They are coming to realize that the abuses are firmly intrenched, and a prolonged siege as well as constant assaults are necessary for final success.

Some reformers are even tending to the opinion that a tradition of reform and succession of reformers will be demanded for the vigilant protection of the American political and economic system against abuse.

But the point is the agreement among practical reformers that reform means at bottom no more than moral and political purification.

It may, indeed, bring with it the necessity of a certain amount of reorganization; but such reorganization will aim merely at the improvement of the existing political and economic machinery.

Present and future reformers must cleanse, oil, and patch a piece of economic and political machinery, which in all essentials is adequate to its purpose.