EDITOR'S TABLE, 



.129 



they hope, will go better ever after- 

 ward. We are not sure that there is 

 not some illusion in this. No mon- 

 arch ever placed himself on his throne 

 by his own unaided action ; and no 

 boss ever acquired his position by the 

 sole exertion of his own will. The 

 origin of the boss, as we take it, is 

 this: Government with all its powers 

 being thrown into the hands of the 

 people, there arises a keen struggle 

 as to who shall wield those powers 

 and enjoy such advantages as may 

 be incident thereto. Such a struggle 

 necessarily develops into a faction 

 fight; and where there is fighting 

 there must be organization for fight- 

 ing purposes. The boss is the leader 

 of the faction, the man who surveys 

 with a comprehensive eye the whole 

 field of battle, who enforces disci- 

 pline, who gives the word of com- 

 mand, who directs the campaign. 

 The old saying that in the midst 

 of arms laws must keep silent is 

 verified in these political struggles. 

 The place which ought to be filled 

 by some competent man prepared to 

 serve the public to the utmost of his 

 ability has to be given to some one 

 whose appointment will " strengthen 

 the party"; and the party is under- 

 stood to be strengthened when an 

 important office is bestowed in such 

 a manner as (1) to encourage party 

 workers, and (2) to furnish funds for 

 party uses. Neither in actual war- 

 fare nor in politics are battles won 

 by discourses on moral philosophy. 

 The boss engages to carry his party 

 to victory, or to nurse its energies 

 after defeat; and he must be allowed 

 a large discretion as to the means to 

 be used. 



A little reflection, therefore, will 

 make it clear that the only way to 

 get rid of the boss is to do away with 

 the necessity for his services. As 

 long as he is wanted he will be there, 

 and there is very little use in finding 

 fault with him or with his methods. 

 vol. lii. 11 



As well find fault with a general in 

 the field for shelling a town in which 

 the enemy have fortified themselves, 

 or setting fire to standing grain, or 

 doing any other of the thousand 

 wasteful acts that characterize ordi- 

 nary warfare. War is war the world 

 over, and bloodshed apart, which, 

 however, may not be far in the back- 

 ground political warfare has all the 

 signs and characteristics of war in 

 its murderous form. It is a matter 

 of strategy. It involves waste of 

 property, and gains its ends, when- 

 ever necessary, by ruse and deceit. 

 The question how to get rid of the 

 boss is merged, therefore, in the 

 much wider one, how to get rid of 

 the conflict that calls the boss into 

 existence and invests him with dic- 

 tatorial power. 



There is but one way that we can 

 see, and that is to persuade the elec- 

 torate that appointments to office are 

 not things to squabble about, and 

 that, in so far as any man governs 

 through his vote, he is bound to do 

 it in the interest of the country at 

 large. We are not enthusiastic 

 enough to believe that such a change 

 in public sentiment can be brought 

 about in a short time. Still, we con- 

 sider it important that the seat of the 

 trouble should be distinctly recog- 

 nized. So long as men are bent on 

 fighting for the control of patronage 

 it is vain to ask them to set aside the 

 leaders upon whose talents for or- 

 ganization, strength of will, and gen- 

 eral resourcefulness all their hopes 

 of victory depend. The efforts of 

 reformers should be bent, not on 

 showing how many deplorable acts 

 the different bosses are responsible 

 for, and how little in general they 

 consult the public interest in the ex- 

 ercise of their power, but in bring- 

 ing home the responsibility for this 

 whole condition of things upon the 

 thousands of electors who never as- 

 cend to any correct view of their 



