The Seabury Investigation and Municipal Corruption

From Small Acorns …

Aside from the evidence provided by occasional appearances of anticrime crusaders or the statements by legislative committees of investigation, Americans in the 1930s lacked the means to ferret out collusive arrangements among their elected representatives, organized criminals, and corrupt police. They did not have available to them the legal framework with which these forms of criminal conspiracy could be more vigorously prosecuted, nor the enforcement machinery for detecting and investigating this type of criminal activity. Throughout the nation's history, however, it had been proven time and again that even the most corrupt politicians could not withstand the pressure of an aroused and interested public. While attempts to reform government and to right wrongs involving the public trust often achieved no more than limited goals, they did serve the far more important function of reaffirming community values...

[The entire page is 1374 words long]

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