is the cause. Greece and Italy and Egypt are struggling to recover
from centuries of misgovernment. In this country government has been
far wiser and more responsive to the community's needs; and yet the
apathy of the intelligent public and the intrusion of private greed
have distorted and obstructed legislation until social reformers throw
up their hands in despair. But there are hopeful signs. The causes
of this political mismanagement are being more generally recognized
today, and it is probable that the next few decades will witness great
strides toward improving the mechanism of American government and
banishing corruption.

What are the forces making for corruption in politics?

(1) By one means or other, unscrupulous rulers and officeholders have
always been able to replenish their private income by misuse of their
official powers. Since popular government was first tried there has
existed a class of professional politicians with little regard for
the public welfare and ready to do anything to keep themselves in power
and fatten their pocketbooks. We have in America the well-known phenomena
of the "machine," the "ring," and the "boss," whose motto is "Politics
is politics," and who are unashamed to put their interests above those
of the people at large. Their control of the machinery of government
enables them, unless ingenious provisions prevent, to wink at illegal
voting and fraudulent counting of votes, to get the dregs of the
population out to the polls, and perhaps intimidate their opponents
from voting. The police power has often been misused for such purposes;
the gerrymander is another clever method of manipulating the results
of elections. Such means, together with the use as bribe money of funds
deflected from the public treasury, the blackmail of vice, and the
acceptance of "contributions" from favored parties, create a vicious