The boys and men don't get excited any more when they see a United States flag or hear "The Star-Spangled Banner." They don't care no more for firecrackers on the Fourth of July.

And why should they?
What is there in it for them?
They know that no matter how hard they work for their country in a campaign, the jobs will go to fellows who can tell about the mummies and the bird steppin' on the iron.

Are you surprised then that the young men of the country are beginnin' to look coldly on the flag and don't care to put up a nickel for firecrackers?
15 The Curse of Civil Service Reform Say, let me tell of one case--After the battle of San Juan Hill, the Americans found a dead man with a light complexion, red hair and blue eyes.

They could see he wasn't a Spaniard, although he had on a Spanish uniform.

Several officers looked him over, and then a private of the Seventy-first Regiment saw him and yelled, "Good Lord, that's Flaherty." That man grew up in my district, and he was once the most patriotic American boy on the West Side.