Plunkitt of Tammany Hall | Page 4

and "Honest Graft and Dishonest Graft," became
subjects of discussion in the United States Senate and in college
lectures. There seemed to be a general recognition of Plunkitt as a
striking type of the practical politician, a politician, moreover, who
dared to say publicly what others in his class whisper among
them-selves in the City Hall corridors and the hotel lobbies.
I thought it a pity to let Plunkitt's revelations of himself-as frank in
their way as Rousseau's Confessions-perish in the files of the
newspapers; so I collected the talks I had published, added several new
ones, and now give to the world in this volume a system of political
philosophy which is as unique as it is refreshing.
No New Yorker needs to he informed who George Washington Plunkitt
is. For the information of others, the following sketch of his career is
given. He was born, as he proudly tells, in Central Park-that is, in the
territory now included in the park. He began life as a driver of a cart,
then became a butcher's boy, and later went into the butcher business
for himself. How he entered politics he explains in one of his
discourses. His advancement was rapid. He was in the Assembly soon
after he cast his first vote and has held office most of the time for forty
years.
In 1870, through a strange combination of circumstances, he held the
places of Assemblyman, Alderman, Police Magistrate and County
Supervisor and drew three salaries at once-a record unexampled in New
York politics.

Plunkitt is now a millionaire. He owes his fortune mainly to his
political pull, as he confesses in "Honest Graft and Dishonest Graft."
He is in the contracting, transportation, real estate, and every other
business out of which he can make money. He has no office. His
headquarters is the County Courthouse bootblack stand. There he
receives his constituents, transacts his general business and pours forth
his philosophy.
Plunkitt has been one of the great powers in Tammany Hall for a
quarter of a century. While he was in the Assembly and the State
Senate he was one of the most influential members and introduced the
bills that provided for the outlying parks of New York City, the Harlem
River Speedway, the Washington Bridge, the 155th Street Viaduct, the
grading of Eighth Avenue north of Fifty-seventh Street, additions to the
Museum of Natural History, the West Side Court, and many other
important public improvements. He is one of the closest friends and
most valued advisers of Charles F. Murphy, leader of Tammany Hall.
WILLIAM L. Riordon
A Tribute to Plunkitt by the Leader of Tammany Hall
SENATOR PLUNKITT is a straight organization man. He believes in
party government; he does not indulge in cant and hypocrisy and he is
never afraid to say exactly what he thinks. He is a believer in thorough
political organization and all-the-year-around work, and he holds to the
doctrine that, in making appointments to office, party workers should
be preferred if they are fitted to perform the duties of the office.
Plunkitt is one of the veteran leaders of the organization; he has always
been faithful and reliable, and he has performed valuable services for
Tammany Hall.
CHARLES F. MURPHY
PLUNKITT OF TAMMANY HALL
Chapter 1
. Honest Graft and Dishonest Graft
EVERYBODY is talkin' these days about Tammany men growin' rich
on graft, but nobody thinks of drawin' the distinction between honest
graft and dishonest graft. There's all the difference in the world
between the two. Yes, many of our men have grown rich in politics. I
have myself. I've made a big fortune out of the game, and I'm gettin'

richer every day, but I've not gone in for dishonest graft-blackmailin'
gamblers, saloonkeepers, disorderly people, etc.-and neither has any of
the men who have made big fortunes in politics.
There's an honest graft, and I'm an example of how it works. I might
sum up the whole thing by sayin': "I seen my opportunities and I took
'em."
Just let me explain by examples. My party's in power in the city, and
it's goin' to undertake a lot of public improvements. Well, I'm tipped off,
say, that they're going to lay out a new park at a certain place.
I see my opportunity and I take it. I go to that place and I buy up all the
land I can in the neighborhood. Then the board of this or that makes its
plan public, and there is a rush to get my land, which nobody cared
particular for before.
Ain't it perfectly honest to charge a good price and make a profit on my
investment and foresight? Of course, it is. Well, that's honest graft.
Or supposin' it's a new bridge they're goin' to build. I get tipped