Among the great manuals of urban politics in America, none is more charming or instructive than the plain talks of George Washington Plunkitt, a district leaderâthat is, a ward bossâof New York Cityâs powerful Tammany Hall at the turn of the twentieth century. Born in a shantytown on Manhattanâs upper West Side in 1842, Plunkitt died a rich and famous man in 1924. The âvery plain talksâ that made his reputation were published first in the newspapers and then, in 1905, as a book. They took place at what Plunkitt referred to as his office: Grazianoâs bootblack stand in the old county courthouse off Foley Square, and were recorded by William L. Riordon of the New York Evening Post.
Among the great manuals of urban politics in America, none is more charming or instructive than the plain talks of George Washington Plunkitt, a district leaderâthat is, a ward bossâof New York Cityâs powerful Tammany Hall at the turn of the twentieth century. Born in a shantytown on Manhattanâs upper West Side in 1842, Plunkitt died a rich and famous man in 1924. The âvery plain talksâ that made his reputation were published first in the newspapers and then, in 1905, as a book. They took place at what Plunkitt referred to as his office: Grazianoâs bootblack stand in the old county courthouse off Foley Square, and were recorded by William L. Riordon of the New York Evening Post.