The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865-1896 (Oxford History of the United States)

by Richard White

Fee-based governance assumed that officials would forgo self-interest and follow the rules and laws designed to control their fees, but the system was purposefully weighted to serve those seeking favors. Anyone who required a government service paid a fee; those who violated a law or code paid a penalty. Governments offered bounties or fees for collecting taxes, arresting criminals, killing predators, seizing enemy vessels in times of war, and performing services. Government subcontracted or subsidized services from supervising Indian agencies to building necessary infrastructure. Political machines preferred fee-based appointments since the men they appointed had to make mandatory political contributions, often a percentage of the office’s income, to the party. Fee-based offices, being the most lucrative, yielded the greater kickbacks.