Home
Search transcripts:    Advanced Search
Notable New     Yorkers
Select     Notable New Yorker

Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
Photo Gallery
Transcript

Part:         Session:         Page of 915

outsider who isn't yet in the government, to think of himself as a local political light, getting experience, agitating for political candidates, bringing himself into same kind of a conspicuous position from which he can be appointed to high administrative office.

I could see that that had happened to us in New York State during the long period of Al Smith's administration. To be sure the same people grew better and better, more and more competent, got more and more authoritative, knew their job better. But more or less the same people stayed in office, or the same kind of people. They brought in other people more or less like themselves when they brought a new person in. The same people therefore tended to be operating things. It went all right. Everybody was happy and contented. There were no great scandals. But it sort of cooled off the interest of new political groups and political groups in areas where the Democratic Party was the minority party, because, as they said, they had no chance of getting a good appointment.

It was always an astonishment to me to see how much it meant to people who didn't seem to be very important politically or otherwise to have even a small appointment, a trifling appointment - an advisory





© 2006 Columbia University Libraries | Oral History Research Office | Rights and Permissions | Help