Thereisoftenmuchgoodinthetypeofboss，especiallycommoninbigcities，whofulfillstowardsthepeopleofhisdistrictinroughandreadyfashionthepositionoffriendandprotector。Heuseshisinfluencetogetjobsforyoungmenwhoneedthem。Hegoesintocourtforawildyoungfellowwhohasgottenintotrouble。Hehelpsoutwithcashorcreditthewidowwhoisinstraits，orthebreadwinnerwhoiscrippledorforsomeothercausetemporarilyoutofwork。Heorganizesclambakesandchowderpartiesandpicnics，andisconsultedbythelocallaborleaderswhenacutinwagesisthreatened。Forsomeofhisconstituentshedoesproperfavors，andforotherswhollyimproperfavors；buthepreserveshumanrelationswithall。Hemaybeaverybadandverycorruptman，amanwhoseactioninblackmailingandprotectingviceisoffar-reachingdamagetohisconstituents。Buttheseconstituentsareforthemostpartmenandwomenwhostrugglehardagainstpovertyandwithwhomtheproblemoflivingisveryrealandveryclose。Theywouldprefercleanandhonestgovernment，ifthiscleanandhonestgovernmentisaccompaniedbyhumansympathy，humanunderstanding。Butanappealmadetothemforvirtueintheabstract，anappealmadebygoodmenwhodonotreallyunderstandtheirneeds，willoftenpassquiteunheeded，ifontheothersidestandstheboss，thefriendandbenefactor，whomayhavebeenguiltyofmuchwrong-
doinginthingsthattheyarehardlyawareconcernthem，butwhoappealstothem，notonlyforthesakeoffavorstocome，butinthenameofgratitudeandloyalty，andaboveallofunderstandingandfellow-feeling。Theyhaveafeelingofclan-loyaltytohim；hisandtheirrelationsmaybesubstantiallythosewhicharerightandproperamongprimitivepeoplestillintheclanstageofmoraldevelopment。
Thesuccessfulfightagainstthistypeofviciousboss，andthetypeofviciouspoliticswhichproducesit，canbemadeonlybymenwhohaveagenuinefellow-feelingforandunderstandingofthepeopleforandwithwhomtheyaretowork，andwhoinpracticalfashionseektheirsocialandindustrialbenefit。
Therearecommunitiesofpoormen，whoselivesarehard，inwhichtheboss，thoughhewouldbeoutofplaceinamoreadvancedcommunity，iffundamentallyanhonestman，meetsarealneedwhichwouldotherwisenotbemet。Becauseofhislimitationsinotherthanpurelylocalmattersitmaybeourdutytofightsuchaboss；butitmayalsobeourdutytorecognize，withinhislimitations，bothhissincerityandhisusefulness。
Yetagaineventhebosswhoreallyisevil，likethebusinessmanwhoreallyisevil，mayoncertainpointsbesound，andbedoinggoodwork。Itmaybethehighestdutyofthepatrioticpublicservanttoworkwiththebigbossorthebigbusinessmanonthesepoints，whilerefusingtoworkwithhimonothers。Inthesamewaytherearemanyself-styledreformerswhoseconductissuchastowarrantTomReed’sbitterremark，thatwhenDr。Johnsondefinedpatriotismasthelastrefugeofascoundrelhewasignorantoftheinfinitepossibilitiescontainedinthewordreform。Yet，nonetheless，itisourdutytoworkforthereformsthesemenchampion，withoutregardtothemisconductofthementhemselvesonotherpoints。Ihaveknowninmylifemanybigbusinessmenandmanybigpoliticalbosseswhooftenorevengenerallydidevil，butwhoonsomeoccasionsandoncertainissueswereright。Ineverhesitatedtodobattleagainstthesemenwhentheywerewrong；and，ontheotherhand，aslongastheyweregoingmywayIwasgladtohavethemdoso。Tohaverepudiatedtheiraidwhentheywererightandwerestrivingforarightend，andforwhatwasofbenefittothepeople——nomatterwhattheirmotivesmayhavebeen——wouldhavebeenchildish，andmoreoverwouldhaveitselfbeenmisconductagainstthepeople。