ABSTRACT
The disputed junket was part of a National Civic Federation (NCF) effort to inform debates raging at the time— about ownership and operation of municipal utilities such as waterworks, street car lines, and gas works. Publicity about corporate misbehavior generated arguments for municipal ownership. Publicity about political corruption generated demands for private ownership. Richard T. Ely's role in the founding of the American Association for Labor Legislation, AALL resulted from his affiliation with the "new economists". In addition to complaining about John R. Common's municipal utility Junket, Ely had complained that John R. was not devoting enough energy to the department. Races and Immigrants, published in 1905, was an edited collection of articles that John R. had written earlier for the Chautauqua Institute. It addressed the problems for American society created by new entrants unaccustomed to the demands of citizenship in a representative democracy.
