74 Fellow-feeling as 



plundered; as reformers have more than once dis 

 covered when the mass of the voters stolidly voted 

 against them, and in favor of a gang of familiar 

 scoundrels, chiefly because they had no sense of 

 fellow-feeling with their would-be benefactors. 



The tendency to patronize is certain to be eradi 

 cated as soon as any man goes into politics in a 

 practical and not in a dilettante fashion. He speed 

 ily finds that the quality of successful management, 

 the power to handle men and secure results, may ex 

 ist in seemingly unlikely persons. If he intends to 

 carry a caucus or primary, or elect a given candidate, 

 or secure a certain piece of legislation or administra 

 tion, he will have to find out and work with innum 

 erable allies, and make use of innumerable subordi 

 nates. Given that he and they have a common 

 object, the one test that he must apply to them is 

 as to their ability to help in achieving that object. 

 The result is that in a very short time the men whose 

 purposes are the same forget about all differences, 

 save in capacity to carry out the purpose. The 

 banker who is interested in seeing a certain nomina 

 tion made or a certain election carried forgets every 

 thing but his community of interest with the retail 

 butcher who is a leader along his section of the 

 avenue, or the starter who can control a considerable 

 number of the motormen ; and in return the butcher 

 and the starter accept the banker quite naturally as 



