He nicknamed them "mugwumps" and continued to vote the regular tickets of his party.

There succeeded to this phase of contemptuous dislike a few years, in which he was somewhat bewildered by the increasing evidences of corruption in American politics and lawlessness in American business methods, and during which he occasionally supported some favorite among the several reforming movements.

Then a habit of criticism and reform increased with the sense that the evils were both more flagrant and more stubborn than he imagined, until at the present time average well-intentioned Americans are likely to be reformers of one kind or another, while the more intelligent and disinterested of them are pretty sure to vote a "reform" ticket.

To stand for a programme of reform has become one of the recognized roads to popularity.

The political leaders with the largest personal followings are some kind of reformers.