Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919). New York. 1906.
Page 267
| as mere disinterested outside critics. On the contrary, these leaders are men with whose welfare their own is often intimately bound; men who can, and do, render them important services, both proper and improper, on occasions when they are in need. It is impossible ever to understand the power of the political machines in New York City life until the importance of their social side is fully grasped. Their social functions, the part they play in the everyday life of the people, constitute the chief reason for their overwhelming predominance in the political field. |
| The saloons form on the whole the most potent factor in the political life of those Districts where the population is the most congested, where the people are poorest and most ignorant, and where the evils of machine domination are most acutely felt. In consequence, the saloon-keeper is, nine times out of ten, a more or less influential politician. In Tammany Hall a very large proportion of the leaders are, or have been, saloon-keepers. The saloon-keeper is usually a comparatively rich man, at least in the eyes of most of the people with whom he is thrown in contact. He is brought into intimate connection with a large number of voters, and he has rooms which they find offer the best accommodations for club purposes. He is thus able to get much influence which he can either use as a politician himself, or can wield in the |