kind typifies the body of +voters; the other the dominant minority of the party. + +When one speaks, then, of a party in America, he embraces in that +term: first, the tenets or platform for which the party assumes +to stand (i.e., principles that may have been wrought out of +experience, may have been created by public opinion, or were +perhaps merely made out of hand by manipulators); secondly, the +voters who profess attachment to these principles; and thirdly, +the political expert, the politician with his organization or +machine. Between the expert and the great following are many +gradations of party activity, from the occasional volunteer to +the chieftain who devotes all his time to "politics." + +It was discovered very early in American experience that without +organization issues would disintegrate and principles remain but +scintillating axioms. Thus necessity enlisted executive talent +and produced the politician, who, having once achieved an +organization, remained at his post to keep it intact between +elections and used it for purposes not always prompted by the +public welfare. + +In colonial days, when the struggle began between Crown and +Colonist, the colonial patriots formed clubs to designate their +candidates for public office. In Massachusetts these clubs were +known as "caucuses," a word whose derivation is unknown, but +which has now become fixed in our political vocabulary. These +early caucuses in Boston have been described as follows: "Mr. +Samuel Adams' father and twenty others, one or two from the north +end of the town, where all the ship business is carried on, used +to meet, make a caucus, and lay their plans for introducing +certain persons into places of trust and power. When they had +settled it, they separated, and used each their particular +influence within his own circle. He and his friends would furnish +themselves with ballots, including the names of the parties fixed +upon, which they distributed on the day of election. By acting in +concert together with a careful and extensive distribution of +ballots they generally carried the elections to their own mind." + +As the revolutionary propaganda increased in momentum, caucuses +assumed a more open character. They were a sort of informal town +meeting, where neighbors met and agreed on candidates and the +means of electing them. After the adoption of the Constitution, +the same methods were continued, though modified to suit the +needs of the new party alignments. In this informal manner, local +and even congressional candidates were named. + +Washington was the unanimous choice of the nation. In the third +presidential election, John Adams was the tacitly accepted +candidate of the Federalists and Jefferson of the +Democratic-Republicans, and no formal nominations seem to have +been made. But from 1800 to 1824 the presidential candidates were +designated by members of Congress in caucus. It was by this means +that the Virginia Dynasty fastened itself upon the country. The +congressional caucus, which was one of the most arrogant and +compact political machines that our politics has produced, +discredited itself by nominating William H. Crawford (1824), a +machine politician, whom the public never believed to be of +presidential caliber. In the bitter fight that placed John Quincy +Adams in the White House and made Jackson the eternal enemy of +Clay, the congressional caucus met its doom. For several years, +presidential candidates were nominated by various informal +methods. In 1828 a number of state legislatures formally +nominated Jackson. In several States the party members of the +legislatures in caucus nominated presidential candidates. DeWitt +Clinton was so designated by the New York legislature in 1812 and +Henry Clay by the Kentucky legislature in 1822. Great mass +meetings, often garnished with barbecues, were held in many parts +of the country in 1824 for indorsing the informal nominations of +the various candidates. + +But none of these methods served the purpose. The President was a +national officer, backed by a national party, and chosen by a +national electorate. A national system of nominating the +presidential candidates was demanded. On September 26, 1831, 113 +delegates of the Anti-Masonic party, representing thirteen +States, met in a national convention in Baltimore. This was the +first national nominating convention held in America. + +In February, 1831, the Whig members of the Maryland legislature +issued a call for a national Whig convention. This was held in +Baltimore the following December. Eighteen States were +represented by delegates, each according to the number of +presidential electoral votes it cast. Clay was named for +President. The first national Democratic convention met in +Baltimore on May 21, 1832, and nominated Jackson. + +Since that time, presidential candidates have been named in +national conventions. There have been surprisingly few changes in +procedure since the first convention. It opened with a temporary +organization, examined the credentials of delegates, and +appointed a committee on permanent organization, which reported a +roster of permanent officers. It appointed a committee on +platform--then called an address to the people; it listened to +eulogistic nominating speeches, balloted for candidates, and +selected a committee to notify the nominees of their designation. +This is practically the order of procedure today. The national +convention is at once the supreme court and the supreme +legislature of the national party. It makes its own rules, +designates its committees, formulates their procedure and defines +their power, writes the platform, and appoints the national +executive committee. + +Two rules that have played a significant part in these +conventions deserve special mention. The first Democratic +convention, in order to insure the nomination of Van Buren for +Vice-President--the nomination of Jackson for President was +uncontested--adopted the rule that "two-thirds of the whole +number of the votes in the convention shall be necessary to +constitute a choice." This "two-thirds" rule, so undemocratic in +its nature, remains the practice of the Democratic party today. +The Whigs and Republicans always adhered to the majority rule. +The early Democratic conventions also adopted the practice of +allowing the majority of the delegates from any State to cast the +vote of the entire delegation from that State, a rule which is +still adhered to by the Democrats. But the Republicans have since +1876 adhered to the policy of allowing each individual delegate +to cast his vote as he chooses. + +The convention was by no means novel when accepted as a national +organ for a national party. As early as 1789 an informal +convention was held in the Philadelphia State House for +nominating Federalist candidates for the legislature. The +practice spread to many Pennsylvania counties and to other +States, and soon this informality of self-appointed delegates +gave way to delegates appointed according to accepted rules. When +the legislative caucus as a means for nominating state officers +fell into disrepute, state nominating conventions took its place. +In 1812 one of the earliest movements for a state convention was +started by Tammany Hall, because it feared that the legislative +caucus would nominate DeWitt Clinton, its bitterest foe. The +caucus, however, did not name Clinton, and the convention was not +assembled. The first state nominating convention was held in +Utica, New York, in 1824 by that faction of the Democratic party +calling itself the People's party. The custom soon spread to +every State, so that by 1835 it was firmly established. County +and city conventions also took the place of the caucus for naming +local candidates. + +But nominations are only the beginning of the contest, and +obviously caucuses and conventions cannot conduct campaigns. So +from the beginning these nominating bodies appointed campaign +committees. With the increase in population came the increased +complexity of the committee system. By 1830 many of the States +had perfected a series of state, district, and county committees. + +There remained the necessity of knitting these committees into a +national unity. The national convention which nominated Clay in +1831 appointed a "Central State Corresponding Committee" in each +State where none existed, and it recommended "to the several +States to organize subordinate corresponding committees in each +county and town." This was the beginning of what soon was to +evolve into a complete national hierarchy of committees. In 1848 +the Democratic convention appointed a permanent national +committee, composed of one member from each State. This committee +was given the power to call the next national convention, and +from the start became the national executive body of the party. + +It is a common notion that the politician and his machine are of +comparatively recent origin. But the American politician arose +contemporaneously with the party, and with such singular +fecundity of ways and means that it is doubtful if his modern +successors could teach him anything. McMaster declares: "A very +little study of long-forgotten politics will suffice to show that +in filibustering and gerrymandering, in stealing governorships +and legislatures, in using force at the polls, in colonizing and +in distributing patronage to whom patronage is due, in all the +frauds and tricks that go to make up the worst form of practical +politics, the men who founded our state and national governments +were always our equals, and often our masters." And this at a +time when only propertied persons could vote in any of the States +and when only professed Christians could either vote or hold +office in two of them! + +While Washington was President, Tammany Hall, the first municipal +machine, began its career; and presently George Clinton, Governor +of New York, and his nephew, DeWitt Clinton, were busy organizing +the first state machine. The Clintons achieved their purpose +through the agency of a Council of Appointment, prescribed by the +first Constitution of the State, consisting of the Governor and +four senators chosen by the legislature. This council had the +appointment of nearly all the civil officers of the State from +Secretary of State to justices of the peace and auctioneers, +making a total of 8287 military and 6663 civil offices. As the +emoluments of some of these offices were relatively high, the +disposal of such patronage was a plum-tree for the politician. +The Clintons had been Anti-Federalists and had opposed the +adoption of the Constitution. In 1801 DeWitt Clinton became a +member of the Council of Appointment and soon dictated its +action. The head of every Federalist office-holder fell. +Sheriffs, county clerks, surrogates, recorders, justices by the +dozen, auctioneers by the score, were proscribed for the benefit +of the Clintons. De Witt was sent to the United States Senate in +1802, and at the age of thirty-three he found himself on the +highroad to political eminence. But he resigned almost at once to +become Mayor of New York City, a position he occupied for about +ten years, years filled with the most venomous fights between +Burrites and Bucktails. Clinton organized a compact machine in +the city. A biased contemporary description of this machine has +come down to us. "You [Clinton] are encircled by a mercenary +band, who, while they offer adulation to your system of error, +are ready at the first favorable moment to forsake and desert +you. A portion of them are needy young men, who without maturely +investigating the consequence, have sacrificed principle to +self-aggrandizement. Others are mere parasites, that well know +the tenure on which they hold their offices, and will ever pay +implicit obedience to those who administer to their wants. Many +of your followers are among the most profligate of the community. +They are the bane of social and domestic happiness, senile and +dependent panderers." + +In 1812 Clinton became a candidate for President and polled 89 +electoral votes against Madison's 128. Subsequently he became +Governor of New York on the Erie Canal issue; but his political +cunning seems to have forsaken him; and his perennial quarrels +with every other faction in his State made him the object of a +constant fire of vituperation. He had, however, taught all his +enemies the value of spoils, and he adhered to the end to the +political action he early advised a friend to adopt: "In a +political warfare, the defensive side will eventually lose. The +meekness of Quakerism will do in religion but not in politics. I +repeat it, everything will answer to energy and decision." + +Martin Van Buren was an early disciple of Clinton. Though he +broke with his political chief in 1813, he had remained long +enough in the Clinton school to learn every trick; and he +possessed such native talent for intrigue, so smooth a manner, +and such a wonderful memory for names, that he soon found himself +at the head of a much more perfect and far-reaching machine than +Clinton had ever dreamed of. The Empire State has never produced +the equal of Van Buren as a manipulator of legislatures. No +modern politician would wish to face publicity if he resorted to +the petty tricks that Van Buren used in legislative politics. And +when, in 1821, he was elected to the Senate of the United States, +he became one of the organizers of the first national machine. + +The state machine of Van Buren was long known as the "Albany +Regency." It included several very able politicians: William L. +Marcy, who became United States Senator in 1831; Silas Wright, +elected Senator in 1833; John A. Dix, who became Senator in 1845; +Benjamin F. Butler, who was United States Attorney-General under +President Van Buren, besides a score or more of prominent state +officials. It had an influential organ in the Albany Argus, +lieutenants in every county, and captains in every town. Its +confidential agents kept the leaders constantly informed of the +political situation in every locality; and its discipline made +the wish of Van Buren and his colleagues a command. Federal and +local patronage and a sagacious distribution of state contracts +sustained this combination. When the practice of nominating by +conventions began, the Regency at once discerned the strategic +value of controlling delegates, and, until the break in the +Democratic party in 1848, it literally reigned in the State. + +With the disintegration of the Federalist party came the loss of +concentrated power by the colonial families of New England and +New York. The old aristocracy of the South was more fortunate in +the maintenance of its power. Jefferson's party was not only well +disciplined; it gave its confidence to a people still accustomed +to class rule and in turn was supported by them. In a strict +sense the Virginia Dynasty was not a machine like Van Buren's +Albany Regency. It was the effect of the concentrated influence +of men of great ability rather than a definite organization. The +congressional caucus was the instrument through which their +influence was made practical. In 1816, however, a considerable +movement was started to end the Virginia monopoly. It spread to +the Jeffersonians of the North. William H. Crawford, of Georgia, +and Daniel Tompkins, of New York, came forward as competitors +with Monroe for the caucus nomination. The knowledge of this +intrigue fostered the rising revolt against the caucus. +Twenty-two Republicans, many of whom were known to be opposed to +the caucus system, absented themselves. Monroe was nominated by +the narrow margin of eleven votes over Crawford. By the time +Monroe had served his second term the discrediting of the caucus +was made complete by the nomination of Crawford by a thinly +attended gathering of his adherents, who presumed to act for the +party. The Virginia Dynasty had no further favorites to foster, +and a new political force swept into power behind the dominating +personality of Andrew Jackson. + +The new Democracy, however, did not remove the aristocratic power +of the slaveholder; and from Jackson's day to Buchanan's this +became an increasing force in the party councils. The slavery +question illustrates how a compact group of capable and +determined men, dominated by an economic motive, can exercise for +years in the political arena a preponderating influence, even +though they represent an actual minority of the nation. This +untoward condition was made possible by the political sagacity +and persistence of the party managers and by the unwillingness of +a large portion of the people to bring the real issue to a head. + +Before the Civil War, then, party organization had become a fixed +and necessary incident in American politics. The war changed the +face of our national affairs. The changes wrought multiplied the +opportunities of the professional politician, and in these +opportunities, as well as in the transfused energies and ideals +of the people, we must seek the causes for those perversions of +party and party machinery which have characterized our modern +epoch. + + + +CHAPTER III. THE TIDE OF MATERIALISM + +The Civil War, which shocked the country into a new national +consciousness and rearranged the elements of its economic life, +also brought about a new era in political activity and +management. The United States after Appomattox was a very +different country from the United States before Sumter was fired +upon. The war was a continental upheaval, like the Appalachian +uplift in our geological history, producing sharp and profound +readjustments. + +Despite the fact that in 1864 Lincoln had been elected on a Union +ticket supported by War Democrats, the Republicans claimed the +triumphs of the war as their own. They emerged from the struggle +with the enormous prestige of a party triumphant and with +"Saviors of the Union" inscribed on their banners. + +The death of their wise and great leader opened the door to a +violent partizan orgy. President Andrew Johnson could not check +the fury of the radical reconstructionists; and a new political +era began in a riot of dogmatic and insolent dictatorship, which +was intensified by the mob of carpetbaggers, scalawags, and +freedmen in the South, and not abated by the lawless promptings +of the Ku-Klux to regain patrician leadership in the home of +secession nor by the baneful resentment of the North. The soldier +was made a political asset. For a generation the "bloody shirt" +was waved before the eyes of the Northern voter; and the evils, +both grotesque and gruesome, of an unnatural reconstruction are +not yet forgotten in the South. + +A second opportunity of the politician was found in the rapid +economic expansion that followed the war. The feeling of security +in the North caused by the success of the Union arms buoyed an +unbounded optimism which made it easy to enlist capital in new +enterprises, and the protective tariff and liberal banking law +stimulated industry. Exports of raw material and food products +stimulated mining, grazing, and farming. European capital sought +investments in American railroads, mines, and industrial under- +takings. In the decade following the war the output of pig iron +doubled, that of coal multiplied by five, and that of steel by +one hundred. Superior iron and copper, Pennsylvania coal and oil, +Nevada and California gold and silver, all yielded their enormous +values to this new call of enterprise. Inventions and +manufactures of all kinds flourished. During 1850-60 +manufacturing establishments had increased by fourteen per cent. +During 1860-70 they increased seventy-nine per cent. + +The Homestead Act of May 20, 1862, opened vast areas of public +lands to a new immigration. The flow of population was westward, +and the West called for communication with the East. The Union +Pacific and Central Pacific railways, the pioneer +transcontinental lines, fostered on generous grants of land, were +the tokens of the new transportation movement. Railroads were +pushing forward everywhere with unheard-of rapidity. Short lines +were being merged into far-reaching systems. In the early +seventies the Pennsylvania system was organized and the +Vanderbilts acquired control of lines as far west as Chicago. +Soon the Baltimore and Ohio system extended its empire of trade +to the Mississippi. Half a dozen ambitious trans-Mississippi +systems, connecting with four new transcontinental projects, were +put into operation. + +Prosperity is always the opportunity of the politician. What is +of greatest significance to the student of politics is that +prosperity at this time was organized on a new basis. Before the +war business had been conducted largely by individuals or +partnerships. The unit was small; the amount of capital needed +was limited. But now the unit was expanding so rapidly, the need +for capital was so lavish, the empire of trade so extensive, that +a new mechanism of ownership was necessary. This device, of +course, was the corporation. It had, indeed, existed as a trading +unit for many years. But the corporation before 1860 was +comparatively small and was generally based upon charters granted +by special act of the legislature. + +No other event has had so practical a bearing on our politics and +our economic and social life as the advent of the corporate +device for owning and manipulating private business. For it links +the omnipotence of the State to the limitations of private +ownership; it thrusts the interests of private business into +every legislature that grants charters or passes regulating acts; +it diminishes, on the other hand, that stimulus to honesty and +correct dealing which a private individual discerns to be his +greatest asset in trade, for it replaces individual +responsibility with group responsibility and scatters ownership +among so large a number of persons that sinister manipulation is +possible. + +But if the private corporation, through its interest in broad +charter privileges and liberal corporation laws and its devotion +to the tariff and to conservative financial policies, found it +convenient to do business with the politician and his +organization, the quasi-public corporations, especially the steam +railroads and street railways, found it almost essential to their +existence. They received not only their franchises but frequently +large bonuses from the public treasury. The Pacific roads alone +were endowed with an empire of 145,000,000 acres of public land. +States, counties, and cities freely loaned their credit and gave +ample charters to new railway lines which were to stimulate +prosperity. + +City councils, legislatures, mayors, governors, Congress, and +presidents were drawn into the maelstrom of commercialism. It is +not surprising that side by side with the new business +organization there grew up a new political organization, and that +the new business magnate was accompanied by a new political +magnate. The party machine and the party boss were the natural +product of the time, which was a time of gain and greed. It was a +sordid reaction, indeed, from the high principles that sought +victory on the field of battle and that found their noblest +embodiment in the character of Abraham Lincoln. + +The dominant and domineering party chose the leading soldier of +the North as its candidate for President. General Grant, elected +as a popular idol because of his military genius, possessed +neither the experience nor the skill to countermove the +machinations of designing politicians and their business allies. +On the other hand, he soon displayed an admiration for business +success that placed him at once in accord with the spirit of the +hour. He exalted men who could make money rather than men who +could command ideas. He chose Alexander T. Stewart, the New York +merchant prince, one of the three richest men of his day, for +Secretary of the Treasury. The law, however, forbade the +appointment to this office of any one who should "directly or +indirectly be concerned or interested in carrying on the business +of trade or commerce," and Stewart was disqualified. Adolph E. +Borie of Philadelphia, whose qualifications were the possession +of great wealth and the friendship of the President, was named +Secretary of the Navy. Another personal friend, John A. Rawlins, +was named Secretary of War. A third friend, Elihu B. Washburne of +Illinois, was made Secretary of State. Washburne soon resigned, +and Hamilton Fish of New York was appointed in his place. Fish, +together with General Jacob D. Cox of Ohio, Secretary of the +Interior, and Judge E. Rockwood Hoar of Massachusetts, +Attorney-General, formed a strong triumvirate of ability and +character in the Cabinet. But, while Grant displayed pleasure in +the companionship of these eminent men, they never possessed his +complete confidence. When the machinations for place and favor +began, Hoar and Cox were in the way. Hoar had offended the Senate +in his recommendations for federal circuit judges (the circuit +court was then newly established), and when the President named +him for Justice of the Supreme Court, Hoar was rejected. Senator +Cameron, one of the chief spoils politicians of the time, told +Hoar frankly why: "What could you expect for a man who had +snubbed seventy Senators!" A few months later (June, 1870), the +President bluntly asked for Hoar's resignation, a sacrifice to +the gods of the Senate, to purchase their favor for the Santo +Domingo treaty. + +Cox resigned in the autumn. As Secretary of the Interior he had +charge of the Patent Office, Census Bureau, and Indian Service, +all of them requiring many appointments. He had attempted to +introduce a sort of civil service examination for applicants and +had vehemently protested against political assessments levied on +clerks in his department. He especially offended Senators Cameron +and Chandler, party chieftains who had the ear of the President. +General Cox stated the matter plainly: "My views of the necessity +of reform in the civil service had brought me more or less into +collision with the plans of our active political managers and my +sense of duty has obliged me to oppose some of their methods of +action." These instances reveal how the party chieftains insisted +inexorably upon their demands. To them the public service was +principally a means to satisfy party ends, and the chief duty of +the President and his Cabinet was to satisfy the claims of party +necessity. General Cox said that distributing offices occupied +"the larger part of the time of the President and all his +Cabinet." General Garfield wrote (1877): "One-third of the +working hours of Senators and Representatives is hardly +sufficient to meet the demands made upon them in reference to +appointments to office." + +By the side of the partizan motives stalked the desire for gain. +There were those to whom parties meant but the opportunity for +sudden wealth. The President's admiration for commercial success +and his inability to read the motives of sycophants multiplied +their opportunities, and in the eight years of his administration +there was consummated the baneful union of business and politics. + +During the second Grant campaign (1872), when Horace Greeley was +making his astounding run for President, the New York Sun hinted +at gross and wholesale briberies of Congressmen by Oakes Ames and +his associates who had built the Union Pacific Railroad, an +enterprise which the United States had generously aided with +loans and gifts. + +Three committees of Congress, two in the House and one in the +Senate (the Poland Committee, the Wilson Committee, and the +Senate Committee), subsequently investigated the charges. Their +investigations disclosed the fact that Ames, then a member of the +House of Representatives, the principal stockholder in the Union +Pacific, and the soul of the enterprise, had organized, under an +existing Pennsylvania charter, a construction company called the +Credit Mobilier, whose shares were issued to Ames and his +associates. To the Credit Mobilier were issued the bonds and +stock of the Union Pacific, which had been paid for "at not more +than thirty cents on the dollar in road-making."