The Views of the Politician George Washington Plunkitt

George Washington Plunkitt was a complicated politician from New York in the 1900’s. He had his own questionable way of seeing what’s right and what’s wrong. Plunkitt’s Ideas of right a wrong sometimes seemed to be off. However, some of his ideas about things that needed to be reformed were as true then as they are now. Plunkitt seemed to be a man that knew how to get what he wanted out of people with very little effort. From the perspective of an outsider this could make him hard to trust, but to people then this wasn’t a problem. One thing that made his intentions unclear is how he talks about honest graft and dishonest graft. Plunkitt describes honest graft when he says; â€Å"Aint it perfectly honest to charge a good price and make†¦show more content†¦He makes it clear that the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft is very slight; and that most of the time people can’t tell the difference between the two. A nother of Plunkitt’s views that leaves a bit of a cloudy feeling is his view of looters and practical politicians. He explains the difference using Tammany Hall and the Philadelphia republicans as the examples. He says â€Å"The Philadelphians aint satisfied with robbin the bank of all its gold and paper money. They stay to pick up the nickels arid pennies and the cop comes arid nabs them.†(29) He makes it as clear as possible that a practical politician only takes just enough and that a looter takes more than his fair share. The explanation of this goes along with that of graft, it seems that he is trying to convince himself that he is honest and not doing any wrong. Not all of what Plunkitt did was that bad, though. Throughout the book he talks of reforming the civil service, it seems as though he is very passionate about this. Plunkitt tells stories of how good patriots go to the civil service office to take the test, fail, then come out and have lost all the ir patriotism. Plunkitt tells how he has never been for â€Å"nonpartisan business† but this is the exception. (39) He wants the party leaders to put their differences aside and unite against the common enemy. The best way he makes his argument for this is when he tells the story of Flaherty. Flaherty was a man thatShow MoreRelatedUrban Growth During the Gilded Age: Social, Cultural, Political, and Economic Changes1915 Words   |  8 Pagestime of politics, and new forms of it influenced urban growth during this time period. Campaigning was no longer enough to keep voters on your side. George Washington Plunkitt recognized this and changed their approach toward politics. â€Å"†¦you have to go among the people, see them and be seen†¦I know what they like and what they don’t like†¦Ã¢â‚¬  says Plunkitt as he describes his new strategies (Document E). He goes on to explain how he helps people follow their passion, â€Å"I hear of a young feller tha t’s proud