Machine Politics: Chicago Model

Excerpt from Machine PoliticsIf time and money had permitted, the present study would have been entirely comparative. Wherever possible, an attempt has been made to show how typical of other cities the patterns of political behavior are in Chicago. Fortunately, in the past ten years a number of studies of the party politics of other cities has appeared; and, in so far as these studies yielded compa rable data, they have been compared with the findings reached in Chicago. Peel's study of New York City political clubs, Salter's and Kurtzman's quite different analyses of Philadelphia district leaders, and Mosher's research on upstate committee men in New York State have all furnished the basis of significant comparisons. However, none of these studies of other cities purports to cover as broad a field as the present analysis. The present study not only attempts to examine the party machine and the characteristics of the party workers but also presents an analysis of voting behavior in candidate and proposition elec tions. Among the in?uences studied are the circulations of the important daily newspapers in Chicago. To the writer's knowl edge, in no other city has so exhaustive a study been made of the social and economic background of voting behavior. The present analysis is a highly condensed presentation of the main findings of a number of studies. Preliminary manuscripts on the operation of the referendum in Chicago and on the 19928 committeemen are each longer than this book itself. The case stories of ward and precinct committeemen could be amplified and multiplied. Records were obtained regarding one hundred and seventy-five ward leaders and nine hundred precinct cap tains. As far as possible, the materials presented are the most representative. Those who are interested in a detailed study of two typical ward leaders in Chicago and the groups they serve should consult the author's Negro The Rise of Negro Politics in Chicago.