* As the United +States, in addition to princely gifts of land, had in effect +guaranteed the cost of construction by authorizing the issue of +Government bonds, dollar for dollar and side by side with the +bonds of the road, the motive of the magnificent shuffle, which +gave the road into the hands of a construction company, was +clear. Now it was alleged that stock of the Credit Mobilier, +paying dividends of three hundred and forty per cent, had been +distributed by Ames among many of his fellow-Congressmen, in +order to forestall a threatened investigation. It was disclosed +that some of the members had refused point blank to have anything +to do with the stock; others had refused after deliberation; +others had purchased some of it outright; others, alas!, had +"purchased" it, to be paid for out of its own dividends. + +* Testimony before the Wilson Committee. + + +The majority of the members involved in the nasty affair were +absolved by the Poland Committee from "any corrupt motive or +purpose." But Oakes Ames of Massachusetts and James Brooks of New +York were recommended for expulsion from the House and Patterson +of New Hampshire from the Senate. The House, however, was content +with censuring Ames and Brooks, and the Senate permitted +Patterson's term to expire, since only five days of it remained. +Whatever may have been the opinion of Congress, and whatever a +careful reading of the testimony discloses to an impartial mind +at this remote day, upon the voters of that time the revelations +came as a shock. Some of the most trusted Congressmen were drawn +into the miasma of suspicion, among them Garfield; Dawes; +Scofield; Wilson, the newly elected Vice-President; Colfax, the +outgoing Vice-President. Colfax had been a popular idol, with the +Presidency in his vision; now bowed and disgraced, he left the +national capital never to return with a public commission. + +In 1874 came the disclosures of the Whiskey Ring. They involved +United States Internal Revenue officers and distillers in the +revenue district of St. Louis and a number of officials at +Washington. Benjamin H. Bristow, on becoming Secretary of the +Treasury in June of that year, immediately scented corruption. He +discovered that during 1871-74 only about one-third of the +whiskey shipped from St. Louis had paid the tax and that the +Government had been defrauded of nearly $3,000,000. "If a +distiller was honest," says James Ford Rhodes, the eminent +historian, "he was entrapped into some technical violation of the +law by the officials, who by virtue of their authority seized his +distillery, giving him the choice of bankruptcy or a partnership +in their operations; and generally he succumbed." + +McDonald, the supervisor of the St. Louis revenue district, was +the leader of the Whiskey Ring. He lavished gifts upon President +Grant, who, with an amazing indifference and innocence, accepted +such favors from all kinds of sources. Orville E. Babcock, the +President's private secretary, who possessed the complete +confidence of the guileless general, was soon enmeshed in the net +of investigation. Grant at first declared, "If Babcock is guilty, +there is no man who wants him so much proven guilty as I do, for +it is the greatest piece of traitorism to me that a man could +possibly practice." When Babcock was indicted, however, for +complicity to defraud the Government, the President did not +hesitate to say on oath that he had never seen anything in +Babcock's behavior which indicated that he was in any way +interested in the Whiskey Ring and that he had always had "great +confidence in his integrity and efficiency." In other ways the +President displayed his eagerness to defend his private +secretary. The jury acquitted Babcock, but the public did not. He +was compelled to resign under pressure of public condemnation, +and was afterwards indicted for conspiracy to rob a safe of +documents of an incriminating character. But Grant seems never to +have lost faith in him. Three of the men sent to prison for their +complicity in the whiskey fraud were pardoned after six months. +McDonald, the chieftain of the gang, served but one year of his +term. + +The exposure of the Whiskey Ring was followed by an even more +startling humiliation. The House Committee on Expenditures in the +War Department recommended that General William W. Belknap, +Secretary of War, be impeached for "high crimes and misdemeanors +while in office," and the House unanimously adopted the +recommendation. The evidence upon which the committee based its +drastic recommendation disclosed the most sordid division of +spoils between the Secretary and his wife and two rascals who +held in succession the valuable post of trader at Fort Sill in +the Indian Territory. + +The committee's report was read about three o'clock in the +afternoon of March 2, 1876. In the forenoon of the same day +Belknap had sent his resignation to the President, who had +accepted it immediately. The President and Belknap were personal +friends. But the certainty of Belknap's perfidy was not removed +by the attitude of the President, nor by the vote of the Senate +on the article of impeachment--37 guilty, 25 not guilty-for the +evidence was too convincing. The public knew by this time Grant's +childlike failing in sticking to his friends; and 93 of the 25 +Senators who voted not guilty had publicly declared they did so, +not because they believed him innocent, but because they believed +they had no jurisdiction over an official who had resigned. + +There were many minor indications of the harvest which gross +materialism was reaping in the political field. State and city +governments were surrendered to political brigands. In 1871 the +Governor of Nebraska was removed for embezzlement. Kansas was +startled by revelations of brazen bribery in her senatorial +elections (1872-1873). General Schenck, representing the United +States at the Court of St. James, humiliated his country by +dabbling in a fraudulent mining scheme. + +In a speech before the Senate, then trying General Belknap, +Senator George F. Hoar, on May 6, 1876, summed up the greater +abominations: + +"My own public life has been a very brief and insignificant one, +extending little beyond the duration of a single term of +senatorial office. But in that brief period I have seen five +judges of a high court of the United States driven from office by +threats of impeachment for corruption or maladministration. I +have heard the taunt from friendliest lips, that when the United +States presented herself in the East to take part with the +civilized world in generous competition in the arts of life, the +only products of her institutions in which she surpassed all +others beyond question was her corruption. I have seen in the +State in the Union foremost in power and wealth four judges of +her courts impeached for corruption, and the political +administration of her chief city become a disgrace and a byword +throughout the world. I have seen the chairman of the Committee +on Military Affairs in the House rise in his place and demand the +expulsion of four of his associates for making sale of their +official privilege of selecting the youths to be educated at our +great military schools. When the greatest railroad of the world, +binding together the continent and uniting the two great seas +which wash our shores, was finished, I have seen our national +triumph and exaltation turned to bitterness and shame by the +unanimous reports of three committees of Congress--two in the +House and one here--that every step of that mighty enterprise had +been taken in fraud. I have heard in highest places the shameless +doctrine avowed by men grown old in public office that the true +way by which power should be gained in the Republic is to bribe +the people with the offices created for their service, and the +true end for which it should be used when gained is the promotion +of selfish ambition and the gratification of personal revenge. I +have heard that suspicions haunt the footsteps of the trusted +companions of the President." + +These startling facts did not shatter the prestige of the +Republicans, the "Saviors of the Union," nor humble their +leaders. One of them, Senator Foraker, says*: "The campaign +(1876) on the part of the Democrats gave emphasis to the reform +idea and exploited Tilden as the great reform governor of New +York and the best fitted man in the country to bring about +reforms in the Government of the United States. No reforms were +needed: but a fact like that never interfered with a reform +campaign." The orthodoxy of the politician remained unshaken. +Foraker's reasons were the creed of thousands: "The Republican +party had prosecuted the war successfully; had reconstructed the +States; had rehabilitated our finances, and brought on specie +redemption." The memoirs of politicians and statesmen of this +period, such as Cullom, Foraker, Platt, even Hoar, are imbued +with an inflexible faith in the party and colored by the +conviction that it is a function of Government to aid business. +Platt, for instance, alluding to Blaine's attitude as Speaker, in +the seventies, said: "What I liked about him was his frank and +persistent contention that the citizen who best loved his party +and was loyal to it, was loyal to and best loved his country." +And many years afterwards, when a new type of leader appeared +representing a new era of conviction, Platt was deeply concerned. +His famous letter to Roosevelt, when the Rough Rider was being +mentioned for Governor of New York (1899), shows the reluctance +of the old man to see the signs of the times: "The thing that +really did bother me was this: I had heard from a great many +sources that you were a little loose on the relations of capital +and labor, on trusts and combinations, and indeed on the numerous +questions which have recently arisen in politics affecting the +security of earnings and the right of a man to run his own +business in his own way, with due respect of course to the Ten +Commandments and the Penal Code." + +* "Notes from a Busy Life", vol. I., 98. + + +The leaders of both the great parties firmly and honestly +believed that it was the duty of the Government to aid private +enterprise, and that by stimulating business everybody is helped. +This article of faith, with the doctrine of the sanctity of the +party, was a natural product of the conditions outlined in the +beginning of this chapter--the war and the remarkable economic +expansion following the war. It was the cause of the alliance +between business and politics. It made the machine and the boss +the sinister and ever present shadows of legitimate organization +and leadership. + + + +CHAPTER IV. THE POLITICIAN AND THE CITY + +The gigantic national machine that was erected during Grant's +administration would have been ineffectual without local sources +of power. These sources of power were found in the cities, now +thriving on the new-born commerce and industry, increasing +marvelously in numbers and in size, and offering to the political +manipulator opportunities that have rarely been paralleled.* + +* Between 1860 and 1890 the number of cities of 8000 or more +inhabitants increased from 141 to 448, standing at 226 in 1870. +In 1865 less than 20% of our people lived in the cities; in 1890, +over 30%; in 1900, 40%; in 1910, 46.3%. By 1890 there were six +cities with more than half a million inhabitants, fifteen with +more than 200,000, and twenty-eight with more than 100,000. In +1910 there were twenty-eight cities with a population over +200,000, fifty cities over 100,000, and ninety-eight over 50,000. +It was no uncommon occurrence for a city to double its population +in a decade. In ten years Birmingham gained 245%, Los Angeles, +211%, Seattle, 194%, Spokane, 183%, Dallas, 116%, Schenectady, +129%. + + +The governmental framework of the American city is based on the +English system as exemplified in the towns of Colonial America. +Their charters were received from the Crown and their business +was conducted by a mayor and a council composed of aldermen and +councilmen. The mayor was usually appointed; the council elected +by a property-holding electorate. In New England the glorified +town meeting was an important agency of local government. + +After the Revolution, mayors as well as councilmen were elected, +and the charters of the towns were granted by the legislature, +not by the executive, of the State. In colonial days charters had +been granted by the King. They had fixed for the city certain +immunities and well-defined spheres of autonomy. But when the +legislatures were given the power to grant charters, they reduced +the charter to the level of a statutory enactment, which could be +amended or repealed by any successive legislature, thereby +opening up a convenient field for political maneuvering. The +courts have, moreover, construed these charters strictly, holding +the cities closely bound to those powers which the legislatures +conferred upon them. + +The task of governing the early American town was simple enough. +In 1790 New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and Charleston +were the only towns in the United States of over 8000 +inhabitants; all together they numbered scarcely 130,000. Their +populations were homogeneous; their wants were few; and they were +still in that happy childhood when every voter knew nearly every +other voter and when everybody knew his neighbor's business as +well as his own, and perhaps better. + +Gradually the towns awoke to their newer needs and demanded +public service--lighting, street cleaning, fire protection, +public education. All these matters, however, could be easily +looked after by the mayor and the council committees. But when +these towns began to spread rapidly into cities, they quickly +outgrew their colonial garments. Yet the legislatures were loath +to cast the old garments aside. One may say that from 1840 to +1901, when the Galveston plan of commission government was +inaugurated, American municipal government was nothing but a +series of contests between a small body of alert citizens +attempting to fix responsibility on public officers and a few +adroit politicians attempting to elude responsibility; both sides +appealing to an electorate which was habitually somnolent but +subject to intermittent awakenings through spasms of +righteousness. + +During this epoch no important city remained immune from ruthless +legislative interference. Year after year the legislature shifted +officers and responsibilities at the behest of the boss. "Ripper +bills" were passed, tearing up the entire administrative systems +of important municipalities. The city was made the plaything of +the boss and the machine. + +Throughout the constant shifts that our city governments have +undergone one may, however, discern three general plans of +government. + +The first was the centering of power in the city council, whether +composed of two chambers--a board of aldermen and a common +council--as in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago, or of one +council, as in many lesser cities. It soon became apparent that a +large body, whose chief function is legislation, is utterly unfit +to look after administrative details. Such a body, in order to do +business, must act through committees. Responsibility is +scattered. Favoritism is possible in letting contracts, in making +appointments, in depositing city funds, in making public +improvements, in purchasing supplies and real estate, and in a +thousand other ways. So, by controlling the appointment of +committees, a shrewd manipulator could virtually control all the +municipal activities and make himself overlord of the city. + +The second plan of government attempted to make the mayor the +controlling force. It reduced the council to a legislative body +and exalted the mayor into a real executive with power to appoint +and to remove heads of departments, thereby making him +responsible for the city administration. Brooklyn under Mayor +Seth Low was an encouraging example of this type of government. +But the type was rarely found in a pure form. The politician +succeeded either in electing a subservient mayor or in curtailing +the mayor's authority by having the heads of departments elected +or appointed by the council or made subject to the approval of +the council. If the council held the key to the city treasury, +the boss reigned, for councilmen from properly gerrymandered +wards could usually be trusted to execute his will. + +The third form of government was government by boards. Here it +was attempted to place the administration of various municipal +activities in the hands of independent boards. Thus a board had +charge of the police, another of the fire department, another of +public works, and so on. Often there were a dozen of these boards +and not infrequently over thirty in a single city, as in +Philadelphia. Sometimes these boards were elected by the people; +sometimes they were appointed by the council; sometimes they were +appointed by the mayor; in one or two instances they were +appointed by the Governor. Often their powers were shared with +committees of the council; a committee on police, for instance, +shared with the Board of Police Commissioners the direction of +police affairs. Usually these boards were responsible to no one +but the electorate (and that remotely) and were entirely without +coordination, a mere agglomeration of independent creations +generally with ill-defined powers. + +Sometimes the laws provided that not all the members of the +appointive boards should "belong to the same political party" or +"be of the same political opinion in state and national issues." +It was clearly the intention to wipe out the partizan complexion +of such boards. But this device was no stumbling-block to the +boss. Whatever might be the "opinions" on national matters of the +men appointed, they usually had a perfect understanding with the +appointing authorities as to local matters. As late as 1898, a +Democratic mayor of New York (Van Wyck) summarily removed the two +Republican members of the Board of Police Commissioners and +replaced them by Republicans after his own heart. In truth, the +bipartizan board fitted snugly into the dual party regime that +existed in many cities, whereby the county offices were +apportioned to one party, the city offices to the other, and the +spoils to both. It is doubtful if any device was ever more +deceiving and less satisfactory than the bipartizan board. + +The reader must not be led to think that any one of these plans +of municipal government prevailed at any one time. They all still +exist, contemporaneously with the newer commission plan and the +city manager plan. + +Hand in hand with these experiments in governmental mechanisms +for the growing cities went a rapidly increasing expenditure of +public funds. Streets had to be laid out, paved, and lighted; +sewers extended; firefighting facilities increased; schools +built; parks, boulevards, and playgrounds acquired, and scores of +new activities undertaken by the municipality. All these brought +grist to the politician's mill. So did his control of the police +force and the police courts. And finally, with the city reaching +its eager streets far out into the country, came the necessity +for rapid transportation, which opened up for the municipal +politician a new El Dorado. + +Under our laws the right of a public service corporation to +occupy the public streets is based upon a franchise from the +city. Before the days of the referendum the franchise was granted +by the city council, usually as a monopoly, sometimes in +perpetuity; and, until comparatively recent years, the +corporation paid nothing to the city for the rights it acquired. + +When we reflect that within a few decades of the discovery of +electric power, every city, large and small, had its street-car +and electric-light service, and that most of these cities, +through their councils, gave away these monopoly rights for long +periods of time, we can imagine the princely aggregate of the +gifts which public service corporations have received at the +hands of our municipal governments, and the nature of the +temptations these corporations were able to spread before the +greedy gaze of those whose gesture would seal the grant. + +But it was not only at the granting of the franchise that the +boss and his machine sought for spoils. A public service +corporation, being constantly asked for favors, is a continuing +opportunity for the political manipulator. Public service +corporations could share their patronage with the politician in +exchange for favors. Through their control of many jobs, and +through their influence with banks, they could show a wide +assortment of favors to the politician in return for his +influence; for instance, in the matter of traffic regulations, +permission to tear up the streets, inspection laws, rate +schedules, tax assessments, coroners' reports, or juries. + +When the politician went to the voters, he adroitly concealed his +designs under the name of one of the national parties. Voters +were asked to vote for a Republican or a Democrat, not for a +policy of municipal administration or other local policies. The +system of committees, caucuses, conventions, built up in every +city, was linked to the national organization. A citizen of New +York, for instance, was not asked to vote for the Broadway +Franchise, which raised such a scandal in the eighties, but to +vote for aldermen running on a national tariff ticket! + +The electorate was somnolent and permitted the politician to have +his way. The multitudes of the city came principally from two +sources, from Europe and from the rural districts of our own +country. Those who came to the city from the country were +prompted by industrial motives; they sought wider opportunities; +they soon became immersed in their tasks and paid little +attention to public questions. The foreign immigrants who +congested our cities were alien to American institutions. They +formed a heterogeneous population to whom a common ideal of +government was unknown and democracy a word without meaning. +These foreigners were easily influenced and easily led. Under the +old naturalization laws, they were herded into the courts just +before election and admitted to citizenship. In New York they +were naturalized under the guidance of wardheelers, not +infrequently at the rate of one a minute! And, before the days of +registration laws, ballots were distributed to them and they were +led to the polls, as charity children are given excursion tickets +and are led to their annual summer's day picnic. + +The slipshod methods of naturalization have been revealed since +the new law (1906) has been in force. Tens of thousands of voters +who thought they were citizens found that their papers were only +declarations of intentions, or "first papers." Other tens of +thousands had lost even these papers and could not designate the +courts that had issued them; and other thousands found that the +courts that had naturalized them were without jurisdiction in the +matter. + +It