patriotism if this thing
goes On? You can't do it. Let me tell you that patriotism has been dying
out fast for the last twenty years. Before then when a party won,
its workers got everything in sight. That was somethin' to make a man
patriotic. Now, when a party wins and its men come forward and ask for
their rewards, the reply is, "Nothin' doin', unless you can answer a
list of questions about Egyptian mummies and how many years it will take
for a bird to wear out a mass of iron as big as the earth by steppin' on
it once in a century?"

I have studied politics and men for forty-five years, and I see how
things are driftin'. Sad indeed is the change that has come over the
young men, even in my district, where I try to keep up the fire of
patriotism by gettin' a lot of jobs for my constituents, whether Tammany
is in or out. The boys and men don't get excited any more when they see
a United States flag or hear "The Star-Spangled Banner." They don't care
no more for firecrackers on the Fourth of July. And why should they?
What is there in it for them? They know that no matter how hard they
work for their country in a campaign, the jobs will go to fellows who
can tell about the mummies and the bird steppin' on the iron. Are you
surprised then that the young men of the country are beginnin' to look
coldly on the flag and don't care to put up a nickel for firecrackers?

15 The Curse of Civil Service Reform

Say, let me tell of one case--After the battle of San Juan Hill, the
Americans found a dead man with a light complexion, red hair and blue
eyes. They could see he wasn't a Spaniard, although he had on a Spanish
uniform. Several officers looked him over, and then a private of the
Seventy-first Regiment saw him and yelled, "Good Lord, that's Flaherty."
That man grew up in my district, and he was once the most patriotic
American boy on the West Side. He couldn't see a flag without yellin'
himself hoarse.

Now, how did he come to be lying dead with a Spanish uniform on? I found
out all about it, and I'll vouch for the story. Well, in the municipal
campaign of 1897, that young man, chockful of patriotism, worked day and
night for the Tammany ticket. Tammany won, and the young man determined
to devote his life to the service of the city. He picked out a place
that would suit him, and sent in his application to the head of
department. He got a reply that he must take a civil service examination
to get the place. He didn't kno