My story . been able toprevent the people from expressing their will through theirballots. I was more eager to succeed myself as mayorthan I could possibly have been had our plans been per-mitted to work out without encountering the oppositionof Privilege. If Big Business was somewhat passive In the campaignof 1901, quite the reverse was true In 1903. I had by this time incurred the enmity of the tax-escap-ing public service corporations and big landlords and ofthe low dive-keepers and gamblers, all of whose privilegeshad suffered under my administration. The oppositionof these interests was a
My story . been able toprevent the people from expressing their will through theirballots. I was more eager to succeed myself as mayorthan I could possibly have been had our plans been per-mitted to work out without encountering the oppositionof Privilege. If Big Business was somewhat passive In the campaignof 1901, quite the reverse was true In 1903. I had by this time incurred the enmity of the tax-escap-ing public service corporations and big landlords and ofthe low dive-keepers and gamblers, all of whose privilegeshad suffered under my administration. The oppositionof these interests was augmented by various other groupsallied with them In greater or less degree. Many of thechurch and temperance people opposed me because thetown was wide open, while some of the saloons opposedme because the night and Sunday closing laws were toorigidly enforced. The civil service reformers and theparty spoilsmen had their grievances, the former becausewe had not practiced the merit system with regard to city. MAKING MEN 171 employes, the latter because we had. The MunicipalAssociation, an organization supposed to be distinctly non-partisan and above the influences of Privilege, having forits object the consideration and recommendation of candi-dates to voters, issued an eleventh hour manifesto showingthat the city administration had been very lax in enforcingsome of the laws most necessary to the well-being of themunicipality. Let me repeat what I have previously said, that It Isntnecessary for Privilege to bribe men with money, withpromises, or even with the hope of personal reward. If itcan succeed in fooling them. It is this insidious power,this Intangible thing which is hard to detect and harder toprove, this indirect influence which is the most dangerousfactor in politics to-day. The Republicans nominated Harvey D. Goulder, aleading lawyer, president of the Chamber of Commerceand a prominent member of the Union Club. I conductedmy campaign on the lines of my earlier contest
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