was not merely among these newcomers that the boss found his +opportunities for carrying elections. The dense city blocks were +convenient lodging places for "floaters." Just before elections, +the population of the downtown wards in the larger cities +increased surprisingly. The boss fully availed himself of the +psychological and social reactions of the city upon the +individual, knowing instinctively how much more easily men are +corrupted when they are merged in the crowd and have lost their +sense of personal responsibility. + +It was in the city, then, that industrial politics found their +natural habitat. We shall now scrutinize more closely some of the +developments which arose out of such an environment. + + + +CHAPTER V. TAMMANY HALL + +Before the Revolutionary War numerous societies were organized to +aid the cause of Independence. These were sometimes called "Sons +of Liberty" and not infrequently "Sons of St. Tammany," after an +Indian brave whom tradition had shrouded in virtue. The name was +probably adopted to burlesque the royalist societies named after +St. George, St. David, or St. Andrew. After the war these +societies vanished. But, in New York City, William Mooney, an +upholsterer, reorganized the local society as "Tammany Society or +Columbian Order," devoted ostensibly to goodfellowship and +charity. Its officers bore Indian titles and its ceremonies were +more or less borrowed from the red man, not merely because of +their unique and picturesque character, but to emphasize the +truly American and anti-British convictions of its members. The +society attracted that element of the town's population which +delighted in the crude ceremonials and the stimulating potions +that always accompanied them, mostly small shopkeepers and +mechanics. It was among this class that the spirit of discontent +against the power of Federalism was strongest--a spirit that has +often become decisive in our political fortunes. + +This was still the day of the "gentleman," of small clothes, +silver shoe-buckles, powdered wigs, and lace ruffles. Only +taxpayers and propertied persons could vote, and public office +was still invested with certain prerogatives and privileges. +Democracy was little more than a name. There was, however, a +distinct division of sentiment, and the drift towards democracy +was accelerated by immigration. The newcomers were largely of the +humble classes, among whom the doctrines of democratic discontent +were welcome. + +Tammany soon became partizan. The Federalist members withdrew, +probably influenced by Washington's warning against secret +political societies. By 1798 it was a Republican club meeting in +various taverns, finally selecting Martling's "Long Room" for its +nightly carousals. Soon after this a new constitution was adopted +which adroitly transformed the society into a compact political +machine, every member subscribing to the oath that he would +resist the encroachments of centralized power over the State. + +Tradition has it that the transformer of Tammany into the first +compact and effective political machine was Aaron Burr. There is +no direct evidence that he wrote the new constitution. But there +is collateral evidence. Indeed, it would not have been Burrian +had he left any written evidence of his connection with the +organization. For Burr was one of those intriguers who revel in +mystery, who always hide their designs, and never bind themselves +in writing without leaving a dozen loopholes for escape. He was +by this time a prominent figure in American politics. His skill +had been displayed in Albany, both in the passing of legislation +and in out-maneuvering Hamilton and having himself elected United +States Senator against the powerful combination of the +Livingstons and the Schuylers. He was plotting for the Presidency +as the campaign of 1800 approached, and Tammany was to be the +fulcrum to lift him to this conspicuous place. + +Under the ostensible leadership of Matthew L. Davis, Burr's chief +lieutenant, every ward of the city was carefully organized, a +polling list was made, scores of new members were pledged to +Tammany, and during the three days of voting (in New York State +until 1840 elections lasted three days), while Hamilton was +making eloquent speeches for the Federalists, Burr was secretly +manipulating the wires of his machine. Burr and Tammany won in +New York City, though Burr failed to win the Presidency. The +political career of this remarkable organization, which has +survived over one hundred and twenty years of stormy history, was +now well launched. + +From that time to the present the history of Tammany Hall is a +tale of victories, followed by occasional disclosures of +corruption and favoritism; of quarrels with governors and +presidents; of party fights between "up-state" and "city"; of +skulking when its sachems were unwelcome in the White House; of +periodical displays of patriotism for cloaking its grosser +crimes; of perennial charities for fastening itself more firmly +on the poorer populace which has always been the source of its +power; of colossal municipal enterprise for profit-sharing; and +of a continuous political efficiency due to sagacious leadership, +a remarkable adaptability to the necessities of the hour, and a +patience that outlasts every "reform." + +It early displayed all the traits that have made it successful. +In 1801, for the purpose of carrying city elections, it provided +thirty-nine men with money to purchase houses and lots in one +ward, and seventy men with money for the same purpose in another +ward, thus manufacturing freeholders for polling purposes. In +1806 Benjamin Romaine, a grand sachem, was removed from the +office of city controller by his own party for acquiring land +from the city without paying for it. In 1807 several +superintendents of city institutions were dismissed for frauds. +The inspector of bread, a sachem, resigned because his threat to +extort one-third of the fees from his subordinates had become +public. Several assessment collectors, all prominent in Tammany, +were compelled to reimburse the city for deficits in their +accounts. One of the leading aldermen used his influence to +induce the city to sell land to his brother-in-law at a low +price, and then bade the city buy it back for many times its +value. Mooney, the founder of the society, now superintendent of +the almshouse, was caught in a characteristic fraud. His salary +was $1000 a year, with $500 for family expenses. But it was +discovered that his "expenses" amounted to $4000 a year, and that +he had credited to himself on the books $1000 worth of supplies +and numerous sums for "trifles for Mrs. Mooney." + +In September, 1826, the Grand Jury entered an indictment against +Matthew L. Davis and a number of other Tammany men for defrauding +several banks and insurance companies of over $2,000,000. This +created a tremendous sensation. Political influence was at once +set in motion, and only the minor defendants were sent to the +penitentiary. + +In 1829 Samuel Swartwout, one of the Tammany leaders, was +appointed Collector of the Port of New York. His downfall came in +1838, and he fled to Europe. His defalcations in the Custom House +were found to be over $1,222,700; and "to Swartwout" became a +useful phrase until Tweed's day. He was succeeded by Jesse Hoyt, +another sachem and notorious politician, against whom several +judgments for default were recorded in the Superior Court, which +were satisfied very soon after his appointment. At this time +another Tammany chieftain, W. M. Price, United States District +Attorney for Southern New York, defaulted for $75,000. + +It was in 1851 that the council commonly known as "The Forty +Thieves" was elected. In it William M. Tweed served his +apprenticeship. Some of the maneuvers of this council and of +other officials were divulged by a Grand Jury in its presentment +of February 23, 1853. The presentment states: "It was clearly +shown that enormous sums of money were spent for the procurement +of railroad grants in the city, and that towards the decision and +procurement of the Eighth Avenue railway grant, a sum so large +that would startle the most credulous was expended; but in +consequence of the voluntary absence of important witnesses, the +Grand Jury was left without direct testimony of the particular +recipients of the different amounts." + +These and other exposures brought on a number of amendments to +the city charter, surrounding with greater safeguards the sale or +lease of city property and the letting of contracts; and a reform +council was elected. Immediately upon the heels of this reform +movement followed the shameful regime of Fernando Wood, an able, +crafty, unscrupulous politician, who began by announcing himself +a reformer, but who soon became a boss in the most offensive +sense of that term--not, however, in Tammany Hall, for he was +ousted from that organization after his reelection as mayor in +1856. He immediately organized a machine of his own, Mozart Hall. +The intense struggle between the two machines cost the city a +great sum, for the taxpayers were mulcted to pay the bills. + +Through the anxious days of the Civil War, when the minds of +thoughtful citizens were occupied with national issues, the tide +of reform ebbed and flowed. A reform candidate was elected mayor +in 1863, but Tammany returned to power two years later by +securing the election and then the reelection of John T. Hoffman. +Hoffman possessed considerable ability and an attractive +personality. His zeal for high office, however, made him easily +amenable to the manipulators. Tammany made him Governor and +planned to name him for President. Behind his popularity, which +was considerable, and screened by the greater excitements of the +war, reconstruction, and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, +lurked the Ring, whose exposures and confessions were soon to +amaze everyone. + +The chief ringster was William M. Tweed, and his name will always +be associated in the public mind with political bossdom. This is +his immortality. He was a chairmaker by trade, a vulgar good +fellow by nature, a politician by circumstances, a boss by +evolution, and a grafter by choice. He became grand sachem of +Tammany and chairman of the general committee. This committee he +ruled with blunt directness. When he wanted a question carried, +he failed to ask for the negative votes; and soon he was called +"the Boss," a title he never resented, and which usage has since +fixed in our politics. So he ruled Tammany with a high hand; made +nominations arbitrarily; bullied, bought, and traded; became +President of the Board of Supervisors, thus holding the key to +the city's financial policies; and was elected State Senator, +thereby directing the granting of legislative favors to his city +and to his corporations. + +In 1868 Tammany carried Hoffman into the Governor's chair, and in +the following year the Democrats carried the State legislature. +Tweed now had a new charter passed which virtually put New York +City into his pocket by placing the finances of the metropolis +entirely in the hands of a Board of Apportionment which he +dominated. Of this Board, the mayor of the city was the chairman, +with the power to appoint the other members. He promptly named +Tweed, Connolly, and P. B. Sweeny. This was the famous Ring. The +mayor was A. Oakey Hall, dubbed "Elegant Oakey" by his pals +because of his fondness for clubs, society, puns, and poems; but +Nast called him "O. K. Haul." Sweeny, commonly known as "Pete," +was a lawyer of ability, and was generally believed to be the +plotter of the quartet. Nast transformed his middle initial B. +into "Brains." Connolly was just a coarse gangster. + +There was some reason for the Ring's faith in its +invulnerability. It controlled Governor and legislature, was +formidable in the national councils of the Democratic party, and +its Governor was widely mentioned for the presidential +nomination. It possessed complete power over the city council, +the mayor, and many of the judges. It was in partnership with +Gould and Fiske of the Erie, then reaping great harvests in Wall +Street, and with street railway and other public service +corporations. Through untold largess it silenced rivalry from +within and criticism from without. And, when suspicion first +raised its voice, it adroitly invited a committee of prominent +and wealthy citizens, headed by John Jacob Astor, to examine the +controller's accounts. After six hours spent in the City Hall +these respectable gentlemen signed an acquitment, saying that +"the affairs of the city under the charge of the controller are +administered in a correct and faithful manner." + +Thus intrenched, the Ring levied tribute on every municipal +activity. Everyone who had a charge against the city, either for +work done or materials furnished, was told to add to the amount +of his bill, at first 10%, later 66%, and finally 85%. One man +testified that he was told to raise to $55,000 his claim of +$5000. He got his $5000; the Ring got $50,000. The building of +the Court House, still known as "Tweed's Court House," was +estimated to cost $3,000,000, but it cost many times that sum. +The item "repairing fixtures" amounted to $1,149,874.50, before +the building was completed. Forty chairs and three tables cost +$179,729.60; thermometers cost $7500. G. S. Miller, a carpenter, +received $360,747.61, and a plasterer named Gray, $2,870,464.06 +for nine months' "work." The Times dubbed him the "Prince of +Plasterers." "A plasterer who can earn $138,187 in two days +[December 20 and 21] and that in the depths of winter, need not +be poor." Carpets cost $350,000, most of the Brussels and +Axminster going to the New Metropolitan Hotel just opened by +Tweed's son. + +The Ring's hold upon the legislature was through bribery, not +through partizan adhesion. Tweed himself confessed that he gave +one man in Albany $600,000 for buying votes to pass his charter; +and Samuel J. Tilden estimated the total cost for this purpose at +over one million dollars. Tweed said he bought five Republican +senators for $40,000 apiece. The vote on the charter was 30 to 2 +in the Senate, 116 to 5 in the Assembly. Similar sums were spent +in Albany in securing corporate favors. The Viaduct Railway Bill +is an example. This bill empowered a company, practically owned +by the Ring, to build a railway on or above any street in the +city. It provided that the city should subscribe for $5,000,000 +of the stock; and it exempted the company from taxation. +Collateral bills were introduced enabling the company to widen +and grade any streets, the favorite "job" of a Tammany grafter. +Fortunately for the city, exposure came before this monstrous +scheme could be put in motion. + +Newspapers in the city were heavily subsidized. Newspapers in +Albany were paid munificently for printing. One of the Albany +papers received $207,900 for one year's work which was worth less +than $10,000. Half a dozen reporters of the leading dailies were +put on the city payroll at from $2000 to $2500 a year for +"services." + +The Himalayan size of these swindles and their monumental +effrontery led the New York Sun humorously to suggest the +erection of a statue to the principal Robber Baron, "in +commemoration of his services to the commonwealth." A letter was +sent out asking for funds. There were a great many men in New +York, the Sun thought, who would not be unwilling to refuse a +contribution. But Tweed declined the honor. In its issue of March +14, 1871, the Sun has this headline: + +"A GREAT MAN'S MODESTY" + +"THE HON. WILLIAM M. TWEED DECLINES THE SUN'S STATUE. +CHARACTERISTIC LETTER FROM THE GREAT NEW YORK PHILANTHROPIST. HE +THINKS THAT VIRTUE SHOULD BE ITS OWN REWARD. THE MOST REMARKABLE +LETTER EVER WRITTEN BY THE NOBLE BENEFACTOR OF THE PEOPLE." + +Another kind of memorial to his genius for absorbing the people's +money was awaiting this philanthropic buccaneer. Vulgar +ostentation was the outward badge of these civic burglaries. +Tweed moved into a Fifth Avenue mansion and gave his daughter a +wedding at which she received $100,000 worth of gifts; her +wedding dress was a $5000 creation. At Greenwich he built a +country estate where the stables were framed of choice mahogany. +Sweeny hobnobbed with Jim Fiske of the Erie, the Tweed of Wall +Street, who went about town dressed in loud checks and lived with +his harem in his Opera House on Eighth Avenue. + +Thoughtful citizens saw these things going on and believed the +city was being robbed, but they could not prove it. There were +two attacking parties, however, who did not wait for proofs-- +Thomas Nast, the brilliant cartoonist of Harper's Weekly, and the +New York Times. The incisive cartoons of Nast appealed to the +imaginations of all classes; even Tweed complained that his +illiterate following could "look at the damn pictures." The +trenchant editorials of Louis L. Jennings in the Times reached a +thoughtful circle of readers. In one of these editorials, +February 24, 1871, before the exposure, he said: "There is +absolutely nothing--nothing in the city--which is beyond the +reach of the insatiable gang who have obtained possession of it. +They can get a grand jury dismissed at any time, and, as we have +seen, the legislature is completely at their disposal." + +Finally proof did come and, as is usual in such cases, it came +from the inside. James O'Brien, an ex-sheriff and the leader in a +Democratic "reform movement" calling itself "Young Democracy," +secured the appointment of one of his friends as clerk in the +controller's office. Transcripts of the accounts were made, and +these O'Brien brought to the Times, which began their +publication, July 8, 1871. The Ring was in consternation. It +offered George Jones, the proprietor of the Times, $5,000,000 for +his silence and sent a well-known banker to Nast with an +invitation to go to Europe "to study art," with $100,000 for +"expenses." + +"Do you think I could get $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 one +year and was then released on a flimsy technicality by the Court +of Appeals. Civil suits were now brought, and, unable to obtain +the $3,000,000 bail demanded, the fallen boss was sent to jail. +He escaped to Cuba, and finally to Spain, but he was again +arrested, returned to New York on a man-of-war, and put into +Ludlow Street jail, where he died April 12, 1878, apparently +without money or friends. + +The exact amount of the plunder was never ascertained. An expert +accountant employed by the housecleaners estimated that for three +years, 1868-71, the frauds totaled between $45,000,000 and +$50,000,000. The estimate of the aldermen's committee was +$60,000,000. Tweed never gave any figures; he probably had never +counted his gains, but merely spent them as they came. O'Rourke, +one of the gang, estimated that the Ring stole about $75,000,000 +during 1865-71, and that, "counting vast issues of fraudulent +bonds," the looting "probably amounted to $200,000,000." + +The story of these disclosures circled the earth and still +affects the popular judgment of the American metropolis. It +seemed as though Tammany were forever discredited. But, to the +despair of reformers, in 1874 Tammany returned to power, electing +its candidate for mayor by over 9000 majority. The new boss who +maneuvered this rapid resurrection was John Kelly, a stone-mason, +known among his Irish followers as "Honest John." Besides the +political probity which the occasion demanded, he possessed a +capacity for knowing men and sensing public opinion. This enabled +him to lift the prostrate organization. He persuaded such men as +Samuel J. Tilden, the distinguished lawyer, August Belmont, a +leading financier, Horatio Seymour, who had been governor, and +Charles O'Conor, the famous advocate, to become sachems under +him. This was evidence of reform from within. Cooperation with +the Bar Association, the Taxpayers' Association, and other +similar organizations evidenced a desire of reform from without. +Kelly "bossed" the Hall until his death, June 1, 1886. + +He was succeeded by Richard Croker, a machinist, prizefighter, +and gang-leader. Croker began his official career as a court +attendant under the notorious Judge Barnard and later was an +engineer in the service of the city. These places he held by +Tammany favor, and he was so useful that in 1868 he was made +alderman. A quarrel with Tweed lost him the place, but a +reconciliation soon landed him in the lucrative office of +Superintendent of Market Fees and Rents, under Connolly. In 1873 +he was elected coroner and ten years later was appointed fire +commissioner. His career as boss was marked by much political +cleverness and caution and by an equal degree of moral +obtuseness. + +The triumph of Tammany in 1892 was followed by such ill-disguised +corruption that the citizens of New York were again roused from +their apathy. The investigations of the Fassett Committee of the +State Senate two years previously had shown how deep the +tentacles of Tammany were thrust into the administrative +departments of the city. The Senate now appointed another +investigating committee, of which Clarence Lexow was the chairman +and John W. Goff the counsel. The Police Department came under +its special scrutiny. The disclosures revealed the connivance of +the police in stupendous election frauds. The President of the +Police Board himself had distributed at the polls the policemen +who committed these frauds. It was further revealed that vice and +crime under police protection had been capitalized on a great +scale. It was worth money to be a policeman. One police captain +testified he had paid $15,000 for his promotions; another paid +$12,000. It cost $300 to be appointed patrolman. Over six hundred +policy-shops were open, each paying $1500 a month for protection; +pool rooms paid $300 a month; bawdy-houses, from $25 to $50 per +month per inmate. And their patrons paid whatever they could be +blackmailed out of; streetwalkers, whatever they could be +wheedled out of; saloons, $20 per month; pawnbrokers, thieves, +and thugs shared with the police their profits, as did +corporations and others seeking not only favors but their rights. +The committee in its statement to the Grand Jury (March, 1892) +estimated that the annual plunder from these sources was over +$7,000,000. + +During the committee's sessions Croker was in Europe on important +business. But he found time to order the closing of disreputable +resorts, and, though he was only a private citizen and three +thousand miles away, his orders were promptly obeyed. + +Aroused by these disclosures and stimulated by the lashing +sermons of the Rev. Charles H. Parkhurst, the citizens of New +York, in 1894, elected a reform government, with William L. +Strong as Mayor. His administration set up for the metropolis a +new standard of city management. Colonel George E. Waring +organized, for the first time in the city's history, an efficient +streetcleaning department. Theodore Roosevelt was appointed +Police Commissioner. These men and their associates gave to New +York a period of thrifty municipal housekeeping. + +But the city returned to its filth. After the incorporation of +Greater New York and the election of Robert A. Van Wyck as its +mayor, the great beast of Tammany arose and extended its eager +claws over the vast area of the new city. + +The Mazet Committee was appointed by the legislature in 1899 to +investigate rumors of renewed corruption. But the inquiry which +followed was not as penetrating nor as free from partizan bias as +thoughtful citizens wished. The principal exposure was of the Ice +Trust, an attempt to monopolize the city's ice supply, in which +city officials were stockholders, the mayor to the extent of 5000 +shares, valued at $500,000. It was shown, too, that Tammany +leaders were stockholders in corporations which received favors +from the city. Governor Roosevelt, however, refused to remove +Mayor Van Wyck because the evidence against him was insufficient. + +The most significant testimony before the Mazet Committee was +that given by Boss Croker himself. His last public office had +been that of City Chamberlain, 1889-90, at a salary of $25,000. +Two years later he purchased for $250,000 an interest in a +stock-farm and paid over $100,000 for some noted race-horses. He +spent over half a million dollars on the English racetrack in +three years and was reputed a millionaire, owning large blocks of +city real estate. He told the committee that he virtually +determined all city nominations; and that all candidates were +assessed, even judicial candidates, from $10,000 to $25,000 for +their nominations. "We try to have a pretty effective +organization--that's what we are there for," he explained. "We +are giving the people pure organization government," even though +the organizing took "a lot of time" and was "very hard work." +Tammany members stood by one another and helped each other, not +only in politics but in business. "We want the whole business +[city business] if we can get it." If "we win, we expect everyone +to stand by us." Then he uttered what must have been to every +citizen of understanding a self-evident truth, "I am working for +my pockets all the time." + +Soon afterwards Croker retired to his Irish castle, relinquishing +the leadership to Charles Murphy, the present boss. The growing +alertness of the voters, however, makes Murphy's task a more +difficult one than that of any of his predecessors. It is +doubtful if the nature of the machine has changed during all the +years of its history. Tweed and Croker were only natural products +of the system. They typify the vulgar climax of organized +looting. + +In 1913 the Independent Democrats, Republicans, and Progressives +united in a fusion movement. They nominated and, after a most +spirited campaign, elected John Purroy Mitchel as mayor. He was a +young man, not yet forty, had held important city offices, and +President Wilson had appointed him Collector of the Port of New +York. His experience, his vigor, ability, and straightdealing +commended him to the friends of good government, and they were +not disappointed. The Mitchel regime set a new record for clean +and efficient municipal administration. Men of high character and +ability were enlisted in public service, and the Police +Department, under Commissioner Woods, achieved a new usefulness. +The decent citizens, not alone in the metropolis, but throughout +the country, believed with Theodore Roosevelt that Mr. Mitchel +was "the best mayor New York ever had." But neither the +effectiveness of his administration nor the combined efforts of +the friends of good government could save him from the designs of +Tammany Hall when, in 1917, he was a candidate for reelection. +Through a tactical blunder of the Fusionists, a small Republican +group was permitted to control the party primaries and nominate a +candidate of its own; the Socialists, greatly augmented by +various pacifist groups, made heavy inroads among the +foreign-born voters. And, while the whole power and finesse of +Tammany were assiduously undermining the mayor's strength, +ethnic, religious, partizan, and geographical prejudices combined +to elect the machine candidate, Judge Hylan, a comparatively +unknown Brooklyn magistrate. + +How could Tammany regain its power, and that usually within two +years, after such disclosures as we have seen? The main reason is +the scientific efficiency of the organization. The victory of +Burr in New York in 1800 was the first triumph of the first ward +machine in America, and Tammany has forgotten neither this +victory nor the methods by which it was achieved. The +organization which was then set in motion has simply been +enlarged to keep easy pace with the city's growth. There are, in +fact, two organizations, Tammany Hall, the political machine, and +Tammany Society, the "Columbian Order" organized by Mooney, which +is ruled by sachems elected by the members. Both organizations, +however, are one in spirit. We need concern ourselves only with +the organization of Tammany Hall. + +The framework of Tammany Hall's machinery has always been the +general committee, still known, in the phraseology of Burr's day, +as "the Democratic-Republican General Committee." It is a very +democratic body composed of representatives from every assembly +district, apportioned according to the number of voters in the +district. The present apportionment is one committeeman for every +fifteen votes. This makes a committee of over 9000, an unwieldy +number. It is justified, however, on two very practical grounds: +first, that it is large enough to keep close to the voters; and +second, that its assessment of ten dollars a member brings in +$90,000 a year to the war chest. This general committee holds +stated meetings and appoints subcommittees. The executive +committee, composed of the leaders of the assembly districts and +the chairman and treasurer of the county committee, is the real +working body of the great committee. It attends to all important +routine matters, selects candidates for office, and conducts +their campaigns. It is customary for the members of the general +committee to designate the district leaders for the executive +committee, but they are elected by their own districts +respectively at the annual primary elections. The district leader +is a very important wheel in the machine. He not only leads his +district but represents it on the executive committee; and this +brotherhood of leaders forms the potent oligarchy of Tammany. Its +sanction crowns the high chieftain, the boss, who, in turn, must +be constantly on the alert that his throne is not undermined; +that is to say, he and his district leaders must "play politics" +within their own bailiwicks to keep their heads on their own +shoulders. After their enfranchisement in New York (1917) women +were made eligible to the general and executive committees. +Thirty-seven were at once elected to the executive committee, and +plans were made to give them one-half of the representation on +the general committee. + +Each of the twenty-three assembly districts is in turn divided +into election districts of about 400 voters, each with a +precinct captain who is acquainted with every voter in his +precinct and keeps track, as far as possible, of his affairs. In +every assembly district there are headquarters and a club house, +where the voters can go in the evening and enjoy a smoke, a +bottle, and a more or less quiet game. + +This organization is never dormant. And this is the key to its +vitality. There is no mystery about it. Tammany is as vigilant +between elections as it is on election day. It has always been +solicitous for the poor and the humble, who most need and best +appreciate help and attention. Every poor immigrant is welcomed, +introduced to the district headquarters, given work, or food, or +shelter. Tammany is his practical friend; and in return he is +merely to become naturalized as quickly as possible under the +wardship of a Tammany captain and by the grace of a Tammany +judge, and then to vote the Tammany ticket. The new citizen's +lessons in political science are all flavored with highly +practical notions. + +Tammany's machinery enables a house-to-house canvass to be made +in one day. But this machinery must be oiled. There are three +sources of the necessary lubricant: offices, jobs, the sale of +favors; these are dependent on winning the elections. From its +very earliest days, fraud at the polls has been a Tammany +practice. As long as property qualifications were required, money +was furnished for buying houses which could harbor a whole +settlement of voters. It was not, however, until the adoption of +universal suffrage that wholesale frauds became possible or +useful; for with a limited suffrage it was necessary to sway only +a few score votes to carry an ordinary election. + +Fernando Wood set a new pace in this race for votes. It has been +estimated that in 1854 there "were about 40,000 shiftless, +unprincipled persons who lived by their wits and the labor of +others. The trade of a part of these was turning primary +elections, packing nominating conventions, repeating, and +breaking up meetings." Wood also systematized naturalization. A +card bearing the following legend was the open sesame to American +citizenship: + +"Common Pleas: + Please naturalize the bearer. + N. Seagrist, Chairman." + +Seagrist was one of the men charged by an aldermanic committee +"with robbing the funeral pall of Henry Clay when his sacred +person passed through this city." + +When Hoffman was first elected mayor, over 15,000 persons were +registered who could not be found at the places indicated. The +naturalization machinery was then running at high speed. In 1868, +from 25,000 to 30,000 foreigners were naturalized in New York in +six weeks. Of 156,288 votes cast in the city, 25,000 were +afterwards shown to be fraudulent. It was about this time that an +official whose duty it was to swear in the election inspectors, +not finding a Bible at hand, used a volume of Ollendorf's "New +Method of Learning to Read, Write, and Speak French." The courts +sustained this substitution on the ground that it could not +possibly have vitiated the election! + +A new federal naturalization law and rigid election laws have +made wholesale frauds impossible; and the genius of Tammany is +now attempting to adjust itself to the new immigration, the new +political spirit, and the new communal vigilance. Its power is +believed by some optimistic observers to be waning. But the +evidences are not wanting that its vitality and internal +discipline are still persistent. + + + +CHAPTER VI. LESSER OLIGARCHIES + +New York City is not unique in its experience with political +bossdom. Nearly every American city, in a greater or less degree, +for longer or shorter periods, has been dominated by oligarchies. + +Around Philadelphia, American sentiment has woven the memories of +great events. It still remains, of all our large cities, the most +"American." It has fewer aliens than any other, a larger +percentage of home owners, a larger number of small tradespeople +and skilled artisans--the sort of population which democracy +exalts, and who in turn are presumed to be the bulwark of +democracy. These good citizens, busied with the anxieties and +excitements of their private concerns, discovered, in the decade +following the Civil War, that their city had slipped unawares +into the control of a compact oligarchy, the notorious Gas Ring. +The city government at this time was composed of thirty-two +independent boards and departments, responsible to the council, +but responsible to the council in name only and through the +medium of a council committee. The coordinating force, the +political gravitation which impelled all these diverse boards and +council committees to act in unison, was the Gas Department. This +department was controlled by a few designing and capable +individuals under the captaincy of James McManes. They had +reduced to political servitude all the employees of the +department, numbering about two thousand. Then they had extended +their sway over other city departments, especially the police +department. Through the connivance of the police and control over +the registration of voters, they soon dominated the primaries and +the nominating conventions. They carried the banner of the +Republican party, the dominant party in Philadelphia and in the +State, under which they more easily controlled elections, for the +people voted "regular." Then every one of the city's servants was +made to pay to the Gas Ring money as well as obeisance. +Tradespeople who sold supplies to the city, contractors who did +its work, saloon-keepers and dive-owners who wanted +protection--all paid. The city's debt increased at the rate of +$3,000,000 a year, without visible evidence of the application of +money to the city's growing needs. + +In 1883 the citizens finally aroused themselves and petitioned +the legislature for a new charter. They confessed: "Philadelphia +is now recognized as the worst paved and worst cleaned city in +the civilized world. The water supply is so bad that during many +weeks of the last winter it was not only distasteful and +unwholesome for drinking, but offensive for bathing purposes. The +effort to clean the streets was abandoned for months and no +attempt was made to that end until some public-spirited citizens, +at their own expense, cleaned a number of the principal +thoroughfares . . . . The physical condition of the sewers" is +"dangerous to the health and most offensive to the comfort of our +people. Public work has been done so badly that structures have +to be renewed almost as soon as finished. Others have been in +part constructed at enormous expense and then permitted to fall +to decay without completion." This is a graphic and faithful +description of the result which follows government of the Ring, +for the Ring, with the people's money. The legislature in 1885 +granted Philadelphia a new charter, called the Bullitt Law, which +went into effect in 1887, and which greatly simplified the +structure of the government and centered responsibility in the +mayor. It was then necessary for the Ring to control primaries +and win elections in order to keep the city within its clutches. +So began in Philadelphia the practice of fraudulent registering +and voting on a scale that has probably never been equaled +elsewhere in America. Names taken from tombstones in the +cemeteries and from the register of births found their way to the +polling registers. Dogs, cats, horses, anything living or dead, +with a name, served the purpose. + +The exposure of these frauds was undertaken in 1900 by the +Municipal League. In two wards, where the population had +decreased one per cent in ten years (1890-1900), it was found +that the registered voters had increased one hundred per cent. +From one house sixty-two voters were registered, of sundry +occupations as follows: "Professors, bricklayers, gentlemen, +moulders, cashiers, barbers, ministers, bakers, doctors, drivers, +bartenders, plumbers, clerks, cooks, merchants, stevedores, +bookkeepers, waiters, florists, boilermakers, salesmen, soldiers, +electricians, printers, book agents, and restaurant keepers." One +hundred and twenty-two voters, according to the register, lived +at another house, including nine agents, nine machinists, nine +gentlemen, nine waiters, nine salesmen, four barbers, four +bakers, fourteen clerks, three laborers, two bartenders, a +milkman, an optician, a piano-mover, a window-cleaner, a nurse, +and so on. + +On the day before the election the Municipal League sent +registered letters to all the registered voters of certain +precincts. Sixty-three per cent were returned, marked by the +postman, "not at," "deceased," "removed," "not known." Of +forty-four letters addressed to names registered from one +four-story house, eighteen were returned. From another house, +supposed to be sheltering forty-eight voters, forty-one were +returned; from another, to which sixty-two were sent, sixty-one +came back. The league reported that "two hundred and fifty-two +votes were returned in a division that had less than one hundred +legal voters within its boundaries." Repeating and ballot-box +stuffing were common. Election officers would place fifty or more +ballots in the box before the polls opened or would hand out a +handful of ballots to the recognized repeaters. The high-water +mark of boss rule was reached under Mayor Ashbridge, +"Stars-and-Stripes Sam," who had been elected in 1899. The +moderation of Martin, who had succeeded McManes as boss, was cast +aside; the mayor was himself a member of the Ring. When Ashbridge +retired, the Municipal League reported: "The four years of the +Ashbridge administration have passed into history leaving behind +them a scar on the fame and reputation of our city which will be +a long time healing. Never before, and let us hope never again, +will there be such brazen defiance of public opinion, such +flagrant disregard of public interest, such abuse of power and +responsibility for private ends." + +Since that time the fortunes of the Philadelphia Ring have +fluctuated. Its hold upon the city, however, is not broken, but +is still strong enough to justify Owen Wister's observation: "Not +a Dickens, only a Zola, would have the face (and the stomach) to +tell the whole truth about Philadelphia." + +St. Louis was one of the first cities of America to possess the +much-coveted home rule. The Missouri State Constitution of 1875 +granted the city the power to frame its own charter, under +certain limitations. The new charter provided for a mayor elected +for four years with the power of appointing certain heads of +departments; others, however, were to be elected directly by the +people. It provided for a Municipal Assembly composed of two +houses: the Council, with thirteen members, elected at large for +four years, and the House of Delegates, with twenty-eight +members, one from each ward, elected for two years. These two +houses were given coordinate powers; one was presumed to be a +check on the other. The Assembly fixed the tax rate, granted +franchises, and passed upon all public improvements. The Police +Department was, however, under the control of the mayor and four +commissioners, the latter appointed by the Governor. The city was +usually Republican by about 8000 majority; the State was safely +Democratic. The city, until a few years ago, had few tenements +and a small floating population. + +Outwardly, all seemed well with the city until 1901, when the +inside workings of its government were revealed to the public +gaze through the vengeance of a disappointed franchise-seeker. +The Suburban Railway Company sought an extension of its +franchises. It had approached the man known as the dispenser of +such favors, but, thinking his price ($145,000) too high, had +sought to deal directly with the Municipal Assembly. The price +agreed upon for the House of Delegates was $75,000; for the +Council, $60,000. These sums were placed in safety vaults +controlled by a dual lock. The representative of the Company held +one of the keys; the representative of the Assembly, the other; +so that neither party could take the money without the presence +of both. The Assembly duly granted the franchises; but property +owners along the line of the proposed extension secured an +injunction, which delayed the proceedings until the term of the +venal House of Delegates had expired. The Assemblymen, having +delivered the goods, demanded their pay. The Company, held up by +the courts, refused. Mutterings of the disappointed conspirators +reached the ear of an enterprising newspaper reporter. Thereby +the Circuit Attorney, Joseph W. Folk, struck the trail of the +gang. Both the president of the railway company and the "agent" +of the rogues of the Assembly turned state's evidence; the +safe-deposit boxes were opened, disclosing the packages +containing one hundred and thirty-five $1000 bills. + +This exposure led to others--the "Central Traction Conspiracy," +the "Lighting Deal," the "Garbage Deal." In the cleaning-up +process, thirty-nine persons were indicted, twenty-four for +bribery and fifteen for perjury. + +The evidence which Folk presented in the prosecution of these +scoundrels merely confirmed what had long been an unsavory rumor: +that franchises and contracts were bought and sold like +merchandise; that the buyers were men of eminence in the city's +business affairs; and that the sellers were the people's +representatives in the Assembly. The Grand Jury reported: "Our +investigation, covering more or less fully a period of ten years +shows that, with few exceptions, no ordinance has been passed +wherein valuable privileges or franchises are granted until those +interested have paid the legislators the money demanded for +action in the particular case . . . . So long has this practice +existed that such members have come to regard the receipt of +money for action on pending measures as a legitimate perquisite +of a legislator." + +These legislators, it appeared from the testimony, had formed a +water-tight ring or "combine" in 1899, for the purpose of +systematizing this traffic. A regular scale of prices was +adopted: so much for an excavation, so much per foot for a +railway switch, so much for a street pavement, so much for a +grain elevator. Edward R. Butler was the master under whose +commands for many years this trafficking was reduced to +systematic perfection. He had come to St. Louis when a young man, +had opened a blacksmith shop, had built up a good trade in +horseshoeing, and also a pliant political following in his ward. +His attempt to defeat the home rule charter in 1876 had given him +wider prominence, and he soon became the boss of the Democratic +machine. His energy, shrewdness, liberality, and capacity for +friendship gave him sway over both Republican and Democratic +votes in certain portions of the city. A prominent St. Louis +attorney says that for over twenty years "he named candidates on +both tickets, fixed, collected, and disbursed campaign +assessments, determined the results in elections, and in fine, +practically controlled the public affairs of St. Louis." He was +the agent usually sought by franchise-seekers, and he said that +had the Suburban Company dealt with him instead of with the +members of the Assembly, they might have avoided exposure. He was +indicted four times in the upheaval, twice for attempting to +bribe the Board of Health in the garbage deal--he was a +stockholder in the company seeking the contract--and twice for +bribery in the lighting contract. + +Cincinnati inherited from the Civil War the domestic excitements +and political antagonisms of a border city. Its large German +population gave it a conservative political demeanor, slow to +accept changes, loyal to the Republican party as it was to the +Union. This reduced partizan opposition to a docile minority, +willing to dicker for public spoils with the intrenched majority. + +George B. Cox was for thirty years the boss of this city. Events +had prepared the way for him. Following closely upon the war, Tom +Campbell, a crafty criminal lawyer, was the local leader of the +Republicans, and John R. McLean, owner of the Cincinnati +Enquirer, a very rich man, of the Democrats. These two men were +cronies: they bartered the votes of their followers. For some +years crime ran its repulsive course: brawlers, thieves, +cutthroats escaped conviction through the defensive influence of +the lawyer-boss. In 1880, Cox, who had served an apprenticeship +in his brother-in-law's gambling house, was elected to the city +council. Thence he was promoted to the decennial board of +equalization which appraised all real estate every ten years. +There followed a great decrease in the valuation of some of the +choicest holdings in the city. In 1884 there were riots in +Cincinnati. After the acquittal of two brutes who had murdered a +man for a trifling sum of money, exasperated citizens burned the +criminal court house. The barter in justice stopped, but the +barter in offices and in votes continued. The Blaine campaign +then in progress was in great danger. Cox, already a master of +the political game, promised the Republican leaders that if they +would give him a campaign fund he would turn in a Republican +majority from Cincinnati. He did; and for many years thereafter +the returns from Hamilton County, in which Cincinnati is +situated, brought cheer to Republican State headquarters on +election night. + +Cox was an unostentatious, silent man, giving one the impression +of sullenness, and almost entirely lacking in those qualities of +comradeship which one usually seeks in the "Boss" type. From a +barren little room over the "Mecca" saloon, with the help of a +telephone, he managed his machine. He never obtruded himself upon +the public. He always remained in the background. Nor did he ever +take vast sums. Moderation was the rule of his loot. + +By 1905 a movement set in to rid the city of machine rule. Cox +saw this movement growing in strength. So he imported boatloads +of floaters from Kentucky. These floaters registered "from dives, +and doggeries, from coal bins and water closets; no space was too +small to harbor a man." For once he threw prudence to the winds. +Exposure followed; over 2800 illegal voters were found. The +newspapers, so long docile, now provided the necessary publicity. +A little paper, the Citizen's Bulletin, which had started as a +handbill of reform, when all the dailies seemed closed to the +facts, now grew into a sturdy weekly. And, to add the capstone to +Cox's undoing, William H. Taft, the most distinguished son of +Cincinnati, then Secretary of War in President Roosevelt's +cabinet, in a campaign speech in Akron, Ohio, advised the +Republicans to repudiate him. This confounded the "regulars," and +Cox was partially beaten. The reformers elected their candidate +for mayor, but the boss retained his hold on the county and the +city council. And, in spite of all that was done, Cox remained an +influence in politics until his death, May 20, 1916. + +San Francisco has had a varied and impressive political +experience. The first legislature of California incorporated the +mining town into the city of San Francisco, April 15, 1850. Its +government from the outset was corrupt and inefficient. +Lawlessness culminated in the murder of the editor of the +Bulletin, J. King of William, on May 14, 1856, and a vigilance +committee was organized to clean up the city, and watch the +ballot-box on election day. + +Soon the legislature was petitioned to change the charter. The +petition recites: "Without a change in the city government which +shall diminish the weight of taxation, the city will neither be +able to discharge the interest on debts already contracted, nor +to meet the demands for current disbursements . . . . The present +condition of the streets and public improvements of the city +abundantly attest the total inefficiency of the present system." + +The legislature passed the "Consolidation Act," and from 1856 to +1900 county and city were governed as a political unit. At first +the hopes for more frugal government seemed to be fulfilled. But +all encouraging symptoms soon vanished. Partizan rule followed, +encouraged by the tinkering of the legislature, which imposed on +the charter layer upon layer of amendments, dictated by partizan +craft, not by local needs. The administrative departments were +managed by Boards of Commissioners, under the dictation of "Blind +Boss Buckley," who governed his kingdom for many years with the +despotic benevolence characteristic of his kind. The citizens saw +their money squandered and their public improvements lagging. It +took twenty-five years to complete the City Hall, at a cost of +$5,500,000. An official of the Citizens' Non-partizan party, in +1895, said: "There is no city in the Union with a quarter of a +million people, which would not be the better for a little +judicious hanging." + +The repeated attempts made by citizens of San Francisco to get a +new charter finally succeeded, and in 1900 the city hopefully +entered a new epoch under a charter of its own making which +contained several radical changes. Executive responsibility was +centered in the mayor, fortified by a comprehensive civil +service. The foundations were laid for municipal ownership of +public utilities, and the initiative and referendum were adopted +for all public franchises. The legislative power was vested in a +board of eighteen supervisors elected at large. + +No other American city so dramatically represents the futility of +basing political optimism on a mere plan. It was only a step from +the mediocrity enthroned by the first election under the new +charter to the gross inefficiency and corruption of a new ring, +under a new boss. A Grand Jury (called the "Andrews Jury") made a +report indicating that the administration was trafficking in +favors sold to gamblers, prize-fighters, criminals, and the whole +gamut of the underworld; that illegal profits were being reaped +from illegal contracts, and that every branch of the executive +department was honeycombed with corruption. The Grand Jury +believed and said all this, but it lacked the legal proof upon +which Mayor Schmitz and his accomplices could be indicted. In +spite of this report, Schmitz was reelected in 1905 as the +candidate of the Labor-Union party. + +Now graft in San Francisco became simply universal. George +Kennan, summarizing the practices of the looters, says they "took +toll everywhere from everybody and in almost every imaginable +way: they went into partnership with dishonest contractors; sold +privileges and permits to business men; extorted money from +restaurants and saloons; levied assessments on municipal +employees; shared the profits of houses of prostitution; forced +beer, whiskey, champagne, and cigars on restaurants and saloons +on commission; blackmailed gamblers, pool-sellers, and promoters +of prize-fights; sold franchises to wealthy corporations; created +such municipal bureaus as the commissary department and the city +commercial company in order to make robbery of the city more +easy; leased rooms and buildings for municipal offices at +exorbitant rates, and compelled the lessees to share profits; +held up milkmen, kite-advertisers, junk-dealers, and even +street-sweepers; and took bribes from everybody who wanted an +illegal privilege and was willing to pay for it. The motto of the +administration seemed to be 'Encourage dishonesty, and then let +no dishonest dollar escape.'" + +The machinery through which this was effected was simple: the +mayor had vast appointing powers and by this means directly +controlled all the city departments. But the mayor was only an +automaton. Back of him was Abe Ruef, the Boss, an unscrupulous +lawyer who had wormed his way into the labor party, and +manipulated the "leaders" like puppets. Ruef's game also was +elementary. He sold his omnipotence for cash, either under the +respectable cloak of "retainer" or under the more common device +of commissions and dividends, so that thugs retained him for +their freedom, contractors for the favors they expected, and +public service corporations for their franchises. + +Finally, through the persistence of a few private citizens, a +Grand Jury was summoned. Under the foremanship of B. P. Oliver it +made a thorough investigation. Francis J. Heney was employed as +special prosecutor and William J. Burns as detective. Heney and +Burns formed an aggressive team. The Ring proved as vulnerable as +it was rotten. Over three hundred indictments were returned, +involving persons in every walk of life. Ruef was sentenced to +fourteen years in the penitentiary. Schmitz was freed on a +technicality, after being found guilty and sentenced to five +years. Most of the other indictments were not tried, the +prosecutor's attention having been diverted to the trail of the +franchise-seekers, who have thus far eluded conviction. + +Minneapolis, a city blending New England traditions with +Scandinavian thrift, illustrates, in its experiences with "Doc" +Ames, the maneuvers of the peripatetic boss. Ames was four times +mayor of the city, but never his own successor. Each succeeding +experience with him grew more lurid of indecency, until his third +term was crystallized in Minneapolis tradition as "the notorious +Ames administration." Domestic scandal made him a social outcast, +political corruption a byword, and Ames disappeared from public +view for ten years. + +In 1900 a new primary law provided the opportunity to return him +to power for the fourth time. Ames, who had been a Democrat, now +found it convenient to become a Republican. The new law, like +most of the early primary laws, permitted members of one party to +vote in the primaries of the other party. So Ames's following, +estimated at about fifteen hundred, voted in the Republican +primaries, and he became a regular candidate of that party in a +presidential year, when citizens felt the special urge to vote +for the party. + +Ames was the type of boss with whom discipline is secondary to +personal aggrandizement. He had a passion for popularity; was +imposing of presence; possessed considerable professional skill; +and played constantly for the support of the poor. The attacks +upon him he turned into political capital by saying that he was +made a victim by the rich because he championed the poor. +Susceptible to flattery and fond of display, he lacked the power +to command. He had followers, not henchmen. His following was +composed of the lowly, who were duped by his phrases, and of +criminals, who knew his bent; and they followed him into any +party whither he found it convenient to go, Republican, +Democratic, or Populist. + +The charter of Minneapolis gave the mayor considerable appointing +power. He was virtually the dictator of the Police Department. +This was the great opportunity of Ames and his floating vote. His +own brother, a weak individual with a dubious record, was made +Chief of Police. Within a few weeks about one-half of the police +force was discharged, and the places filled with men who could be +trusted by the gang. The number of detectives was increased and +an ex-gambler placed at their head. A medical student from Ames's +office was commissioned a special policeman to gather loot from +the women of the street. + +Through a telepathy of their own, the criminal classes all over +the country soon learned of the favorable conditions in +Minneapolis, under which every form of gambling and low vice +flourished; and burglars, pickpockets, safe-blowers, and harlots +made their way thither. Mr. W. A. Frisbie, the editor of a +leading Minneapolis paper, described the situation in the +following words: "It is no exaggeration to say that in this +period fully 99% of the police department's efficiency was +devoted to the devising and enforcing of blackmail. Ordinary +patrolmen on beats feared to arrest known criminals for fear the +prisoners would prove to be 'protected'. . . .The horde of +detective favorites hung lazily about police headquarters, +waiting for some citizen to make complaint of property stolen, +only that they might enforce additional blackmail against the +thief, or possibly secure the booty for themselves. One detective +is now [1903] serving time in the state prison for retaining a +stolen diamond pin." + +The mayor thought he had a machine for grinding blackmail from +every criminal operation in his city, but he had only a gang, +without discipline or coordinating power, and weakened by +jealousy and suspicion. The wonder is that it lasted fifteen +months. Then came the "April Grand Jury," under the foremanship +of a courageous and resourceful business man. The regime of +criminals crumbled; forty-nine indictments, involving twelve +persons, were returned. + +The Grand Jury, however, at first stood alone in its +investigations. The crowd of politicians and vultures were +against it, and no appropriations were granted for getting +evidence. So its members paid expenses out of their own pockets, +and its foreman himself interviewed prisoners and discovered the +trail that led to the Ring's undoing. Ames's brother was +convicted on second trial and sentenced to six and a half years +in the penitentiary, while two of his accomplices received +shorter terms. Mayor Ames, under indictment and heavy bonds, fled +to Indiana. + +The President of the City Council, a business man of education, +tact, and sincerity, became mayor, for an interim of four months; +enough time, as it proved, for him to return the city to its +normal political life. + +These examples are sufficient to illustrate the organization and +working of the municipal machine. It must not be imagined by the +reader that these cities alone, and a few others made notorious +by the magazine muck-rakers, are the only American cities that +have developed oligarchies. In truth, not a single American city, +great or small, has entirely escaped, for a greater or lesser +period, the sway of a coterie of politicians. It has not always +been a corrupt sway; but it has rarely, if ever, given efficient +administration. + +Happily there are not wanting signs that the general conditions +which have fostered the Ring are disappearing. The period of +reform set in about 1890, when people began to be interested in +the study of municipal government. It was not long afterwards +that the first authoritative books on the subject appeared. Then +colleges began to give courses in municipal government; editors +began to realize the public's concern in local questions and to +discuss neighborhood politics as well as national politics. By +1900 a new era broke--the era of the Grand Jury. Nothing so +hopeful in local politics had occurred in our history as the +disclosures which followed. They provoked the residuum of +conscience in the citizenry and the determination that honesty +should rule in public business and politics as well as in private +transactions. The Grand Jury inquisitions, however, demonstrated +clearly that the criminal law was no remedy for municipal +misrule. The great majority of floaters and illegal voters who +were indicted never faced a trial jury. The results of the +prosecutions for bribery and grosser political crimes were +scarcely more encouraging. It is true that one Abe Ruef in a +California penitentiary is worth untold sermons, editorials, and +platform admonitions, and serves as a potent warning to all +public malefactors. Yet the example is soon forgotten; and the +people return to their former political habits. + +But out of this decade of gang-hunting and its impressive +experiences with the shortcomings of our criminal laws came the +new municipal era which we have now fully entered, the era of +enlightened administration. This new era calls for a +reconstruction of the city government. Its principal feature is +the rapid spread of the Galveston or Commission form of +government and of its modification, the City Manager plan, the +aim of which is to centralize governmental authority and to +entice able men into municipal office. And there are many other +manifestations of the new civic spirit. The mesmeric influence of +national party names in civic politics is waning; the rise of +home rule for the city is severing the unholy alliance between +the legislature and the local Ring; the power to grant franchises +is being taken away from legislative bodies and placed directly +with the people; nominations are passing out of the hands of +cliques and are being made the gift of the voters through +petitions and primaries; efficient reforms in the taxing and +budgetary machinery have been instituted, and the development of +the merit system in the civil service is creating a class of +municipal experts beyond the reach of political gangsters. + +There have sprung up all sorts of collateral organizations to +help the officials: societies for municipal research, municipal +reference libraries, citizens' unions, municipal leagues, and +municipal parties. These are further supplemented by +organizations which indirectly add to the momentum of practical, +enlightened municipal sentiment: boards of commerce, associations +of business and professional men of every variety, women's clubs, +men's clubs, children's clubs, recreation clubs, social clubs, +every one with its own peculiar vigilance upon some corner of the +city's affairs. So every important city is guarded by a network +of voluntary organizations. + +All these changes in city government, in municipal laws and +political mechanisms, and in the people's attitude toward their +cities, have tended to dignify municipal service. The city job +has been lifted to a higher plane. Lord Rosebery, the brilliant +chairman of the first London County Council, the governing body +of the world's largest city, said many years ago: "I wish that my +voice could extend to every municipality in the kingdom, and +impress upon every man, however high his position, however great +his wealth, however consummate his talents may be, the importance +and nobility of municipal work." It is such a spirit as this that +has made the government of Glasgow a model of democratic +efficiency; and it is the beginnings of this spirit that the +municipal historian finds developing in the last twenty years of +American life. It is indeed difficult to see how our cities can +slip back again into the clutches of bosses and rings and repeat +the shameful history of the last decades of the nineteenth +century. + + + +CHAPTER VII. LEGISLATIVE OMNIPOTENCE + +The American people, when they wrote their first state +constitutions, were filled with a profound distrust of executive +authority, the offspring of their experience with the arbitrary +King George. So they saw to it that the executive authority in +their own government was reduced to its lowest terms, and that +the legislative authority, which was presumed to represent the +people, was exalted to legal omnipotence. In the original States, +the legislature appointed many of the judicial and administrative +officers; it was above the executive veto; it had political +supremacy; it determined the form of local governments and +divided the State into election precincts; it appointed the +delegates to the Continental Congress, towards which it displayed +the attitude of a sovereign. It was altogether the most important +arm of the state government; in fact it virtually was the state +government. The Federal Constitution created a government of +specified powers, reserving to the States all authority not +expressly given to the central government. Congress can legislate +only on subjects permitted by the Constitution; on the other +hand, a state legislature can legislate on any subject not +expressly forbidden. The state legislature possesses authority +over a far wider range of subjects than Congress--subjects, +moreover, which press much nearer to the daily activities of the +citizens, such as the wide realm of private law, personal +relations, local government, and property. + +In the earlier days, men of first-class ability, such as +Alexander Hamilton, Samuel Adams, and James Madison, did not +disdain membership in the state legislatures. But the development +of party spirit and machine politics brought with it a great +change. Then came the legislative caucus; and party politics soon +reigned in every capital. As the legislature was ruled by the +majority, the dominant party elected presiding officers, +designated committees, appointed subordinates, and controlled +lawmaking. The party was therefore in a position to pay its +political debts and bestow upon its supporters valuable favors. +Further, as the legislature apportioned the various electoral +districts, the dominant party could, by means of the gerrymander, +entrench itself even in unfriendly localities. And, to crown its +political power, it elected United States Senators. But, as the +power of the party increased, unfortunately the personnel of the +legislature deteriorated. Able men, as a rule, shunned a service +that not only took them from their private affairs for a number +of months, but also involved them in partizan rivalries and +trickeries. Gradually the people came to lose confidence in the +legislative body and to put their trust more in the Executive or +else reserved governmental powers to themselves. It was about +1835 that the decline of the legislature's powers set in, when +new state constitutions began to clip its prerogatives, one after +another. + +The bulky constitutions now adopted by most of the States are +eloquent testimony to the complete collapse of the legislature as +an administrative body and to the people's general distrust of +their chosen representatives. The initiative, referendum, recall, +and the withholding of important subjects from the legislature's +power, are among the devices intended to free the people from the +machinations of their wilful representatives. + +Now, most of the evils which these heroic measures have sought to +remedy can be traced directly to the partizan ownership of the +state legislature. The boss controlling the members of the +legislature could not only dole out his favors to the privilege +seekers; he could assuage the greed of the municipal ring; and +could, to a lesser degree, command federal patronage by an +entente cordiale with congressmen and senators; and through his +power in presidential conventions and elections he had a direct +connection with the presidential office itself. + +It was in the days before the legislature was prohibited from +granting, by special act, franchises and charters, when banks, +turnpike companies, railroads, and all sorts of corporations came +asking for charters, that the figure of the lobbyist first +appeared. He acted as a middleman between the seeker and the +giver. The preeminent figure of this type in state and +legislative politics for several decades preceding the Civil War +was Thurlow Weed of New York. As an influencer of legislatures, +he stands easily first in ability and achievement. His great +personal attractions won him willing followers whom he knew how +to use. He was party manager, as well as lobbyist and boss in a +real sense long before that term was coined. His capacity for +politics amounted to genius. He never sought office; and his +memory has been left singularly free from taint. He became the +editor of the Albany Journal and made it the leading Whig +"up-state" paper. His friend Seward, whom he had lifted into the +Governor's chair, passed on to the United States Senate; and when +Horace Greeley with the New York Tribune joined their forces, +this potent triumvirate ruled the Empire State. Greeley was its +spokesman, Seward its leader, but Weed was its designer. From his +room No. 11 in the old Astor House, he beckoned to forces that +made or unmade presidents, governors, ambassadors, congressmen, +judges, and legislators. + +With the tremendous increase of business after the Civil War, New +York City became the central office of the nation's business, and +many of the interests centered there found it wise to have +permanent representatives at Albany to scrutinize every bill that +even remotely touched their welfare, to promote legislation that +was frankly in their favor, and to prevent "strikes"--the bills +designed for blackmail. After a time, however, the number of +"strikes" decreased, as well as the number of lobbyists attending +the session. The corporate interests had learned efficiency. +Instead of dealing with legislators individually, they arranged +with the boss the price of peace or of desirable legislation. The +boss transmitted his wishes to his puppets. This form of +government depends upon a machine that controls the legislature. +In New York both parties were moved by machines. "Tom" Platt was +the "easy boss" of the Republicans; and Tammany and its +"up-state" affiliations controlled the Democrats. "Right here," +says Platt in his Autobiography (1910), "it may be appropriate to +say that I have had more or less to do with the organization of +the New York legislature since 1873." He had. For forty years he +practically named the Speaker and committees when his party won, +and he named the price when his party lost. All that an +"interest" had to do, under the new plan, was to "see the boss," +and the powers of government were delivered into its lap. + +Some of this legislative bargaining was revealed in the insurance +investigation of 1905, conducted by the Armstrong Committee with +Charles E. Hughes as counsel. Officers of the New York Life +Insurance Company testified that their company had given $50,000 +to the Republican campaign of 1904. An item of $235,000, +innocently charged to "Home office annex account," was traced to +the hands of a notorious lobbyist at Albany. Three insurance +companies had paid regularly $50,000 each to the Republican +campaign fund. Boss Platt himself was compelled reluctantly to +relate how he had for fifteen years received ten one thousand +dollar bundles of greenbacks from the Equitable Life as +"consideration" for party goods delivered. John A. McCall, +President of the New York Life, said: "I don't care about the +Republican side of it or the Democratic side of it. It doesn't +count at all with me. What is best for the New York Life moves +and actuates me." + +In another investigation Mr. H. O. Havemeyer of the Sugar Trust +said: "We have large interests in this State; we need police +protection and fire protection; we need everything that the city +furnishes and gives, and we have to support these things. Every +individual and corporation and firm--trust or whatever you call +it--does these things and we do them." No distinction is made, +then, between the government that ought to furnish this +"protection" and the machine that sells it! + +No episode in recent political history shows better the relations +of the legislature to the political machine and the great power +of invisible government than the impeachment and removal of +Governor William Sulzer in 1913. Sulzer had been four times +elected to the legislature. He served as Speaker in 1893. He was +sent to Congress by an East Side district in New York City in +1895 and served continuously until his nomination for Governor of +New York in 1912. All these years he was known as a Tammany man. +During his campaign for Governor he made many promises for +reform, and after his election he issued a bombastic declaration +of independence. His words were discounted in the light of his +previous record. Immediately after his inauguration, however, he +began a house-cleaning. He set to work an economy and efficiency +commission; he removed a Tammany superintendent of prisons; made +unusually good appointments without paying any attention to the +machine; and urged upon the legislature vigorous and vital laws. + +But the Tammany party had a large working majority in both +houses, and the changed Sulzer was given no support. The crucial +moment came when an emasculated primary law was handed to him for +his signature. An effective primary law had been a leading +campaign issue, all the parties being pledged to such an +enactment. The one which the Governor was now requested to sign +had been framed by the machine to suit its pleasure. The Governor +vetoed it. The legislature adjourned on the 3rd of May. The +Governor promptly reconvened it in extra session (June 7th) for +the purpose of passing an adequate primary law. Threats that had +been made against him by the machine now took form. An +investigating committee, appointed by the Senate to examine the +Governor's record, largely by chance happened upon "pay dirt," +and early on the morning of the 13th of August, after an +all-night session, the Assembly passed a motion made by its +Tammany floor leader to impeach the Governor. + +The articles of impeachment charged: first, that the Governor had +filed a false report of his campaign expenses; second, that since +he had made such statement under oath he was guilty of perjury; +third, that he had bribed witnesses to withhold testimony from +the investigating committee; fourth, that he had used threats in +suppression of evidence before the same tribunal; fifth, that he +had persuaded a witness from responding to the committee's +subpoena; sixth, that he had used campaign contributions for +private speculation in the stock market; seventh, that he had +used his power as Governor to influence the political action of +certain officials; lastly, that he had used this power for +affecting the stock market to his gain. + +Unfortunately for the Governor, the first, second, and sixth +charges had a background of facts, although the rest were +ridiculous and trivial. By a vote of 43 to 12 he was removed from +the governorship. The proceeding was not merely an impeachment of +New York's Governor. It was an impeachment of its government. +Every citizen knew that if Sulzer had obeyed Murphy, his +shortcomings would never have been his undoing. + +The great commonwealth of Pennsylvania was for sixty years under +the domination of the House of Cameron and the House of Quay. +Simon Cameron's entry into public notoriety was symbolic of his +whole career. In 1838, he was one of a commission of two to +disburse to the Winnebago Indians at Prairie du Chien $100,000 in +gold. But, instead of receiving gold, the poor Indians received +only a few thousand dollars in the notes of a bank of which +Cameron was the cashier. Cameron was for this reason called "the +Great Winnebago." He built a large fortune by canal and railway +contracts, and later by rolling-mills and furnaces. He was one +of the first men in American politics to purchase political power +by the lavish use of cash, and to use political power for the +gratification of financial greed. In 1857 he was elected to the +United States Senate as a Republican by a legislature in which +the Democrats had a majority. Three Democrats voted for him, and +so bitter was the feeling against the renegade trio that no hotel +in Harrisburg would shelter them. + +In 1860 he was a candidate for the Republican presidential +nomination. President Lincoln made him Secretary of War. But his +management was so ill-savored that a committee of leading +business men from the largest cities of the country told the +President that it was impossible to transact business with such a +man. These complaints coupled with other considerations moved +Lincoln to dismiss Cameron. He did so in characteristic fashion. +On January 11, 1862, he sent Cameron a curt note saying that he +proposed to appoint him minister to Russia. And thither into +exile Cameron went. A few months later, the House of +Representatives passed a resolution of censure, citing Cameron's +employment of irresponsible persons and his purchase of supplies +by private contract instead of competitive bidding. The +resolution, however, was later expunged from the records; and +Cameron, on his return from Russia, again entered the Senate +under circumstances so suspicious that only the political +influence of the boss thwarted an action for bribery. In 1877 he +resigned, naming as his successor his son "Don," who was promptly +elected. + +In the meantime another personage had appeared on the scene. +"Cameron made the use of money an essential to success in +politics, but Quay made politics expensive beyond the most +extravagant dreams." From the time he arrived of age until his +death, with the exception of three or four years, Matthew S. Quay +held public office. When the Civil War broke out, he had been for +some time prothonotary of Beaver County, and during the war he +served as Governor Curtin's private secretary. In 1865 he was +elected to the legislature. In 1877 he induced the legislature to +resurrect the discarded office of Recorder of Philadelphia, and +for two years he collected the annual fees of $40,000. In 1887 he +was elected to the United States Senate, in which he remained +except for a brief interval until his death. + +In 1899 came revelations of Quay's substantial interests in state +moneys. The suicide of the cashier of the People's Bank of +Philadelphia, which was largely owned by politicians and was a +favorite depository of state funds, led to an investigation of +the bank's affairs, and disclosed the fact that Quay and some of +his associates had used state funds for speculation. Quay's +famous telegram to the cashier was found among the dead +official's papers, "If you can buy and carry a thousand Met. for +me I will shake the plum tree." + +Quay was indicted, but escaped trial by pleading the statute of +limitations as preventing the introduction of necessary evidence +against him. A great crowd of shouting henchmen accosted him as a +hero when he left the courtroom, and escorted him to his hotel. +And the legislature soon thereafter elected him to his third term +in the Senate. + +Pittsburgh, as well as Philadelphia, had its machine which was +carefully geared to Quay's state machine. The connection was made +clear by the testimony of William Flinn, a contractor boss, +before a committee of the United States Senate. Flinn explained +the reason for a written agreement between Quay on the one hand +and Flinn and one Brown in behalf of Chris Magee, the Big Boss, +on the other, for the division of the sovereignty of western +Pennsylvania. "Senator Quay told me," said Flinn, "that he would +not permit us to elect the Republican candidate for mayor in +Pittsburgh unless we adjust the politics to suit him." The +people evidently had nothing to say about it. + +The experiences of New York and Pennsylvania are by no means +isolated; they are illustrative. Very few States have escaped a +legislative scandal. In particular, Rhode Island, Delaware, +Illinois, Colorado, Montana, California, Ohio, Mississippi, Texas +can give pertinent testimony to the willingness of legislatures +to prostitute their great powers to the will of the boss or the +machine. + + + +CHAPTER VIII. THE NATIONAL HIERARCHY + +American political maneuver culminates at Washington. The +Presidency and membership in the Senate and the House of +Representatives are the great stakes. By a venerable tradition, +scrupulously followed, the judicial department is kept beyond the +reach of party greed. + +The framers of the Constitution believed that they had contrived +a method of electing the President and Vice-President which would +preserve the choice from partizan taint. Each State should choose +a number of electors "equal to the whole number of Senators and +Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the +Congress." These electors were to form an independent body, to +meet in their respective States and "ballot for two persons," and +send the result of their balloting to the Capitol, where the +President of the Senate, in the presence of the Senate and the +House of Representatives, opened the certificates and counted the +votes. The one receiving the greatest number of votes was to be +declared elected President, the one receiving the next highest +number of votes, Vice-President. George Washington was the only +President elected by such an autonomous group. The election of +John Adams was bitterly contested, and the voters knew, when they +were casting their ballots in 1796, whether they were voting for +a Federalist or a Jeffersonian. From that day forward this +greatest of political prizes has been awarded through partizan +competition. In 1804 the method of selecting the Vice-President +was changed by the twelfth constitutional amendment. The electors +since that time ballot for President and Vice-President. Whatever +may be the legal privileges of the members of the Electoral +College, they are considered, by the voters, as agents of the +party upon whose tickets their names appear, and to abuse this +relationship would universally be deemed an act of perfidy. + +The Constitution permits the legislatures of the States to +determine how the electors shall be chosen. In the earlier +period, the legislatures elected them; later they were elected by +the people; sometimes they were elected at large, but usually +they were chosen by districts. And this is now the general +custom. Since the development of direct nominations, there has +been a strong movement towards the abolition of the Electoral +College and the election of the President by direct vote. + +The President is the most powerful official in our government and +in many respects he is the most powerful ruler in the world. He +is Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy. His is virtually the +sole responsibility in conducting international relations. He is +at the head of the civil administration and all the important +administrative departments are answerable to him. He possesses a +vast power of appointment through which he dispenses political +favors. His wish is potent in shaping legislation and his veto is +rarely overridden. With Congress he must be in daily contact; for +the Senate has the power of ratifying or discarding his +appointments and of sanctioning or rejecting his treaties with +foreign countries; and the House of Representatives originates +all money bills and thus possesses a formidable check upon +executive usurpation. + +The Constitution originally reposed the choice of United States +Senators with the state legislatures. A great deal of virtue was +to flow from such an indirect election. The members of the +legislature were presumed to act with calm judgment and to choose +only the wise and experienced for the dignity of the toga. And +until the period following the Civil War the great majority of +the States delighted to send their ablest statesmen to the +Senate. Upon its roll we find the names of many of our +illustrious orators and jurists. After the Civil War, when the +spirit of commercialism invaded every activity, men who were +merely rich began to aspire to senatorial honors. The debauch of +the state legislatures which was revealed in the closing year of +the nineteenth century and the opening days of the twentieth so +revolted the people that the seventeenth constitutional amendment +was adopted (1913) providing for the election of senators by +direct vote. + +The House of Representatives was designed to be the "popular +house." Its election from small districts, by direct vote, every +two years is a guarantee of its popular character. From this +characteristic it has never departed. It is the People's House. +It originates all revenue measures. On its floor, in the rough +and tumble of debate, partizan motives are rarely absent. + +Upon this national tripod, the Presidency, the Senate, and the +House, is builded the vast national party machine. Every citizen +is familiar with the outer aspect of these great national parties +as they strive in placid times to create a real issue of the +tariff, or imperialism, or what not, so as to establish at least +an ostensible difference between them; or as they, in critical +times, make the party name synonymous with national security. The +high-sounding platforms, the frenzied orators, the parades, mass +meetings, special trains, pamphlets, books, editorials, +lithographs, posters--all these paraphernalia are conjured up in +the voter's mind when he reads the words Democratic and +Republican. + +But, from the standpoint of the professional politician, all this +that the voter sees is a mask, the patriotic veneer to hide the +machine, that complex hierarchy of committees ranging from +Washington to every cross-roads in the Republic. The committee +system, described in a former chapter, was perfected by the +Republican party during the days of the Civil War, under the +stress of national necessity. The great party leaders were then +in Congress. When the assassination of Lincoln placed Andrew +Johnson in power, the bitter quarrel between Congress and the +President firmly united the Republicans; and in order to carry +the mid-election in 1866, they organized a Congressional Campaign +Committee to conduct the canvass. This practice has been +continued by both parties, and in "off" years it plays a very +prominent part in the party campaign. Congress alone, however, +was only half the conquest. It was only through control of the +Administration that access was gained to the succulent herbage of +federal pasturage and that vast political prestige with the voter +was achieved. + +The President is nominally the head of his party. In reality he +may not be; he may be only the President. That depends upon his +personality, his desires, his hold upon Congress and upon the +people, and upon the circumstances of the hour. During the Grant +Administration, as already described, there existed, in every +sense of the term, a federal machine. It held Congress, the +Executive, and the vast federal patronage in its power. All the +federal office-holders, all the postmasters and their assistants, +revenue collectors, inspectors, clerks, marshals, deputies, +consuls, and ambassadors were a part of the organization, +contributing to its maintenance. We often hear today of the +"Federal Crowd," a term used to describe such appointees as still +subsist on presidential and senatorial favor. In Grant's time, +this "crowd" was a genuine machine, constructed, unlike some of +its successors, from the center outward. But the "boss" of this +machine was not the President. It was controlled by a group of +leading Congressmen, who used their power for dictating +appointments and framing "desirable" legislation. Grant, in the +imagination of the people, symbolized the cause their sacrifices +had won; and thus his moral prestige became the cloak of the +political plotters. + +A number of the ablest men in the Republican party, however, +stood aloof; and by 1876 a movement against the manipulators had +set in. Civil service reform had become a real issue. Hayes, the +"dark horse" who was nominated in that year, declared, in +accepting the nomination, that "reform should be thorough, +radical, and complete." He promised not to be a candidate for a +second term, thus avoiding the temptation, to which almost every +President has succumbed, of using the patronage to secure his +reelection. The party managers pretended not to hear these +promises. And when Hayes, after his inauguration, actually began +to put them into force, they set the whole machinery of the party +against the President. Matters came to a head when the President +issued an order commanding federal office-holders to refrain from +political activity. This order was generally defied, especially +in New York City in the post-office and customs rings. Two +notorious offenders, Cornell and Arthur, were dismissed from +office by the President. But the Senate, influenced by Roscoe +Conkling's power, refused to confirm the President's new +appointees; and under the Tenure of Office Act, which had been +passed to tie President Johnson's hands, the offenders remained +in office over a year. The fight disciplined the President and +the machine in about equal proportions. The President became more +amenable and the machine less arbitrary. + +President Garfield attempted the impossible feat of obliging both +the politicians and the reformers. He was persuaded to make +nominations to federal offices in New York without consulting +either of the senators from that State, Conkling and Platt. +Conkling appealed to the Senate to reject the New York appointees +sent in by the President. The Senate failed to sustain him. +Conkling and his colleague Platt resigned from the Senate and +appealed to the New York legislature, which also refused to +sustain them. + +While this absurd farce was going on, a more serious ferment was +brewing. On July 2, 1881, President Garfield was assassinated by +a disappointed office-seeker named Guiteau. The attention of the +people was suddenly turned from the ridiculous diversion of the +Conkling incident to the tragedy and its cause. They saw the +chief office in their gift a mere pawn in the game of +place-seekers, the time and energy of their President wasted in +bickerings with congressmen over petty appointments, and the +machinery of their Government dominated by the machinery of the +party for ignoble or selfish ends. + +At last the advocates of reform found their opportunity. In 1883 +the Civil Service Act was passed, taking from the President about +14,000 appointments. Since then nearly every President, towards +the end of his term, especially his second term, has added to the +numbers, until nearly two-thirds of the federal offices are now +filled by examination. President Cleveland during his second term +made sweeping additions. President Roosevelt found about 100,000 +in the classified service and left 200,000. President Taft, +before his retirement, placed in the classified service assistant +postmasters and clerks in first and second-class postoffices, +about 42,000 rural delivery carriers, and over 20,000 skilled +workers in the navy yards. + +The appointing power of the President, however, still remains the +principal point of his contact with the machine. He has, of +course, other means of showing partizan favors. Tariff laws, laws +regulating interstate commerce, reciprocity treaties, "pork +barrels," pensions, financial policies, are all pregnant with +political possibilities. + +The second official unit in the national political hierarchy is +the House of Representatives, controlling the pursestrings, which +have been the deadly noose of many executive measures. The House +is elected every two years, so that it may ever be "near to the +people"! This produces a reflex not anticipated by the Fathers of +the Constitution. It gives the representative brief respite from +the necessities of politics, and hence little time for the +necessities of the State. + +The House attained the zenith of its power when it arraigned +President Johnson at the bar of the Senate for high crimes and +misdemeanors in office. It had shackled his appointing power by +the Tenure of Office Act; it had forced its plan of +reconstruction over his veto; and now it led him, dogged and +defiant, to a political trial. Within a few years the character +of the House changed. A new generation interested in the issues +of prosperity, rather than those of the war, entered public life. +The House grew unwieldy in size and its business increased +alarmingly. The minority, meanwhile, retained the power, through +filibustering, to hold up the business of the country. + +It was under such conditions that Speaker Reed, in 1890, crowned +himself "Czar" by compelling a quorum. This he did by counting as +actually present all members whom the clerk reported as "present +but not voting." The minority fought desperately for its last +privilege and even took a case to the Supreme Court to test the +constitutionality of a law passed by a Reed-made quorum. The +court concurred with the sensible opinion of the country that +"when the quorum is present, it is there for the purpose of doing +business," an opinion that was completely vindicated when the +Democratic minority became a majority and adopted the rule for +its own advantage. + +By this ruling, the Speakership was lifted to a new eminence. The +party caucus, which nominated the Speaker, and to which momentous +party questions were referred, gave solidarity to the party. But +the influence of the Speaker, through his power of appointing +committees, of referring bills, of recognizing members who wished +to participate in debate, insured that discipline and centralized +authority which makes mass action effective. The power of the +Speaker was further enlarged by the creation of the Rules +Committee, composed of the Speaker and two members from each +party designated by him. This committee formed a triumvirate (the +minority members were merely formal members) which set the limits +of debate, proposed special rules for such occasions as the +committee thought proper, and virtually determined the destiny of +bills. So it came about, as Bryce remarks, that the choice of the +Speaker was "a political event of the highest significance." + +It was under the regency of Speaker Cannon that the power of the +Speaker's office attained its climax. The Republicans had a large +majority in the House and the old war-horses felt like colts. +They assumed their leadership, however, with that obliviousness +to youth which usually characterizes old age. The gifted and +attractive Reed had ruled often by aphorism and wit, but the +unimaginative Cannon ruled by the gavel alone; and in the course +of time he and his clique of veterans forgot entirely the +difference between power and leadership. + +Even party regularity could not long endure such tyranny. It was +not against party organization that the insurgents finally raised +their lances, but against the arbitrary use of the machinery of +the organization by a small group of intrenched "standpatters." +The revolt began during the debate on the Payne-Aldrich tariff, +and in the campaign of 1908 "Cannonism" was denounced from the +stump in every part of the country. By March, 1910, the +insurgents were able, with the aid of the Democrats, to amend the +rules, increasing the Committee on Rules to ten to be elected by +the House and making the Speaker ineligible for membership. When +the Democrats secured control of the House in the following year, +the rules were revised, and the selection of all committees is +now determined by a Committee on Committees chosen in party +caucus. This change shifts arbitrary power from the shoulders of +the Speaker to the shoulders of the party chieftains. The power +of the Speaker has been lessened but by no means destroyed. He is +still the party chanticleer. + +The political power of the House, however, cannot be calculated +without admitting to the equation the Senate, the third official +unit, and, indeed, the most powerful factor in the national +hierarchy. The Senate shares equally with the House the +responsibility of lawmaking, and shares with the President the +responsibility of appointments and of treaty-making. It has been +the scene of many memorable contests with the President for +political control. The senators are elder statesmen, who have +passed through the refining fires of experience, either in law, +business, or politics. A senator is elected for six years; so +that he has a period of rest between elections, in which he may +forget his constituents in the ardor of his duties. + +Within the last few decades a great change has come over the +Senate, over its membership, its attitude towards public +questions, and its relation to the electorate. This has been +brought about through disclosures tending to show the relations +on the part of some senators towards "big business." As early as +the Granger revelations of railway machinations in politics, in +the seventies, a popular distrust of the Senate became +pronounced. No suggestion of corruption was implied, but certain +senators were known as "railway senators," and were believed to +use their partizan influence in their friends' behalf. This +feeling increased from year to year, until what was long +suspected came suddenly to light, through an entirely unexpected +agency. William Randolph Hearst, a newspaper owner who had in +vain attempted to secure a nomination for President by the +Democrats and to get himself elected Governor of New York, had +organized and financed a party of his own, the Independence +League. While speaking in behalf of his party, in the fall of +1908, he read extracts from letters written by an official of the +Standard Oil Company to various senators. The letters, it later +appeared, had been purloined from the Company's files by a +faithless employee. They caused a tremendous sensation. The +public mind had become so sensitive that the mere fact that an +intimacy existed between the most notorious of trusts and some +few United States senators--the correspondents called each other +"Dear John," "Dear Senator," etc.