136 Machine Politics 



of cards or a talk with some of his companions, he 

 must keep away from the local headquarters of his 

 party ; whereas, under similar circumstances, the pro- 

 fessional politician must go there. The man who is 

 fond of his home naturally prefers to stay there in 

 the evening, rather than go out among the noisy club 

 frequenters, whose pleasure it is to see each other 

 at least weekly, and who spend their evenings dis- 

 cussing neither sport, business, nor scandal, as do 

 other sections of the community, but the equally 

 monotonous subject of ward politics. 



The strength of our political organizations arises 

 from their development as social bodies ; many of the 

 hardest workers in their ranks are neither office- 

 holders nor yet paid henchmen, but merely members 

 who have gradually learned to identify their for- 

 tunes with the party whose hall they have come to 

 regard as the headquarters in which to spend the 

 most agreeable of their leisure moments. Under 

 the American system it is impossible for a man to 

 accomplish anything by himself; he must associate 

 himself with others, and they must throw their 

 weight together. This is just what the social func- 

 tions of the political clubs enable their members to 

 do. The great and rich society clubs are composed 

 of men who are not apt to take much interest in 

 politics anyhow, and never act as a body. The great 

 effect produced by a social organization for politi- 

 cal purposes is shown by the career of the Union 

 League Club ; and equally striking proof can be seen 

 by every man who attends a ward meeting. There 



