Evening star., 1936-04-02
BRONX POLITICIAN
SNOW PROFESSOR
"Boss" to Guide Columbia
Lecture Course Urging
Politics as Career.

NEW YORK, April 2 (N.A.NA).-
Edward J. Flynn. political boss" OF
the Bronx. Secretary of State for New
York and high in national Democratic
circles, begins this evening a series
of four lectures at Columbia University
to induce college-trained people to
regard politics as a career and go
into it as they would into law or
engineering or medicine" :"
Flynn, trim, Silver-haired quiet
spoken ruler of machine politics. is
lecturing to a class of go young man
and woman students in a course called
Contemporary American Politics"
given by Prof. Raymond E. Moley.
charter member of President Roose-
velts brain trust" and once Assistant
Secretary of State at Washington.
Moley said he had asked Flynn to
to give the lectures as "a practical
expert who could dissect for us the
anatomy of the body polite and help
us in our scientific study of the me-
chanics OF government"
But Flynn said he hoped to in
them with information on the system
OF government.
Two Reasons for Lecture.
"1 have two reasons for giving these
lectures" he explained. First I want
to dispel for these students the mys-
terry that enshrouds politics in the
popular mind. Second, I want to get
them to see the party system of gov
eminent as the best system and show
them the urgent necessity for allying
themselves with some party-any
party-as the only practical way OF
getting good government"
Flynn said party discipline" was
necessary for the efficient operation OF
government and that the task of rails
ing the quality of government must
be approached from within the party
1T isn't any secret" he explained,
"that a party that is not willing to
commit suicide will listen absolutely
to the voice of the majority of its
members. The way to good govern
u1ent is through an honest and trained
personnel. and it is the party, which
nominates and appoints men to Jobs,
that is the employment Office for the
personnel.
Nominee Most Important.
1.-THE citizen who goes out to the
polls on election day. if it's raining
and he can't play golf, thinks he's do
Ing his duty. But really he is not.
According to our present system. he
Is merely expressing a Judgment on a
duty which has been performed for
him by the political parties. If he
expressed his choice for a nominee he
would be making the most effective
use of his franchise as a voter.
well, that is one of the ideas that
I am going to try and get across to
the class. Another is that political
parties do not function in diabolical
secrecy. are not vast machines most
successful at pulling wool over peoples
eyes and that they really and earnestly
are trying to offer good government
If only because they know that's the
simplest way to keep their bread but
tered.
People" Flynn said a little plain
lively. either don't know the first
thing about political parties or have
the wierdest ideas about how they
operate. For instance. if you stop any
10 people on the street, the chances
are all 10 of them will tell you that
the gangsters and thugs and pool
room politicos who have crept into
some municipal or even State govern
tnents are necessary to the party in
power and the party can't get along
without them. OF course, If you know
anything about the party system of
government, you know that the party
not only can get along without these
people, but Is better of without them.
Proud of Bronx.
"You take my own district. the
Bronx. of which I am particularly
proud. We have 800 district leaders
in our organization and not more
than 100 have got jobs for themselves
out of their work. The. remaining 700
are in private business and take up
the duties of district leadership be-
cause it is an interest of theirs. a
useful and fascinating hobby. With
men of that type getting out the