Machine Politics 131 



politicians feel that they have a right to exact the 

 heaviest possible toll from the candidate, to help pay 

 the army of hungry heelers who do their bidding. 

 Thus, before the same committee, the County Clerk 

 testified that his income was very nearly eighty thou- 

 sand a year, but with refreshing frankness admitted 

 that his own position was practically merely that of 

 a figure-head, and that all the work was done by his 

 deputy, on a small, fixed salary. As the County 

 Clerk's term is three years, he should nominally 

 have received nearly a quarter of a million dollars; 

 but as a matter of fact two-thirds of the money 

 went to the political organizations with which he 

 was connected. The enormous emoluments of such 

 officers are, of course, most effective in debauching 

 politics. They bear no relation whatever to the 

 trifling quantity of work done, and the chosen can- 

 didate readily recognizes what is the exact truth, 

 namely, that the benefit of his service is expected to 

 inure to. his party allies, and not to the citizens at 

 large. Thus, one of the county officers who came 

 before the above-mentioned committee, testified with 

 a naive openness which was appalling, in answer to 

 what was believed to be a purely formal question as 

 to whether he performed his public duties faithfully, 

 that he did so perform them whenever they did not 

 conflict with his political duties ! meaning thereby, 

 as he explained, attending to his local organizations, 

 seeing politicians, fixing primaries, bailing out those 

 of his friends (apparently by no means few in num- 

 ber) who got hauled up before a justice of the peace, 



