Plunkitt of Tammany Hall: A Series of Very Plain Talks on Very Practical Politics, Delivered by Ex-senator George Washington Plunkitt, the Tammany ... New York County Court House Bootblack Stand

“'Plunkitt of Tammany Hall' contained the musings of George Washington Plunkitt (1842-1924), the powerful Irish-American politician. It would never be associated with works by Locke, Rousseau and Jefferson, but the book became a classic piece of American literature that explained the workings of the Irish-dominated urban political machine." -The Irish Echo

"For more than forty years he has seen the political game played in New York city....His has been the peculiar distinction of holding four offices at one and the same time and drawing salaries for three of them....He is the old fashioned type of the professional politician, even in Tammany Hall, but he has a shrewd, homely sense that is not to be learned from books and that wold be invaluable in a man without the moral crookedness that afflicts this man." -Public Opinion

"Discourses of a veteran Tammany district leader, in which he discusses political subjects with utter frankness and great picturesqueness of language. 'Practical politics' is portrayed from the inside by one of the most 'practical' of politicians, a man who has become a millionaire by knowing how to take advantage of his opportunities and how to make opportunities to take advantage of. A prefatory note by Mr. Charles Murphy, leader of Tammany Hall, indorsing Mr. Plunkitt, gives the book a semi-official character as an exposition of Tammany principles." -New Outlook

"The reading public owes a debt of gratitude to Riordon, his discoverer. 'Plunkitt of Tammany Hall' is every bit as entertaining as 'Mr. Dooley.' A 'character' has been added to literature." -New York Globe

"New York's most colorful Tammany boss." -New York Magazine

"'Plunkitt of Tammany Hall' is not the only American who believes in 'honest graft.' Doers of evil have a practical sense of relativity in ethics as well as professors of ethics in our universities, who approach the subject theoretically. Though this expression comes from a Tammany heeler grown rich by 'graft,' it shows the profound need of restoration of the conception of the absolute in ethics, which a thousand and one things in our contemporary life demonstrate." -The Congregationalist and Christian World

"Both witty and wise." -The Bookman

Contents

Preface

A Tribute to Plunkitt by the Leader of Tammany Hall

Chapter 1. Honest Graft and Dishonest Graft

Chapter 2. How to Become a Statesman

Chapter 3. The Curse of Civil Service Reform

Chapter 4. Reformers Only Mornin' Glories

Chapter 5. New York City Is Pie for the Hayseeds

Chapter 6. To Hold Your District: Study Human Nature and Act Accordin'

Chapter 7. On The Shame of the Cities

Chapter 8. Ingratitude in Politics

Chapter 9. Reciprocity in Patronage

Chapter 10. Brooklynites Natural-Born Hayseeds

Chapter 11. Tammany Leaders Not Bookworms

Chapter 12. Dangers of the Dress Suit in Politics

Chapter 13. On Municipal Ownership

Chapter 14. Tammany the Only Lastin' Democracy

Chapter 15. Concerning Gas in Politics

Chapter 16. Plunkitt's Fondest Dream

Chapter 17. Tammany's Patriotism

Chapter 18. On the Use of Money in Politics

Chapter 19. The Successful Politician Does Not Drink

Chapter 20. Bosses Preserve the Nation

Chapter 21. Concerning Excise

Chapter 22. A Parting Word on the Future of the Democratic Party in

Chapter 23. Strenuous Life of the Tammany District Leader