第24章

Thereisoftenmuchgoodinthetypeofboss，especiallycommoninbigcities，whofulfillstowardsthepeopleofhisdistrictinroughandreadyfashionthepositionoffriendandprotector。Heuseshisinfluencetogetjobsforyoungmenwhoneedthem。Hegoesintocourtforawildyoungfellowwhohasgottenintotrouble。Hehelpsoutwithcashorcreditthewidowwhoisinstraits，orthebreadwinnerwhoiscrippledorforsomeothercausetemporarilyoutofwork。Heorganizesclambakesandchowderpartiesandpicnics，andisconsultedbythelocallaborleaderswhenacutinwagesisthreatened。Forsomeofhisconstituentshedoesproperfavors，andforotherswhollyimproperfavors；buthepreserveshumanrelationswithall。Hemaybeaverybadandverycorruptman，amanwhoseactioninblackmailingandprotectingviceisoffar-reachingdamagetohisconstituents。Buttheseconstituentsareforthemostpartmenandwomenwhostrugglehardagainstpovertyandwithwhomtheproblemoflivingisveryrealandveryclose。Theywouldprefercleanandhonestgovernment，ifthiscleanandhonestgovernmentisaccompaniedbyhumansympathy，humanunderstanding。Butanappealmadetothemforvirtueintheabstract，anappealmadebygoodmenwhodonotreallyunderstandtheirneeds，willoftenpassquiteunheeded，ifontheothersidestandstheboss，thefriendandbenefactor，whomayhavebeenguiltyofmuchwrong-

doinginthingsthattheyarehardlyawareconcernthem，butwhoappealstothem，notonlyforthesakeoffavorstocome，butinthenameofgratitudeandloyalty，andaboveallofunderstandingandfellow-feeling。Theyhaveafeelingofclan-loyaltytohim；hisandtheirrelationsmaybesubstantiallythosewhicharerightandproperamongprimitivepeoplestillintheclanstageofmoraldevelopment。

Thesuccessfulfightagainstthistypeofviciousboss，andthetypeofviciouspoliticswhichproducesit，canbemadeonlybymenwhohaveagenuinefellow-feelingforandunderstandingofthepeopleforandwithwhomtheyaretowork，andwhoinpracticalfashionseektheirsocialandindustrialbenefit。

Therearecommunitiesofpoormen，whoselivesarehard，inwhichtheboss，thoughhewouldbeoutofplaceinamoreadvancedcommunity，iffundamentallyanhonestman，meetsarealneedwhichwouldotherwisenotbemet。Becauseofhislimitationsinotherthanpurelylocalmattersitmaybeourdutytofightsuchaboss；butitmayalsobeourdutytorecognize，withinhislimitations，bothhissincerityandhisusefulness。

Yetagaineventhebosswhoreallyisevil，likethebusinessmanwhoreallyisevil，mayoncertainpointsbesound，andbedoinggoodwork。Itmaybethehighestdutyofthepatrioticpublicservanttoworkwiththebigbossorthebigbusinessmanonthesepoints，whilerefusingtoworkwithhimonothers。Inthesamewaytherearemanyself-styledreformerswhoseconductissuchastowarrantTomReed’sbitterremark，thatwhenDr。Johnsondefinedpatriotismasthelastrefugeofascoundrelhewasignorantoftheinfinitepossibilitiescontainedinthewordreform。Yet，nonetheless，itisourdutytoworkforthereformsthesemenchampion，withoutregardtothemisconductofthementhemselvesonotherpoints。Ihaveknowninmylifemanybigbusinessmenandmanybigpoliticalbosseswhooftenorevengenerallydidevil，butwhoonsomeoccasionsandoncertainissueswereright。Ineverhesitatedtodobattleagainstthesemenwhentheywerewrong；and，ontheotherhand，aslongastheyweregoingmywayIwasgladtohavethemdoso。Tohaverepudiatedtheiraidwhentheywererightandwerestrivingforarightend，andforwhatwasofbenefittothepeople——nomatterwhattheirmotivesmayhavebeen——wouldhavebeenchildish，andmoreoverwouldhaveitselfbeenmisconductagainstthepeople。

Mydutywastostandwitheveryonewhilehewasright，andtostandagainsthimwhenhewentwrong；andthisIhavetriedtodoasregardsindividualsandasregardsgroupsofindividuals。Whenabusinessmanorlaborleader，politicianorreformer，isright，Isupporthim；whenhegoeswrong，Ileavehim。WhenMr。LorimerupheldthewarfortheliberationofCuba，Isupportedhim；whenhebecameUnitedStatesSenatorbyimpropermethods，Iopposedhim。TheprinciplesormethodswhichtheSocialistsadvocateandwhichIbelievetobeintheinterestofthepeopleIsupport，