Crittenden press. [volume] (Marion, Ky.) 1879-1907, 1907-01-24

| A Thumb Mai Sketch of "PracticaI
Politician"-The Profits OF an All
/ Around Servant Of the People, Who
Seen His Opportunities and Took
/ EN-
Honest graft" will reach its highest
level when. as predicted by the en-
/ thusasts. the principles of municipal
ownership are accepted 10y New York
and the city controls the trolley lines,
/ the electric light and Gas works and
/ all the ferries as well as the water
| works aud the police the fire and the
/ street departments,
Then such patriots as George Wash
! ington Pluukitt, for many years or
ganization leader of the Fifteenth dis
/ trict in New York. will reap rewards of
greater magnitude than they have ever
| been able TO gather under the present
order Of things.
Perhaps YOU have never heard about
Mr. plunkitts honest graft" schemes.
He told about them himself in book
published last year. which was intro
duced 10y paragraph indorsng him as
a veteran leader of the organization"
signed 10y its greatest chief.
plunkitt was sore because there were
some objections to graft being made
out of the city by men like him, and in
the first chapter of his book he uttered
vigorous protest. "Blackmailn' gam
blers. saloon keepers. disorderly PEG
4.
That was dishonest graft"
But he added, there's an honest
graft. and I'm an example of how it
works. | seen my opportunities and |
took EN-"
Mr.. IlunkittS explanation of how he
did these things will illuminate the
possibilities of future municipal owner
ship days, if they ever come.
After calculating the ways he was
clipped of" AT various times by mem
bcrs of his party the party In power
when new bridges. new parks. new
streets were 10 he opened. so that he
might invest in real estate likely TO
rise in price from the improvements
contemplated. he adds: II haven't con
fined myself to land. Anything that
pays is in my line Then he gives IA
specific instance:
Learning that the city was about to
repave certain street and so would
have several hundred thousand old
paving blocks to sell. he was ION hand
TO buy" and he knew just what they
were worth" But newspaper tried
TO do him" and got some outside men
from Brooklyn and New Jersey to bid
tell the story best:
WAS I done? Not much went
10 each of the men and said. How
many Of those 100000 stones do you
WANT one said 10000 and another
wanted 1000 and another wanted TO-
600. l said. All right let me bid for
the lot, and I'll give each of you all
you want for nothin'.'
They agreed. of course. Then the
auctioneer yelled. How much am bid
for these fine pawn stones?
1.-Two dollars and fifty cents says I.
1.-Two dollars and fifty cents"
screamed the auctiOneer. oh, that's q
Joke. Give me a real bid
He found the bid was real enough
My rivals stood silent. / got the lot for
$3.50 and gave them their share. That's
now the attempt to do Plunkitt ended
and that's how all such attempts end"
1t Is hardly necessary. in the light Of
This authentic statement Of honest
CRAFTS" workings, to enlarge upon the
extended opportunities that would
come TO the men of the plunkitt stamp
were the dream of municipal owner
ship 10 come true. Plunkitt says most
politicians who are accused of robin
The city get rich the same way" he did.
They didn't steal a dollar from the
city. They Just seen their opportunities
md took them"
While in the Legislature Plunktt in
troduced the bills that provided for the
outlying parks of New York. the Har-
EN- river speedway, the Washington
bridge. the One Hundred and Fifty
ifth street viaduct, additions to the
Museum of Natural History and many
other important public Improvements.
He is now millionaire. Under the
proposed order of things, with city con-
Tol Of everything. he might become
billionaire.
Under municipal ownership of all /
public utilities in New York-and in !
most other cities in fact-poltcians
ike Plunkitt who at different times |
las been elected state senator. assem-
blyman. county supervisor and alder
man by his fellow citizens, besides |
serving as police magistrate for one |
ierm and who boasts of his record in
hlling four public Offices in one year
and drawing salaries from three of |
them at the same time, would flourish
like whole grove of green bay trees.