history. in an introduction to this edition ofthe political boss's remarks, James S. Olson, chairman of thehistory department at Sam Houston State University, and James W.Mooney of American University engage in a provocative exchange overhow the boss mentality as Plunkitt expressed it is to be judged.Thereby they complicate and enrich a reader's perception of thepractical devices and ethical ambiguities of popularpolitics."Tammany Hall was far more than a disinterested detached citygovernment for several million poor, working-class New Yorkers. Itwas also a successful city government delivering municipalservices, a social welfare agency assisting the immigrant poor andtheir children in adjusting to the new country, a politicalinterest group giving working-class people at least a modest voicein an economic world increasingly dominated by richcorporations."--James S. Olson"In essence: the machine politicos, for all their genuine resonancewith their constituencies, saw the average voter as a creature ofappetite; the scientific progressives, for all their hauteur,expected something better of the public and were prepared to workfor it."--James W. Mooney

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