Once you physically began a project, there would always be some way found of obtaining the money to complete it.

Removal, the bill provided, could only follow the filing by the Governor of detailed, specific charges of actual misconduct and a formal, public hearing, with both sides represented by counsel, on those charges. And it further provided that no Governor could remove the park commission president just because the president was not following the Governor's orders. The bill Moses drafted establishing the Long Island State Park Commission provided that the term of its president-himself-would be six years, three times as long as the Governor's. (Page 135)Īn idea was no good without power behind it, power to make people adopt it, power to reward them when they did, power to crush them when they didn't. Bob Moses was scornful, in short, of what he had been. He was openly scornful of reformers whose first concern was accuracy, who were willing to devote their lives to fighting for principle and who wanted to make that fight without compromise or surrender of any part of the ideals with which they had started it. He was openly scornful of men who hadn't, of men who still worried about the Truth when what counted was votes. And, most of all, he had not sufficiently taken into account the need for power. He had not sufficiently taken into account self-interest. He had not sufficiently taken into account greed. But Moses had failed in his calculations to give certain factors due weight. In free and open encounter would not Truth prevail? And he had gotten the hearing. He had really believed that if his system was right-scientific, logical, fair-and if it got a hearing, the system would be adopted.

Convinced he was right, he had refused to soil the white suit of idealism with compromise. Intending to reform the city, he had worked hard and mastered with a supreme mastery reform's techniques. There was no civil service standardization, no great highway along the Hudson, no mothers' shelters in Central Park. The net result of all his work was nothing. One must wait until the evening To see how splendid the day has been.

The Power Broker by Robert A. Caro