Page:Upbuilders by Lincoln Steffens.djvu/311



while he has some of the faults of his kind, he hasn’t all; he lacks those that are dangerous. The other is that he is getting over those that he has. His original idea was to let whosoever would nominate and elect whomsoever they pleased. But politics is interesting, and I noticed that Mr. Spreckels could not keep his hands off. He regretted it, but he had to help run the board of aldermen after the members confessed; and he had to help name a mayor when Schmitz was convicted. And in doing these things, he had to consider the wishes of the public, as he wanted to. Well, this was politics, and it was amusing to observe that Mr. Spreckels showed a native talent for the game. He says he won’t, but he will play it, as he should.

And he will be boss. He thinks not, of course; he hates the word. We all do. But he will have the power. Since he is back of the prosecution, and will be back of his vigilantes, men do, and they will continue to come to him for advice. His advice may be good, and he may rfye, therefore, a good boss. But a boss he is and a boss he must be. But his scheme, like the whole idea of the ■S aa-Tf^ttekco-^ prosecution, is extra-legal and unsa fe.

Mr. Spreckels now, like any other boss, is working through agents: Heney, Langdon, etc.