So you see that a boss is
only a boss so long as he can influence votes."
"But they haven't defeated you?"
"No, not yet."
"But if the voters took their opinions from the other bosses how did you
do anything?"
"There comes in the problem of practical politics. The question of who
can affect the voters most. Take my own ward. Suppose that I want
something done so much that I insist. And suppose that some of the other
leaders are equally determined that it shan't be done. The ward splits
on the question and each faction tries to gain control in the primary.
When I have had to interfere, I go right down among the voters and tell
them why and what I want to do. Then the men I have had to antagonize do
the same, and the voters decide between us. It then is a question as to
which side can win the majority of the voters. Because I have been very
successful in this, I am the so-called boss. That is, I can make the
voters feel that I am right."
"How?"
"For many reasons. First, I have always tried to tell the voters the
truth, and never have been afraid to acknowledge I was wrong, when I
found I had made a mistake, so people trust what I say.
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