Quote#Nature
Consolidation didn’t make him a New Yorker, and nothin’ on earth can.…
Quote byGeorge Washington Plunkitt · 1842–1924
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Chapter 10, Brooklynites Natural-Born Hayseeds.
English (original)
Consolidation didn’t make him a New Yorker, and nothin’ on earth can. A man born in Germany can settle down and become a good New Yorker. So can an Irishman; in fact, the first word an Irish boy learns in the old country is “New York,” and when he grows up and comes here, he is at home right away. Even a Jap or a Chinaman can become a New Yorker, but a Brooklynite never can. p. 41
— George Washington Plunkitt
More from George Washington Plunkitt
Another kind of honest graft. Tammany has raised a good many salaries. There was an awful howl by the reformers, but don’t you know that Tammany gains ten votes for every one it lost by salary raisin’? p. 6
If I have a good thing to hand out in private life, I give it to a friend. Why shouldn’t I do the same in public life? p.6
There’s an honest graft, and I’m an example of how it works. I might sum up the whole thing by sayin’: “I seen my opportunities and I took ’em.” p. 3
Everybody is talkin’ these days about Tammany men growin’ rich on graft, but nobody thinks of drawin’ the distinction between honest graft and dishonest graft. p. 3, first line
Every good man looks after his friends, and any man who doesn’t isn’t likely to be popular. p. 5
The Wall Street banker thinks it shameful to raise a department clerk’s salary from $1500 to $1800 a year, but every man who draws a salary himself says: “That’s all right. I wish it was me.” And he feels very much like votin’ the Tammany …