The State boss dealt in larger things, and became a national figure. He
was more circumspect in his methods, for he had a wider constituency and
a more intelligent opposition.
The local bosses were required to send to the legislature "loyal" party
men who did not question the leadership of the State boss.
The big interests preferred having only one man to deal with, which
simplified matters; consequently they were strong aids in helping him
retain his power. Any measure they desired passed by the legislature was
first submitted to him, and he would prune it until he felt he could put
it through without doing too great violence to public sentiment. The
citizens at large do not scrutinize measures closely; they are too busy
in their own vineyards to bother greatly about things which only
remotely or indirectly concern them.
This selfish attitude and indifference of our people has made the boss
and his methods possible. The "big interests" reciprocate in many and
devious ways, ways subtle enough to seem not dishonest even if exposed
to public view.
So that by early education I was taught to think that the despoliation
of the public, in certain ways, was a legitimate industry.
Later, I knew better, but I had already started my plow in the furrow,
and it was hard to turn back. I wanted money and I wanted power, and I
could see both in the career before me.
It was not long, of course, before I had discernment enough to see that
I was not being employed for my legal ability. My income was practically
made from retainers, and I was seldom called upon to do more than to use
my influence so that my client should remain undisturbed in the pursuit
of his business, be it legitimate or otherwise. Young as I was, Marx
soon offered me a seat in the Council. It was my first proffer of
office, but I declined it. I did not want to be identified with a body
for which I had such a supreme contempt. My aim was higher. Marx,
though, was sincere in his desire to further my fortunes, for he had no
son, and his affection for my father and me was genuine.
I frankly told him the direction in which my ambition lay, and he
promised me his cordial assistance. I wanted to get beyond ward
politics, and in touch with the city boss.
It was my idea that, if I could maintain myself with him, I would in
time ask him to place me within the influence of the State boss, where
my field of endeavor would be as wide as my abilities would justify.
I did not lose my identity with my ward, but now my work covered all
Philadelphia, and my retainers became larger and more numerous, for I
was within the local sphere of the "big interests."
At that time the boss was a man by the name of Hardy. He was born in the
western part of the State, but came to Philadelphia when a boy, his
mother having married the second time a man named Metz, who was then
City Treasurer and who afterwards became Mayor.
Hardy was a singular man for a boss; small of frame, with features
almost effeminate, and with anything but a robust constitution, he did
a prodigious amount of work.
He was not only taciturn to an unusual degree, but he seldom wrote, or
replied to letters. Yet he held an iron grip upon the organization.
His personal appearance and quiet manners inspired many ambitious
underlings to try to dislodge him, but their failure was signal and
complete.
He had what was, perhaps, the most perfectly organized machine against
which any municipality had ever had the misfortune to contend.
Hardy made few promises and none of them rash, but no man could
truthfully say that he ever broke one. I feel certain that he would have
made good his spoken word even at the expense of his fortune or
political power.
Then, too, he played fair, and his henchmen knew it. He had no favorites
whom he unduly rewarded at the expense of the more efficient. He had
likes and dislikes as other men, but his judgment was never warped by
that. Success meant advancement, failure meant retirement.
And he made his followers play fair. There were certain rules of the
game that had to be observed, and any infraction thereof meant
punishment.
The big, burly fellows he had under him felt pride in his physical
insignificance, and in the big brain that had never known defeat.
When I became close to him, I asked him why he had never expanded; that
he must have felt sure that he could have spread his jurisdiction
throughout the State, and that the labor in the broader position must be
less than in the one he occupied. His reply was characteristic of the
man. He said he was not where he was from choice, that environment and
opportunity had forced him into the position he occupied, but that once
there, he owed it to his followers to hold it against all comers. He
said that he would have given it up long ago, if it had not been for
this feeling of obligation to those who loved and trusted him. To desert
them, and to make new responsibilities, was unthinkable from his
viewpoint.
That which I most wondered at in Hardy was, his failure to comprehend
that the work he was engaged in was dishonest. I led cautiously up to
this one day, and this was his explanation:
"The average American citizen refuses to pay attention to civic affairs,
contenting himself with a general growl at the tax rate, and the
character and inefficiency of public officials. He seldom takes the
trouble necessary to form the Government to suit his views.
"The truth is, he has no cohesive or well-digested views, it being too
much trouble to form them. Therefore, some such organization as ours is
essential. Being essential, then it must have funds with which to
proceed, and the men devoting their lives to it must be recompensed, so
the system we use is the best that can be devised under the
circumstances.
"It is like the tariff and internal revenue taxes by which the National
Government is run, that is, indirect. The citizen pays, but he does not
know when he pays, nor how much he is paying.
"A better system could, perhaps, be devised in both instances, but this
cannot be done until the people take a keener interest in their public
affairs.
"Hardy was not a rich man, though he had every opportunity of being so.
He was not avaricious, and his tastes and habits were simple, and he had
no family to demand the extravagances that are undermining our national
life. He was a vegetarian, and he thought, and perhaps rightly, that in
a few centuries from now the killing of animals and the eating of their
corpses would be regarded in the same way as we now think of
cannibalism.
"He divided the money that came to him amongst his followers, and this
was one of the mainsprings of his power.
"All things considered, it is not certain but that he gave Philadelphia
as good government as her indifferent citizens deserved."
CHAPTER XXXV
SELWYN'S STORY, CONTINUED
By the time I was thirty-six I had accumulated what seemed to me then, a
considerable fortune, and I had furthermore become Hardy's right-hand
man.
