"I seen my opportunities
and I took ‘em”  

That is a line from Plunkitt of Tammany Hall, a collection of the philosophy and thoughts of George Washington Plunkitt, a cog in Boss Tweed’s political machine. Plunkitt distinguished between “honest and dishonest graft.” Dishonest graft was when you cheated government for your own personal gain.  

An example of honest graft might be if you learned that a new bridge was planned to cross the river between Sacramento and West Sac. You knew the plan would be approved. You quickly bought currently worthless land where the abutments would be located. When the bridge was approved, you sold the parcels for a huge profit. Plunkitt would ask, who was hurt? After all, the public had a brand new bridge.  

Plunkitt was operating at a time when machine politics was at its height. Around 1900 almost every big city in America had a political boss who controlled patronage, awarded contracts, and swayed elections. Boston had Martin “the Mahatma” Lomasney, Kansas City had the Pendergast Machine, and San Francisco had Abe Ruef. Some of these bosses lived on to more recent times. Richard “da Boss” Daley of Chicago died in 1976, but his son served as the city’s mayor from 1989 to 2011.  

The most famous urban boss was William Tweed. His organization, Tammany Hall, ran New York City for decades, and the graft was astounding. Courthouse construction on Chambers Street was budgeted at a quarter of a million dollars. When the building was finished in 1871 the cost had soared to $13 million. (In 1867 Alaska cost $7.2 million.)  

How did the political machines stay in power? First, they controlled patronage. My uncle Marvin, a bulldozer operator and a Republican, was hired to fill in strip mines in Pennsylvania. When a Democratic governor was elected, Marvin was fired and a Democratic bulldozer operator replaced him. The entire bureaucracy was filled with party loyalists right down to garbage collectors and janitors.  

Second, the machines controlled contracts. The purchasing department steered its largesse to friends of the political organization. If you were a contractor, you were also expected to provide campaign contributions and buy tickets to party events.  

Third, the organization went deep. Each precinct or ward had volunteers, often paid, who knew every voter in the neighborhood. In a time of recession that “ward heeler” might provide a load of coal or a bag of potatoes or even a job to an unemployed constituent.  

Fourth, votes could be bought. Voting in presidential elections was in the open until 1888, often with colored ballots to make identification easy. If the organization paid for a vote, a watcher could check the votes as they were being cast. Ballots might also be misplaced, or the count could be altered.  

The Progressive movement put an end to many of these practices. Civil service exams helped to eliminate patronage. People were hired because of their knowledge, not their political affiliation. Auditors checked contracts. Bribery was a crime. Voting was by secret ballot. More voters became educated. Welfare reform replaced the Thanksgiving and Christmas free turkeys and loads of coal. Reform-minded Democrats and Republicans ran campaigns against the machines and won.  

As a result we no longer have politicians enriching themselves at the public trough. Now contracts are awarded because the bidders fulfill the requirements, not because they gave campaign contributions. Appointees are picked for knowledge, not loyalty. Corruption is rooted out by righteous officials. Voters are educated. Fox reports unbiased news. Hens have teeth. Pigs fly.  

~ Roy Christman