by party
candidates elected by a partisan vote--in the identification of national
and municipal politics all over the country.

Of all these causes, it is probably the last which is fundamentally most
operative. The local democracy, local republicanism everywhere, is a
part of the national Democratic or Republican organisation. The party as
a whole is composed of these municipal units. Each municipal campaign is
conducted with an eye to the general fortunes of the party in the State
or the nation; and the same power that appoints a janitor in a city hall
may dictate the selection of a presidential candidate.

Until very recently, this phenomenon was practically unknown in England.
The "best person"--he who "took an interest in politics" as a Liberal or
as a Conservative--was no more concerned, as Liberal or Conservative, in
the election of his town officers than he was accustomed to take part in
the weekly sing-song at the village public house. National politics did
not touch municipal politics. Within the last two decades or so,
however, there has been a marked change, and not in London and a few
large cities alone.

Englishmen who have been accustomed to believe that the high standard of
purity in English public life, as compared with what was supposed to be
the standard in America, was chiefly owing to the divorcement of the
two, are not altogether gratified at the change or easy in their mind as
to the future. London is still a long way from having such an
organisation as Tammany Hall in either the Moderate or Progressive
party; but it is not easy to see what insuperable obstacles would exist
to the formation of such an organisation, with certain limitations, if a
great and unscrupulous political genius should arise among the members
of either party in the London County Council and should bend his
energies to the task. It is not, of course, necessary that, because
Englishmen are approximating to the American system in this particular,
they should be unable to avoid adopting its worst American abuses. But
it will do no harm if Englishmen in general recognise that what is, it
is to be hoped, still far from inevitable, was a short time ago
impossible. If Great Britain must admit an influence which has, even
though only incidentally, bred pestilence and corruption elsewhere, it
might be well to take in time whatever sanitary and preventive measures
may be available against similar consequences.[232:1]

Meanwhile in