The Struggle for Self-government Author:Lincoln Steffens Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHICAGO'S APPEAL TO ILLINOIS SHOWING HOW, SINCE THE CORRUPTION OF A STATE AND ITS CITIES IS ALL ONE SYSTEM, MU- NICIPAL REFORM MUST INCLUDE STATE REFORM (Augu... more »st, 1904) MISSOURI was a Democratic State. Illinois is Republican. " Graft " knows no politics, but the " good citizen " does. To the grafter a party is but a tool of his trade, and the party to which a majority of the citizens "belong " is his party. He does not belong to it; it belongs to him. The result is that neither of our great parties truly represents us; both stand to-day for graft. They differ upon other, unessential things; they are alike in this, that whichever is in power is the grafter's party. Now, (wherever we have gone, we have found that the biggest fgrafter is Big Business, and Big Business kept changing [its party to be of the majority. After Missouri I visited three Republican States—Ohio, New York, and Illinois. [The railroad that took me into Illinois turned Republican at the State line. The Royal Baking Powder Company, which had dealt with the Democrats in Missouri, appeared in New York with the Republicans. So with the American Book Company—in Missouri a Democrat, at home in Ohio it is a Republican. And so it goes in national politics. Wall Street, and all that " Wall Street" connotes, wasRepublican till President Roosevelt, refusing to acknowledge the privilege of capital, enforced the law against a combination of railroads. Then Wall Street began plotting with the Republican leaders for the nomination of a " safe man " for President, and, when that " safe man " died, looked to the Democrats—looked with its great campaign contribution for a bribe—and corrupt Democratic leaders, itching for the great financial graft, began its search for a " safe man." If the good citizen would do as the cor...« less