Page:Upbuilders by Lincoln Steffens.djvu/309

278 “standing in”; his attorney from “taking perfectly proper fees" from other clients? The vigilance of Mr. Spreckels. He will watch his watchers. So it comes down, finally, to the character of Mr. Spreckels. That happens to be about as sound a foundation as any one man can furnish, but it is a one-man scheme. It isn't democratic. The democratic theory is founded on the expectation that self-government, by its very abuses, will tend gradually to develop in all men such a concern for the common good that human nature will become intelligent and considerate of others. That sounds almost Christian, and it isn't business. In business the old autocratic practice prevails; one man is boss, and he runs everything and everybody.

That is why business men's reform movements seek to abolish or subordinate the board of aldermen and to concentrate all power in the mayor. They want a good, responsible king. And if they would only elect men who would be king, they might be satisfied, but the "good" business man they choose is usually of the sort that looks up to "big" business men; he has the prejudice of his class against the political boss, but when he discovers that this low-down politician is the mouthpiece of the high-up business men, he takes orders as well as the ordinary heeler. "Better,"