^
 

POSTSCEIPT.
 

During the five years that have passed since I wrote
this book, there has occurred in New York a political
revolution so noteworthy that it may be well briefly to
tell of its principal features. It was barely second in
importance to the revolution which resulted in the
overthrow of the Tweed ring.

Ever since the days of Tweed, Tammany Hall has,
with the exception of a few brief periods, been the con¬
trolling force in the New York City Democracy, and
has generally held the reins of government in the city
itself. There have been honourable men in Tammany,
and there have been occasions on which Tammany has
acted well and has deserved well of the country; never¬
theless, speaking broadly, it may be said that Tammany
has always stood for what was worst in our political
life, and especially in our municipal politics. The
Tammany Hall organization is a machine of ideal per¬
fection for its own purposes. It has as leaders a num¬
ber of men of great ability in certain special directions.
The rank and file of its members are recruited from the
most ignorant portion of the city's population, coming
from among the voters who can usually be voted in a
mass by those who have influence over them. This
influence is sometimes obtained by appeals to their
prejudices and by the lowest art of the demagogue;

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