Mayor Mitchel prized economy over meeting the city’s human needs

Evidence

Moses’ idol had developed a case of galloping clay feet. John Purroy Mitchel’s elegance had worked against him. Wearer of the dress suit, winner of the one-step contest at costume balls of the Four Hundred, the Boy Mayor had given himself the image of a friend of the wealthy. His independence had worked against him, too. Scornful of public relations, he refused to change his friendships—or even to go to the public with explanations of many of his actions as mayor, so that many of the notable reforms he initiated never got the publicity they deserved. His investigations cut waste in city government but, preoccupied with economy, he did not want to do anything with the money thus saved, but save it. His boasts were not of what was being done to meet the city’s needs but of what was being done to save the city’s money. Even his admiring biographer would have to admit, “His concern was for the city rather than for its people.” — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 363

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Reform mayor Mitchel offered a railroad waterfront control for a pittance — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 364