Part: 123456789         Session: 1         Page na123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120121122123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173 [missing]174 [missing]175176177178179180181182183184185186187188189190191192193194195196197198199200201202203204205206207208209210211212213214215216217218219220221222223224225226227228229230231232233234235236237238239240241242243244245246247248249250251252253254255256257258259260261262263264265266267268269270271272273274275276277278279280281282283284285286287288289290291292293294295296297298299300301302303304305306307308309310311312313314315316317318319320321322323324325326327328329330331332333334335336337338339340341342342a343344345346347348349350351352353354355356357358359360361362363364365366367368369370371372373374375376377378379380381382383384385386387388389390391392393394395396397398399400401402403404405406407408409410411412413414415416417418419420421422423425426427428429430431432433434435436437438439440441442443444 of 444

the record who can be put right through.”

They'd begun to have some collapses of people who went far politically but when somebody got irritated, and made an investigation, it came out that they hadn't been honest. James Walker's trouble started later, but before that time and before I came to New York there had been the Tammany Hall scandals. Theodore Roosevelt had plenty to say about them, and so did Jacob Riis. What was the Bureau of Municipal Research about if it wasn't out to stop that kind of thing? What was the Citizen's Union about if it was not about stopping that? The City Club had that as one of its primary functions. When they elected Seth Low in Brooklyn, what as that about if not public disapproval of dishonesty in public life. William J. Gaynor was certainly the first regular Democratic answer to the question, “You're all grafters, aren't you?”

Murphy had taken account of this reaction. A very astute man and a good judge of character, he had said that to Al Smith when Smith was a very young man still working at the Fulton Fish Market. Smith then began to have little offices in the party. Then they decided to run him for Assemblyman. He told me that on that occasion Murphy had given him a regular father's lecture about the temptations that he would face, how he must comport himself, and what he, Murphy, foresaw as a possible future for Al Smith.