"If a large city can, after intense intellectual efforts, choose for its mayor a man who merely will not steal from it, we consider it a triumph of the suffrage"

This quote by Frank Moore Colby talks to the difficulty of finding a suitable leader for a big city. It suggests that it takes a good deal of effort and thought to find a mayor who is not corrupt and will not take from the city. Colby is recommending that even if a city is able to find a mayor who is not corrupt, it should be seen as a success. This quote highlights the importance of having a leader who is honest and reliable, and the trouble of finding such an individual. It also talks to the power of the ballot procedure, as it is the residents who eventually choose who will lead their city. Colby's quote is a reminder of the importance of having a leader who is truthful and trustworthy, and the problem of discovering such an individual.