l off. The clerk took ten cents out of his pocket,
handed it to Dan and said: "Poor man! Go and get a drink to warm
yourself up." Wasn't that shameful? And yet, if it hadn't been for the
civil service law, that clerk would be contributin' right along to this
day.

The civil service law don't cover everything, however. There's lots of
good jobs outside its clutch, and the men that get them are grateful
every time. I'm not speakin' of Tammany Hall alone, remember! It's the
same with the Republican Federal and State officeholders, and every
organization that has or has had jobs to give out--except, of course,
the Citizens' Union. The Cits held office only a couple of years and,
knowin' that they would never be in again, each Cit officeholder held on
for dear life to every dollar that came his way.

Some people say they can't understand what becomes of all the money
that's collected for campaigns. They would understand fast enough if
they were district lead-em. There's never been half enough money to go
around. Besides the expenses for meetin's, bands and all that, there's
the bigger bill for the district workers who get men to the polls. These
workers are mostly men who want to serve their country but can't get
jobs in the city departments on account of the civil service law. They
do the next best thing by keepin' track of the voters and seem' that
they come to the polls and vote the right way. Some of these deservin'
citizens have to make enough on registration and election days to keep
them the rest of the year. Isn't it right that they should get a share
of the campaign money?

Just remember that there's thirty-five Assembly districts in New York
County, and thirty-six district leaders reachin' out for the Tammany
dough-bag for somethin' to keep up the patriotism of ten thousand
workers, and you wouldn't wonder that the cry for more, more, is goin'
up from every district organization now and forevermore. Amen.

Chapter 19. The Successful Politician Does Not Drink

I HAVE explained how to succeed in politics. I want to add that no
matter how well you learn to play the political game, you won't make a
lastin' success of it if you're a drinkin' man. I never take a drop
of any kind of intoxicatin' liquor. I ain't no fanatic. Some of the
saloonkeepers are my best friends, and I don't mind goin' into a saloon
any day with my friends. But as a matter of business I leave whisky and
beer and the rest of that stuff alone