The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-21
HOW TO SUCCEED IN POLITICS
THE VOICE or PLJNkITT FROM
THE BOOTBLlCK'S CHAIR.
NOthin' In Ci,ics. Lofty Ideals an All That
You Get Out the Votes and Make
Yourself lsefui-l Did 1t and Success.
Says Plunkitt. Means 10 BE lake Me.

| on his DoOtDlack stand In tne Sounty court
House, followed the example OF other illus
trious statesmen the other day by inform
ing a group OF young men how to succeed
In politics in this city.
There's lot Of talk goin' on at college
commencements just now about enterin'
politics and comm out ahead Of the game,
began the Senator. "Gov. Odell took a
whack at it at Columbia and got of the
usual rot about civic duties and lofty ideals
an all that. He knew better. but he didn t
dare talk sense before crowd OF college
boys. II he had told them how he and
every other real successful politician got
their grips, l suppose everybody would
have been shocked.
Now, I've been in politics for forty
years. I've run my district nearly all that
time and I've never been defeated when l
ran for Office. Tariff issues and silver
issues and other issues come and CO. but in
my district the real issue always is Plunkitt
vs.. Anybody Else. and Plunkitt wins every
time So l ought to know enough about
the political game to give you kids few
| pointers.
There is only one way to become states
man. You must 60 through the apprentice
ship like in any other trade. When / was
boy. hustled around the district head
quarters carried messages for the leaders,
got out voters and worked at the polls on
election day. l got to know every voter
in the district l became so useful to the
leaders that they couldn't do without me.
| Then after cast my first vote. they made
me captain OF an election district.
| when got that far, l didn't have TO 60
to them any more-they came to me. In
a few years, / got hold Of several election
districts and before long I was an Assem-
bly, district leader. worked for my con-
stituents day an night got jobs for them
got them out of scrapes and they sent me
to the Assembly, then to the Senate and
raised me up an up till I became just
what am to-day.
That's the only way to become states
man. The game of politics can't be learned
outer books. Once in while you hear Of
| n college man comm to the front, but
he never lasts-in New York city politics.
ANYHOW. Whyf Because he hasn't gone
through the apprenticeship Of statesman,
and when he gets his first setback he lays
down. or course, colleges are all right in
their way haven't got anything against
them, but I wouldn't advise any young
| Teller as ia ambitious to get on in politics
| to start out by becomin' a bookworm.
take tho great leaders of Tammany
Hail. Was any of them college men or
bookwormsf Oh. yea! I forgot. Nixon
| was an Annapolis college man. Well, Nixon
| didn't last long as leader, did hef What
| you want in politics is common sense and
| to know the people and what they want,
and you can't learn that out of books.
% you think Odell sat in Republican
| headquarters dreanin' about civic duties
| and lofty ideals when he was runnin' cam
| paigns! Not much. He worked the
machine just as I do in my district and
kept his lofty ideals for college commence
| ment.
| Il own up. though. that it's not az easy
| now to get on in politics as it was whe n
| / started climbin' up the ladder. That
| cussed civil service stands in the way Of
the patriotic young man who wants to serve
| his country. When l began, a young
| fellow who worked hard for his district
leader was sure Of gettn' good job. Now
he amt so sure He has TO buck against
a lot of fool civil service questions and he
often gets downed. Still there's lots Of
good things outside the civil service, and
If you 90 through the trainin' I've described
you II land on your feet in the long run.
.Now a word about reform. Don't go
in for that game. II don't pay. The
reformer fourishes for year or two. But
the politician fourishes all the time The
people take to reform once in while, Just
as they do some fastin' in Lent But they re
always glad to get back to porterhouse
steak again. They know that reformers
can't run the government right. because
they haven't been trained to it like the
politicians.
Politics is business. like the dry goods
business or the butcher business. You've
got to learn it from the A B up an give
all your time to it. The reformers give
their attention to politics few weeks
every year The Tammany leaders devote
all their time to it. That's why the REFORM
ers make a mess when they are put in power
by chance, and that's why Tammany runs
the city government as smoothly as big
department store
Look ut the Low administration.
They've got lot of heads Of departments
who are always clashin They get up
a shindy every week and set the town
laughn'. One pulls one way and the other
the other way and Low pulls all around.
It's Just as If you put lot OF college gradu-
ates in charge of big store which they
knew nothin' about and told them to go
ahead and do business, Then see how
all the Tammany heads of departments
pull together; it s beautiful! They've been
trained from boys in running government
bu sincss. They never clash.
"Now, let me tell you boys just how to
begin. Go home tonight and think Of
some fellow in your fiat house who will
stick to you in politics. You can surely
find one, at least. Then you have begin
ming. You have a following. if it's only
one man, and you begin to be power in
politics. Then you and your friend look
up one or two others in your house. When
you've done all you could there, go to the
next house. and so on down the block.
when you have a dozen or fifteen YOU
can 60 to district headquarters and tell |
the leader that you want to bring your |
followers into the organization. When |
you have fifty. he'll come to you and ask |
what he can do for you. Don't be bashful |
Tell him you want this or that for your |
men When you get II, which will he \
pretty soon. the news will get about, other |
men in your neighborhood will flock to |
you and before long you can sit at the |
corner bootblack stand. IA ] am sittin here,
and have candidates comm to you, offerin'
you cigars, askin' you to come and have
somethin' and knucklin' down to you all |
around.