Tammany reserved escalating methods for threats that could not be disposed of cheaply

Evidence

It could be taken as a reminder of how important patronage was to Tammany—far too important to let anyone take it away. Disposing of a young man’s hopes for a minor city appointment was so simple it was hardly worth mentioning; a little newspaper leak, done offhand by some politician who had more important things on his mind, could take care of that. Were the threat to grow more serious, however, there were other methods. — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker, 314

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Tammany used anonymous newspaper leaks to quietly kill Moses’ appointment — Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the…, 312; The proportionality rule caps force at threat-eradication level

Broader Connections

• The proportionality rule caps force at threat-eradication level #qualifies (0.80)