He had his forces divided in several classes, of choice I was ranged
among those whose duties were general and not local. I therefore had a
survey of the city as a whole, and was not infrequently in touch with
the masters of the State at large. Hardy concerned himself about my
financial welfare to the extent of now and then inquiring whether my
income was satisfactory, and the nature of it. I assured him that it was
and that he need have no further thought of me in that connection. I
told him that I was more ambitious to advance politically than
financially, and, while expressing my gratitude for all he had done for
me and my keen regret at the thought of leaving him, I spoke again of my
desire to enter State politics.
Some six years before I had married the daughter of a State Senator, a
man who was then seeking the gubernatorial nomination.
On my account, Hardy gave him cordial support, but the State boss had
other plans, and my father-in-law was shelved "for the moment," as the
boss expressed it, for one who suited his purposes better.
Both Hardy, my father-in-law, and their friends resented this action,
because the man selected was not in line for the place and the boss was
not conforming to the rules of the game.
They wanted to break openly and immediately, but I advised delay until
we were strong enough to overthrow him.
The task of quietly organizing an effective opposition to the State
boss was left to me, and although I lost no time, it was a year before I
was ready to make the fight.
In the meanwhile, the boss had no intimation of the revolt. My father-
in-law and Hardy had, by my direction, complied with all the requests
that he made upon them, and he thought himself never more secure.
I went to the legislature that year in accordance with our plans, and
announced myself a candidate for speaker. I did this without consulting
the boss and purposely. He had already selected another man, and had
publicly committed himself to his candidacy, which was generally
considered equivalent to an election.
The candidate was a weak man, and if the boss had known the extent of
the opposition that had developed, he would have made a stronger
selection. As it was, he threw not only the weight of his own influence
for his man and again irrevocably committed himself, but he had his
creature, the Governor, do likewise.
My strength was still not apparent, for I had my forces well in hand,
and while I had a few declare themselves for me, the major part were
non-committal, and spoke in cautious terms of general approval of the
boss's candidate.
The result was a sensation. I was elected by a safe, though small,
majority, and, as a natural result, the boss was deposed and I was
proclaimed his successor.
I had found in organizing the revolt that there were many who had
grievances which, from fear, they had kept hidden but when they were
shown that they could safely be revenged, they eagerly took advantage of
the opportunity.
So, in one campaign, I burst upon the public as the party leader, and
the question was now, how would I use it and could I hold it.
CHAPTER XXXVI
SELWYN'S STORY, CONTINUED
Flushed though I was with victory, and with the flattery of friends,
time servers and sycophants in my ears, I felt a deep sympathy for the
boss. He was as a sinking ship and as such deserted. Yesterday a thing
for envy, to-day an object of pity.
I wondered how long it would be before I, too, would be stranded.
The interests, were, of course, among the first to congratulate me and
to assure me of their support. During that session of the legislature, I
did not change the character of the legislation, or do anything very
different from the usual. I wanted to feel my seat more firmly under me
before attempting the many things I had in mind.
I took over into my camp all those that I could reasonably trust, and
strengthened my forces everywhere as expeditiously as possible. I weeded
out the incompetents, of whom there were many, and replaced them by
big-hearted, loyal and energetic men, who had easy consciences when it
came to dealing with the public affairs of either municipalities,
counties or the State.
Of necessity, I had to use some who were vicious and dishonest, and who
would betray me in a moment if their interests led that way. But of
these there were few in my personal organization, though from
experience, I knew their kind permeated the municipal machines to a
large degree.
The lessons learned from Hardy were of value to me now. I was liberal to
my following at the expense of myself, and I played the game fair as
they knew it.
I declined re-election to the next legislature, because the office was
not commensurate with the dignity of the position I held as party
leader, and again, because the holding of state office was now a
perilous undertaking.
In taking over the machine from the late boss, and in molding it into an
almost personal following I found it not only loosely put together, but
inefficient for my more ambitious purposes.
After giving it four or five years of close attention, I was satisfied
with it, and I had no fear of dislodgment.
I had found that the interests were not paying anything like a
commensurate amount for the special privileges they were getting, and I
more than doubled the revenue obtained by the deposed boss.
This, of course, delighted my henchmen, and bound them more closely to
me.
I also demanded and received information in advance of any extensions
of railroads, standard or interurban, of contemplated improvements of
whatsoever character, and I doled out this information to those of my
followers in whose jurisdiction lay such territory.
My own fortune I augmented by advance information regarding the
appreciation of stocks. If an amalgamation of two important institutions
was to occur, or if they were to be put upon a dividend basis, or if the
dividend rate was to be increased, I was told, not only in advance of
the public, but in advance of the stockholders themselves.
All such information I held in confidence even from my own followers,
for it was given me with such understanding.
My next move was to get into national politics. I became something of a
factor at the national convention, by swinging Pennsylvania's vote at a
critical time; the result being the nomination of the now President,
consequently my relations with him were most cordial.
The term of the senior Senator from our State was about to expire, and,
although he was well advanced in years, he desired re-election.
I decided to take his seat for myself, so I asked the President to offer
him an ambassadorship. He did not wish to make the change, but when he
understood that it was that or nothing, he gracefully acquiesced in
order that he might be saved the humiliation of defeat.
When he resigned, the Governor offered me the appointment for the
unexpired term. It had only three months to run before the legislature
met to elect his successor.
