George W. Plunkitt Quotes

The railroad is a great public institution, and I was never an enemy of public institutions. <small>p. 63</small>

There’s the biggest kind of a difference between political looters and politicians who make a fortune out of politics by keepin’ their eyes wide open. The looter goes in for himself alone without considerin’ his organization or his city. The politician looks after his own interests, the organization’s interests, and the city’s interests all at the same time. See the distinction? <small>p. 29</small>

If you have been to college, so much the worse for you. You'll have to unlearn all you learned before you can get right down to human nature, and unlearnin’ takes a lot of time. Some men can never forget what they learned at college. <small>p. 25</small>

The politician who steals is worse than a thief. He is a fool. With the grand opportunities all around for the man with a political pull, there’s no excuse for stealin’ a cent. <small>p. 32</small>

The Raines liquor law is infamous. It takes away nearly all the profits of the saloonkeepers, and then turns in a large part of the money to the State treasury to relieve the hayseeds from taxes. <small>p. 84</small>

The most successful saloonkeepers don’t drink themselves and they understand that my temperance is a business proposition, just like their own. <small>p. 77</small>

I rope them all in by givin’ them opportunities to show themselves off. I don’t trouble them with political arguments. I just study human nature and act accordin’. <small>p. 26</small>

I know more than one young man in past years who worked for the ticket and was just overflowin’ with patriotism, but when he was knocked out by the civil service humbug he got to hate his country and became an Anarchist. <small>p. 11</small>

Then will return the good old times, when our district leaders could have nice comfortable primary elections at some place selected by themselves and let in only men that they approved of as good Democrats. <small>p. 83</small>

There’s an honest graft, and I’m an example of how it works. I might sum up the whole thing by sayin’: “I seen my opportunities and I took ’em.” <small>p. 3</small>

The Democratic party of the nation ain’t dead, though it’s been givin’ a lifelike imitation of a corpse for several years. <small>p. 88</small>

It’s because a Brooklynite is a natural-born hayseed, and can never become a real New Yorker. <small>p. 41</small>

Big Tim made money out of liquor—sellin’ it to other people. That’s the only way to get good out of liquor. <small>p. 79</small>

Say, ain’t some of the papers awful gullible about politics? <small>p. 59</small>

I think every man would be better off if he didn’t take any intoxicatin’ drink at all, but as men will drink, they ought to have good stuff without impoverishin’ themselves by goin’ to fancy places and without riskin’ death by goin’ to poor places. <small>p. 86</small>