The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-05
PLUNKITT N"HONEST GRAFT"
NE TELLS now TO GET RICH
IN Politics.
Proposes ms His Epitaph, "Hae Seen HIS
Opportunities ana lie Took 'em'-hn-
stances o show the Difference Between
Honest Graft and Dishonest Graft.

County Court House bootblack stand. dis
cussed yesterday the subject: Honest
Graft and Dishonest Graft
"Since this dock investigation Of Jerome's
was started, you hear lots of talk about
Tammany men CROWN rich on graft" he
began, but you don't hear nobody DRAWN
the distinction between honest graft and
dishonest graft.
yes, many Tammany men have got rich
in politics. Pm one of them. I'm rich
and geetin' richer every day. But I've
never gone in for dishonest graft-black-
mailin' gamblers, saloonkeepers, disorderly
people, &c.-and neither has any of the
men who have made big fortunes In
politics.
"Iheres an honest graft and I'm good
example of how it works. l might sum up
the whole thing by sayin' l seen my OPP
portuntics and took EN-.
Just let me explain by examples. My
party in on the city and it g goin' TO under
take a lot of public improvements. Well,
I'm tipped off say, that they're goin' to
lay out new park at certain place.
IL sec my opportunity and take it.
go to that place and buy up all the land
[ can in, the neighborhood. Then the board
of this or that makes its plan public and
there is rush to get my land, which nobody
cared partickier for before.
Amt it perfectly honest to charge a
good price and make profit on my invest
ment' and my foresight? OF course. 1t is
Well, that's honest graft.
"Or. supposin it's new bridge they're
poin' to build. get tipped of and buy
as much property as l can that has to be
taken for approaches l sell at my own
price later on and drop some more money
in the banks.
Wouldn't you? It's just like lookin'
ahead in Wall Street or in the coffee or
cotton market. It's honest graft and I'm
lookin' for it every day In the year. l
will tell you frankly that I've got good
lot of it, too.
IN tell you of one case. They were
goin' to fix up big park. no matter just
where l got on to it and went lookin'
about for land in that neighborhood
Il could get nothing at a bargain but a
big piece of swamp, but took it fast enough
and held on to it. What turned out was
just what 1 counted on. They couldn't
make the park complete without Plum
kits swamp and they had to pay good
price for it. Anything dishonest in that?
up in the watershed made some money,
too. I bought up several bits of land
there some years ago and made a pretty
good guess that they would be bought up
for water purposes later.
Somehow I always guessed about
right. and shouldn't l enjoy the profit Of
NV foresight? 1t was rather amusin'
when the condemnation commissioners
came along and found piece after piece of
land in the name of George W. Plunkitt Of
the Fifteenth Assembly district. New York
city, They wondered how l knew just
where to buy. The answer isl seen my
opportunity and took it.
IT haven't confined myself to land. Any
tang that pays is in my line.
For instance, the city is repaving a
street and has several hundred thousand
old granite blocks to sell I am on hand
to buy and l know just what they are
worth
How? Never mind that. l had a sort
of monopoly of this business for awhile.
but once a newspaper tried to do me. 1t
got some outside men to come over from
BROOKLYN and New Jersey to bid against
me.
Was | done? Not much. l went to
each of the men and said: How many
of those 100000 stones do you want?
"0ne said 10000. another wanted $1,000
and another wanted 10000. I said:
An right. Let me bid for the lot and
tn give each of YOU all you want for
nothin'
They agreed, of course. Then the
auotionecr yelled:
How much am bid for these 100000
fine PAWN stones|
Two dollars and fifty centsN says |.
Two dollars and fifty cents! screamed
the auctioneer. oh that's joke! Give
me a real bid'
He found the bid was real enough My
rivals stood silent. I got the lot for $3.50
and gave them their share. That's how
the attempt to do Plunkitt ended, and
that's how all such attempts end
1--WE told you how | got rich by honest
graft. Now let me tell you that most Tam
MANY mon who are accused of robbin' the
city got rich the same way.
aThey didn't steal dollar from the city
treasury. They lust seen their opportuni-
tics and took them That is why, when a
reform administration comes in and they
spend half million dollars in tryin' to find
the public robberies they talked about in
the campaign, they don't find them.
THE books are always all right. The
money in the city treasury is all right,
Everything is all right All they can show
is that the Tammanv heads OF departments
looked after their friends. within the law,
and gave them what opportunities they
could to make honest graft
"Now, let me tell you, that's never goin'
to hurt Tammany with the people. Every
good man looks after his friends and any
man who doesn't isnat likely to be popular.
If have a good thing 10 hand out in private
life. I Hive it 10 friend. Why shouldn't
do the same in pubolic life?
Another kind of honest graft When
Tamnlany WIS in power IL raised good
nanv salaries. There was an awful howl
bv the reformers. but don't You know that
Tammany gained ten votes for every one
il lost by salary-raisin?
aThe Wall Street banker thinks 1t shame
full to ruise a department clerks salary
from 81 800 TO 81 800 year. but every man
who draws salary himself says That's
all right wish il was me- And he feels
very much like votin' the Tammany ticket
on election day. just oue of sympathy.
"Tammany was beat last time because
the people were deosived into believin'