Disserations by Mr. Dooley (1906) - Almanac of Theodore Roosevelt

Business and Political Honesty
job there's a business man at wan end. Th' ligislachures
is corrupt, but who makes it worth while f'r
thim to be corrupt but th' pathrites iv th' life-insur-
ance comp'nies? Th' la-ads in th' council ar-re out
f'r th' stuff, says ye. But how do they make annything
except be sellin' sthreets to th' high fi-nanceers
that own th' railroad comp-nies? If business men
niver wanted to buy things cheap that don't belong
to thim no pollytician that cud carry a precinct wud
back to business. Min-
go into th' council. I'm goin'
zenheimer thinks he will need me to get th' aldhermen
to let him add fifty illegal feet to th' front iv
his store. I'm goin' back to business, an' I expect
to it. help purify What th' business iv this counthry
needs,' he says,
*
is f'r active young pollyticians to
take an inthrest in it an' ilivate it to a higher plane.
Me "
battle-cry is : Honest pollytical methods in th'
administhration iv business," '
he says
'
In time,' he
says, ' I hope to see th' same honesty, good faith, an'
efficiency in th' Life Insurance Comp'nies an' th'
Thrusts that we see now,' he says,
'
in th' adminis-
thration iv Tammany Hall,' he says."
" There's a good deal in that," said Mr. Hennessy.
" I knew an aldherman wanst that was honest as th'
sun, except whin th' sthreet railroad or th' gas com-
p'ny needed something."
" Well, there ye ar-re," said Mr. Dooley.
" It
seems to me that th' on'y thing to do is to keep pollyticians
an' business men apart. They seem to have a
bad infloonce on each other. Whiniver I see an aldherman
an' a banker walkin' down th' sthreet to-
gether I know th' Recordin' Angel will have to ordher
another bottle iv ink."