hear of Cornell, the iron man, in politics now? Could a search
party find R. W. G. Welling? Have you seen the name of Fulton
McMahon or McMahon Fulton -I ain't sure which-in the papers
lately? Or Preble Tucker? Or-but it's no use to go through the list
of the reformers who said they sounded in the death knell of
Tammany in 1894. They're gone for good, and Tammany's pretty
well, thank you. They did the talkin' and posin', and the politicians
in the movement got all the plums. It's always the case.

The Citizens' Union has lasted a little bit longer than the reform
crowd that went before them, but that's because they learned a
thing or two from us. They learned how to put up a pretty good
bluff-and bluff Counts a lot in politics. With only a few thousand
members, they had the nerve to run the whole Fusion movement,
make the Republicans and other organizations come to their
headquarters to select a ticket and dictate what every candidate
must do or not do. I love nerve, and I've had a sort of respect for
the Citizens Union lately, but the Union can't last. Its people
haven't been trained to politics, and whenever Tammany calls their
bluff they lay right down. You'll never hear of the Union again
after a year or two.

And, by the way, what's become of the good government clubs, the
political nurseries of a few years ago?

Do you ever hear of Good Government Club D and P and Q and Z
any more? What's become of the infants who were to grow up and
show us how to govern the city? I know what's become of the
nursery that was started in my district. You can find pretty much
the whole outfit over in my headquarters, Washington Hall.