Do not lay up the sins of this kind of business to political organizations.  Organization is legitimate, is necessary, is even distinguished, when it lends itself to the carrying out of great causes.  Only the man who uses organization to promote private purposes is a boss.  Always distinguish between a political leader and a boss.  I honor the man who makes the organization of a great party strong and thorough, in order to use it for public service.  But he is not a boss.  A boss is a man who uses this splendid, open force for secret purposes.

One of the worst features of the boss system is this fact, that it works secretly.  I would a great deal rather live under a king whom I should at least know, than under a boss whom I don’t know.  A boss is a much more formidable master than a king, because a king is an obvious master, whereas the hands of the boss are always where you least expect them to be.

When I was in Oregon, not many months ago, I had some very interesting conversations with Mr. U’Ren, who is the father of what is called the Oregon System, a system by which he has put bosses out of business.  He is a member of a group of public-spirited men who, whenever they cannot get what they want through the legislature, draw up a bill and submit it to the people, by means of the initiative, and generally get what they want.  The day I arrived in Portland, a morning paper happened to say, very ironically, that there were two legislatures in Oregon, one at Salem, the state capital, and the other going around under the hat of Mr. U’Ren.  I could not resist the temptation of saying, when I spoke that evening, that, while I was the last man to suggest that power should be concentrated in any single individual or group of individuals, I would, nevertheless, after my experience in New Jersey, rather have a legislature that went around under the hat of somebody in particular whom I knew I could find than a legislature that went around under God knows who’s hat; because then you could at least put your finger on your governing force; you would know where to find it.

Why do we continue to permit these things?  Isn’t it about time that we grew up and took charge of our own affairs?  I am tired of being under age in politics.  I don’t want to be associated with anybody except those who are politically over twenty-one.  I don’t wish to sit down and let any man take care of me without my having at least a voice in it; and if he doesn’t listen to my advice, I am going to make it as unpleasant for him as I can.  Not because my advice is necessarily good, but because no government is good in which every man doesn’t insist upon his advice being heard, at least, whether it is heeded or not.