--was sufficient to arouse the +general wrath. The letters disclosed a keen interest on the part +of the corporation in the details of legislation, and the public +promptly took the Standard Oil Company as a type. They believed, +without demanding tangible proof, that other great corporations +were, in some sinister manner, influencing legislation. +Railroads, insurance companies, great banking concerns, vast +industrial corporations, were associated in the public mind as +"the Interests." And the United States Senate was deemed the +stronghold of the interests. A saturnalia of senatorial +muckraking now laid bare the "oligarchy," as the small group of +powerful veteran Senators who controlled the senatorial machinery +was called. It was disclosed that the centralization of +leadership in the Senate coincided with the centralization of +power in the Democratic and Republican national machines. In 1911 +and 1912 a "money trust" investigation was conducted by the +Senate and a comfortable entente was revealed between a group of +bankers, insurance companies, manufacturers, and other interests, +carried on through an elaborate system of interlocking +directorates. Finally, in 1912, the Senate ordered its Committee +on Privileges and Elections to investigate campaign contributions +paid to the national campaign committees in 1904, 1908, and 1912. +The testimony taken before this committee supplied the country +with authentic data of the interrelations of Big Business and Big +Politics. + +The revolt against "Cannonism" in the House had its counterpart +in the Senate. By the time the Aldrich tariff bill came to a vote +(1909), about ten Republican senators rebelled. The revolt +gathered momentum and culminated in 1912 in the organization of +the National Progressive party with Theodore Roosevelt as its +candidate for President and Hiram Johnson of California for Vice- +President. The majority of the Progressives returned to the +Republican fold in 1916. But the rupture was not healed, and the +Democrats reelected Woodrow Wilson. + + + +CHAPTER IX. THE AWAKENING + +In the early days a ballot was simply a piece of paper with the +names of the candidates written or printed on it. As party +organizations became more ambitious, the party printed its own +ballots, and "scratching" was done by pasting gummed stickers, +with the names of the substitutes printed on them, over the +regular ballot, or by simply striking out a name and writing +another one in its place. It was customary to print the different +party tickets on different colored paper, so that the judges in +charge of the ballot boxes could tell how the men voted. When +later laws required all ballots to be printed on white paper and +of the same size, the parties used paper of different texture. +Election officials could then tell by the "feel" which ticket was +voted. Finally paper of the same color and quality was enjoined +by some States. But it was not until the State itself undertook +to print the ballots that uniformity was secured. + +In the meantime the peddling of tickets was a regular occupation +on election day. Canvassers invaded homes and places of business, +and even surrounded the voting place. It was the custom in many +parts of the country for the voters to prepare the ballots before +reaching the voting place and carry them in the vest pocket, with +a margin showing. This was a sort of signal that the voter's mind +had been made up and that he should be let alone, yet even with +this signal showing, in hotly contested elections the voter ran a +noisy gauntlet of eager solicitors, harassing him on his way to +vote as cab drivers assail the traveler when he alights from the +train. This free and easy method, tolerable in sparsely settled +pioneer districts, failed miserably in the cities. It was +necessary to pass rigorous laws against vote buying and selling, +and to clear the polling-place of all partizan soliciting. Penal +provisions were enacted against intimidation, violence, +repeating, false swearing when challenged, ballot-box stuffing, +and the more patent forms of partizan vices. In order to stop the +practice of "repeating," New York early passed laws requiring +voters to be duly registered. But the early laws were defective, +and the rolls were easily padded. In most of the cities poll +lists were made by the party workers, and the name of each voter +was checked off as he voted. It was still impossible for the +voter to keep secret his ballot. The buyer of votes could tell +whether he got what he paid for; the employer, so disposed, could +bully those dependent on him into voting as he wished, and the +way was open to all manner of tricks in the printing of ballots +with misleading emblems, or with certain names omitted, or with a +mixture of candidates from various parties--tricks that were +later forbidden by law but were none the less common. + +Rather suddenly a great change came over election day. In 1888 +Kentucky adopted the Australian ballot for the city of +Louisville, and Massachusetts adopted it for all state and local +elections. The Massachusetts statute provided that before an +election each political party should certify its nominees to the +Secretary of the Commonwealth. The State then printed the +ballots. All the nominees of all the parties were printed on one +sheet. Each office was placed in a separate column, the +candidates in alphabetical order, with the names of the parties +following. Blank spaces were left for those who wished to vote +for others than the regular nominees. This form of ballot +prevented "voting straight" with a single mark. The voter, in the +seclusion of a booth at the polling-place, had to pick his +party's candidates from the numerous columns. + +Indiana, in 1889, adopted a similar statute but the ballot had +certain modifications to suit the needs of party orthodoxy. Here +the columns represented parties, not offices. Each party had a +column. Each column was headed by the party name and its device, +so that those who could not read could vote for the Rooster or +the Eagle or the Fountain. There was a circle placed under the +device, and by making his mark in this circle the voter voted +straight. + +Within eight years thirty-eight States and two Territories had +adopted the Australian or blanket ballot in some modified form. +It was but a step to the state control of the election machinery. +Some state officer, usually the Secretary of State, was +designated to see that the election laws were enforced. In New +York a State Commissioner of Elections was appointed. The +appointment of local inspectors and judges remained for a time in +the hands of the parties. But soon in several States even this +power was taken from them, and the trend now is towards +appointing all election officers by the central authority. These +officers also have complete charge of the registration of voters. +In some States, like New York, registration has become a rather +solemn procedure, requiring the answering of many questions and +the signing of the voter's name, all under the threat of perjury +if a wilful misrepresentation is made. + +So passed out of the control of the party the preparation of the +ballot and the use of the ballot on election day. Innumerable +rules have been laid down by the State for the conduct of +elections. The distribution of the ballots, their custody before +election, the order of electional procedure, the counting of the +ballots, the making of returns, the custody of the ballot-boxes, +and all other necessary details, are regulated by law under +official state supervision. The parties are allowed watchers at +the polls, but these have no official standing. + +If a Revolutionary Father could visit his old haunts on election +day, he would be astonished at the sober decorum. In his time +elections lasted three days, days filled with harangue, with +drinking, betting, raillery, and occasional encounters. Even +those whose memory goes back to the Civil War can contrast the +ballot peddling, the soliciting, the crowded noisy +polling-places, with the calm and quiet with which men deposit +their ballots today. For now every ballot is numbered and no one +is permitted to take a single copy from the room. Every voter +must prepare his ballot in the booth. And every polling-place is +an island of immunity in the sea of political excitement. + +While the people were thus assuming control of the ballot, they +were proceeding to gain control of their legislatures. In 1890 +Massachusetts enacted one of the first anti-lobby laws. It has +served as a model for many other States. It provided that the +sergeant-at-arms should keep dockets in which were enrolled the +names of all persons employed as counsel or agents before +legislative committees. Each counsel or agent was further +compelled to state the length of his engagement, the subjects or +bills for which he was employed, and the name and address of his +employer. + +The first session after the passage of this law, many of the +professional lobbyists refused to enroll, and the most notorious +ones were seen no more in the State House. The regular counsel of +railroads, insurance companies, and other interests signed the +proper docket and appeared for their clients in open committee +meetings. + +The law made it the duty of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to +report to the law officers of the State, for prosecution, all +those who failed to comply with the act. Sixty-seven such +delinquents were reported the first year. The Grand Jury refused +to indict them, but the number of recalcitrants has gradually +diminished. + +The experience of Massachusetts is not unique. Other States +passed more or less rigorous anti-lobby laws, and today, in no +state Capitol, will the visitor see the disgusting sights that +were usual thirty years ago--arrogant and coarse professional +"agents" mingling on the floor of the legislature with members, +even suggesting procedure to presiding officers, and not +infrequently commandeering a majority. Such influences, where +they persist, have been driven under cover. + +With the decline of the professional lobbyist came the rise of +the volunteer lobbyist. Important bills are now considered in +formal committee hearings which are well advertised so that +interested parties may be present. Publicity and information have +taken the place of secrecy in legislative procedure. The +gathering of expert testimony by special legislative commissions +of inquiry is now a frequent practice in respect to subjects of +wide social import, such as workmen's compensation, widows' +pensions, and factory conditions. + +A number of States have resorted to the initiative and referendum +as applied to ordinary legislation. By means of this method a +small percentage of the voters, from eight to ten per cent, may +initiate proposals and impose upon the voters the function of +legislation. South Dakota, in 1898, made constitutional provision +for direct legislation. Utah followed in 1900, Oregon in 1902, +Nevada in 1904, Montana in 1906, and Oklahoma in 1907. East of +the Mississippi, several States have adopted a modified form of +the initiative and referendum. In Oregon, where this device of +direct government has been most assiduously applied, the voters +in 1908 voted upon nineteen different bills and constitutional +amendments; in 1910 the number increased to thirty-two; in 1912, +to thirty-seven; in 1914 it fell to twenty-nine. The vote cast +for these measures rarely exceeded eighty per cent of those +voting at the election and frequently fell below sixty. + +The electorate that attempts to rid itself of the evils of the +state legislature by these heroic methods assumes a heavy +responsibility. When the burden of direct legislation is added to +the task of choosing from the long list of elective officers +which is placed before the voter at every local and state +election, it is not surprising that there should set in a +reaction in favor of simplified government. The mere separation +of state and local elections does not solve the problem. It +somewhat minimizes the chances of partizan influence over the +voter in local elections; but the voter is still confronted with +the long lists of candidates for elective offices. Ballots not +infrequently contain two hundred names, sometimes even three +hundred or more, covering candidates of four or five parties for +scores of offices. These blanket ballots are sometimes three feet +long. After an election in Chicago in 1916, one of the leading +dailies expressed sympathy "for the voter emerging from the +polling-booth, clutching a handful of papers, one of them about +half as large as a bed sheet." Probably most voters were able to +express a real preference among the national candidates. It is +almost equally certain that most voters were not able to express +a real preference among important local administrative officials. +A huge ballot, all printed over with names, supplemented by a +series of smaller ballots, can never be a manageable instrument +even for an electorate as intelligent as ours. + +Simplification is the prophetic watchword in state government +today. For cities, the City Manager and the Commission have +offered salvation. A few officers only are elected and these are +held strictly responsible, sometimes under the constant threat of +the recall, for the entire administration. Over four hundred +cities have adopted the form of government by Commission. But +nothing has been done to simplify our state governments, which +are surrounded by a maze of heterogeneous and undirected boards +and authorities. Every time the legislature found itself +confronted by a new function to be cared for, it simply created a +new board. New York has a hodgepodge of over 116 such +authorities; Minnesota, 75; Illinois, 100. Iowa in 1913 and +Illinois and Minnesota in 1914, indeed, perfected elaborate +proposals for simplifying their state governments. But these +suggestions remain dormant. And the New York State Constitutional +Convention in 1915 prepared a new Constitution for the State, +with the same end in view, but their work was not accepted by the +people. It may be said, however, that in our attempt to rid +ourselves of boss rule we have swung through the arc of direct +government and are now on the returning curve toward +representative government, a more intensified representative +government that makes evasion of responsibility and duty +impossible by fixing it upon one or two men. + + + +CHAPTER X. PARTY REFORM + +The State, at first, had paid little attention to the party, +which was regarded as a purely voluntary aggregation of +like-minded citizens. Evidently the State could not dictate that +you should be a Democrat or a Republican or force you to be an +Independent. With the adoption of the Australian ballot, however, +came the legal recognition of the party; for as soon as the State +recognized the party's designated nominees in the preparation of +the official ballot, it recognized the party. It was then +discovered that, unless some restrictions were imposed, groups of +interested persons in the old parties would manage the +nominations of both to their mutual satisfaction. Thus a handful +of Democrats would visit Republican caucuses or primaries and a +handful of Republicans would return the favor to the Democrats. +In other words, the bosses of both parties would cooperate in +order to secure nominations satisfactory to themselves. +Massachusetts began the reform by defining a party as a group of +persons who had cast a certain percentage of the votes at the +preceding election. This definition has been widely accepted; and +the number of votes has been variously fixed at from two to +twenty-five per cent. Other States have followed the New York +plan of fixing definitely the number of voters necessary to form +a party. In New York no fewer than 10,000 voters can secure +recognition as a state party, exception being made in favor of +municipal or purely local parties. But merely fixing the +numerical minimum of the party was not enough. The State took +another step forward in depriving the manipulator of his liberty +when it undertook to determine who was entitled to membership in +the party and privileged to take part in its nominations and +other party procedure. Otherwise the virile minority in each +party would control both the membership and the nominations. + +An Oregon statute declares: "Every political party and every +volunteer political organization has the same right to be +protected from the interference of persons who are not identified +with it, as its known and publicly avowed members, that the +government of the State has to protect itself from the +interference of persons who are not known and registered as its +electors. It is as great a wrong to the people, as well as to +members of a political party, for anyone who is not known to be +one of its members to vote or take any part at any election, or +other proceedings of such political party, as it is for one who +is not a qualified and registered elector to vote at any state +election or to take part in the business of the State." It is a +far reach from the democratic laissez faire of Jackson's day to +this state dogmatism which threatens the independent or detached +voter with ultimate extinction. + +A variety of methods have been adopted for initiating the citizen +into party membership. In the Southern States, where the dual +party system does not exist, the legislature has left the matter +in the hands of the duly appointed party officials. They can, +with canonical rigor, determine the party standing of voters at +the primaries. But where there is party competition, such a +generous endowment of power would be dangerous. + +Many States permit the voter to make his declaration of party +allegiance when he goes to the primary. He asks for the ticket of +the party whose nominees he wishes to help select. He is then +handed the party's ballot, which he marks and places in the +ballot-box of that party. Now, if he is challenged, he must +declare upon oath that he is a member of that party, that he has +generally supported its tickets and its principles, and that at +the coming election he intends to support at least a majority of +its nominees. In this method little freedom is left to the voter +who wishes to participate as an independent both in the primaries +and in the general election. + +The New York plan is more rigorous. Here, in all cities, the +voter enrolls his name on his party's lists when he goes to +register for the coming election. He receives a ballot upon which +are the following words: "I am in general sympathy with the +principles of the party which I have designated by my mark +hereunder; it is my intention to support generally at the next +general election, state and national, the nominees of such party +for state and national offices; and I have not enrolled with or +participated in any primary election or convention of any other +party since the first day of last year." On this enrollment blank +he indicates the party of his choice, and the election officials +deposit all the ballots, after sealing them in envelopes, in a +special box. At a time designated by law, these seals are broken +and the party enrollment is compiled from them. These party +enrollment books are public records. Everyone who cares may +consult the lists. The advantages of secrecy--such as they +are--are thus not secured. + +It remained for Wisconsin, the experimenting State, to find a way +of insuring secrecy. Here, when the voter goes to the primary, he +is handed a large ballot, upon which all the party nominations +are printed. The different party tickets are separated by +perforations, so that the voter simply tears out the party ticket +he wishes to vote, marks it, and puts it in the box. The rejected +tickets he deposits in a large waste basket provided for the +discards. + +While the party was being fenced in by legal definition, its +machinery, the intricate hierarchy of committees, was subjected +to state scrutiny with the avowed object of ridding the party of +ring rule. The State Central Committee is the key to the +situation. To democratize this committee is a task that has +severely tested the ingenuity of the State, for the inventive +capacity of the professional politician is prodigious. The +devices to circumvent the politician are so numerous and various +that only a few types can be selected to illustrate how the State +is carrying out its determination. Illinois has provided perhaps +the most democratic method. In each congressional district, the +voters, at the regular party primaries, choose the member of the +state committee for the district, who serves for a term of two +years. The law says that "no other person or persons whomsoever" +than those so chosen by the voters shall serve on the committee, +so that members by courtesy or by proxy, who might represent the +boss, are apparently shut off. The law stipulates the time within +which the committee must meet and organize. Under this plan, if +the ring controls the committee, the fault lies wholly with the +majority of the party; it is a self-imposed thraldom. + +Iowa likewise stipulates that the Central Committee shall be +composed of one member from each congressional district. But the +members are chosen in a state convention, organized under strict +and minute regulations imposed by law. It permits considerable +freedom to the committee, however, stating that it "may organize +at pleasure for political work as is usual and customary with +such committees." + +In Wisconsin another plan was adopted in 1907. Here the +candidates for the various state offices and for both branches of +the legislature and the senators whose terms have not expired +meet in the state capital at noon on a day specified by law and +elect by ballot a central committee consisting of at least two +members from each congressional district. A chairman is chosen in +the same manner. + +Most States, however, leave some leeway in the choice of the +state committee, permitting their election usually by the regular +primaries but controlling their action in many details. The +lesser committees--county, city, district, judicial, senatorial, +congressional, and others--are even more rigorously controlled by +law. + +So the issuing of the party platform, the principles on which it +must stand or fall, has been touched by this process of +ossification. Few States retain the state convention in its +original vigor. In all States where primaries are held for state +nominations, the emasculated and subdued convention is permitted +to write the party platform. But not so in some States. Wisconsin +permits the candidates and the hold-over members of the Senate, +assembled according to law in a state meeting, to issue the +platform. In other States, the Central Committee and the various +candidates for state office form a party council and frame the +platform. Oregon, in 1901, tried a novel method of providing +platforms by referendum. But the courts declared the law +unconstitutional. So Oregon now permits each candidate to write +his own platform in not over one hundred words and file it with +his nominating petition, and to present a statement of not over +twelve words to be printed on the ballot. + +The convention system provided many opportunities for the +manipulator and was inherently imperfect for nominating more than +one or two candidates for office. It has survived as the method +of nominating candidates for President of the United States +because it is adapted to the wide geographical range of the +nation and because in the national convention only a President +and a Vice-President are nominated. In state and county +conventions, where often candidates for a dozen or more offices +are to be nominated, it was often subject to demoralizing +bartering. + +The larger the number of nominations to be made, the more +complete was the jobbery, and this was the death warrant of the +local convention. These evils were recognized as early as June +20, 1860, when the Republican county convention of Crawford +County, Pennsylvania, adopted the following resolutions: + +"Whereas, in nominating candidates for the several county +offices, it clearly is, or ought to be, the object to arrive as +nearly as possible at the wishes of the majority, or at least a +plurality of the Republican voters; and + +Whereas the present system of nominating by delegates, who +virtually represent territory rather than votes, and who almost +necessarily are wholly unacquainted with the wishes and feelings +of their constituents in regard to various candidates for office, +is undemocratic, because the people have no voice in it, and +objectionable, because men are often placed in nomination because +of their location who are decidedly unpopular, even in their own +districts, and because it affords too great an opportunity for +scheming and designing men to accomplish their own purposes; +therefore + +Resolved, that we are in favor of submitting nominations directly +to the people--the Republican voters--and that delegate +conventions for nominating county officers be abolished, and we +hereby request and instruct the county committee to issue their +call in 1861, in accordance with the spirit of this resolution." + +Upon the basis of this indictment of the county convention +system, the Republican voters of Crawford County, a rural +community, whose largest town is Meadville, the county seat, +proceeded to nominate their candidates by direct vote, under +rules prepared by the county committee. These rules have been but +slightly changed. The informality of a hat or open table drawer +has been replaced by an official ballotbox, and an official +ballot has taken the place of the tickets furnished by each +candidate. + +The "Crawford County plan," as it was generally called, was +adopted by various localities in many States. In 1866 California +and New York enacted laws to protect primaries and nominating +caucuses from fraud. In 1871 Ohio and Pennsylvania enacted +similar laws, followed by Missouri in 1875 and New Jersey in +1878. By 1890 over a dozen States had passed laws attempting to +eliminate the grosser frauds attendant upon making nominations. +In many instances it was made optional with the party whether the +direct plan should supersede the delegate plan. Only in certain +cities, however, was the primary made mandatory in these States. +By far the larger areas retained the convention. + +There is noticeable in these years a gradual increase in the +amount of legislation concerning the nominating machinery-- +prescribing the days and hours for holding elections of +delegates, the size of the polling-place, the nature of the +ballotbox, the poll-list, who might participate in the choice of +delegates, how the returns were to be made, and so on. By the +time, then, that the Australian ballot came, with its profound +changes, nearly all the States had attempted to remove the +glaring abuses of the nominating system; and several of them +officially recognized the direct primary. The State was reluctant +to abolish the convention system entirely; and the Crawford +County plan long remained merely optional. But in 1901 Minnesota +enacted a state-wide, mandatory primary law. Mississippi followed +in 1902, Wisconsin in 1903, and Oregon in 1904. This movement has +swept the country. + +Few States retain the nominating convention, and where it remains +it is shackled by legal restrictions. The boss, however, has +devised adequate means for controlling primaries, and a return to +a modified convention system is being earnestly discussed in many +States to circumvent the further ingenuity of the boss. A further +step towards the state control of parties was taken when laws +began to busy themselves with the conduct of the campaign. +Corrupt Practices Acts began to assume bulk in the early +nineties, to limit the expenditure of candidates, and to +enumerate the objects for which campaign committees might +legitimately spend money. These are usually personal traveling +expenses of the candidates, rental of rooms for committees and +halls for meetings, payment of musicians and speakers and their +traveling expenses, printing campaign material, postage for +distribution of letters, newspapers and printed matter, telephone +and telegraph charges, political advertising, employing +challengers at the polls, necessary clerk hire, and conveyances +for bringing aged or infirm voters to the polls. The maximum +amount that can be spent by candidates is fixed, and they are +required to make under oath a detailed statement of their +expenses in both primary and general elections. The various +committees, also, must make detailed reports of the funds they +handle, the amount, the contributors, and the expenditures. +Corporations are forbidden to contribute, and the amount that +candidates themselves may give is limited in many States. These +exactions are reinforced by stringent laws against bribery. +Persons found guilty of either receiving or soliciting a bribe +are generally disfranchised or declared ineligible for public +office for a term of years. Illinois, for the second offense, +forever disfranchises. + +It is not surprising that these restrictions have led the State +to face the question whether it should not itself bear some of +the expenses of the campaign. It has, of course, already assumed +an enormous burden formerly borne entirely by the party. The cost +of primary and general elections nowadays is tremendous. A few +Western States print a campaign pamphlet and distribute it to +every voter. The pamphlet contains usually the photographs of the +candidates, a brief biography, and a statement of principles. + +These are the principal encroachments made by the Government upon +the autonomy of the party. The details are endless. The election +laws of New York fill 330 printed pages. It is little wonder that +American parties are beginning to study the organization of +European parties, such as the labor parties and the social +democratic parties, which have enlisted a rather fervent party +fealty. These are propagandist parties and require to be active +all the year round. So they demand annual dues of their members +and have permanent salaried officials and official party organs. +Such a permanent organization was suggested for the National +Progressive party. But the early disintegration of the party made +impossible what would have been an interesting experiment. After +the election of 1916, Governor Whitman of New York suggested that +the Republican party choose a manager and pay him $10,000 a year +and have a lien on all his time and energy. The plan was widely +discussed and its severest critics were the politicians who would +suffer from it. The wide-spread comment with which it was +received revealed the change that has come over the popular idea +of a political party since the State began forty years ago to +bring the party under its control. + +But flexibility is absolutely essential to a party system that +adequately serves a growing democracy. And under a two-party +system, as ours is probably bound to remain, the independent +voter usually holds the balance of power. He may be merely a +disgruntled voter seeking for revenge, or an overpleased voter +seeking to maintain a profitable status quo, or he may belong to +that class of super-citizens from which mugwumps arise. In any +case, the majorities at elections are usually determined by him. +And party orthodoxy made by the State is almost as distasteful to +him as the rigor of the boss. He relishes neither the one nor the +other. + +In the larger cities the citizens' tickets and fusion movements +are types of independent activities. In some cities they are +merely temporary associations, formed for a single, thorough +housecleaning. The Philadelphia Committee of One Hundred, which +was organized in 1880 to fight the Gas Ring, is an example. It +issued a Declaration of Principles, demanding the promotion of +public service rather than private greed, and the prosecution of +"those who have been guilty of election frauds, maladministration +of office, or misappropriation of public funds." Announcing that +it would endorse only candidates who signed this declaration, the +committee supported the Democratic candidates, and nominated for +Receiver of Taxes a candidate of its own, who became also the +Democratic nominee when the regular Democratic candidate +withdrew. Philadelphia was overwhelmingly Republican. But the +committee's aid was powerful enough to elect the Democratic +candidate for mayor by 6000 majority and the independent +candidate for Receiver of Taxes by 20,000. This gave the +Committee access to the records of the doings of the Gas Ring. In +1884, however, the candidate which it endorsed was defeated, and +it disbanded. + +Similar in experience was the famous New York Committee of +Seventy, organized in 1894 after Dr. Parkhurst's lurid +disclosures of police connivance with every degrading vice. A +call was issued by thirty-three well-known citizens for a +non-partizan mass meeting, and at this meeting a committee of +seventy was appointed "with full power to confer with other +anti-Tammany organizations, and to take such actions as may be +necessary to further the objects of this meeting as set forth in +the call therefor, and the address adopted by this meeting." The +committee adopted a platform, appointed an executive and a +finance committee, and nominated a full ticket, distributing the +candidates among both parties. All other anti-Tammany +organizations endorsed this ticket, and it was elected by large +majorities. The committee dissolved after having secured certain +charter amendments for the city and seeing its roster of officers +inaugurated. + +The Municipal Voters' League of Chicago is an important example +of the permanent type of citizens' organization. The league is +composed of voters in every ward, who, acting through committees +and alert officers, scrutinize every candidate for city office +from the Mayor down. It does not aim to nominate a ticket of its +own, but to exercise such vigilance, enforced by so effective an +organization and such wide-reaching publicity, that the various +parties will, of their own volition, nominate men whom the league +can endorse. By thus putting on the hydraulic pressure of +organized public opinion, it has had a considerable influence on +the parties and a very stimulating effect on the citizenry. + +Finally, there has developed in recent years the fusion movement, +whereby the opponents of boss rule in all parties unite and back +an independent or municipal ticket. The election of Mayor Mitchel +of New York in 1913 was thus accomplished. In Milwaukee, a fusion +has been successful against the Socialists. And in many lesser +cities this has brought at least temporary relief from the +oppression of the local oligarchy. + + + +CHAPTER XI. THE EXPERT AT LAST + +The administrative weakness of a democracy, namely, the tendency +towards a government by job-hunters, was disclosed even in the +early days of the United States, when the official machinery was +simple and the number of offices few. Washington at once foresaw +both the difficulties and the duties that the appointing power +imposed. Soon after his inauguration he wrote to Rutledge: "I +anticipate that one of the most difficult and delicate parts of +the duty of any office will be that which relates to nominations +for appointments." And he was most scrupulous and painstaking in +his appointments. Fitness for duty was paramount with him, though +he recognized geographical necessity and distributed the offices +with that precision which characterized all his acts. + +John Adams made very few appointments. After his term had +expired, he wrote: "Washington appointed a multitude of Democrats +and Jacobins of the deepest die. I have been more cautious in +this respect." + +The test of partizan loyalty, however, was not applied generally +until after the election of Jefferson. The ludicrous +apprehensions of the Federalists as to what would follow upon his +election were not allayed by his declared intentions. "I have +given," he wrote to Monroe, "and will give only to Republicans +under existing circumstances." Jefferson was too good a +politician to overlook his opportunity to annihilate the +Federalists. He hoped to absorb them in his own party, "to unite +the names of Federalists and Republicans." Moderate Federalists, +who possessed sufficient gifts of grace for conversion, he +sedulously nursed. But he removed all officers for whose removal +any special reason could be discovered. The "midnight +appointments" of John Adams he refused to acknowledge, and he +paid no heed to John Marshall's dicta in Marbury versus Madison. +He was zealous in discovering plausible excuses for making +vacancies. The New York Evening Post described him as "gazing +round, with wild anxiety furiously inquiring, 'how are vacancies +to be obtained?'" Directly and indirectly, Jefferson effected, +during his first term, 164 changes in the offices at his +disposal, a large number for those days. This he did so craftily, +with such delicate regard for geographical sensitiveness and with +such a nice balance between fitness for office and the desire for +office, that by the end of his second term he had not only +consolidated our first disciplined and eager political party, but +had quieted the storm against his policy of partizan +proscription. + +During the long regime of the Jeffersonian Republicans there were +three significant movements. In January, 1811, Nathaniel Macon +introduced his amendment to the Constitution providing that no +member of Congress should receive a civil appointment "under the +authority of the United States until the expiration of the +presidential term in which such person shall have served as +senator or representative." An amendment was offered by Josiah +Quincy, making ineligible to appointment the relations by blood +or marriage of any senator or representative. Nepotism was +considered the curse of the civil service, and for twenty years +similar amendments were discussed at almost every session of +Congress. John Quincy Adams said that half of the members wanted +office, and the other half wanted office for their relatives. + +In 1820 the Four Years' Act substituted a four-year tenure of +office, in place of a term at the pleasure of the President, for +most of the federal appointments. The principal argument urged in +favor of the law was that unsatisfactory civil servants could +easily be dropped without reflection on their character. +Defalcations had been discovered to the amount of nearly a +million dollars, due mainly to carelessness and gross +inefficiency. It was further argued that any efficient incumbent +need not be disquieted, for he would be reappointed. The law, +however, fulfilled Jefferson's prophecy: it kept "in constant +excitement all the hungry cormorants for office." + +What Jefferson began, Jackson consummated. The stage was now set +for Democracy. Public office had been marshaled as a force in +party maneuver. In his first annual message, Jackson announced +his philosophy: + +"There are perhaps few men who can for any great length of time +enjoy office and power without being more or less under the +influence of feelings unfavorable to the faithful discharge of +their public duties .... Office is considered as a species of +property, and government rather as a means of promoting +individual interests than as an instrument created solely for the +service of the people. Corruption in some, and in others a +perversion of correct feelings and principles, divert government +from its legitimate ends and make it an engine for the support of +the few at the expense of the many. The duties of all public +offices are, or at least admit of being made, so plain, so simple +that men of intelligence may readily qualify themselves for their +performance . . . . In a country where offices are created solely +for the benefit of the people, no one man has any more intrinsic +right to official station than another." + +The Senate refused Jackson's request for an extension of the Four +Years' law to cover all positions in the civil service. It also +refused to confirm some of his appointments, notably that of Van +Buren as minister to Great Britain. The debate upon this +appointment gave the spoilsman an epigram. Clay with directness +pointed to Van Buren as the introducer "of the odious system of +proscription for the exercise of the elective franchise in the +government of the United States." He continued: "I understand it +is the system on which the party in his own State, of which he is +the reputed head, constantly acts. He was among the first of the +secretaries to apply that system to the dismission of clerks of +his department . . . known to me to be highly meritorious . . . +It is a detestable system." + +And Webster thundered: "I pronounce my rebuke as solemnly and as +decisively as I can upon this first instance in which an American +minister has been sent abroad as the representative of his party +and not as the representative of his country." + +To these and other challenges, Senator Marcy of New York made his +well-remembered retort that "the politicians of the United States +are not so fastidious . . . . They see nothing wrong in the rule +that to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy." + +Jackson, with all his bluster and the noise of his followers, +made his proscriptions relatively fewer than those of Jefferson. +He removed only 252 of about 612 presidential appointees.* It +should, however, be remembered that those who were not removed +had assured Jackson's agents of their loyalty to the new +Democracy. + +* This does not include deputy postmasters, who numbered about +8000 and were not placed in the presidential list until 1836. + + +If Jackson did not inaugurate the spoils system, he at least gave +it a mission. It was to save the country from the curse of +officialdom. His successor, Van Buren, brought the system to a +perfection that only the experienced politician could achieve. +Van Buren required of all appointees partizan service; and his +own nomination, at Baltimore, was made a foregone conclusion by +the host of federal job-holders who were delegates. Van Buren +simply introduced at Washington the methods of the Albany +Regency. + +The Whigs blustered bravely against this proscription. But their +own President, General Harrison, "Old Tippecanoe," was helpless +against the saturnalia of office-seekers that engulfed him. +Harrison, when he came to power, removed about one-half of the +officials in the service. And, although the partizan color of the +President changed with Harrison's death, after a few weeks in +office,--Tyler was merely a Whig of convenience--there was no +change in the President's attitude towards the spoils system. + +Presidential inaugurations became orgies of office-seekers, and +the first weeks of every new term were given over to distributing +the jobs, ordinary business having to wait. President Polk, who +removed the usual quota, is complimented by Webster for making +"rather good selections from his own friends." The practice, now +firmly established, was continued by Taylor, Pierce, and +Buchanan. + +Lincoln found himself surrounded by circumstances that made +caution necessary in every appointment. His party was new and +composed of many diverse elements. He had to transform their +jealousies into enthusiasm, for the approach of civil war +demanded supreme loyalty and unity of action. To this greater +cause of saving the Union he bent every effort and used every +instrumentality at his command. No one before him had made so +complete a change in the official personnel of the capital as the +change which he was constrained to make. No one before him or +since used the appointing power with such consummate skill or +displayed such rare tact and knowledge of human nature in seeking +the advice of those who deemed their advice valuable. The war +greatly increased the number of appointments, and it also imposed +obligations that made merit sometimes a secondary consideration. +With the statesman's vision, Lincoln recognized both the use and +the abuse of the patronage system. He declined to gratify the +office-seekers who thronged the capital at the beginning of his +second term; and they returned home disappointed. The twenty +years following the Civil War were years of agitation for reform. +People were at last recognizing the folly of using the +multiplying public offices for party spoils. The quarrel between +Congress and President Johnson over removals, and the Tenure of +Office Act, focused popular attention on the constitutional +question of appointment and removal, and the recklessness of the +political manager during Grant's two terms disgusted the +thoughtful citizen. + +The first attempts to apply efficiency to the civil service had +been made when pass examinations were used for sifting candidates +for clerkships in the Treasury Department in 1853, when such +tests were prescribed by law for the lowest grade of clerkships. +The head of the department was given complete control over the +examinations, and they were not exacting. In 1864 Senator Sumner +introduced a bill "to provide for the greater efficiency of the +civil service." It was considered chimerical and dropped. + +Meanwhile, a steadfast and able champion of reform appeared in +the House, Thomas A. Jenckes, a prominent lawyer of Rhode Island. +A bill which he introduced in December, 1865, received no +hearing. But in the following year a select joint committee was +charged to examine the whole question of appointments, +dismissals, and patronage. Mr. Jenckes presented an elaborate +report in May, 1868, explaining the civil service of other +countries. This report, which is the corner stone of American +civil service reform, provided the material for congressional +debate and threw the whole subject into the public arena. Jenckes +in the House and Carl Schurz in the Senate saw to it that ardent +and convincing defense of reform was not wanting. In compliance +with President Grant's request for a law to "govern not the +tenure, but the manner of making all appointments," a rider was +attached to the appropriation bill in 1870, asking the President +"to prescribe such rules and regulations" as he saw fit, and "to +employ suitable persons to conduct" inquiries into the best +method for admitting persons into the civil service. A commission +of which George William Curtis was chairman made recommendations, +but they were not adopted and Curtis resigned. The New York Civil +Service Reform Association was organized in 1877; and the +National League, organized in 1881, soon had flourishing branches +in most of the large cities. The battle was largely between the +President and Congress. Each succeeding President signified his +adherence to reform, but neutralized his words by sanctioning +vast changes in the service. Finally, under circumstances already +described, on January 16, 1883, the Civil Service Act was passed. + +This law had a stimulating effect upon state and municipal civil +service. New York passed a law the same year, patterned after the +federal act. Massachusetts followed in 1884, and within a few +years many of the States had adopted some sort of civil service +reform, and the large cities were experimenting with the merit +system. It was not, however, until the rapid expansion of the +functions of government and the consequent transformation in the +nature of public duties that civil service reform made notable +headway. When the Government assumed the duties of health +officer, forester, statistician, and numerous other highly +specialized functions, the presence of the scientific expert +became imperative; and vast undertakings, like the building of +the Panama Canal and the enormous irrigation projects of the +West, could not be entrusted to the spoilsman and his minions. + +The war has accustomed us to the commandeering of utilities, of +science, and of skill upon a colossal scale. From this height of +public devotion it is improbable that we shall decline, after the +national peril has passed, into the depths of administrative +incompetency which our Republic, and all its parts, occupied for +so many years. The need for an efficient and highly complex State +has been driven home to the consciousness of the average citizen. +And this foretokens the permanent enlistment of talent in the +public service to the end that democracy may provide that +effective nationalism imposed by the new era of world +competition. + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + +There is no collected material of the literature of exposure. It +is found in the official reports of investigating committees; +such as the Lexow, Mazet, and Fassett committees in New York, and +the report on campaign contributions by the Senate Committee on +Privileges and Elections (1913). The muckraker has scattered such +indiscriminate charges that great caution is necessary to +discover the truth. Only testimony taken under oath can be relied +upon. And for local exposes the official court records must be +sought. + +The annual proceedings of the National Municipal League contain a +great deal of useful material on municipal politics. The reports +of local organizations, such as the New York Bureau of Municipal +Research and the Pittsburgh Voters' League, are invaluable, as +are the reports of occasional bodies, like the Philadelphia +Committee of Fifty. + +Personal touches can be gleaned from the autobiographies of such +public men as Platt, Foraker, Weed, La Follette, and in such +biographies as Croly's "M. A. Hanna." + +On Municipal Conditions: + +W. B. Munro, "The Government of American Cities" (1913). An +authoritative and concise account of the development of American +city government. Chapter VII deals with municipal politics. + +J. J. Hamilton, "Dethronement of the City Boss" (1910). A +description of the operation of commission government. + +E. S. Bradford, "Commission Government in American Cities" +(1911). A careful study of the commission plan. + +H. Bruere, "New City Government" (1912). An interesting account +of the new municipal regime. + +Lincoln Steffens, "The Shame of the Cities" and "The Struggle for +Self-Government" (1906). The Prince of the Muckrakers' +contribution to the literature of awakening. + +On State Conditions: + +There is an oppressive barrenness of material on this subject. + +P. S. Reinsch, "American Legislatures and Legislative Methods" +(1907). A brilliant exposition of the legislatures' activities. + +E. L. Godkin, "Unforeseen Tendencies in Democracy" contains a +thoughtful essay on "The Decline of Legislatures." + +On Political Parties and Machines: + +M. Ostrogorski, "Democracy and the Organization of Political +Parties," 2 vols. (1902). The second volume contains a +comprehensive and able survey of the American party system. It +has been abridged into a single volume edition called "Democracy +and the Party System in the United States" (1910). + +James Bryce, "The American Commonwealth," 2 vols. Volume II +contains a noteworthy account of our political system. + +Jesse Macy, "Party Organization and Machinery" (1912). A succinct +account of party machinery. + +J. A. Woodburn, "Political Parties and Party Problems" (1906). A +sane account of our political task. + +P. O. Ray, "An Introduction to Political Parties and Practical +Politics" (1913). Valuable for its copious references to current +literature on political subjects. + +Theodore Roosevelt, "Essays on Practical Politics" (1888). +Vigorous description of machine methods. + +G. M. Gregory, "The Corrupt Use of Money in Politics and Laws for +its Prevention" (1893). Written before the later exposes, it +nevertheless gives a clear view of the problem. + +W. M. Ivins, "Machine Politics" (1897). In New York City--by a +keen observer. + +George Vickers, "The Fall of Bossism" (1883). On the overthrow of +the Philadelphia Gas Ring. + +Gustavus Myers, "History of Tammany Hall" (1901; revised 1917). +The best book on the subject. + +E. C. Griffith, "The Rise and Development of the Gerrymander" +(1907). + +Historical: + +H. J. Ford, "Rise and Growth of American Politics" (1898). One of +the earliest and one of the best accounts of the development of +American politics. + +Alexander Johnston and J. A. Woodburn, "American Political +History," 2 vols. (1905). A brilliant recital of American party +history. The most satisfactory book on the subject. + +W. M. Sloane, "Party Government in the United States" (1914). A +concise and convenient recital. Brings our party history to date. + +J. B. McMaster, "With the Fathers" (1896). A volume of delightful +historical essays, including one on "The Political Depravity of +the Fathers." + +On Nominations: + +F. W. Dallinger, "Nominations for Elective Office in the United +States" (1897). The most thorough work on the subject, describing +the development of our nominating systems. + +C. E. Merriam, "Primary Elections" (1908). A concise description +of the primary and its history. + +R. S. Childs, "Short Ballot Principles" (1911). A splendid +account by the father of the short ballot movement. + +C. E. Meyer, "Nominating Systems" (1902). Good on the caucus. + +On the Presidency: + +J. B. Bishop, "Our Political Drama" (1904). A readable account of +national conventions and presidential campaigns. + +A. K. McClure, "Our Presidents and How We Make Them" (1903). + +Edward Stanwood, "A History of the Presidency" (1898). Gives +party platforms and describes each presidential campaign. + +On Congress: + +G. H. Haynes, "The Election of United States Senators" (1906). + +H. J. Ford, "The Cost of Our National Government" (1910). A fine +account of congressional bad housekeeping. + +MARY C. Follett, "The Speaker of the House of Representatives" +(1896). + +Woodrow Wilson, "Congressional Government" (1885). Most +interesting reading in the light of the Wilson Administration. + +L. G. McConachie, "Congressional Committees" (1898). + +On Special Topics: + +C. R. Fish, "Civil Service and the Patronage" (1905). The best +work on the subject. + +J. D. Barnett, "The Operation of the Initiative, Referendum, and +Recall in Oregon" (1915). A helpful, intensive study of these +important questions. + +E. P. Oberholtzer, The Referendum in America (1912). The most +satisfactory and comprehensive work on the subject. Also +discusses the initiative. + +J. R. Commons, "Proportional Representation" (1907). The standard +American book on the subject. + +R. C. Brooks, "Corruption in American Politics and Life" (1910). +A survey of our political pathology. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext The Boss and the Machine, by Samual P. 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