inion in the management of political
affairs. It was thought by the masses, of course, when they acquired the
suffrage that they acquired the substance of political power. Their
expectation, however, was but partially realized. Indirect election,
official independence, and the rigidity of the constitutional system as
a whole, with its lack of responsiveness to popular demands, largely
counteracted the results expected from universal suffrage. But the
extension of the suffrage to the masses, though having much less direct
and immediate influence upon the policy of the state than is generally
supposed, was in one respect supremely important. In popular thought it
worked a transformation in the form of the government. The old view
which recognized the political supremacy of the minority was now largely
superseded by the new view that the will of the majority ought to be the
supreme law of the land.

The minority, however, still continue to exert a controlling influence
in most matters of public policy directly affecting their interests as a
class, although the extension of the suffrage made the exercise of that
control a much more difficult matter and left little room for doubt that
actual majority rule would ultimately prevail. A large measure of
protection was afforded them through the checks which the Constitution
imposed upon the power of the majority. There was no certainty, however,
that these checks could be permanently maintained. A political party
organized in the interest of majority rule, and supported by a strong
public sentiment, might find some way of breaking through or evading the
constitutional provisions designed to limit its power. Certain features
of the Constitution, however, afforded excellent opportunities for
offering effective resistance to the progress of democratic legislation.
Entrenched behind these constitutional bulwarks, an active, intelligent
and wealthy minority might hope to defeat many measures earnestly
desired by the majority and even secure the adoption of some policies
that would directly benefit themselves. Here we find the cause that has
been mainly responsible for the growth of that distinctively American
product, the party machine, with its political bosses, its army of paid
workers and its funds for promoting or opposing legislation, supplied by
various special interests which expect to profit thereby. With the
practical operation of this system we are all familiar. We see the
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