And proceeding, he spoke of politics as then pursued as a branch of business, and the office holders as a band of mercenaries who were the supporters of misgovernment. (_Corruption in Politics; International Review_, Jan., 1877.)
Physicians tell us that from a source of disease, however small and obscure, a disordered tooth for instance, an infection may spread through the body until despite its apparent vigor, it in undermined and finally destroyed. The corruption begun in the electorate, has spread beyond the political system and has reached and invaded business life. This progress is so easy to trace that every business man in the country is familiar with it. Political leaders and bosses are purchasable and so are often machine-made legislators. Hence the two-fold evil, on the one hand the bribery of legislators and public officials, and on the other, threats and acts of oppression by the latter so as to compel business to pay tribute. These practices are so notorious and instances of them are so familiar, many of them referred to in this volume, that at this point it is sufficient to call attention to their frequency and extent. Again quoting Bryce:
“In the United States the money power acts by corrupting sometimes the voter, sometimes the juror, sometimes the legislator, sometimes a whole party; for large subscriptions and promises of political support have been known to influence a party to procure or refrain from such legislation as wealth desires or fears. The rich, it is but fair to say, and especially great corporations, have not only enterprises to promote but dangers to escape from at the hands of unscrupulous demagogues or legislators.” (_American Commonwealth_, Vol. II, p. 614.)
In 1889 George William Curtis, referring to the United States, approvingly quoted the saying of a United States Senator made in 1876 that “the only product of her institutions in which she surpassed all others beyond question was her corruption.” In 1890 he said that political corruption “has increased, is increasing and ought to be diminished.” In 1891 Curtis said that “corruption in our politics was never felt to be so general, so vast and penetrating, as during the last quarter of a century.” In the Omaha Populist platform of 1892, it was declared that: