Early reform failed because cities lacked administrative tools like budgets

Evidence

Their philosophy, seemingly so elementary, was new in 1907. Previously, in New York and in all American cities, reform crusades had been of the “throw the rascals out” variety; stung to fury by particularly blatant corruption, “Good Government” elements would rise up, oust the reigning political bosses and seat in the mayor’s chair a hero who they hoped would “save” the city. But salvation was invariably denied because the administrative systems of cities were so chaotic that change in the direction of government was all but impossible. “Budget,” for example, was only a dictionary word; in turn-of-the-century America, not a single city possessed one. Allocating money with reference to the total amount available and to the relative urgency of the needs of the various city departments was therefore impossible. Scientific accounting techniques, only recently incorporated into American business, had never been adapted to government, so departmental requests for appropriations were not itemized and therefore items could not be compared with comparable expenditures in the past. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 256

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to institutional-analysis passages on how reform requires tools, echoing Milgrom’s institutions-fill-information-gaps theme. — connects to: Great administrators are made by tools, not born with instinct — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 257; Under-resourced administrators weakened the intended legal reforms from the start. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 435; Central colonial authority failed without budget control over member territories — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 131 (+3 more)
• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source

Broader Connections

• Under-resourced administrators weakened the intended legal reforms from the start. #corroborates (0.95) — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 435
• Central colonial authority failed without budget control over member territories #corroborates (0.80) — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 131