Theodore Roosevelt Quotes


There is no longer any such brutal and flagrant assessing of government employees in the federal service as was customary ten years ago. There is not nearly so much as there is in the local, state, and municipal service


Context

“Assessing” did not mean evaluating. It described a process where each civil servamt was “assessed” an amount of money—based on his salary—that was to be paid to the Political Party that appointed him. The specific corrupt process of “assessing” he described well in {629355}. Roosevelt had worked at the local, state and Federal levels of government. All had tolerated a great deal of this form of corruption. At the time this article was written, the Federal reforms had begun to take effect. Some states and local governments followed, but the average level of corruption being most at the local level, next at the state level, and least at the Federal level, as TR observed then was essentially the same into the 21st century. Government corruption was generally less, but relatively it was worst at the local level and least at the Federal level. At the end of the 20th century for example, every Kentucky County Commissioner except 1 was convicted and jailed for taking bribes and kickbacks from highway and road construction contractors. Corruption at the Federal Level was less.


Citations

Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919, 26th President of the United States (Republican, NY), “Political Assessments in the Coming Campaign”, The Atlantic Monthly, July 1882

Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations

Linked Quotes

“Assessing” did not mean evaluating. It described a process where each civil servant was “assessed” an amount of money—based on his salary—that was to be paid to the Political Party that appointed him. This historical quotation gives us a feel for the common political practice of 19th century. In the 21st century, this practice looked unethical and corrupt. Consider that Americans of the 22nd century will likely view private campaign contributions as corrupt. Standards have improved over time in America.


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Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
  • Born: October 27, 1858
  • Died: January 6, 1919
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Nobel Peace Prize

Theodore Roosevelt Jr., often referred to as Teddy or his initials T. R., was an American statesman, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer, who served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. He previously served as 33rd governor of New York from 1899 to 1900 and the 25th vice president of the United States from March to September 1901. Roosevelt emerged as a leader of the Republican Party and became a driving force for anti-trust and Progressive policies.